Featured Articles
It's an odd feeling, rediscovering a piece of once cutting-edge technology that is now woefully obsolete. But yesterday's game systems are quickly becoming today's museum pieces. Greg Tito speaks with Eric Wheeler, Associate Curator at the National Center for the History of Electronic Games.
In videogames, there are your wisecracking anthropomorphic critters, your angst-y androgynous teens and your adrenaline-fueled space marines - and then there's P.B. Winterbottom, a time-traveling pie thief stuck in a '20s-era silent film. Jordan Deam speaks with Matt Korba, President and Creative Director of Winterbottom developer The Odd Gentlemen.
Modern games often look to cinema when it comes to inspiration for their storytelling. But there's another medium that may apply more directly to the experience of play: musical performance. Ollie Barder examines how Guitar Hero and Strauss may have more in common than you think.
Whether they provide a little color to a game world or simply give the more obsessive among us something to collect and pore over, audiologs have become a staple of modern games. Graeme Virtue dissects the recordings' lasting appeal and adds a few messages of his own to the archives.
According to Zynga's figures, Mafia Wars now claims 26 million active players, many of them playing online games for the first time. But thanks to Zynga's shady business practices, the browser game may not be the best ambassador for the form. Allen Varney dives into the seedy underbelly of Mafia Wars and learns firsthand how hard it is to walk away.
Literature and films have done much to illuminate the inner workings of the Mafia on behalf of the law-abiding public. But the videogames that have tried to explore these themes typically opt for amusement over insight. Shawn Williams wonders what it would take for game developers to make a true-to-life Mafia game.
When most gamers think of mob gangs, they gravitate toward titles like Mafia and Grand Theft Auto. But one series has continued to offer a distinctly Eastern take on organized crime: Sega's Yakuza. Pat Miller looks at the original Yakuza and what its good-hearted gangsters suggest about Japanese culture.
Most stories about the Mafia are tragedies, depicting great but flawed characters who are laid low by fate. Unfortunately, this tragedy doesn't usually make it into Mob games, with one notable exception: Grand Theft Auto 4. Brendan Main examines what makes GTA IV's Niko Bellic a different breed of videogame criminal.
Learn about The Escapist's unofficial slogan, "Gaming Uber Alles": Gaming Over Everything.
For patients recovering from debilitating injuries or illnesses, months of physical therapy can be a daunting prospect. But when it comes to alleviating the monotony of regular exercise, videogames may be able to help. Lauren Admire investigates how hospitals are using the Wii to aid in their patients' recovery.
Three months ago, a medical journal published a report that could have serious implications for gamers' health. But instead of treating it as an opportunity to educate their audience, gaming sites treated the story with skepticism and contempt. Chris LaVigne examines how this information became distorted and why it matters.
Feeling unhealthy, overweight and depressed? There's an oft-overlooked solution to your body image woes: Play more videogames. Craig Owens spends two weeks with a selection of fitness games to figure out which ones make the cut.
When you're a kid, there's nothing quite like playing outside. Yet kids today have fewer opportunities to engage in unsupervised outdoor play than ever before. Sara Grimes looks at how games can encourage kids to experiment and explore - both in game worlds and outside.
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.
