George Yang

George is a freelance writer specializing in video games and other entertainment.

Selected Works

Game Developer •

Why Microsoft thinks 2024 will be the year of Xbox

The 2023 Xbox Games Showcase had a strong showing as Xbox Game Studios revealed its lineup of new titles coming later this year and beyond. During a roundtable after the showcase, titled “What’s Next for Xbox,” four Microsoft executives discussed the future of the Xbox platform: Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, corporate vice president Sarah Bond, head of Xbox Studios Matt Booty, and Bethesda executive producer Todd Howard.
Digital Trends •

The Mega Man Battle Network esports scene is thriving in 2023

Imagine that your Nintendo Switch didn’t have the ability to connect online and that the competitive game you’re currently playing only supported local multiplayer. It’s a little hard to picture in 2023, right? That’s what Mega Man Battle Network fans had to deal with during the early 2000s. If you wanted to have a battle with your friend during Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance days, they’d have to be within your immediate vicinity and have a Link Cable available to connect two GBAs.
Variety •

How ‘God of War Ragnarök’s’ Thor Was Inspired by The Hulk

“God of War Ragnarök” is one of 2022’s most explosive video games. Focusing on Norse mythology, the game features the folklore’s most iconic figures such as Heimdall, Freya, Odin, and Thor.

Thor, in particular, has received tons of attention due to his prominent role in the game and overall popularity in pop culture. Thor has many layers to him, both physically and emotionally. Variety sat down with narrative director Matt Sophos, art director Raf Grassetti, and voice actor Ryan Hurst to talk about how Sony Santa Monica approached the god of thunder.
Complex •

The Live-Action ‘Halo’ Series Delivers High Impact Sci-Fi Storytelling

Taking video game plotlines and adapting them for television has had a shaky past. What kind of story should the series portray? Should it be an exact retelling of the source material? If so, why not just play the game itself? For gamers and television fanatics, it’s important that a new experience is created that’s appropriate for the medium. This challenge is what Paramount+ has taken on with the critically acclaimed Halo series (streaming now on the platform). Taking the iconic Xbox franchise
NPR •

'Shadow Warrior' tries to mend its flawed history with race by recasting its hero

Shadow Warrior 3 is the latest in a series of blood-soaked action games following assassin Lo Wang. It's got plenty of gunplay, sword fights, and fantastical monsters, but for the first time in its 25-year history, it now features an Asian actor to voice its Asian protagonist. For years, Lo Wang was played by Jason Liebrecht, a white man, but for this title, publisher Devolver Digital and developer Flying Wild Hog tapped Hollywood actor Mike Moh for a more authentic cultural portrayal.
IGN •

Why Japanese Games Are Increasingly Releasing at the Same Time Across The Globe

Since time immemorial, Japanese video games have followed a typical release schedule. Launch in Japan first, followed by a localized release for other countries a few months, or even years, later. But this trend shifted dramatically in 2021. Many high-profile Japanese games such as Tales of Arise, Shin Megami Tensei V, and both Monster Hunter Rise and Monster Hunter Stories 2 have been launched day-and-date worldwide.

So, what has changed? A simultaneous global ship date allows Japanese games t
The Verge •

‘The little handheld that could’: examining the Vita’s impact a decade later

Christian Phillips still remembers the most jaw-dropping moment he experienced on the PlayStation Vita — and it was something that was never actually released.

Phillips, a former senior director at Sony, describes a tech demo that ultimately led to the PS4 game Days Gone. Sometime after shipping Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Bend Studio showed leadership the Vita tech demo that was similar to the famous Jerusalem scene in the movie World War Z.

The demo had a scene with a horde of zombies scramblin
Wired •

Orientalism, 'Cyberpunk 2077,' and Yellow Peril in Science Fiction

2020 has been one of the most tumultuous years in recent memory, but at least, in a few days, the most anticipated game of the year will come out. That game, Cyberpunk 2077, has already drawn both praise and criticism, but one of those criticisms is of how it handles different cultures—especially Asian culture, which is inextricably tied to the cyberpunk genre.

The Origins of the Cyberpunk Genre

The origins of the cyberpunk genre involve Western anxieties about the East. Techno-orientalism is
Washington Post •

How some savvy fans are preserving the PS3’s multiplayer games

It wasn’t hard to understand why players reached this conclusion. Although “Mercenary’s” servers eventually came back online (the reason for the shutdown is still unknown) Sony has earned a reputation over the past several years for unceremoniously shutting down multiplayer service for its first party franchises. In October, Sony announced that it was updating the PlayStation Network webstore to only feature PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 titles for purchase, effectively locking away PS3, PS Vi
Polygon •

The personal experiences that Lev and Yara’s actors brought to The Last of Us Part 2

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Both Ian Alexander and Victoria Grace had never worked on a video game before, and neither had any prior experience with performance capture. However, in a recent interview with Polygon, both agreed that playing the Seraphite siblings in The Last of Us Part II was one of the most transformative experiences they ever had.

Alexander plays Lev, a former member of the in-game extremi

Latest Work

NPR •

Retro role-playing video games are all the rage — here's why

Developer Thierry Boulanger still lights up when you ask him about his favorite game from his childhood. "Chrono Trigger. This game is why I chose this career," says Boulanger, the creative director of the 2023 indie Sea of Stars. "I remember being 10 and entering Guardia Forest. The music hit me so hard, and it connected me with the notion that there was a guiding hand behind any game you play. From that point on, I started daydreaming about games I would want to make."
Business Insider •

PlayStation Portal review: A cool handheld for PS5 owners, but its features are limited

Following the success of the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck, Sony has re-entered the handheld market with its own portable gaming device: the PlayStation Portal. Designed to stream PS5 games from your console, the PlayStation Portal delivers a convenient Remote Play option, but its lack of a few features make it feel like more of an afterthought than a true successor to Sony's previous handheld systems.
Inverse •

10 Years Ago, PlayStation Dealt a Devastating Blow to Its Fiercest Rival

In the summer of 2013, Sony published a very strange video to YouTube. The 20-second clip features two PlayStation executives standing awkwardly in a dark room while holding a copy of the forgettable video game Killzone: Shadowfall.

