Locomotion, Parkour, and the Illusion of Competence in Video Games

Mirror's Edge, Prince of Persia, and Assassin's Creed. All games focused on locomotion. More specifically these games are interested in simulating something like free running.

However, some are more successful than others at doing so.

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Locomotion, Parkour, and the Illusion of Competence in Video Games

Ms. Pac-Man: Post Feminist Icon

I got inspired this week watching a video satirizing what it might mean to take a feminist approach to "reading" the image of Ms. Pac-Man.

While intended for laughs, nevertheless, it got me thinking about the problematic nature of presenting Ms. Pac-Man at least as a more traditional emblem of feminist ideals. Thus, I decided to consider her in light of more current theory concerning Post feminism and the problems arising from what critics like Angela McRobbie have called the "double entanglement" of traditional and progressive politics in images of contemporary women.

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Ms. Pac-Man: Post Feminist Icon

Review: Astro Boy

Sometimes retro can suggest a quaint charm, but sometimes retro just means old. That is the case with Astro Boy: The Video Game. The game is retro in all the wrong ways.

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Astro Boy: The Video Game

Uniforms Are Relics: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

So a lot of people are talking about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and the scene in which the player takes on the role of something like a terrorist. I played through the level in question a couple days ago, and while it is clearly horrifying, the horror provoked leads to some interesting self reflection about why we blindly follow rules. An appropriate theme for a game about playing a soldier, eh?

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Uniforms Are Relics: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

The Ballad of Gay Tony Is the Straightest Grand Theft Auto Ever

With the release of Episodes From Libety City comes Rockstar's newest expansion to Grand Theft Auto IV, The Ballad of Gay Tony. Rockstar, never a company to shrink from controversial subject matter, nevertheless, is less interested, perhaps, in gay slurs than it is in examining sexuality and ultimately how it defines family dynamics.

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The Ballad of Gay Tony Is the Straightest Grand Theft Auto Ever

Parent-Child Bonding: Video Games that Bridge the Generation Gap

I have three girls ages 14 and younger. The youngest is addicted to Penguin Club. The other two have generally less interest in games. Now I realize that kids can and should do their own thing, but given my own love of games (something left over from my own childhood), it is nice to occasionally sit down and play with them within a context that we all can appreciate.

Playing some recent kids' games for review and being able to join in with my kids while doing so got me thinking about what makes for the kind of game that both children and adults can enjoy. Balancing the interests and difficulty level required to keep the attention of both age groups can be a tall order to fill. So, I began thinking about some of the games that my kids and I have bonded together over in order to figure out the criteria necessary to creating a good co-operative experience among gamers of different generations.

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Parent-Child Bonding: Video Games that Bridge the Generation Gap

Democratizing Dictatorship: Tropico 3

I thought that I would comment on the political elements of a god game this week, so I reviewed Tropico 3. The game as a dictatorship simulation is well suited of course to political discussion, though one would think all god games tend towards allowing for an experience of playing with absolute power (you do play a god after all. Nevertheless, Tropico 3, unlike many other sims of this sort, is actually more revelaing about the limitations of a singularity of vision in ruling because of its tendency to focus on the way that others' interests tend to distract from such a singular focus.

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Democratizing Dictatorship: Tropico 3