Last fall, Dishonored 2 ripped me right out of my gaming funk. I tore through the game in two days, scouring every square inch of its wonderful setting, Karnaca. Dishonored 2’s brilliant self-assurance is compelling; I couldn’t stay away. Now, after the release of Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, I found myself…
Snoopy’s doghouse is so well-known and recognizable that even when there are no Peanuts characters in the frame, it is impossible to mistake it for anything else. The red, wooden structure has a distinctive mushroom profile, with three slats on the top and three slats on the bottom. When it burned to the ground in a…
Aside from Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty is the most well-thought out, deeply characterized member of the Peanuts gang. Charles Schulz told some heartbreaking stories about unrequited love, single parenthood, gender norms, and deep-seated insecurities—themes that did not normally appear on the Sunday funnies page.…
David Cage, the writer/director for the upcoming Detroit: Become Human, is best in small doses. Given a single idea, the man famous for designing Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls knows how to pack a punch. Take, for example, the Heavy Rain DLC episode The Taxidermist. It’s an evocative, visceral experience, and not…
Overwatch features characters with body types and backgrounds that are not often seen in pop culture, let alone first person shooters. For many of us who rarely see ourselves reflected in media, this cast can seem radical and even life-changing—especially in my case. Zarya, Overwatch’s Russian strong-woman tank,…
The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The attraction has a timeless appeal, and its greatest strength was its lack of storyline. But then, Disney added Jack Sparrow to the ride in 2006. Sparrow’s inclusion, and the intrusive manner in which it was done, detracts from…
Warning: If you haven’t played Deus Ex, but have maybe bought it in a Steam Sale as something you’re absolutely going to play one day, this article will drive a twelve-car train of spoilers through that dream like you’re Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception.
The same game can be different things to different people, with gender, history, age, cultural background and political beliefs working to influence and funnel its messages and meanings for every unique player.
Charlie Brown is hesitant. Marcie is shy. Lucy is cruel. Schroeder is aloof. But Franklin is just…perfect.
Video games often employ lots of cruel tricks in which gamers find themselves in precarious pickles—the gigantic and seemingly impossible bosses, timers, that last collectable that requires precision to attain. But the cruelest trick of all? Taking away our weapons.
For some, a game’s end credits are a time to put the controller down, sit back and appreciate the efforts of the people that brought you the experience you’ve (hopefully) just enjoyed.
Video games are amazing, because you can be anyone or anything in the universe: a blue hedgehog! A ghost! A unicorn with rocket launchers! About 80% of the time, though, you get to be a brooding white guy. There are so many of them that it’s hard to keep track. And they all seem to have dead wives.
When people talk about the current golden age of TV, they’re usually referring to big, serious dramas like Breaking Bad or The Wire. I am here today to tell you that Avatar: The Last Airbender, an animated show about a group of magical kids who ride around on a flying buffalo, deserves to be counted among them.
Video games are a lot of fun, but they can also be frustrating. From time to time, you may even get frustrated enough that you want to throw something. Good news! Your controller is right there in your hand.
The future is scary and, according to these 15 dystopias in video games, it’s going to get a lot stranger before things get better.
You just got a new PC game! Hoo buddy, you are excited. You’ve been looking forward to this one for years. You load it up and… oh, hell.
A few hours into Titanfall 2’s unexpectedly fantastic single-player campaign, there’s a mission where everything pivots. The rules change, the story expands, and the game shifts into high gear. That mission is called “Effects and Cause,” and it is really good.
Before The Hunger Games, before Battle Royale, there was another movie based on a book about a dystopian future where an evil government distracts the masses with a popular series of gladiatorial deathmatches. Runners, are you ready for... The Running Man?
Here’s a nightmare I’ve actually had: I’m a soldier in a war, and no one’s told me what to do. Bullets are whizzing overhead and death could arrive at any moment. Everyone around me seems to know what they’re doing, but not me. I shouldn’t be here. I’m just some guy. I sit there, paralyzed, waiting to die.
For years, I only played PC games with a mouse and keyboard. For years after that, I played almost entirely with a controller. Now I’m back with the mouse and keyboard, and it’s been an illuminating homecoming.
