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Reviews
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance: The Kotaku Review
There are moments in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, when, caught up in a storm of hectic keyblade slashing and chromatic aerial theatrics, you might not notice the ticking timer on the bottom of your screen. Until it hits 0. Then, abruptly, as if the game has decided you were having too much fun,…
By Jason Schreier Published July 31, 2012 -
Reviews
Dinosaur-Shaped Chicken Nuggets: The Snacktaku Review
In contemporary snackology circles, no theory is as hotly contested as Descartes “Lizard King Postulate”, which argues that any snack is exponentially more enjoyable when shaped like a dinosaur. Time and time again the theory has come under scrutiny by top names in the snack business, with results inconclusive at best. Dinosaur-shaped cakes? Mostly better.…
By Mike Fahey Published July 30, 2012 -
ReviewsDeadlight: The Kotaku Review
Now is the summer of our zombie apocalypse discontent. We’ve played so many zombie games; we’ve had glorious highs and depressing lows. We’ve grown sick of zombie games only to be surprised by good zombie games only to become sick of zombies games all over again. At this point, what kind of magnificent zombie game…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 30, 2012 -
ReviewsOrcs Must Die 2: The Kotaku Review
No, you haven’t woken from a coma to find yourself in the year 2013. It’s only been nine months since the first Orcs Must Die was released, and yet here we are, talking about Orcs Must Die 2. That means we’re dealing with one of two things: a horribly rushed game, or something that’s a…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 30, 2012 -
Reviews
Salty Watermelon Pepsi Isn’t as Bad as You Think
Like clockwork, Pepsi Japan releases a new crazy flavor every summer. In the past, there’s been Ice Cucumber (blergh) and Shiso (not bad!). And this year, the flavor is “Salty Watermelon”. Let’s give it a whirl. As previously posted, watermelon is very much a summer food in Japan, where people are known to sprinkle some…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2012 -
ReviewsThomas Was Alone: The Kotaku Review
I don’t remember the last time I played seriously with colored quadrilaterals. But I do distinctly recall that the experience didn’t leave me misty-eyed and smiling. The blocks at my disposal in Thomas Was Alone managed to do exactly that. It’s silly, really, for me to think of the playable avatars of Mike Bithell’s indie…
By Evan Narcisse Published July 25, 2012 -
Reviews
Captain America Has a Great Butt (Shame About His Face)
Hong Kong collectible company Hot Toys has been on Kotaku a lot lately, mostly for its wonderful work on big, expensive figures based on the Chris Nolan’s third and final Batman movie, Dark Knight Rises. Today, though, we’re turning back to that other comic book blockbuster of the year, The Avengers. Actually, we’re turning back…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 25, 2012 -
Reviews
Review: The Astro A50 Wireless Gaming Headset
Finding a good gaming headset really shouldn’t be as hard as it is. And yet for the longest time, I couldn’t find a decent set of gaming headphones. Until Astro came along, that is. It seemed simple enough: I like playing video games with headphones. I was starting to play more games online, and liked…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 24, 2012 -
ReviewsMcDonald’s Cone: The Snacktaku Review
The world’s most popular fast food restaurant does many things wrong. Every day McDonald’s serves up hundreds of thousands of sandwiches that are little more than fat stacked with fat coated in fat. They attempt to replace true happiness with oil-soaked paper sleeves filled with once-healthy vegetables and meats battered beyond recognition. They created the…
By Mike Fahey Published July 23, 2012 -
ReviewsHeroes of Ruin: The Kotaku Review
Heroes of Ruin is an incredibly apropos title for Square Enix and N-Space’s online multiplayer action role-playing game for the Nintendo 3DS. From the moment the game concept was revealed, my hopes began to rise. A handheld Diablo-style RPG adventure? Online multiplayer for up to four-players, complete with voice chat? The promise of endless piles…
By Mike Fahey Published July 20, 2012 -
Reviews
