Spec Ops: The Line's PTSD Commentary And The Power Of Games

"Do You Feel Like A Hero?" -- A loading screen from Spec Ops: The Line

I’ve been actively trying to promote the power of games and with that the many conversations they can stir. I’ll never never play Spec Ops: The Line again, but I want you to. This game really accomplished it’s underlying goal of horrifying me. I feel, based on the game’s ‘totally bad ass military shooter cover’, it is almost trying to trick an implied demographic. There are so many games out there telling the player that killing can be without conscience and is often better that way. What happens when a game like Spec Ops: The Line comments on soldiers sent to wars they weren’t mentally equipped to fight? What happens when we acknowledge the long-term, and often -- immediate,  effects of killing in the name of country and how can a game, effectively, pull that off?

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BioShock Review -- Late Is The New Early

BioShock could be one of the classiest games I have ever played, but I'm still unsure of what the future holds for the franchise.
This past Halloween I decided to invest in a bottle of blended wine and a game that had mounds of dust collected upon it, BioShock. I had always wanted to play it and had it not for broad plot points being spoiled and over-hyped fanboys echoing the zeitgeist, I would have taken on this epic much sooner. Be that as it may, this is my tale and it has taken me almost two weeks to formulate some form of a coherent opinion. I really liked BioShock [add me to the list]. From the Ayn Rand references to the allusions of governments past and present, BioShock is one of few games I’ve played where I finally understood the need for this current generation of consoles. The experience(s) found in BioShock instill a benchmark that is rarely pushed. A game that points out the foibles of man may have unintentionally pointed out the missteps of its own genre.

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