“This is how you share your games on PS4,” says gaming industry legend Shuhei Yoshida while mean-mugging the camera. He then hands Killzone to game developer-turned-executive Adam Boyes, who also stares straight into the camera and shouts, “Thanks!”
Game Informer •

Persona 5 Tactica Review - One More Uprising

Persona 5 has become its own sort of mini-franchise within the Persona series. With many spin-off titles released over the years, such as Persona 5 Strikers, Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, and Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, Atlus seems to love using Persona 5’s popularity to explore new stories and gameplay ideas. However, I applaud Atlus for making all of these spin-offs in completely different genres from each other.

The latest, Persona 5 Tactica, delivers an entertaining story, a colorful cast of characters, and fun combat mechanics within the context of a strategy RPG. Longtime Phantom Thieves can look forward to an enjoyable side adventure, but its uneven pacing and low enemy variety hold it back from being a true revolution.
GameSpot •

Star Ocean: The Second Story R Review - Back to the Future

The Star Ocean franchise has been an underappreciated one within the Japanese RPG genre. Despite being around for more than 25 years, it's never had the breakout success that elevated it to new heights, as something like Persona or Tales have had in more recent years. Many longtime fans consider 1999's Star Ocean: The Second Story to be the best entry, and now Square Enix has remade it for modern consoles.

Star Ocean: The Second Story R is a remake that manages to not only have the retro feel of its older PS1 and PSP incarnations, but also make it feel fresh with new battle mechanics, as well as audio and visuals updates.
Fangoria •

Alan Wake II Is A Captivating Survival Horror With Some Technical Issues

The first Alan Wake game was released in 2010, and it became a cult classic. Fans eagerly awaited to see how the eponymous protagonist's story would continue. Thirteen years later, they can finally find out. Whereas the first game was more action-focused with narrow paths and combat arenas, the sequel completely reinvents itself as a survival horror game similar to the recent Resident Evil remakes.
Inverse •

Everything You Need to Know About 'Spider-Man 2's Parts and Tokens

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, is packed with side content that’s equal parts emotional and engaging and practical. These tasks let you earn tokens, which you can spend to unlock new costumes, upgrade your gadgets, and enhance your suit technology.

Plus, they also offer loads of experience points and rewards. Here are the different tokens you can find in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, how to earn them, and how to spend them.
Inverse •

Where to Find Every Mysterium Challenge in 'Marvel’s Spider-Man 2' — and How to Beat Them

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has plenty of side content for players to tackle. One being the Mysterium, headed by Mysterio. These act as time-attack challenges for the game and completing each of them under a certain time will earn you Hero Tokens. It’s also worth noting that only Miles can interact with the Mysteriums.

The faster you finish a Mysterium, the better the reward. They are given out only once, so you can’t repeatedly farm them for Hero Tokens. Here are all nine of the Mysteriums located i
Eurogamer •

Where to find the science trophy in Spider-Man 2

Finding the science trophy as Miles in Spider-Man 2 is both a sweet reminder of his past and how you unlock one of the game's own trophies.

In Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Miles and Phin were great friends and had always supported each other. When they were younger, they won the Spacebound Young Researchers Award together with it appearing as a collectible in Miles Morales. Now, after the events of that game, the award is the only thing Miles has left to remember Phin by.
NME •

ENHYPEN live in Dallas: the K-pop boyband bring the heat to a chilly night

In October, you’d expect autumn leaves on the ground but Texas is one of the few states that stays relatively hot during the traditional fall months. However, Dallas’s temperature was unusually cooler the day (October 14) that ENHYPEN took the stage – but the superstar K-pop boyband ignited a fire in the audience that made Texas feel like its usual scorching self again.

It was also a special day: Heeseung’s 22nd birthday, and the rest of ENHYPEN celebrated it along with the fanatic audience.
PCMag •

Assassin’s Creed Mirage Review

Assassin’s Creed Mirage sees the franchise forgo massive open worlds in favor of stealthy gameplay. With that renewed focus comes a greater emphasis on story and characters, and the spotlight on Arabic and Muslim mythology sells Ubisoft's unique take on Baghdad. Even better, Mirage has fun returning features, such as eavesdropping and pickpocketing, that were sorely missing from Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Origins, and Valhalla. That said, Mirage plays it too safe by modern gameplay standards, so there’s not much innovation here that we haven’t seen in Marvel’s Spider-Man or Uncharted.
GameSpot •

November Might Be Light On Major AAA Games, But Don't Underestimate What's Releasing

2023 has seen some truly remarkable game releases, including the likes of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur's Gate 3, Diablo IV, and Resident Evil 4's remake. Curating your potential top 10 favorite games for 2023 will be quite the challenge, and despite only having a few more months left this year, the release calendar isn't slowing down soon. November might be unusually light in terms of major AAA releases, but it's looking like an incredible month for RPG fans in particular.
IGN •

Tales of Arise Producer Is Open to Bringing Older Tales Games to the West

In 2021, Bandai Namco’s Tales of Arise took home the award for Best Role Playing Game at The Game Awards. Since its release, it has gone on to sell over 2 million copies across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.

Two years later, it’s getting a new story expansion called Beyond the Dawn , which takes place one year after the events of the main game. The party of six meets a young girl named Nazamil, who is half Renan and half Dahnan, fated to fall under the curse of a mask.
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