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ReviewsHardwareComputersOrigin PC’s EVO16-S Is A Wonderful Little Laptop And Mine Has A Unicorn On It
When Origin PC approached me about reviewing its EVO16-S gaming laptop, the representative asked me if I wanted anything printed on the top laptop panel. “A pink unicorn,” I said. “Like a majestic unicorn on the side of a van.” A few weeks later arrived the most beautiful laptop I’ve ever used. The EVO16-S is…
By Mike Fahey Published August 8, 2019 -
ReviewsToysLego’s Friends Central Perk Set Is An Impressive Collection Of Tiny White People
Not only is there an official Lego set based on classic sitcom Friends hitting stores on September 1, the set comes with the actual actors from the show. Oh wait, no. Those are generic Lego minifigures. Honest mistake. This set is the latest from the Lego Ideas program. Fan creators submit their builds to the…
By Mike Fahey Published August 8, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformMetal Wolf Chaos XD: The Kotaku Review
I hesitate to call any review of Metal Wolf Chaos XD complete if it does not include a long-winded anecdote about how I personally got rich in 2007 by selling off a stack of mint-condition copies of the Japanese Xbox original which I’d bought for less than $3 each. Therefore, barring any other review’s paraphrasing…
By Tim Rogers Published August 7, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformWolfenstein: Youngblood: The Kotaku Review
I am generally suspicious of games that people say are “better with friends,” simply because most things are. Manual labor, paying taxes, repeatedly hitting your thumb with a hammer—these are all things that are “better with friends.” Humans are social creatures, and company can make both miserable and pleasant things a whole lot better. “Better…
By Joshua Rivera Published August 1, 2019 -
ReviewsSwitchFire Emblem: Three Houses: The Kotaku Review
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a game for interesting times. At the start, none of the future rulers of Fódlan, the fantasy continent where Three Houses takes place, know that the regions they will lead are on the brink of war. Edelgard, the successor to the Adrestian Empire, is the only one who seems to…
By Gita Jackson Published July 25, 2019 -
ReviewsHardwareGraphics cardsNvidia Geforce RTX 2080 Super Review: Just A Bit Of A Boost
Following the recent release of the GeForce RTX 2060 Super and 2070 Super, we have the final piece in Nvidia’s Super puzzle. Coming in at the same $700 price point as its predecessor, the new RTX 2080 Super version will offer some performance increases, though we suspect we won’t see anything too dramatic considering the…
Steven Walton | Techspot Published July 23, 2019 -
ReviewsToysThe New Lego Ideas Treehouse Has Leaves Made Of Real Plants
Last year, the Lego Group started making flowers, trees, and shrubs out of plant-based polyethylene using sustainably sourced sugarcane. I can’t imagine a better use for all of those plant plastic parts than this beautiful, 14-inch-tall Lego Ideas Treehouse set. Lego Ideas is a program that allows fan designers to submit their own unique Lego…
By Mike Fahey Published July 23, 2019 -
ReviewsToysMarvel’s Grandmaster Figure Perfectly Captures Jeff Goldblum’s Goofy Charm
Forget Ian Malcom from Jurassic Park or Independence Day’s David Levison with his sweet-ass grappling hook and energy shield. Now there’s a superior Jeff Goldblum action figure in the form of Marvel’s gleefully grinning Grandmaster from Thor: Ragnarok. Shame on Marvel and Hasbro for making me wait so long for a physical representation of one…
By Mike Fahey Published July 22, 2019 -
ReviewsSwitchMarvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Kotaku Review
Heroes from all corners of the Marvel universe unite to stop mad titan Thanos from collecting six Infinity Stones and unleashing their vast destructive power. What took the Marvel cinematic universe a decade and 23 movies to achieve, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order gets done in one game, and I didn’t sleep through…
By Mike Fahey Published July 18, 2019 -
ReviewsToysHasbro’s New Overwatch Figure Shows Off Reinhardt’s Pretty Face
Out of all the characters recreated in plastic for Hasbro’s first wave of Overwatch action figures, the hands-down, hammers-up best is the super-sized Reinhardt with his gorgeous mech suit and dinner plate-sized shield. The only way it could be better would be if we could see the old man’s pretty face. Oh hi there, San…
