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ReviewsPinball FX2: Marvel Pinball Tingles My Silver Ball Sense
I am not a pinball wizard. I never have been. But here I am, with itchy flipper fingers, rarin’ to shoot that silver ball. Pinball FX2: Marvel Pinball is ready to scratch that itch — comic book style. A paid add-on for the free download Pinball FX2, it features four Marvel-themed tables: Spider-Man, Iron Man,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 4, 2011 -
ReviewsReview: Back To The Future Episode 1 Doesn’t Hit 88mph
When Doc Brown enthuses that we’re “going to see some serious shit” in this game’s intro, he may have been exaggerating just a touch. This new series of adventure games takes place a few months after the events of the third Back to the Future film, with hero Marty McFly out to save his old…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 4, 2011 -
ReviewsTactic 3D Sigma Headphones Do 2D Just Fine
Headsets claiming to offer “surround sound” have been on the market for a while now, but I’m yet to find one that really works as advertised. Let’s see if the Sound Blaster Tactic 3D Sigma can change that. Specs Price: US$89.99 Platform: PC/Mac What’s in the box: Headphones, THX adapter, detachable microphone. After a week…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 1, 2011 -
Reviews
From the Mouths of Babes, Withering Criticism
Tron: Legacy has been, at best, a critical disappointment. At worst, well, “a Dora the Explorer movie would be more interesting.” Who said that? The eight-year-old daughter of noted video game academic Ian Bogost. Bogost, whose “Cow Clicker” Facebook application this year masterfully blended his talent for games criticism and design, today received a four-paragraph…
By Owen Good Published December 30, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: The World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm MMO Mouse Caters Shamelessly
While millions of World of Warcraft players do just fine with your standard two-button mouse, SteelSeries reckons they could do better with the extra twelve provided by the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm MMO Gaming Mouse. Are they right? Specs Price: US$99.99 Platform: Mac, PC What’s in the box: Mouse, Instructions (Driver software is downloaded via…
By Mike Fahey Published December 30, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: XtendPlay Works For Extended Gaming Sessions
Game for thirty minutes or so with a regular controller, and you’ll be fine. But gaming for hours on end, and you might get hand cramps or sore arms. XtendPlay is here to help. Specs Price: US$19.99 Platform: Xbox 360 or PS3 What’s in the box: XtendPlay. The Basics XtendPlay comes in two flavors: green…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 25, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm Shatters Expectations
Nothing ruins a perfectly good fantasy world like an enormous angry dragon tearing through the surface of the planet, destroying everything in its path. How does Blizzard’s ridiculously popular online role-playing game fare in the face of this Cataclysm? That whole dragon-ripping-through-the-planet scenario is exactly what happened prior to the release of Cataclysm, the third…
By Mike Fahey Published December 24, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: The Game Boat Is Not The Inflatable Gaming Raft You’ve Been Waiting For
There are some problems with the year’s most useless video game peripheral, the Game Boat, I can explain with words, others I can depict in video. But there’s one thing you’ll just have to trust me on: it smells bad. The box for the inflatable red Game Boat boasts such gaming-irrelevant features as the fact…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 22, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: Fluidity Is Fun When I’m Not Yelling At It
If a video game kept seeming better and more delightful the more you played it but then it’s final chapter was virtual water torture, could you say you liked the game? Damn the ending. Fluidity is a nutty winner. Fluidity is a downloadable Wii game whose creators bravely thought you might have fun controlling a…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 20, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: X-Men Reopens A Classic Six-Pack
Konami’s X-Men couldn’t have arrived at a more nostalgic time for me. Released my freshman year, I stayed on campus until they kicked everyone out for Christmas break, and went flat broke playing X-Men at the Electric Company Mall in Raleigh. The classic brawler returned this week to Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network,…
By Owen Good Published December 19, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: PS3 Wireless Headset Kills Two Birds With a Half-Ounce Stone
At E3, I lost my phone’s Jawbone headset. For multiplayer on my PS3, I’ve used a bulky, cheap, wired set that looks like I stole it from Mike Ditka. In either case, anything would be an improvement. Specs Price: US$49.99 Platform: PS3 What’s in the box: Headset, USB cradle, instructions. Killing two birds with one…
By Owen Good Published December 17, 2010 -
Reviews
This Week’s Kotaku Video Game Review Round-Up
One movie, one keyboard, one controller and four games. That’s the video game stuff we reviewed this weekend. And these are our bottom lines on all of that… Review: Tron: Evolution’s Glow Quickly Fades The Bottom Line: Tron: Evolution wants to be a sexy, high-gloss Prince of Persia, trading desert sands and Arabian castles for…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 11, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: Tron: Evolution’s Glow Quickly Fades
Between Disney’s 1982 classic Tron and its flash 2010 sequel lies Tron: Evolution, the video game that seeks to bridge the gap between the two films. This is one shaky bridge. Tron: Evolution puts players in the digital shoes of Anon (short for Anonymous), a faceless system monitor that gets caught up in the struggle…
By Mike Fahey Published December 10, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: HKS Racing Controller Is A Hot Rod For Your Hands
There are two traditional options for racing game controllers: a gamepad and a wheel. The HKS Racing Controller is somewhere in the middle. But does that mean it’s middle of the road? Specs Price: US$49.99 Platform: PS3 What’s in the box: Controller, instructions. The Basics California-based peripheral maker Eagle3 hooked up with 37-year-old Japanese racing…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 10, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: SteelSeries Shift Is A Mighty Morphin’ Power Keyboard
SteelSeries takes a good idea and makes it even better with the SteelSeries Shift, a gaming keyboard with many different faces. Specs Price: $89.99 Platform: PC What’s in the box: Keyboard, standard keyset, instructions. The Basics Back in 2003 a company named Ideazon released the Zboard, a keyboard that allowed players to swap in and…
By Mike Fahey Published December 9, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: Bejeweled 3 Improves The Unimprovable
I’ve played Bejeweled. You’ve probably played Bejewled. The guy next to you on the bus or the lady and your mom and your neighbor have probably played Bejeweled. Everyone’s been satisfied. But everyone should know: Bejeweled 3 is better. Bejeweled 3 is the unexpected fifth game in the Bejeweled series (lest we forget Bejeweled Twist…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 7, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: Rage HD Is A Great Demo
id Software, the studio behind Doom and Quake, is bringing its upcoming first-person shooter Rage to Apple’s iOS with Rage HD. Rage is impressive looking, and so is Rage HD. But how does it play? Rage HD is an “on-rails” first-person shooter that is set in apocalyptic wastelands. Players are armed with three weapons (machine…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 6, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: Tron: Legacy Is Cool But Runs Cold
Tron: Legacy is part rescue mission, part reunion story, less about the return of the computerized world of the Grid than it is about the sci-fi infused relationship of father and son, two Flynns separated by a digital divide. We learn early on, while still in the real world, that twentysomething Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund)…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 6, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: Epic Mickey Reveals The Price Of Mischief, But With Camera Obscured
Mickey Mouse is no Super Mario. He’s the star of a more unusual kind of game on the Nintendo Wii, a game that starts poorly but finishes as one of the best hero stories of the year. Mickey’s newest starring opportunity is Disney Epic Mickey. It is a Wii exclusive that sends Mickey into a…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 6, 2010 -
Reviews
This Week’s Kotaku Video Game Review Round-Up
We reviewed six games this past week, mixing positive language with, well, some harsh words. Read our reviews of the week, linked here. Review: Gran Turismo 5 Is Premium Class The Bottom Line: For the past five years, Polyphony Digital strove to create the perfect racing sim. It’s that, to quote a car ad, relentless…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 3, 2010