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ReviewsMetroid Prime: The Kotaku Review
When she shoots, Samus Aran doesn’t miss. That’s one of the fundamental truths of the original Metroid Prime, the first-person sci-fi game that came out on the Nintendo GameCube in 2002. You lock her gun onto a target and fire. She hits it every time. (This post originally ran on March 10, 2016. We’re bumping…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 17, 2017 -
ReviewsMultiplatform
Star Wars: Battlefront II: The Kotaku Review
Star Wars: Battlefront II frustrates me in ways I never knew I could be frustrated. It is both a lovingly crafted companion to the films and a tangled mess of corporate meddling. There is a strong heart at the center but finding it means peeling back layers of unnecessary and infuriating nonsense. We’ve republished this…
By Heather Alexandra Published November 17, 2017 -
ReviewsPCCrusader Kings II: The Kotaku Re-Review
Looking back at one of the greatest PC strategy games of all time
By Luke Plunkett Published November 16, 2017 -
ReviewsMultiplatformLego Marvel Super Heroes 2: The Kotaku Review
When we last left Lego Marvel Super Heroes, the Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four had banded together to gather the cosmic doohickeys needed to finish story mode and get to the exciting free-roaming bits. Four years later, the X-Men and Fantastic Four are gone, but everything else is pretty much the same. Lego Marvel Super…
By Mike Fahey Published November 14, 2017 -
ReviewsMultiplatformSonic Forces: The Kotaku Review
Sonic Forces is a fever dream of fan-fiction that is awkward to play but still manages to be trashy fun. Set in a grim future where Sonic has been defeated by Doctor Robotnik and his mysterious new henchman Infinite, Sonic Forces follows the series’ cast of heroic animals as they fight a dire war to…
By Heather Alexandra Published November 8, 2017 -
ReviewsHardwareGame SystemsXbox One X: The Kotaku Review
The Xbox One X is a box filled with powerful components that’s designed to do the same thing as a box with less powerful components, only a little bit better. That’s a weird place for the “world’s most powerful console” to be. In an simpler time, the Xbox One X might have been Microsoft’s next-generation…
By Mike Fahey Published November 8, 2017 -
ReviewsMultiplatform
Call of Duty: WWII: The Kotaku Review
Call of Duty has recently gotten lost in a future of jetpack boosting, robots, and wacky laser guns, leaving the franchise feeling almost unrecognizable. Sledgehammer Games’ latest entry in the long-running war shooter series, Call of Duty: WWII, sends the game back to basic training in more ways than just a simple rewinding of time.…
By S.E. Doster Published November 7, 2017 -
ReviewsPS4
Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds: The Kotaku Review
Horizon Zero Dawn was a terrific game. Guess what? Its new expansion, The Frozen Wilds, is also good. For more on the many things that made Horizon Zero Dawn a good game, go read my colleague Patricia Hernandez’s review from February. Developed by Killzone studio Guerrilla Games, it was an open-world action game about a…
By Kirk Hamilton Published November 6, 2017 -
ReviewsMultiplatform
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus: The Kotaku Review
The warm sun beats down on a main street in Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, just in time for the Victory Day parade. Uniformed SS march down swastika-filled streets to thunderous applause. By the old diner, two members of the Ku Klux Klan practice their German. Everyone is white and happy. And it is so…
By Heather Alexandra Published October 30, 2017 -
ReviewsSwitchSuper Mario Odyssey: The Kotaku Review
For Mario, 3D used to mean freedom. In 1996, Super Mario 64 broke Nintendo’s mascot from the shackles of having to run in a straight line, letting the player choose their own path. But for quite some time now—no matter how 3D the graphics may have been—Mario’s adventures have reverted back to running on a…
By Chris Kohler Published October 26, 2017 -
ReviewsMultiplatformAssassin’s Creed Origins: The Kotaku Review
