Kevin Wong

Game Trailers Are Not Movie Trailers

The worst type of game trailer is one which is, essentially, a montage of glorious concept art, rendered into cutscene after cutscene. There are all sorts of tricky angles and subtle facial expressions, but there’s no actual gameplay. Presumably, the producers are trying to make us care about the characters through narrative, but that’s not…

Star Trek: The Next Generation – Future’s Past Has The Worst Combat System

Back in 1994, I spent time — far, far too much time — trying to make the combat system in this game work for me; I loved Captain Picard, Commander Data, and Lieutenant Worf that much, but it’s so counterintuitive, so tedious, and so time-consuming, that it ruins the entire experience — even though it…

The Muppets Were Always ‘Adult’

At D23 this past Friday, The Muppets were out in full force for their ‘Magic of the Muppets’ panel. They made some fun announcements (new Pigs in Space shorts!!), but they were mostly there to promote their latest TV project – a return to primetime television on ABC, currently slated to debut on September 22.…

A Board Game’s Idea Of The Moon Landing, 14 Years Before It Happened

The oldest toy I own is a board game called Careers. It’s set 14 years before Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969, yet it includes a moon expedition mission. It’s a curious artifact — a look into a previous generation’s dreams and ambitions, when space exploration was still an unknown intangible. Our dreams,…

Six Times Toy Story Went Too Far

In 1995, Pixar released Toy Story, and it couldn’t have dropped at a better time. The Disney Renaissance had peaked the year prior with the Lion King, and although no one knew it yet, the Eisner era had already begun its slow decay and collapse. Toy Story had a hellish developmental cycle — the script…

Track: If I Should Fall From Grace With God | Artist: The Pogues | Album: If I Should Fall From Grace With God Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Rocket League Saves Just Keep Getting Better

Rocket League is a runaway success, and the PS Plus month only increased that popularity. But look beyond its sales numbers, and admire its fan community. The Rocket League community is so fun (and so positive), because they maintain an infectious excitement — the type of glee that one would get from attending a soccer…

The Star Wars Theme Park Has Been Quietly Growing for Years

Finally. After years of unanswered smugness from Universal Studios, who won the rights to build The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Disney has returned fire. They will be building Star Wars themed lands in two Walt Disney Parks. The first will be at the original Anaheim property in Disneyland, and the second will be at…

The Realest Comic About Growing Up Asian American, And Hating Yourself

The moment that I knew graphic novel American Born Chinese was something special, and real, was in its second chapter. One of the main characters, Jin Wang, is a young, Chinese American boy who moved from an Asian neighborhood in San Francisco to a white one in the suburbs. Jin has a horrible time adjusting.…

Actually, Mario Is Missing Was Awesome

Praising Mario is Missing is no way to impress someone with your gaming acumen. But it’s true; I thoroughly enjoyed Mario Is Missing as a young kid. My father didn’t know much about video games, but he did know that ‘Mario’ was a signifier of quality (or, at least, it should have been). So he…

Seven Different Types Of Horrible Video Game Dialogue

Dialogue is a tricky thing to pull off in a video game. It’s already more difficult to suspend disbelief over a video game character, and once you put words into that character’s mouth, it becomes that much more challenging. Few writers have the know-how to script lines and make them feel authentic. But then again,…

The folks over at Touch Arcade have uploaded a hands-on video of Horizon Chase. It’s being marketed as a “love letter” to the 8-bit and 16-bit racers of years past, and it drops on Thursday, August 20.

I am Bread, which stars a slice of bread who dreams of being toast, is coming to PS4 on Tuesday, August 25th. Now, you can play in brand new modes as both a bagel and a baguette, according to Bossa Studios Game Designer Luke Williams.

Let’s Rank The Star Trek TV Openings, Worst To Best

We’re ten years removed from the last time Star Trek was on TV, and, aside from free-floating rumors, we’re no closer to getting a new TV show. Fortunately, there’s a massive amount of old Star Trek media to keep us entertained until that blessed day — five television series in all, which account for 30…

Retro Games Can Still Make You Tons Of Money

The retro gaming industry continues to explode. CNN reported on the secondary market for vintage games, and the dusty, old cartridges sitting in your mom’s attic are increasing in value — sometimes by twice of what they were valued at years ago. Even The Legend of Zelda, a ‘common game’ that sold for a respectable…

Hi Kotaku. I’m Working The Weekend Shift!

Good morning! My name is Kevin Wong, and I’ll be editing Kotaku this weekend. I’ve been a longtime reader and fan of Gawker Media since 2005. So I’m hoping this goes well; I can hardly believe that they tossed me the keys. I’m an AP English teacher in NYC, and I started freelancing again in…