By Mike Fahey Published July 17, 2019 -
ReviewsToysHasbro Recreates Classic Marvel Comic Covers With Toys
Celebrating eight decades of Marvel Comics, Hasbro is releasing a series of new 80th Anniversary Marvel Legends toys featuring iconic heroes looking as if they stepped off the covers of classic books. Check out recreations of Captain America 700, Thor 137, and Iron Man 126. Between the three, Hasbro played it really safe with two…
By Mike Fahey Published July 16, 2019 -
ReviewsToysHasbro Wants To Make A 2-Foot-Tall, $575 Transformers Unicron Toy
The biggest threat in the Transformers multiverse is Unicron, the planet-sized world eater who debuted in 1986’s animated Transformers: The Movie. Despite his popularity among fans, Unicron has never gotten a toy befitting his stature. The 27-inch-tall Transformers: War for Cybertron Unicron being crowdfunded via Hasbro’s HasLab could change that. Hasbro has attempted to make…
By Mike Fahey Published July 15, 2019 -
ReviewsKeyboardsMy Favorite Split Gaming Keyboard Is More Colorful And Comfortable Now
In 2017, Ergonomic keyboard maker Kinesis launched its KinesisGaming label with the Freestyle Edge, a split keyboard with tons of customization and a pleasant no-frills aesthetic. This week, Kinesis launches the Freestyle Edge RGB, an updated version with flashing colored lights and comfy padded wrist rests. This one’s for the frill-seekers. Split keyboards are great…
By Mike Fahey Published July 15, 2019 -
ReviewsToysI Wish I Could Wear This Wee Arkham Asylum Batman Cowl
When I heard that DC Collectibles was making a replica of the distinctive cowl the Dark Knight wore during Rocksteady’s Arkham Asylum video game, I imagined skulking about my house as a masked vigilante, striking fear into children and cats alike. The final product is lovely, but not the wearable cowl I’d imagined. The Batman:…
By Mike Fahey Published July 15, 2019 -
ReviewsHardwareComputersThe Alienware M17 Laptop Is Great For 4K Gaming
There are a lot of laptops on the market with 4K, ultra HD screens, but not a lot of them can easily run demanding games at that resolution. Kitted out with Nvidia’s Geforce RTX 2080 mobile graphics, Alienware’s M17 gaming laptop is the first time I’ve felt comfortable with a 4K laptop gaming. Founded in…
By Mike Fahey Published July 10, 2019 -
ReviewsBoard GamesStar Wars: Outer Rim: The Kotaku Review
When I was a kid, I had a dream video game. It was basically “Wing Commander: Privateer”, only bigger, and it was set in the Star Wars universe. I’m still waiting on the video game, but Fantasy Flight have this year delivered much the same experience, only in board game form. Outer Rim is the…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 8, 2019 -
ReviewsThe Secret To The World’s Lightest Gaming Mouse Is Lots Of Holes
In order to create what it calls “the world’s lightest gaming mouse,” the engineers at peripheral maker Glorious PC Gaming Race took a mouse and put holes all in it. The result is the Model O, a very good gaming mouse that weighs only 67 grams and may trigger trypophobia. “You’ll barely feel the holes,”…
By Mike Fahey Published July 3, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformWILL: A Wonderful World: The Kotaku Review
When I booted up the Switch port of WILL: A Wonderful World, the game told me about its autosave function. Then I saw this, set next to a red megaphone icon: “This game includes occasional **** plots. When shocked or surprised please scream loudly and disturb your neighbors.” The stars could refer to anything—botched assassinations,…
By Natalie Degraffinried Published July 2, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformBloodstained: Ritual of the Night: The Kotaku Review
Genre is mostly bullshit. It’s useful for discussion and for imagining where a certain game exists on the continuum of innovation and progress. These discussions are important, and for them, we need genre. But genre doesn’t do a lot for games, especially once they start to borrow from each other, forcing us to come up…
By Joshua Rivera Published June 28, 2019 -
ReviewsSwitchSuper Mario Maker 2: The Kotaku Review
There’s more to Super Mario Maker 2 than just making Mario. It’s got a story mode, for instance, plus online and local multiplayer for groups of four. But the level editor is still the star of the show. Making one’s own Mario levels remains a joy, and Mario Maker 2 is designed to bring out…
By Chris Kohler Published June 28, 2019