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Reviews
Stellaris: The Kotaku Review
Stellaris is a space opera, played out in three acts. It’s the latest game from Paradox’s internal development studio, the guys who brought us grand/complicated/alienating strategy games like Crusader Kings II and Europa Universalis IV. I liked the latter and adore the former, so there was a lot for me to look forward to here!…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 9, 2016 -
ReviewsUncharted 4: The Kotaku Review
For a worrisome amount of time, Uncharted 4 feels like little more than a familiar, obligatory sequel, existing the way Mario Karts and Halos do to continue bolstering one faction in the ongoing console wars. Excellent, fresh ideas for these kinds of automatic sequels are not a prerequisite. Thankfully, after nine chapters, Uncharted 4 dramatically…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 5, 2016 -
ReviewsOffworld Trading Company: The Kotaku Review
I have never played a game like Offworld Trading Company If you go to buy it from a store, it’ll be listed as a strategy game. If you read up on it, you’ll know that it was designed by Civilization IV’s Soren Johnson. If you look at a screenshot, you’ll see lots of little buildings…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 29, 2016 -
Reviews
The Acer Predator 8 Looks Like A Gaming Tablet But Hasn’t Got The Guts
With its crimson accents, sharp angles and four front-facing speakers, the Acer Predator 8 looks like a tablet built for serious mobile gaming., but that’s as far as it goes. I’ve been pleased with what I’ve seen so far of Acer’s most recent gaming-aimed products, so I figured I would see what else the red-and-black…
By Mike Fahey Published April 24, 2016 -
ReviewsStar Fox Zero: The Kotaku Review
Even if you can get used to the awkward controls, Star Fox Zero is merely mediocre. It’s as disappointing a major Nintendo console release as there’s been in some time. You’re Fox McCloud himself, once again the pilot of your very own Arwing fighter, flying or, on rare occasions, driving a tank, through missions in…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 22, 2016 -
ReviewsBoard Games
Star Wars: Armada: The Kotaku Review
If there’s one thing you do more than anything else while playing Star Wars: Armada, it’s shout INTENSIFY FORWARD FIREPOWER The last of Fantasy Flight’s major Star Wars board games thatI haven’t got aroundto reviewing yet on this site (it was released in 2015), Armada is a game primarily concerned with capital ship combat. So…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2016 -
ReviewsStar Fox Guard: The Kotaku Review
It’s barely related to the Star Fox series and has mostly been ignored in the year of hype leading to the release of its big brother Star Fox Zero, but the new oddball Star Fox Guard tower defense game from Nintendo and Platinum is well worth your attention. I might be biased, though. I think…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 20, 2016 -
Reviews
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair: The Kotaku Review
Good morning, everyone! Welcome to Kotaku’s review of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. Since the two of us—Jason and Kirk—have already spent a ton of time talking about Danganronpa, we figured we’d team up to review the sequel together. [This review originally ran on 9/02/2014. We’ve bumped it up in light of the 2016 PC port…
Kirk Hamilton & Jason Schreier Published April 19, 2016 -
ReviewsSnacktaku Drinks Pepsi’s Time-Jumping 1893 Cola Flavors
In a last-ditch effort to turn the tide of the decade-spanning cola wars, Pepsi travels back in time 123 years to recover a pair of flavors fancy enough to secure a space in the premium section of the convenience store cooler. Hitting store shelves across the nation this month, 1893 is a pair of Pepsi…
By Mike Fahey Published April 19, 2016 -
Reviews
The Banner Saga 2: The Kotaku Review
I played a lot of the first Banner Saga, and while I liked it, it never really hooked me. The Banner Saga 2, however, has got its hooks in deep The Banner Saga, for those who I’ve already lost, is a turn-based tactics game (released in 2014) set in a fantasy land where men and…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 19, 2016 -
ReviewsRazer’s First Capture Box Is Excellent, But Nothing New
When my review unit of Razer’s newly-launched Ripsaw game capture box arrived I eagerly unboxed it, set it atop the AverMedia Live Gamer Extreme I’d been using since last summer, and swapped the cords from the old one into the exact same ports in the new one. Hmm. That was sort of odd, not having…
By Mike Fahey Published April 18, 2016 -
ReviewsStories: The Path of Destinies: The Kotaku Review
“It was time to choose,” says a chunk of opening text from Stories: Path of Destinies says. You’ll be choosing and dying a lot in this action RPG. It never stops feeling good. Even the dying. Stories opens at a crossroads: roguish fox pirate Reynardo has been helping a resistance movement fight an oppressive space…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 12, 2016 -
ReviewsDark Souls 3: The Kotaku Review
Including Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3 marks the third Souls game in as many years. Dark Souls 2 was disappointing, so is Dark Souls 3 a return to form? Mostly. Playing From Software’s Souls games used to feel like joining a private club. Now, nearly seven years after Demon’s Souls, the games are played by millions.…
By Patrick Klepek Published April 11, 2016 -
Reviews
AVADirect Avant P870DM-G Laptop Review: What A Difference A Desktop GPU Makes
Gaming on a laptop normally requires a sacrifice of graphics power for form factor. AVADirect’s Avant P870DM-G gaming laptop houses a Nvidia Geforce GTX 980 desktop GPU, and it makes a hell of a difference. While the Avant is on the thicker and heavier side of the gaming laptop spectrum, weighing more than 10 pounds…
By Mike Fahey Published April 11, 2016 -
ReviewsThe Kingston HyperX Cloud Revolver Headset Is Almost Too Metal
Having reviewed the first two headsets in Kingston’s HyperX Cloud line, the feature that resonates with me most about the new Cloud Revolver is the steel suspension frame. Maybe reverberates is a better word. The original HyperX Cloud gaming headset from Kingston was a great pair of headphones with a so-so microphone. The Cloud II…
By Mike Fahey Published April 10, 2016 -
ReviewsFirst-Person Action Movie Hardcore Henry Is a Great Idea That Might Make You Sick
Hardcore Henry is the dream of 1990s video games come to life. It’s a movie that fully realizes some video game makers’ horny pursuit of the hyperreal, only to invert that desire with viscerally cartoonish results. In this action movie, the real world operates on video game logic. You’ll probably wish you had a gamepad…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 8, 2016 -
Reviews1979 Revolution: Black Friday: The Kotaku Review
1979 Revolution: Black Friday is a game conceived by people who might not ever be able to go back to their native Iran, because they’re daring to create a document from its history. Despite the fact that game-maker Navid Khonsari is suspected of spying by the Iranian government, the primary takeaway from playing 1979 Revolution…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 5, 2016 -
ReviewsQuantum Break: The Kotaku Review
A new console generation starts, and you wait for something special. The launch games are okay, but they are really just shinier versions of last-gen releases. Eventually, though, you play a game that hadn’t been done before, couldn’t have been done before. For this generation, for me, that game is Quantum Break, which is imperfect…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 5, 2016 -
Reviews
Cadbury Creme Eggs: The Snacktaku Review
Ah, springtime. A time when young men’s thoughts turn to the sweeter things in life, like milk chocolate molded eggs filled with white and yellow fondant, the world’s tastiest faux embryo—the Cadbury Creme Egg. A snack I once held in the highest regard, though as of late our relationship has changed. Originally posted on 3/04/14…
By Mike Fahey Published March 26, 2016
