Stories by Tae K. Kim

Razer Ferox portable speakers

Razer's Ferox is a portable speaker set aimed at portable gaming systems like the DS and the PSP; it'll work with just about any device with a headphone jack though, like MP3 and portable DVD players.

Dead Space 2

It was interesting to see the fan reaction to the pre-launch marketing push for Dead Space 2; the universal sentiment surrounding the trailers and first-look screenshots seemed to be, "It doesn't look as scary as the first one," and that apparently w...

Call of Duty: Black Ops

The Ojai Valley Inn and Spa sits in the tiny town of Ojai about two hours north of downtown Los Angeles. Built in 1923, it features a full 18-hole golf course, a luxury spa, and 308 deluxe suites situated on a 200 acre plot with picaresque views of t...

James Bond 007: Bloodstone

What's most bizarre about Bloodstone is that it was developed by Bizarre Creations, a developer best known for its Project Gotham Racing series and the recently released Blur (not to mention the addictive Geometry Wars). You'd think with that pedigre...

How Nintendo's NES console changed gaming

The video game console controller has seen countless iterations and evolutions, but perhaps none more notable or influential than the Nintendo Entertainment Console's iconic grey, black, and red controller.

Medal of Honor

It's difficult--maybe the better word here is impossible--to talk about the new Medal of Honor without mentioning the Modern Warfare series. Producer Greg Goodrich did an admirable job of it at a recent press event, referring to the game's depiction ...

Metroid: Other M

If you are intending to play Metroid: Other M, do not make the mistake of expecting it to recapture the 2D glory days of the original Metroid and, the title that I consider to be the series' high point, Super Metroid. You will walk away disappointed ...

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

For the sake of full disclosure, I'm going to own up to two things right off the bat: I didn't play much of the first Kane & Lynch and, due to a variety of factors, I ended up beating Dog Days over a long weekend.

Split/Second

I'm not a big fan of simulation racing franchises like Gran Turismo and Forza because they require too much finesse and skill. I recognise the technical and aesthetic beauty of perfectly recreated autos as well as the thrill that comes from expertly ...

Picross 3D

I like puzzle games a lot, even the ones I'm not particularly great at, because they're more methodical and slow-paced than action heavy games. They require the same set of skills -- precision, reflexes, spatial and logical reasoning, etc. -- but the...

Dead to Rights: Retribution

I'll be honest with you -- I didn't want to review Dead to Rights: Retribution. I was forced to bring the game home one weekend due to tight deadlines, and I didn't relish the idea of spending my down time playing through a generic action title with ...

Red Steel 2

The original Red Steel was a Wii launch title, which is the only reason why I find it interesting. It was flawed and poorly designed, but it remains memorable because it was one of the first attempts to implement Nintendo's new-fangled motion control...

God of War III

Talk about high expectations: as the final chapter in what is arguably the most successful action game franchise ever created, God of War III has a lot of things it needs to accomplish. One, it has to be a huge commercial success; two, it has to show...

Why you shouldn't play Heavy Rain more than once

Unlike most video games, which are designed to allow gamers to get it right, Heavy Rain staunchly insists that there is no such thing: much like life, there are only the choices that we make and the consequences that arise from them.

Dante's Inferno

Game design feels like one big round of "follow the leader" sometimes: when a game does something successfully, everyone else tries to put their own spin on it. Grand Theft Auto 3 had that effect, leading to a bevy of like-minded titles that aped the...