Mike Fahey

Sega has slipped a new Sonic the Hedgehog hoverboard racer into its latest Olympic Games game. It’s one of three “Dream” events in Novermber’s Switch exclusive Mario & Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, along with third-person shooting and something called “Dream Karate”. 

My New Favorite Way To Play Pinball On Switch

Today’s release of Zen Studios’ Star Wars Pinball for the Nintendo Switch gave me an idea. I’ve been playing my Switch docked and connected to this cool little portable 15.6-inch Viotek monitor, and Zen’s Switch pinball games support vertical play, so what if we turn the portable monitor on its side? Perfection. There are plenty…

I Have Several Issues With This Year’s Halloween Pokémon Toys

Pikachu as Mimikyu. Charmander as Cubone. Lucario and Celebi as live-action role-players. This year’s batch of special Halloween-themed “Pumpkin Parade” plushies from The Pokémon Company are adorable at first glance. But if you look closely, the cute facade begins to crumble. Let’s start with Charmander wearing another Pokémon’s dead mother’s skull as a costume. Depending…

I Never Got Into Real Hockey But I Love NHL Video Games

I couldn’t tell you the name of the cover athlete of EA’s NHL 20 off the top of my head. For that matter, I couldn’t identify the players on the cover of NHL 18 or 19 ,despite both games still being installed on my Xbox One dashboard. I have little knowledge of the real-life sport…

Lego’s Gingerbread House Holds Disturbing Secrets

Every year around this time, Lego unveils the latest expansion to its ever-growing Winter Village line of sets and I bemoan not having a massive basement to deck out in blocky holiday cheer. This year’s addition, the $100 Gingerbread House, looks like the perfect standalone piece for brick fans with limited room. Whereas sets like…

Coming to the Switch and PlayStation 4 October 29 from Natsume, Harvest Moon: Mad Dash is an action puzzle game and not a super-involved, time consuming farming sim. Finally, a Harvest Moon game this busy old man has time for.

Craig Of The Creek Uses Pokémon As A Perfect Metaphor For Growing Up

In “The Evolution of Craig” episode of Cartoon Network’s refreshingly pure animated series Craig of the Creek, our young hero struggles with the idea of growing up and the fear of transforming into a different, older person. With a tadpole taking the place of a pocket monster, Craig learns a Pokémon-inspired lesson about the benefits…

HTC’s latest PC virtual reality headset, the Vive Cosmos, goes up for preorder today for $699, with its global release on October 3. The set features a pair of 1440 x 1700 displays running at 90 Hz, satellite-free tracking, and a flip-up design, and comes with a year’s subscription to the Viveport Infinity game and…

Players Are Not Pleased With World Of Warcraft’s New Recruit-A-Friend Program

After going on hiatus in June, World of Warcraft’s long-running Recruit-AFriend program will return later this year with cool new mounts, pets, and garb for players who convince others to join the game. The rewards, which include WoW’s first-ever backpack, look wonderful. It’s nearly everything else about the program, including the timing of its return,…

Apple Arcade’s Upcoming Game Lineup Is Pretty Impressive

Apple’s Arcade service launches on September 19, granting subscribers access to more than 100 games for $4.99 a month. The lineup of new and exclusive games coming to the service includes new Rayman, Pac-Man, Shantae, Steven Universe, and ChuChu Rocket games, as well as a new Square Enix RPG from the creators of Bravely Default.…

The New Plants Vs. Zombies Shooter Is Off To A Strong Start

Launched last week into a special Founder’s Edition early access period, Plants Vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville might not have a lot of content yet, but it’s already a blast to play. If you enjoyed the colorful cartoony competitive world Popcap Games built with Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare and its sequel, you’ll probably love…

I Can’t See Myself Enjoying The New Kirby Game Much Longer

Launched following last week’s Nintendo Direct, Super Kirby Clash is a free-to-play multiplayer game pitting multicolored Kirbys in medieval cosplay against massive bosses. I love the battles, but the game’s economy and endless upgrade cycle have me wondering how long that love will last. Nintendo calls Super Kirby Clash a free-to-start game, which is a…

This Fallout Vault Boy Figure Is A Whole Mood

Good Smile Company’s newly announced Nendoroid Vault Boy action figure includes four different faces and several arm and leg pieces for Fallout’s famous mascot. Seems like a waste to me. They had me at angry middle finger. Just look at that face. The brow. The frown. The entire posture just screams sass. I am not…

The Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro Has 20 SNK Games Built In

Earlier this month SNK announced the Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro, a fight stick with a design based on the Neo Geo CD’s Controller Pad stick. Turns out it’s not only a joystick but also a standalone retro console that can be hooked directly to a television to play 20 built-in SNK fighting games. The…

Gun Gun Pixies Is A Silly Erotic Game With A Serious Message About Your Health

Gun Gun Pixies for the Nintendo Switch and PC is a third-person shooter-platformer about a pair of miniature aliens learning about human behavior by infiltrating a women’s dorm. It’s silly. It’s racy. There are panty shots galore and lots of censored anime nudity. I expected as much from the latest PQube release. What I did…

Somebody Forgot To Update NBA 2K20’s Taskbar Icon

Annual sports video games can often seem like barely updated versions of the previous year’s installment. That’s certainly the case with the PC version of NBA 2K20, which shows up on the Windows taskbar as NBA 2K19. NBA 2K20 is under fire from fans for many reasons. Its microtransactions are atrocious. Its long loading times…

Two Old Men Rank The SNES Games On Switch

After years of wishing and hoping, Nintendo finally added a selection of Super Nintendo gamesto its Switch online service. Which of the 20 classics should you play first? We had Kotaku’s resident old men, Chris Kohler and Mike Fahey, Statler and Waldorf together a ranked list. 20. Super Soccer Chris Kohler: I played this for…

River City Girls Is Like River City Ransom But With Girls

For decades, old-school beat-em up fans have been following the adventures of River City Ransom heroes Kunio and Riki, a pair of high school tough guys with a knack for rescuing their girlfriends from thugs. Wayforward’s River City Girls turns that tired formula on its head. It’s an utterly charming old-school brawler where the girlfriends…

Tips For Playing Astral Chain

Protecting the last vestiges of humanity from an invasion of otherworldly beings is no cakewalk for the anime police persons of Switch exclusive Astral Chain. The protagonist has to juggle detective work, exploration, and an obsessive photography habit while managing a menagerie of leashed beasts, and the game doesn’t explain much about how to do…

I’m Suddenly Proud Of The Collector’s Edition World Of Warcraft Pets I’ve Had Since 2004

I never intended to have tiny Diablo, zergling, and Panda pets following me around World of Warcraft. Purchasing the collector’s edition of the original game back in 2004, where these three rare in-game companions were a bonus, was a fluke. Now I’ve brought them into World of Warcraft Classic. Since the cuddly trio are the…