For all its extraordinary visual splendor, Assassin’s Creed Origins is ultimately an ordinary video game. That’s not such a bad thing, particularly if you like looking at pretty vistas and watching numbers go up. Origins is the 10th main entry in Ubisoft’s series of historical murder games. It is also the latest in the current…
By Kirk Hamilton Published October 26, 2017 -
ReviewsMultiplatform
Fire Emblem Warriors: The Kotaku Review
Playing Fire Emblem Warriors feels a bit like herding a pack of ravenous lions. Countless enemies clash against heroes in glorious combat that mixes strategy and absurdity. It’s occasionally overwhelming but if you can tame the mayhem, the result is beautiful. The new game, which is out on the Switch and New 3DS, is part…
By Heather Alexandra Published October 23, 2017 -
ReviewsMultiplatform
The Evil Within 2: The Kotaku Review
When we meet Sebastian Castellanos at the beginning of The Evil Within 2, he’s a broken man. The mind-bending events of the previous installment fractured his psyche. He blames himself for not being able to save his daughter Lily from a house fire, and his wife left him. He’s been booted from the police force…
By Stacie Ponder Published October 20, 2017 -
ReviewsBoard Games
Star Wars Rebellion: Rise Of The Empire: The Kotaku Review
Star Wars Rebellion is an excellent board game that manages to capture the feel of the entire classic trilogy inside a single tabletop experience. Rise of the Empire is a new expansion for the game that does the same thing, only for Rogue One If you’re new to Rebellion, here’s a quick intro: it’s a…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 19, 2017 -
ReviewsMultiplatform
South Park: The Fractured But Whole: The Kotaku Review
Early in South Park: The Fractured But Whole, you go up against an enemy kid who cheats. He complains that your last attack shouldn’t count, which heals him to full strength. Then, whining that you didn’t listen when he called “time out,” he steals your turn. It’s an enjoyable reminder of the game’s stakes. Despite…
By Jason Schreier Published October 18, 2017 -
ReviewsMultiplatform
Brawlhalla: The Kotaku Review
Brawlhalla is a rebellious platform fighter born of a genre dominated by exactly one game. Unlike that game, it didn’t have 15 years of lovable Nintendo characters to work with, or four iterations’ worth of fans. Instead, Brawlhalla is weird. It’s got a fighter made out of the stars and galaxies of space who battles…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published October 17, 2017 -
ReviewsControllers
Razer Wolverine Ultimate Controller Review: Elite-ish
In 2016, Razer attempted to take on Microsoft’s luxurious Xbox One Elite controller with the $150 Wildcat, an ambitious premium gamepad that fell short of greatness. Now Razer is back with the $160 Wolverine Ultimate, a modular, remappable beast that’s one of the best wired Xbox controllers going. After several years of wired Xbox and…
By Mike Fahey Published October 17, 2017 -
ReviewsHardwareGame Systems
Sega Genesis Flashback HD: The Kotaku Review
Let’s get the comparison we have to make out of the way: No, the Genesis Flashback isn’t as amazing as the SNES Classic. But it’s still pretty good, if you like the games. While Nintendo is setting the world on fire with its 90s nostalgia trip, let’s say your 16-bit desires are more unconventional. Perhaps…
By Chris Kohler Published October 13, 2017 -
ReviewsKeyboards
Kinesis Freestyle Edge Review: A Split Keyboard Built For Gaming
Do you want a split keyboard that allows the hands, arms and shoulders to sit at a more natural angle while typing, or a fully-programmable gaming keyboard with extensive macro support? Kinesis, makers of the Freestyle Edge mechanical gaming keyboard, say why not both? Kinesis has been designing and manufacturing ergonomic keyboards since 1992, a…
By Mike Fahey Published October 12, 2017 -
ReviewsMultiplatform
Middle-earth: Shadow of War: The Kotaku Review
When Shadow of Mordor released in 2014, its “nemesis system” was brilliant enough that many people hoped it would define a new generation of games. Years later, that vision of industry-wide character hierarchies that learn, evolve, and remember the player never came to pass. Shadow of War, the follow-up, further sophisticates its legion of orcs,…
By Patricia Hernandez Published October 10, 2017