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That concludes my weekend run. As a longtime reader, who’s admired the Kotaku staff from afar, I have a greater appreciation for what they do on a daily basis. Thank you so much to the readers for your opinions, praise, and respectful disagreements. Some exclusive, behind the scenes information: Tina is incredibly patient. And Evan…
By Kevin Wong -
UncategorizedWWE Finishers Used To Look Better
I used to think that it was just nostalgia, screwing with my memory. But when I did a side-by-side comparison, there was no comparison at all. I’ve been playing WWE games for close to 15 years now, and although the graphics have gotten crisper and more realistic (they actually do motion capture on the wrestlers…
By Kevin Wong -
UncategorizedThe Most Depressing Theories On What Limbo Means
Limbo isn’t a straightforward adventure. It’s confusing. But it’s a good kind of confusing that inspires people to band together and try to solve its mysteries. It was first released in 2010 for Xbox Live, and since then, it’s been ported to nearly every platform imaginable. This month, the folks at Sony made Limbo free…
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UncategorizedGame 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…
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UncategorizedStar 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…
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UncategorizedThe 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.…
By Kevin Wong - Uncategorized
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,…
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UncategorizedSix 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…
By Kevin Wong - Culture
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…
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UncategorizedThe 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…
By Kevin Wong - Uncategorized
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.…
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UncategorizedActually, 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…
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UncategorizedSeven 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,…
By Kevin Wong
