While presidential candidates may not be actively courting the gamer vote, that doesn’t mean some fun can’t be had with presidential politics and video games. Below each candidate has been matched up with the video game that best represents them. Disagree with a selection? Comment below with your own choice.
In 1997 Square released the seventh installment of its acclaimed RPG series and it became a worldwide sensation. Contrary to all past experience, American gamers ate up a Japanese-style RPG en masse. Its slick graphics and presentation have led many to accuse it of being more style than substance. In fact, while Final Fantasy VII is often cited as one of the best games ever made, you are likely to find just as many who decry it as the most over hyped ever. These vocal gamers often note that while Final Fantasy VII got all the headlines, much better RPGs were being released on the PlayStation-such as Suikoden. (more…)
Video games can be many things, but political? While some titles try to be so overtly, many luck upon being political time capsules of their particular era. Below are four games that are unique reflections of the politics of their time, only in video game form.
BlackSite: Area 51 Remember the good old days when Area 51 was simply an arcade light gun game? Remember when the depth of its plot was simply “shoot the aliens?” Apparently the developers of BlackSite: Area 51 would have none of that, and instead produced a first-person-shooter with political commentary to spare. Actually, that’s not such a bad idea.
You have to give them credit; actually trying to make a game about something is rare indeed. Sure, plenty of games have plots, but here was one actually trying to say something. The game’s politics are certainly left leaning, mocking some choice quotes such as “Cut and Run” and “Stay the Course.” Of most interest, however, is the simple fact that unlike most shooters, it’s completely a byproduct of its time. (more…)
In The Great Games column we look back at titles that have defined video games over the years and earned a special place in the history of the medium.
ICO doesn’t begin all that spectacularly. You awake to find yourself inside a castle with little idea of what to do or where to go. In that manner, it very much mimics many classics such as the original NESThe Legend of Zelda. There’s a story and a goal, but you’re going to have to figure that out as you go. It’s part of the brilliance of the game.
As you progress you discover a fair maiden who needs your help, and frightening black shadow monsters. Frightening is not an overstatement either, as the first time you encounter them and they begin to pull your companion underground you will shriek in horror. Each subsequent appearance is nerve rattling, especially as the level complexity increases. (more…)
While gamers are usually blasted for using their powers for evil, here’s a good example of one using them for good. The themes from the score of Beyond Good & Evil, one of the most criminally overlooked games of all-time, arranged beautifully together on piano.
Ever since the death of the original Dreamcast, there have been rumblings of a Dreamcast 2. These would have seemed to been officially put to rest with Sega going exclusively third party as a developer, but gamers have kept the fire flamed. Why? Despite the implosion that was the Dreamcast, many still regard it fondly as one of the best systems made to date.
The Dreamcast 2 rumblings were started up again last August when Sega filed papers with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office to extend their trademark over the Dreamcast name. One argument is that Sega was simply doing this to extend their control over a brand name they had invested heavily in. Still, why should Sega care at all? It isn’t like they’re still marketing anything under the Dreamcast banner. Of course, there’s always a chance they might re-release some classic Dreamcast titles under some Dreamcast Greats Hits name, but why wait this long to do so?
This has sparked interest among fans who believe Sega could be readying a Dreamcast 2. Still, could a company abandon hardware for this long and make a return? Atari certainly tried. Their Lynx handheld and Jaguar home console were at best valiant attempts to recapture their lost glory, though neither ever rose above being a niche product. Pile on top of all this that Sega’s original partner for the Dreamcast, Microsoft, has now entered the market themselves with the Xbox. It doesn’t seem likely that the Dreamcast could resurface. (more…)
This is a tough one, as it almost works as a game title. It completely sums up the theme of the game that there are some causes and some things in life that extend beyond the terms “good” and “evil.” Why does it only almost work? Because no piece of art (and if you choose such a pretentious title you are going for art) should ever be title its theme. How much boring would Heart of Darkness be if the title were Descent Into Madness? What if Star Wars were Trust Yourself and Use the Force? Yeah, it just doesn’t really work, even for great art.
Rare’s classic FPS GolenEye 007 almost saw a release on Xbox Live Arcade. Almost. In the end, though, 1Up.com reports that Nintendo and Microsoft let greed get in the way of one of the most requested classic re-releases. It’s a shame about the greed, but is the lack of a release really a shame?
GoldenEye, if you didn’t know, is one of those games for which gamers hold an almost religious fervor. The game was tie-in with the movie of the same name, and was one of the first console FPS to really integrate story with gameplay. In other words, it was the Half-Life of consoles. Beyond that, though, it was a great party game. The multiplayer showed the potential for social gaming that Halo would capitalize on several years later. Having said all that, it was on the N64.
Games for the N64, like many of its PlayStation and Saturn contemporaries, have not really held up well over the years. While the sharp sprites of classic Super Nintendo and Genesis titles tend to age well, titles form the early days of 3D games do not. N64 titles, especially, not only suffer from bad cameras and low polygon geometry, but the textures tend to be super low resolution, and that’s to say nothing of the frame rates. In other words, GoldenEye hasn’t held very well graphically. Additionally, the gameplay which was fantastic for its day tends to pale in comparison with many modern shooters. The AI isn’t quite as smart and the general horizontal plane of gameplay doesn’t take full advantage of the vertical plane that modern titles do. (more…)
Super Mario Brothers It would be hard to make a list of the most influential games, anywhere, and not included Super Mario Bros.It isn’t that the game exactly did things that no one had ever seen before (though it did do those), it’s that it them altogether.The game features a certain level of cohesiveness rarely seen in games up to this point, and rarely seen since in many ways.
The levels were structured, but in a way that made sense.Drop into a pipe and you’re in an underground world, trying to get back to another pipe to get above ground.As you will note, every 2D Mario game since has borrowed this very basic seeming mechanic, but one that game the games a sense of “world” long before Mario had his own World.
Perhaps most intriguing about the game’s influence is how many games still try to copy it to this day, twenty plus years after its release.Consider that New Super Mario Bros. (DS) is most influenced by the original and World, despite most fans claim of the superiority of the third chapter. (more…)
In 1997 Square released the seventh installment of its acclaimed RPG series and it became a worldwide sensation. Contrary to all past experience, American gamers ate up a Japanese-style RPG en masse. Its slick graphics and presentation have led many to accuse it of being more style than substance. In fact, while Final Fantasy VII is often cited as one of the best games ever made, you are likely to find just as many who decry it as the most over hyped ever. These vocal gamers often note that while Final Fantasy VII got all the headlines, much better RPGs were being released on the PlayStation-such as Suikoden. (more…)
Remember the good old days when Area 51 was simply an arcade light gun game? Remember when the depth of its plot was simply “shoot the aliens?” Apparently the developers of BlackSite: Area 51 would have none of that, and instead produced a first-person-shooter with political commentary to spare. Actually, that’s not such a bad idea.
In 
Ever since the death of the original 
Beyond Good & Evil
It would be hard to make a list of the 
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