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ReviewsRise of the Tomb Raider: The Kotaku Review
When we last saw Lara Croft, she was growing out of being a victim. A victim of fate, of other people’s aggression, of her own uninspired previous playable incarnations. She’s still growing, but she’s different now. [This review originally ran on 11/9/2015. We’re bumping it up because the PC version just came out. We’ve also…
By Evan Narcisse Published January 29, 2016 -
ReviewsBlade & Soul MMO Log One: I Know Kung Fu
Technically I know advanced assassination techniques, but it’s all a sort of Kung Fu as far as NCsoft’s latest Korean import is concerned. Check out my impressions after one week of that sort of fighting—you know, the one everyone is doing. As with any massively multiplayer online role-playing game, we like to put between two…
By Mike Fahey Published January 27, 2016 -
ReviewsLEGO Marvel’s Avengers: The Kotaku Review
As a movie-based LEGO game, LEGO Marvel’s Avengers doesn’t go far off script. As a Marvel Comics fan service vehicle it’s absolutely nuts. If you’re new to licensed LEGO action-adventure games both movie-based and otherwise, then congratulations—you’ve somehow managed not to play any of the 17 games released prior to LEGO Marvel’s Avengers. These include:…
By Mike Fahey Published January 27, 2016 -
ReviewsMario & Luigi: Paper Jam: The Kotaku Review
When you think of sensational action sequences and explosive setpieces, your mind may jump to big-budget productions like Uncharted or Tomb Raider. Allow me to present a dark horse contender: the unassuming Mario & Luigi series, with its goofy animations and sight gags, which has carved out its own healthy niche in the realm of…
By Jason Schreier Published January 25, 2016 -
Reviews
Acer Predator 17 Gaming Laptop: The Kotaku Review
The 17-inch Predator gaming laptop is one of several new black-and-red gaming-focused products aimed at getting gamers to utter the words “Acer” and “badass” in the same breath. Let’s see if that trick works. Acer is not a brand I normally associate with gaming, which is strange considering I’ve been staring at an Acer monitor…
By Mike Fahey Published January 25, 2016 -
Reviews
The Witness: The Kotaku Review
While playing The Witness for this review, I wrote an email to its lead creator, Jonathan Blow. It was a moment of weakness. I feared that Blow’s magnificent new puzzle game had deadended my ability to reach a solution. I sent it on a Saturday afternoon. “I’ve been playing for much of the day and…
By Stephen Totilo Published January 25, 2016 -
Reviews
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak: The Kotaku Review
“It’s Homeworld, but with sand” was my first thought when I saw Deserts of Kharak, a brand new prequel set in the same universe as Relic’s classic space strategy games. After actually playing it, that’s…about the gist of it. Homeworld, but with sand. The original Homeworld (and its two sequels) are beloved by many for…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 20, 2016 -
Reviews
High-Tech Knights Are LEGO’s Best New Idea In Ages
Transforming robot horses. Cybernetic demons. A king piloting a mech. LEGO’s Nexo Knights line has launched, and it’s the best. Announced back in October of last year, LEGO’s new Nexo Knights line officially joined the animalistic warriors of Chima and the spinning ninjas of Ninjago on store shelves on January first. Slated to be one…
By Mike Fahey Published January 2, 2016 -
Reviews
The Force Awakens Is a Very Good Star Wars Movie
“Oh my dear friend, how I’ve missed you,” says a returning character to another in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. They’re glad to see each other again. I was, too. Throughout the decades since we first met them, the metallic, furry and extraterrestrial personas of Star Wars have felt like larger-than-life acquaintances who’ve been gone…
By Evan Narcisse Published December 19, 2015 -
ReviewsThe PlayStation 4 Universal Media Remote Gets The Job Done
Tired of controlling Netflix and Hulu on your PlayStation 4 with an unwieldy game controller? Probably not, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a remote around, like this official one. It has buttons that make the PS4 and other devices do things. Crafted for Sony by the fine folks at PDP, the playStation 4 Universal…
