Most strategy games take a somewhat streamlined approach to warmongering. But one game has built its reputation on portraying combat in almost microscopic detail: Best Way's Men of War. Jim Rossignol sings the praises of this little-known Ukrainian RTS.
Typically, videogames about war are only interested in portraying the winners' perspective. But one World War II simulation discards the standard hero narrative in favor of a much deeper, darker and more nuanced approach. Rob Zacny explains why Silent Hunter III is a model of how to tell the losing side of a war story.
Thanks to movies and videogames, today's military recruits have more exposure to combat than those of any period in history. But when soldiers take unnecessary risks in the name of playing the hero, this exposure becomes a liability. Shawn Williams investigates how entertainment media's glorification of war may affect modern soldiers.
First-person shooters and RTSs may be modern inventions, but they're really only the latest in a long line of games that attempt to simulate the experience of combat. Greg Tito offers an overview of the history of wargames, from Ancient Egypt's Senet to Prussia's Kriegsspiel.
Earlier this year, Namco Bandai celebrated the 30th anniversary of the seminal mecha series Mobile Suit Gundam with a life-size statue of its hero's iconic battle armor. But the country's love affair with robots goes much further back than Gundam. John Funk sheds some light on why robots - especially those of the "giant, fighting" variety - are so popular in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Nowadays it's assumed that Mario has always been Nintendo's chief mascot. But for a brief period in the mid-'80s, that duty fell to an unlikely character: Nintendo's Robotic Operating Buddy. Sam Machkovech explains what went wrong with the ill-fated robot, and how his influence nonetheless lives on in modern games.
Robots in science fiction often serve to remind us of what we're not: nuts and bolts versus blood and guts; unflinching steel versus frail flesh. But one videogame robot's story is more personal than those of his human companions: Chrono Trigger's Robo. Brendan Main examines what makes Robo more than just another mechanical sidekick.
A mechanical monk in the court of the Holy Roman Emperor in 1560 and a videogame NPC in 2009 have more in common than you think. Jim Rossignol looks at the history of automata and how they've managed to captivate audiences for millennia.
Most of us have experienced the gaming binge, when you become one with a game and time becomes irrelevant. But for Connor Scully-Allison, it's more than just a way to spend a weekend: It's a path to lead him back to his hardcore gamer roots.
It's a sad fact of adulthood that you simply have less free time to do the things you want. For Ronald Meeus, that means buying games with more manageable single-player campaigns. So why is eight to ten hours of gameplay too short for most reviewers?
Ever since he was a young boy, Jason Fanelli had a dream: to sell games at a specialty retailer like GameStop. Over a decade later, that dream finally became a reality. But would actually working behind the counter live up to his expectations?
Don't have enough time to stay current with the latest videogame releases? Imagine if you only had a few minutes a week to even think about gaming. Rich Retractor explains how his career as a brain surgeon leaves little room for games - and how they've become even more to him because of that.
It seems an unlikely strategy at first: Join up with your competitors to promote your region and hope everyone reaps the benefits. But what has succeeded for Montreal and Austin is now benefitting the game development community in central North Carolina. Russ Pitts profiles the Triangle Game Initiative.
To some observers, it may seem like the ESRB has hit its stride: It boasts some of the best compliance rates of any ratings system in the U.S., and parents seem to find the ratings genuinely useful. But as Sara Grimes notes, the Board may be willfully ignorant of the challenges it faces just around the corner.
The International Game Developers Association could be a force for positive change in the industry - but first it needs to change itself. Matthew Sakey highlights a few key areas where the IGDA needs reform.
