By coincidence, I was reading about Samantha Smith’s Soviet counterpart: Katya Aleksandrovna Lycheva, born in 1974. Contrary to some impressions, apparently she wasn’t related to civil officials or party functionaries, but listed as a “family friend” of an official working for the Central Committee, and attended the…

QLED also doesn’t risk burn-in. That actually influenced my decision, though not as much as it would a few years ago (obviously). About as much as the fact that at my price point, OLED panels weren’t be nearly as great for contrast, or “true” for blacks because of the overall panel quality.

QLED also doesn’t risk burn-in. That actually influenced my decision, though not as much as it would a few years ago…

And I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more if I could play it more than once.

It’s 2018 and I don’t need or particularly want media to humanize Nazis or their abettors.

Actually, I barely mentioned the live action movie at all—though it’s a fair consideration as another interpretation even if it was a commercial flop (I mean, the Fantastic Four movies are still part of Fantastic Four in some way or another). If it’s a point for Oshii, I don’t think that changes my point particularly: …

You’d be surprised. While Oshii’s film is impactful—just look on how it influenced The Matrix—by and large audiences have “moved on”, I think. It came out more than 20 years ago, after all. Virtually every other incarnation of the story—the original manga, the Production I.G TV series, the new OVAs—is longer (though…

Actually, she is.

Surprise Scopedog!

Interesting news, Brian! I guess it’s time for my semiannual post about tattoos and tattoo culture in Taiwan. Exciting news update: Actually, not much has changed!

You’ll probably run into a decent number of people throwing around charts that “scientifically prove” that 2160p is a meme/fad/whatever they claimed 1080p was ten years ago, or that the human eye can’t see over 90/100/120 FPS, etc. My suggestion is: you, personally, will know better what your eyes can easily perceive…

You’ll probably run into a decent number of people throwing around charts that “scientifically prove” that 2160p is…

The PS2's very, very limited official HDD support really is an entirely different ball.

Yeah, it’s a bit of a surprise since the Playstation 4 consoles do let you do it--and probably at a much cheaper price than what Sony charges between the 1 and 2 TB models. This might get to the fact that, like modding a PC, exchanging internal hard drives remains a feature used by only a small percentage of the…

I wouldn’t dispute that. As a man (and a former military conscript), I think we’re simultaneously the origin and recipient of most wartime violence. Probably one of the reasons I’m wary of violence in video games.

I mean, it’s a really hard comparison to make. Extreme violence and death happens to people (more often men than women, though not exclusively, due to the norms of military conflict and deliberate targeting of males—see the drone program in Pakistan, for example) daily too, depending on where in the world you are.…

Yeah, it’s not great. It probably doesn’t help that Ivy as a character is vaguely “disturbing” by design, aside from being deliberately titillating. I say this as someone who’s a big fan of both SoulCalibur and Dead or Alive 3D fighters. Not Namco’s finest work.

Almost everything you need to know about Soulcalibur—and I say this as someone is almost guaranteed to buy the upcoming title—can be found in this ad.

It’s hard to convey just how disappointed I am not to see my own favorite entry in the series, the French-produced Twinsen’s Odyssey, absent from this article, where John inhabits the body of a local-boy-done-well on the alien planet of Twinsun who has to overcome a conspiracy endangering his world.

Thank you for reminding me just how terrible Tom Friedman is, and that the New York Times really should be ashamed for still employing him (I mean, they also have good journalists on their payroll, they just have a uniquely awful one who I think will stand the test of time). 

Don’t forget other important duties such as:

I don’t necessarily disagree, though I’d add a caveat: right now, the home VR experiment heavily promotes the idea of motion controllers. Many designed-for-VR games advocate this idea, “Less is more,” replicating a experience we’re familiar with (which...is kind of how almost all game development works, if you think…