Amazing Music, Beautiful Battles, and an Epic Love Story All in One Cinematic Package
The Macross series (released as the first generation of Robotech in the West) is one of the staples of 1980s anime. While other 80s anime like Gundam and Transformers have remained strong in the Western public consciousness due to the continuous, worldwide release of their respective sequels, Macross‘ sequels have stayed almost exclusively in Japan (due…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published July 20, 2012 -
Reviews
An Ambidextrous Gaming Mouse So Powerful You Can Use It One-Handed
Not a day goes by that I don’t get an email from left-handed mutants wondering why I don’t review mice made just for them. I believe I just answered that question. What I can do, however, is review a gaming mouse for people both right and wrong-handed. A mouse that weighs its fearful symmetry to…
By Mike Fahey Published July 19, 2012 -
ReviewsTony Hawk HD: The Kotaku Review
In 1999, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater showed millions of people the world over that their fingers could talk. There’s a language that comes built into certain video games. Buttons become verbs, launching virtual figures into new landscapes. Combinations of inputs string together whole sentences that make you fluent in physics, aesthetics and sometimes even ideas.…
By Evan Narcisse Published July 19, 2012 -
Reviews
The Samsung Series 7 Gamer Is One Effective, and Enormous, Gaming Laptop
At a hefty 17″, the Samsung Series 7 Gamer is not exactly what you might call “portable.” It’s a laptop that’s squarely in the realm of desktop replacement. The system specs say it weighs in at just under 8.4 pounds, but it’s still not something you’d exactly want to carry around. When I got it…
By Kate Cox Published July 18, 2012 -
ReviewsDyad: The Kotaku Review
To say that Shawn McGrath’s Dyad is intense is an understatement. The game may technically count as a mind-altering drug, and believe me, that’s a good thing. In my video review, above, I break down not only the experience of playing Dyad but also where it’s roots lay and why it goes above and beyond…
By Chris Person Published July 17, 2012 -
Reviews
Cinnabon: The Snacktaku Review
Some argue that smell is the most powerful of the six senses (smell, taste, touch, hearing, seeing, and seeing dead people). Nature is rife with animals that use scent to scare off predators, attract pollinating insects or seduce potential mates. Some animals even use scent to draw in victims for the kill. The Cinnabon is…
By Mike Fahey Published July 16, 2012 -
Reviews
Endless Space: The Kotaku Review
There are plenty of games about flying a starfighter, or being a space merchant, or a humble lowly space marine who runs through space stations shooting everything that moves. There are plenty of games where you’re an officer in some kind of army of the stars, clicking your way to victory as your tiny little…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 16, 2012 -
ReviewsRhythm Thief and the Emperor’s Treasure: The Kotaku Review
It’s midnight in Paris, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance. A fearsome dictator has come back from the grave, secret treasures of untold power have been unearthed, a girl is in trouble. Nothing left to do… but dance, dance, dance! That’s about the sum of Rhythm Thief and the Emperor’s Treasure,…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 16, 2012 -
ReviewsNCAA Football 13: The Kotaku Review
NCAA Football 13 arrives at a particularly nostalgic time in my life. I’ve moved back to my hometown—in a house literally across the street from the five-time state champion high school I graduated. Revered names like Jeff Hayes and Mike Chatham, Harry Jennings and Richard Grissom, and Clarence Edwards (pictured above, somewhat idealized) are flooding…
By Owen Good Published July 11, 2012 -
Reviews
Batman: Earth One Gives The Dark Knight a New Origin He Doesn’t Need
Batman and Spider-Man operate in different fictional universes. Duh. But this summer, both heroes find themselves fighting the same enemy, the Dreaded Origin Reboot, in different mediums. Some of the critical reaction to The Amazing Spider-Man has wondered why moviegoers need re-imagining of Peter Parker’s superhero coming-of-age It’s only been ten years since Tobey Maguire…
By Evan Narcisse Published July 10, 2012