-
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…
By Kevin Wong -
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…
By Kevin Wong -
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.…
By Kevin Wong -
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,…
By Kevin Wong -
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…
By Kevin Wong -
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…
By Kevin Wong -
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.…
By Kevin Wong -
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…
By Kevin Wong -
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,…
By Kevin Wong -
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…
By Kevin Wong -
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…
By Kevin Wong -
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…
By Kevin Wong
