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Reviews
How It Feels To Review Halo 4 On Microsoft’s Turf
When I’ve got a game to review, you’ll often find me in my tiny studio apartment, sprawled out on my bed with controller in hand and laptop to my side for note-taking. I’ll take breaks here and there to flesh out thoughts or grab some food. The most recent game I reviewed was Halo 4.…
By Tina Amini Published November 1, 2012 -
ReviewsAssassin’s Creed III: Liberation: The Kotaku Review
There had to be some sort of heroes back then. Unnoticed in the ways that mattered and exploited in the ways that left permanent fractures, the African people that came over during the Atlantic Slave Trade had to have found ways to survive and thrive in a land where they were looked on as property.…
By Evan Narcisse Published October 30, 2012 -
ReviewsAssassin’s Creed III: The Kotaku Review
It is one of the best video games of the year, one of the most daring developed by a major studio this generation, and one of the most beautiful to ever run on any machine. It stumbles from some awkward glitches and some game design over-reach, but it is superb in a surprising number of…
By Stephen Totilo Published October 30, 2012 -
Reviews
Need For Speed: Most Wanted: The Kotaku Review
Need For Speed: Most Wanted is a video game shot out of a cannon. It starts at a sprint and never stops for breath, hurtling forward with such momentum that it feels like it may rattle apart at any moment. Most Wanted is exhilarating, disorienting, maddening, cathartic, and hilarious, all in equal measure. It’s the…
By Kirk Hamilton Published October 30, 2012 -
Reviews
Peanut Butter and Pickle Sandwich: The Snacktaku Review
The old man leaned back in his chair and took a lingering drawl from his pipe as the wide-eyed children before him took in his tale. “But why, Grandfather?” asked one of the doe-eyed ragamuffins at his feet. “Why did Fahey eat a peanut butter and pickle sandwich for us?” The old man smiled wistfully.…
By Mike Fahey Published October 29, 2012 -
ReviewsProfessor Layton and the Miracle Mask: The Kotaku Review
Like pumpkin pie and military shooters, Professor Layton has become something of a yearly fall tradition for American gamers. Over the past five years, the folks at Nintendo of America have released five entries in Level-5’s delightful puzzle series. These games have mostly blended together in my mind: ask me to tell you why intrepid…
By Jason Schreier Published October 28, 2012 -
Reviews
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria: The Kotaku Review
World of Warcraft‘s Mists of Pandaria expansion is huge. One one end, it starts at level one, with a new starting area for the new Pandaren race. On the other end, it raises the level cap from 85 to 90 and adds an enormous amount of high-end and end-game zones. Mists of Pandaria, then, is…
by Kate Cox & Mike Fahey Published October 25, 2012 -
Reviews
Medal of Honor Warfighter: The Kotaku Review
The flashlights look pretty good. As I went through my notes searching for something positive I’d written about Medal of Honor Warfighter, that line stuck out to me. “The flashlights look pretty good.” They do look pretty good. Whatever lighting magic Electronic Arts has handed around to its subsidiary studios is nifty and authentic-looking. Often,…
By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2012 -
Reviews
Unity of Command: The Kotaku Review
“You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics.” – General Dwight D. Eisenhower Ike knew a thing or two about the machinations of war. He knows a lot more about it than most video game developers, whose efforts to replicate…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 24, 2012 -
ReviewsBoard Games
X-Wing: Miniatures: The Kotaku Review
Lucasarts seems intent to never release another game in the X-Wing (video game) series so long as I live. That’s fine. Whatever. I can cope with that now that I can clear a tabletop and play a game of Fantasy Flight’s X-Wing (the miniatures game) instead. Built on the same bones as Wings of War…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 22, 2012 -
Reviews007 Legends: The Kotaku Review
They say you’re not supposed to judge something by its cover, but screw it: 007 Legends‘ awful cover gives the game away. The second giveaway of the title’s quality also revealed itself early on: in the middle of the first level, Pussy Galore asks who our intrepid secret agent is. His response? The most monotone,…
By Patricia Hernandez Published October 22, 2012 -
ReviewsSkylanders Giants: The Kotaku Review
Thanks to the new Skylanders Giants‘ Lightcore technology, which makes certain toys in the action figure-powered sequel blossom scintillating colored lights, my two 16-month-old children have discovered how to push in my brilliant reverse baby gate to get to the delicious plastic figures lurking behind it. Thanks for that, Activision. Now about your new game……
By Mike Fahey Published October 21, 2012 -
Reviews
Maingear F131 Gaming PC: The Kotaku Review
When boutique PC maker Maingear contacted me about sending out a loaner F131 system for review, I had no idea that I would soon be face-to-face with the most attractive machine ever to grace my computer desk. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder—not everyone is as big a fan of the…
By Mike Fahey Published October 18, 2012 -
Reviews
Cobra’s Elite Makes the Miniature Red Leather Jacket Look Good
They are an elite fighting force led by a pair of twins that feel each other’s pain. They are the Imperial Guards of Cobra. They wear red leather, not caring that the 80’s were three decades ago. They are the Crimson Guard, the latest in the sixth scale line of G.I. Joe figures, and they…
By Mike Fahey Published October 17, 2012 -
ReviewsForza Horizon: The Kotaku Review
Forza Horizon coined a new term for itself, more out of self-defense than to describe its creative goals. “Action racer,” we were told at E3, because another racing genre known by the A-word would be a scarlet letter on a motorsports brand as precise as Forza. Arcade racer, action racer, either term is accurate to…
By Owen Good Published October 17, 2012 -
Reviews
The MOGA Will Change the Way You Play (Several) Android Games
On October 21 Power A makes a bid for the blossoming Android game controller market with the MOGA, the innovative game pad/phone dock I’ve been pretty excited about since its announcement earlier this year. Now that I’ve had a week alone with the MOGA I’m still enthusiastic, but the unit’s success hinges on much more…
By Mike Fahey Published October 17, 2012 -
ReviewsBorderlands 2: Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty: The Kotaku Review
There’s a hidden oasis in Pandora that you never knew about, with palm trees and crystal clear water that I want to die in (which, incidentally, probably happened a few times). Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty is the first in a series of planned campaign add-ons for Borderlands 2. It introduces funny new characters,…
By Tina Amini Published October 16, 2012 -
ReviewsPop-Tarts: The Snacktaku Review
The Pop-Tart was originally created as a way to capitalize on fancy new dog food foil freshness technology. True story. In the early 1960s, Post created a method of wrapping dog food in foil, preserving its freshness without the need for refrigeration and effectively ending hilarious primitive sitcom dog food eating gags. Looking to expand…
By Mike Fahey Published October 15, 2012