The Grace by Which We Stand: The Redemption of Anakin Skywalker
Anakin Skywalker’s story arc contains one of the most stunning and painful falls from grace in cinematic history… from a noble and heroic Jedi Knight who performed countless acts of […]
Nintendo’s Wii Sports: Making the Game Accessible to All
The Nintendo Wii certainly had many highlights during it’s run, but the one game that definitively determined the success of this unique console was “Wii Sports”. The simplicity and accessibility […]
Deconstructing the Duck Hunt Dog
The gaming villain who had the greatest impact on me at a young age wasn’t Ganon, Ridley, or even Bowser… it was the Duck Hunt Dog. It wasn’t because he […]
StarFox 64: “Do a Barrel Roll”!
When a supporting character in a video game gives us instructions it is typically designed to be helpful, acting as in-game representative of the game developer to give us clues […]
Dr. Mario’s Secret: Overcoming Evil With Good
While most of Mario’s gaming adventures are designed around demonstrating his physical acrobatics, in his exploits as “Dr. Mario” he gets to show off his more cerebral side by carefully […]
The Legend of Zelda: The Problem With Taking a “Hack and Slash” Approach to Every Situation
In the worlds of Hyrule and beyond, I typically lean towards a “hack and slash” approach, even when the game provides me with more nuanced options. Mission that’s designed for […]
Link: A Silent Protagonist and the Importance of Watching Our Words
For years, one of Link’s most consistent and defining characteristics was that he didn’t really have much to say. While many adventure games give their protagonists robust dialogue trees or […]
“Balloon Battles” in Mario Kart: The Last Balloon
“Balloon battle” mode turns the competitive races of Mario Kart into an entirely different game, with each participant starting the match with a limited number of balloons that are depleted […]
Mario Kart: What to Do When We Fall Off of the Track
Even the most skilled veteran on the race track will eventually have a “spin-out” moment in Mario Kart… perhaps an adversary landed a blue shell attack and took us out, […]
An “Ugly Sonic” Start, a “Super Sonic” Finish
Video games have a really poor track record of becoming successful movies, and it looked like that trend would continue when the first images of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie […]
Finding God in Video Games 