By Mike Fahey Published December 14, 2015 -
Reviews
Fruit Cake: The Snacktaku Review
“It smells like old people,” my wife said as I handed her a slice hacked from the Walmart-made fruit cake ring. “Does it taste like old people?” I asked. She took a bite. “No.” I stared accusingly. “How do you know what old people taste like?” Originally posted December 24, 2012. I understand where she…
By Mike Fahey Published December 13, 2015 -
ReviewsSnacktaku Decks Its Mouth With Peppermint Oreos
When you’re a massive international snack company, there’s no better way to celebrate the holidays than pumping your signature cookie filling with red food coloring and peppermint oil. Let’s eat some of that. The holidays are upon us, and the stores are packed with festive versions of regular products that we normally wouldn’t buy but…
By Mike Fahey Published December 12, 2015 -
ReviewsHands On With Woobots, Wooden Robots In Disguise
Last week I wrote about Woobots, the wooden robotsthat transform into wooden vehicles, currently the focus of a successful Kickstarter campaign. This week I play with them. I won’t waste too much time going over the basics—Woobots are a series of transforming robot toys crafted out of wood. The joints, as in most of today’s…
By Mike Fahey Published December 6, 2015 -
Reviews
Just Cause 3: The Kotaku Review
Just Cause 3 does one thing really well, and a lot of other things poorly. The thing it does well can be extremely cool. Shame about all those other things, though. If you’re wondering what that good thing is, check this out: The new open-world game from Avalanche Studios captures the thrill of flight in…
By Kirk Hamilton Published November 30, 2015 -
ReviewsStar Wars: Battlefront: The Kotaku Review
Star Wars: Battlefront wants you to believe you’re in a Star Wars movie, but at heart it’s one of the video-game-iest video games I’ve played in ages. This is the source of both its greatest triumphs and its worst failures. Star Wars: Battlefront is a large-scale multiplayer shooter loosely set during the original movie trilogy.…
By Nathan Grayson Published November 20, 2015 -
ReviewsFallout 4: The Kotaku Review
In the late 20th century, people hoped that the new millennium would usher in an age of promise: hoverboards, flying cars, personal robots, and the like. That future, the one that everyone predicted, never quite came to pass. Not in the way we thought it would, anyway. Yes, living in 2015 has its perks. We…
By Patricia Hernandez Published November 19, 2015 -
ReviewsStarCraft II: Legacy of the Void: The Kotaku Review
How to review a game like StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void? Where do you even start? Do you try to figure out how it fits into today’s landscape of competitive multiplayer games? Do you ask whether it makes for a worthy conclusion to the story that began nearly 17 years ago? Do you just…
By Jason Schreier Published November 17, 2015 -
Reviews
Call Of Duty: Black Ops III: The Kotaku Review
There are too many Call of Duty games. Let me clarify that statement: There are too many Call of Duty games in Call of Duty: Black Ops III. In my initial impressions of the single-player experience of the latest installment of Activision’s annual military shooter series, I celebrated what Treyarch had achieved with an extra…
By Mike Fahey Published November 11, 2015 -
ReviewsSnacktaku Senses Great Fear In Kraft’s Star Wars Macaroni & Cheese
With The Force Awakens fever growing with each passing day, no where is safe from Star Wars merchandising—not even the pasta dish people usually make because they’ve too little time or money to eat real food. I kid Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (or Kraft Dinner in Canada), though really I don’t. Despite its general tastiness…
By Mike Fahey Published November 9, 2015 -
ReviewsAlice Otherlands Is a Rocky Experiment in Filmmaking
American McGee’s Alice is easily one of my favorite twisted re-imaginings of classic literature, so when I saw there was a Kickstarter for Alice short films, I pitched in without a second thought. However, even with my nostalgia turned up high, the final products are a mixed bag to say the least. The first short,…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 6, 2015