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Reviews
The Yakuza TV Show is Action Packed From Beginning to End
The Yakuza franchise has definitely been one of the most popular video game properties in Japan for the last few years. Not only has there been at least one main series game every other year, but there have been several spin-off titles as well (not to mention a live-action movie). One of these titles is…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published January 18, 2013 -
ReviewsFinal Fantasy: All the Bravest is $46 of In-App Purchases Looking for a Game
If you’re looking for a mildly interactive trip through the history of the Final Fantasy franchise and don’t mind shelling out a little more than $50 for the complete experience, Final Fantasy: All the Bravest might be a justifiable purchase. If you’re just in it for the gameplay you can save a lot of time…
By Mike Fahey Published January 17, 2013 -
Reviews
The World’s Most Popular Endless Runner Returns to Show the Clones How It’s Done
The success of Temple Run, a simple 3D endless runner created by the husband and wife team of Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova, has been nothing short of astounding. Since its 2011 release the game has grown into a casual gaming phenomenon, as definitive a mobile entertainment experience as Angry Birds or more Angry Birds…
By Mike Fahey Published January 17, 2013 -
Reviews
The Yakuza Live-Action Movie is Black Comedy Gold
In 2007 Japanese director Miike Takashi made a live-action film adaptation of the first game in the Yakuza series: Yakuza: Like A Dragon. Despite living in Japan and being a fan of Miike’s work, I had never really gotten around to seeing the movie even in the five years since it came out. But with…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published January 15, 2013 -
Reviews
Spam: The Snacktaku Review
Lovely Spam. Wonderful Spam. Monty Python’s classic sketch cast Hormel’s combination of pork shoulder and ham meat as an inescapable food sensation. While nerd culture has made such a joke of Spam that it’s become synonymous with a flood of unwanted information, in many parts of the world the skit is more documentary than parody.…
By Mike Fahey Published January 14, 2013 -
ReviewsWaking the Cat is Normally a Bad Idea. This is the Exception.
If three decades of cat ownership have taught me anything, it’s that a cat at rest should be let stay at rest as long as feline-ly possible. Cats are at their cutest when unconscious. Wake them and they begin scratching things, poking their nose into the kitchen, and filling the designated boxes (and anything remotely…
By Mike Fahey Published January 14, 2013 -
ReviewsDmC: The Kotaku Review
New Coke lives on only as a joke. But, imagine if you will, a reality where that reworking of the ubiquitous soft drink was actually good. You won’t have to think that hard about such a plane of existence. All you have to do is swap New Dante for New Coke and, bam, there you…
By Evan Narcisse Published January 14, 2013 -
Reviews
The Best PC Gaming Mouse I Have Ever Used
Boy, this review was easy. Normally, when I sit down for a week or so with a gaming mouse, it’s all about coming to grips with a new feel and a new design. Not so with Mionix’s Naos 8200, because it’s the updated version of the Naos 5000, my personal mouse, the one that sits…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 11, 2013 -
Reviews
I Can’t Stop Gushing Over The Newest Captain America Figure
If you couldn’t tell from my last couple of articles about the Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece figures, I’m a bit of a fan of the collectible figurine. I am also a big fan of the Avengers movie, so I guess it’s understandable that I’ve been giddy about the Movie Masterpiece versions of the characters that…
By Toshi Nakamura Published January 10, 2013 -
ReviewsThe Good Mouse And Its Slightly Less Impressive Brother, The Keyboard
It’s a double-feature PC hardware review this evening, as I take a look at not one but two of Roccat’s latest offerings, the ISKU FX kedyboard and the Savu gaming mouse. One, I liked. The other, not so much. THE SPECS ISKU FX Gaming Keyboard 1000Hz polling rate 2m USB cable 5x Macro keys 3x…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 10, 2013 -
Reviews
It’s A Monitor That Sits on Your Desk. And Your Lap.
Small-time peripheral company GeChic feel that there’s a place in the market for a portable monitor. A slimmer version of your desktop monitor that can run on battery power. After using one for a week I’m not so sure, even if their hearts are in the right place. With an official title of “On-Lap 2501M”,…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 7, 2013 -
Reviews
I Assure You This is a Fully Armed and Armored Female Berserker Statue
True story—during my time playing En Masse Entertainment’s MMO Tera, my guild and I were attempting to recreate the trailer for the film 300 in-game for some silly reason. When it came time to capture video for the Oracle scene, we went with a series of sultry and mildly demonic Castanic females dancing by a…
By Mike Fahey Published January 4, 2013 -
Reviews
Razer Sabertooth Elite Xbox 360 Controller: The Kotaku Review
In 2010 Razer introduced the Onza, an Xbox 360 controller with enough extra bells and whistles to get it banned from Major League Gaming tournament play. Expect the same treatment for the Sabertooth, a refinement of the Onza that adds even more bells while removing select whistles. It’s not about cheating; it’s about versatility. When…
By Mike Fahey Published January 3, 2013 -
ReviewsMinecraft: The Story of Mojang: The Kotaku Review
You’ve heard it a million times already. How Minecraft is not just some little game about surviving the night and making stuff, but a major milestone for the entire medium. Along with how it has forever transformed the way that games are made, played, even perceived. So on and so forth. But it’s getting to…
By Matt Hawkins Published December 21, 2012 -
Reviews
AVADirect Mini Gaming PC: The Kotaku Review
There are dozens of places to purchase a custom gaming PC on the internet. Companies with colorful websites with flash-animated front pages and rotating images showing off their latest products in the best possible light. Then there’s AVADirect, a custom PC builder on the outskirts of Cleveland with a website that looks like it was…
By Mike Fahey Published December 20, 2012 -
ReviewsWhat Happens When A SNES Controller Is Eaten By A Wii U Controller
A few months back, I gasped in horror at the sight of a third-party Wii U pad that, from the hideous photoshop promotional image, looked to be a sin against everything Nintendo held dear about controllers. Well, for the past week I’ve been using the thing. It’s called the Controller Pro U. Combining the functionality…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2012 -
ReviewsA Gaming Mouse That Rolls On Giant Gold Rims
You can say a lot of things about Leetgion’s El’ Druin gaming mouse. About the only thing you couldn’t say is that it’s boring. Just look at it. Forget what it actually does for a second and just look at it. I’ve never seen a mouse like it. Which in a crowded peripheral marketplace surely…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 19, 2012 -
Reviews
McDonald’s McRib: The Limited Time Only Snacktaku Review
It’s finally time—time for McDonald’s menus across the country to run red with pale pork shoulder drenched in barbecue sauce. The Jesus of fast food has returned, as foretold by prophecy and marketing. Just as Christianity was offered as an alternative to the pagan ways of ancient people, so was the McRib offered as an…
By Mike Fahey Published December 17, 2012 -
Reviews
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: The Kotaku Review
“I’ve found it is the small things, every act of normal folk that keeps the darkness at bay,” Gandalf the Grey says somewhere near the middle of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. “Simple acts, of kindness and love.” The Hobbit is not a small movie, but it is filled with small people doing small things.…
By Jason Schreier Published December 14, 2012 -
ReviewsThe Second Ace Attorney Musical is the Most Depressing Phoenix Wright Tale Ever
Back in May, we took a look at the first Phoenix Wright musical, Ace Attorney: Truth Resurrected. The musical presented a retelling of the final case in the DS remake of the first game, “From the Ashes.” And it was so well done that I went so far as to say that it was better…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published December 14, 2012