Zack Kotzer

This hopeless weirdo is a bit of a culture addict, given an NES and Bubble Bobble at a young age all going downhill from there. Zack is the assistant editor of Canadian culture mag, Steel Bananas as well as a contributing writer to the SPACE Channel, Newsarama and Torontoist. Zack is also working on a new safe haven for nerds called Giygas, though a word of warning, if you ask him about it, he will tell with gusto. Email - zack@dorkshelf.com

Bit.Trip Presents Runner 2 Review

games
By Zack Kotzer
April 12, 2013

While the simple elements remain faithful, do mysterious alterations to the Bit.Trip formula betray its uncanny predecessor? Continue reading →

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From Up on Poppy Hill Review

film
By Zack Kotzer
March 21, 2013

It’s somewhat disappointing to report that From Up on Poppy Hill is a pretty looking, but boring and gutless romance, more akin to hundreds of other sappier anime tales of lusting than the touch of magic the wizards at Studio Ghibli are renowned for. Continue reading →

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Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Reviewgeance

games
By Zack Kotzer
February 19, 2013

Much maligned Kojima character Raiden gets a chance for redemption in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, an electro sword-powered, outsourced adventure handled by beloved absurdity lords Platinum Games. While Platinum shows much love for the series and its players, the real question is: do they have any respect for their hero? Continue reading →

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Konami’s Revengeance

games
By Zack Kotzer
February 7, 2013

Even in an industry built on familiarity, change is inevitable. For Konami, that change can move forward and backward, illustrated by Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate. Continue reading →

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Knytt Underground Review

games
By Zack Kotzer
January 9, 2013

In the homestretch of 2012, Nicklas “Nifflas” Nygren, an assonant Swedish indie game dev who has been churning out hardware-easy, freeware 2D platformers since 2006, released Knytt Underground onto PlayStation Network, ushering in a wave of changes both good and bad news for long time fans. First and foremost that you’ll have to pay for this one. Continue reading →

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Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two Review

games
By Zack Kotzer
November 28, 2012

Warren Spector’s passion project Epic Mickey was equal parts frustrating and charming.The 2010 cartoon platformer featured a lot of issues to muscle through, but the interesting atmosphere and the goopy paint v. thinner mechanics ensured that Spector’s time sporting a Mouseketeer cap wasn’t wasted. It also made a happy amount of money, so here’s a sequel, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, that shoehorns in co-op, singing and practically nothing else. Continue reading →

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Survival of the Dead:
DayZ’s Dean Hall Refuses to Go Easy

games
By Zack Kotzer
November 12, 2012

DayZ creator Dean Hall has only killed once in his own video game. This is an oddity because the world of the multiplayer zombie apocalypse mod for ARMA II is cutthroat. Stories of being taken hostage by other gun-toting players, ambushed by bandits and picked off by camping snipers are rampant, more so than tales of zombie-related mayhem. Continue reading →

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Halo 4 Review

games
By Zack Kotzer
November 7, 2012

Master Chief is back, now under the banner of Halo-centric studio 343 Industries at the start of a whole new “Reclaimer” trilogy. In its return, Halo 4 may have just accomplished its duty, but does that mean it can win the war for a massive demographic’s trigger fingers after being MIA for some key years? Continue reading →

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Massive Multiplayer Offline: wallFour’s Cinematic Experiment

games
By Zack Kotzer
October 5, 2012

John Sear and Adam Russel turn spectators into participants (and guinea pigs) at TIFF Nexus on a multiplayer ride with Renga, a game the audience plays in unison on the big screen. Continue reading →

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Jet Set Radio Review

games
By Zack Kotzer
October 2, 2012

Jet Set Radio, an extreme in-line graffiti action game, is one of the most memorable games of Sega’s final stride on their own turf. And, oh look, now it’s in HD.
Continue reading →

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Interview: The Creators of Sound Shapes

games
By Zack Kotzer
August 10, 2012

We had the chance to speak with game designer Jon Mak and musician Shaw-Han Liem earlier this summer, to discuss their new game Sound Shapes. While an extremely loud demo of Dyad played behind us, we talked about their process, Mak’s hatred of platformers, the game’s musical backbone, and much more. Continue reading →

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Dyad Review

games
By Zack Kotzer
July 17, 2012

There are complicated concepts and there are basic concepts in video games, and the arm space for enjoyment isn’t limited to the numbers of words required to describe how to play them. Shawn McGrath has been working on the new PSN game, Dyad, for several years now. In terms of complexity, Dyad is neither here nor there, but it sure is a trip to somewhere else. Continue reading →

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Interview: The Raid: Redemption Stars Iko Uwais And Joe Taslim

film
By Zack Kotzer
March 22, 2012

Dork Shelf talked to Iko and Joe back during the Toronto International Film Festival about their fighting styles and what sets The Raid: Redemption apart from other films in its genre. Continue reading →

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Interview: The Raid: Redemption Director Gareth Evans

film
By Zack Kotzer
March 19, 2012

We talk to The Raid: Redemption director Gareth Evans about his knowledge of martial arts, his close working relationship with his stars, and what it’s like trying to get an action film made in Indonesia. Continue reading →

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Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie Review

film
By Zack Kotzer
March 2, 2012

Tim & Eric are smart, that’s for sure, even if I lift my arms in preparative shelter before waxing in any depth about the beauty of their act. But to keep it short, sweet, and pretentious, Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie uses relentless Dada-flavoured antics to subliminally make you and your memes more avant-garde, ya dummy. Unless I’m wrong, then I guess I’m the dummy. Anyways. Continue reading →

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The Innkeepers Review

film
By Zack Kotzer
February 1, 2012

As his first film since The House of the Devil, The Innkeepers is horror director Ti West’s opportunity to show a winning streak, or at least an uncanny corridor. It also happens to be a chance for star Sara Paxton, often cast as that pretty blonde in really forgettable roles, to earn a new start, not unlike West himself. Continue reading →

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TADFF 2011: Monster Brawl Review

film
By Zack Kotzer
November 1, 2011

It isn’t uncommon to see movies at the After Dark Film Festival where you can tell others that the plot can be excused. Monster Brawl, which aspires to be a mirror image of a televised WWE special, replaces the scary looking beefcakes with scary looking monsters.The film seems to have a better idea of what it wanted to be rather than how to really accomplish that. “The story didn’t matter” is a common thing to overhear at these events, but I gotta hand it to you, Monster Brawl, “I’m not really sure that was a movie” is a new one. Continue reading →

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TADFF 2011: Redline Review

film
By Zack Kotzer
November 1, 2011

Redline isn’t about nothing, but it isn’t about much. Nothing stops Redline from hitting goals. Nothing stops Redline from victory. Redline is so ferocious and unwieldy that it’s too dangerous to be bound in your hands, it’s too fast for the qualms of plot or logic. It can’t slow down. The wonderful thing about animation is that it’s a world from scratch, created only by the pen instead of constructs of likelihood. Redline is its own universe, and it rockets through it so fast you’ll miss planets if you blink. Continue reading →

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