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Books Comics Reviews

Jill Lepore: “The Secret History Of Wonder Woman” Review

 

When it comes to comic book heroes, Wonder Woman is as iconic as Superman, Spider-Man, and Batman. But while most superheroes were made by comic book guys, Wonder Woman was created by a psychologist who also invented the lie detector.

This, however, is not the most interesting thing you’ll learn in The Secret History Of Wonder Woman (Knopf: hardcover, digital), an insightful and engaging tome by Harvard history professor Jill Lepore.

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PlayStation 3 Reviews Video Games Xbox 360

MX Vs ATV Supercross Review

In recent weeks, race game fans have gotten to enjoy Forza Horizon 2, had to suffer through DRIVECLUB, and hold out hope that The Crew will be more like the former than the latter. But all three games have one thing in common: they all have you racing cars. Which is just one reason you might want to check out MX Vs ATV Supercross, an arcadey dirt track racer for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 that puts you behind the wheel, er handlebars of dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles.

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Music Reviews

Led Zeppelin “IV” and “Houses Of The Holy” Deluxe Editions Review

 

As anyone who got the recent deluxe editions of Led Zeppelin’s eponymous debut, second album, or III can tell you, while the remastered versions were great, the second discs didn’t always make these special editions worthwhile. Now we have the next batch — Led Zeppelin’s symbolically-titled 1971 fourth album (available in regular, deluxe, vinyl, and digital editions) and 1973’s House Of The Holy (also regular, deluxe, vinyl, and digital editions) — and, sad to say, they’re somewhat less impressive than the first.

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Books Reviews

Chuck Palahniuk Beautiful You Review

 

Though they’re stylistically dissimilar, I’ve long thought that Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club, Doomed) was kind of like fellow writer Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (Breakfast Of Champions, Slaughterhouse-Five) in that both had distinctive and unique writing styles that made both of their writings great reading regardless of what they wrote about.

But it’s hard not to think that Vonnegut wouldn’t have written a book as explicit and sexually subversive as Palahniuk’s new novel, Beautiful You (Doubleday: hardcover, digital).

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Reviews Video Games Xbox One

Sunset Overdrive Review

Sometimes it seems like we’ve lost sight of the fact that video games are supposed to be fun. That they don’t have to teach us anything, don’t have to say something about the human condition, don’t have to be art. Which is why the acrobatic, open-world, third-person shooter Sunset Overdrive — which Insomniac have made for the Xbox One — is such a breath of fresh air.

Or, rather, it would’ve been if the equally unabashed and unapologetic fun Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! hadn’t come out two weeks before. But you get my point.

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Music Reviews

Primus & The Chocolate Factory With The Fungi Ensemble Review

Last year, when Primus played The Fox Theater in Oakland, California on New Year’s Eve, the trio spent the second set playing the soundtrack to the classic 1971 movie Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. Now they’ve recreated that experience with their new album, Primus & The Chocolate Factory With The Fungi Ensemble (CD, vinyl, digital), which is their first new recording with original drummer Tim “Herb” Alexander since they did new songs for 2003’s best-of collection Animals Should Not Try To Act Like People, and that line-up’s first full-length studio album since 1995’s Tales From The Punchbowl.

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PlayStation 3 Reviews Video Games Xbox 360

“Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!” Review

 

When it came out in 2009, the first-person shooter role-playing game Borderlands was such an inventive, addictive, and funny breath of fresh air that part of me hoped it would never end. But while I enjoyed the 2012 sequel, Borderlands 2 almost as much, by the time I got to the end of that one, I was still hoping it would never end…I just wanted it to take a break for a while.

Now we have Borderlands The Pre-Sequel!, which was made by Gearbox (who made the previous ones) and 2K Australia (BioShock 2) for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

And while it’s not as good as the other two, it’s still loads of fun.

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iOS PC PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 PlayStation Vita Reviews Video Games WiiU Xbox 360 Xbox One

“South Park Pinball” For “Pinball FX 2” & “Zen Pinball 2” Review

 

In 1999, when Sega built their South Park pinball table, it ended up being the last pinball table they would ever make. Let’s just hope that’s also not the fate of Zen Studios, who are bringing South Park Pinball — a two-fer with the tables South Park’s Super-Sweet Pinball and South Park: Butter’s Very Own Pinball Game — to Pinball FX2 for the Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PCs via Steam; Zen Pinball 2 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, WiiU, and Mac; and Zen Pinball for iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire.

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DVDs/Blu-rays Reviews TV

“Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2 Villains In Paradise” DVD Review

 

Given that they make the show out of old toys and stop-motion animation, you’d think the good people behind Robot Chicken would want the home version to be presented in the highest definition. Which is why it’s so bizarre that the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2 Villains In Paradise is only available on DVD and not Blu-ray. Though considering that’s the biggest complaint about this collection….