Karol Kudyba - Staff - The Armchair Empire

Vital Statistics:

Number of ‘Air Bud’ movies Karol has appeared in: 2

Favourite movie: Good Will Hunting

Actual favourite movie: Sleepless in Seattle

Movie he’s currently watching while writing his biography: The Pacifier

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Karol Kudyba

Karol’s first experience with video games came when he was eight and his older brother showed him the SNES his parents had just bought. Although Karol was originally terrified of the strong legged woman on the cover of Street Fighter II - much more so than the green-skinned red-haired monster she was fighting - a long lasting love of gaming was formed. From Final Fantasy VII to NBA Jam Tournament Edition, Karol’s interest in games stretches far and wide.

As much as Karol would like to believe that he is a tactician when he plays videogames, he is anything but. Using the motto “If I don’t know what I’m thinking, then my opponent doesn’t know what I’m thinking,” Karol is at his best when he forgoes any semblance of a strategy. He usually drifts towards using characters such as the Barbarian in Diablo II or the Hulk in Marvel vs. Capcom, and received the stealth rating of ‘Tyrannosaurus Rex’ when he completed Metal Gear Solid 2.

His high mark in video gaming came when he was in high school and came home every day to play Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2. Using every gram of energy provided by the three cans of Coke his grandmother would bring him as he sat at

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the computer; Karol rose to a single digit world ranking. Unsure whether he should have been proud or appalled at his achievement, he soon retired from online RTS play and started focusing on his school work.

Karol’s love of writing first emerged when he was a young student at the University of British Columbia. While he originally believed that he was destined to be a scientist, after writing a term paper comparing

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the characters from 18^th century plays to various GI Joes, he started to rethink his future. As talented as he was manipulating numbers and playing with calculators, it simply wasn’t the life for him. Karol applied to the English faculty shortly thereafter and has never looked back. Whether it’s reviewing the latest Hello Kitty Island Adventure or documenting another entire-season collapse by the Toronto Blue Jays, Karol tries to add as much of his own personality as he can into every piece that he writes, and is grateful for having a brother to edit the far reaching references that he enjoys using. You’re damn right you are.

A new addition to the Armchair Empire, Karol brings a passionate yet easily frustrated attitude to his reviews. He plays games with a high level of emotion and his television is always in danger of having a controller thrown thru its LCD screen. More importantly he is willing to spend as much time as it takes to create an in-depth review, regardless of its recommended demographic or age level. He hopes to one day get the chance to review Shenmue III, pending its creation and release.

When he’s not writing, Karol spends most of his time reading and thinking of ways to upgrade his 1987 Cutlass Sierra, which currently only has AM radio. He enjoys a fine mint julep on warm days and a glass of chocolate milk during thunderstorms. One day he hopes to yell so loud that the people on TV hear him and realize his power of wishing so hard that the results of instant replays change. He also knits.

(February 16, 2009)