"On that day I learned two things about myself that have remained true to this day. The first was that I am irrevocably a gamer. The second: When given a choice in the matter, I will always choose the dark side.
Sorry, Universe, their side goes to 11."

Russ Pitts escapes his trials and tribulations by crushing pathetic rebel scum.

"But why do we crave violent media? It's ingrained in not only our current culture, but past literature and entertainment. One need only flip through Shakespeare to appreciate that violence and death were par for the course in theater productions and books. Even with this, we appear to be living in one of the least violent times in world history. The murder rate in medieval Europe was eight times than that of today.

This, however, doesn't stop the crusade to purge our society of such entertainment, sometimes forcefully."

Tom Rhodes explores the minds of madmen: gamers.

"'Know thy enemy, know thyself, know victory.'

As tactical advice, Sun Tzu's famous maxim applies to a majority of videogames. Knowing that Piston Honda blinks just before throwing an uppercut helps you know victory. Knowing that the mothership fires two small shots before throwing up its shields helps you know victory. Knowing how many whip strikes it takes to defeat Dracula helps you know victory.

But what about the kind of knowledge that transcends the tactical - the kind of knowledge that lets you truly understand your enemy's motivations and background, his hopes and fears?"

Kyle Orland plumbs the depths of evil in game characters.

"In 1985, noted philosopher Michael Ruse wrote an article entitled 'Is Rape Wrong on Andromeda?' In the article, he postulated that if intelligent alien species existed on other planets in the universe, they might have different notions of morality than our own. ... So, it stands to reason that extraterrestrial morality would be shaped by a set of different environmental pressures, and that an alien's resulting moral code may be quite different than ours as a result. ... How does this relate to games? To put it simply, the environments we experience inside games are other worlds, and many of the avatars we play in them are essentially alien creatures who may seem human from time to time but are not entirely so."

Bruce Sterling Woodcock explores the morality of alternate worlds, asking the question "Is Rape Wrong on Azeroth?"

"'The game primarily focuses on the giant shark that eats people,' Kadosca said without a hint of irony. 'But there are also many side challenges that provide ways for the player to try out the shark's various capabilities. There is also an underlying story that plays out via Story Missions: Environplus is disturbing the ocean life around Amity Island with the vibration of its oil drilling machinery. This makes the sharks more hungry and aggressive.' Jaws is an environmental crusader, eating people to save the world."

Shannon Drake speaks to the creators of Jaws Unleashed.