The Sovereign Survivor
/The player is alone in the game, both sole survivor and unquestioned sovereign, but what's at the heart of such games? Phillip Lobo examines the loneliness of the long-distance gamer
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The player is alone in the game, both sole survivor and unquestioned sovereign, but what's at the heart of such games? Phillip Lobo examines the loneliness of the long-distance gamer
Read More"Do you see?" the Narrator says. "Don't you know you were dead the minute you hit Start?" Phillip Lobo deciphers The Stanley Parable
Read MoreAll of European history - and beyond - plays out in new and fascinating variations of guns, germs, and steel in Paradox Interactive's new version of its popular video game Europa Universalis
Read More"I hope they pay you well for your obedience, dog" - two new video games explore the parameters of authority and the constraints of law. Doesn't sound like a fun afternoon, but as Phillip Lobo discovers, there are darker pleasures lurking in the fine print of the social contract.
Read MoreA radio voice crackles "Hallelujah," and Booker DeWitt's violent, surreal steampunk adventures in Columbia begin again in the latest BioShock chapter, BioShock Infinite
Read MoreHas there ever been a time in American history when the gun-and-violence-obsessed subtext of video games was more problematic? Special Ops: The Line puts you in the place of a grizzled, gun-wielding expert - but it doesn't necessarily want you to feel good about that.
Read MoreOnce upon a time, the hive-mind of the Internet set to work creating a modern-day bogey man who lurks in plain sight - and so "Slender Man," the dark mirror image of "Where's Waldo," was born
Read MoreElection-weary Americans might wonder why anybody in their right minds would elect to play a video-game presidential contest - but the process can be oddly enlightening.
Read MoreWhy do we play video games? And why do we RE-play them? And what the heck has Sigmund Freud got to do with any of it? Gaming guru Phillip Lobo looks at some new iterations of familiar old games and attempts to connect the dots.
Read MoreHis teenage years were blissfully misspent playing Diablo II from Blizzard, and now the company has come out with Diablo III - but can the relationship be saved?
Read MoreIn the latest version of the hugely popular video game - as in real life - you are the living culmination of all your past decisions, good and bad.
Read MoreOn the surface, the new RPG Bastion is a fairly straightforward hack-and-slash video game---but a complex narrative back-story reveals some hidden depths.
Read MoreThe key to storytelling is world-building, and a new book wonders if our new and all-encompassing Digital Era has given mankind world-building tools like it's never had before. Is it the death of the imagination - or Story 2.0?
Read MoreFrame narratives, rags-to-riches angles, gender-swapping, the wages of grief, and .... love. Yes, we're talking about a video game, specifically Dragon Age 2.
Read MoreIsaac Newton wrote about bodies at rest and bodies in motion - but he never got around to bodies that want to rip you apart with their tentacles and feast on your steaming entrails! A classic video game gets a macabre and highly detailed sequel.
Read MoreIf names like "Number Muncher," "The Oregon Trail," and of course "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" prompt nostalgic smiles for you, you'll love this affectionate look at educational video games
Read MoreBefore Arthas was a character in a new novel, he was a character in a video game (World of Warcraft, naturally) – which makes him fair game for our gaming expert, Phillip Lobo.
Read MoreYou’d think any brand of movie that could produce Super Mario Bros. would have no advocates left, but you’d be wrong! Our gaming expert Phillip A. Lobo diagnoses the problem to date and charts a new path for video game movies.
Read MoreNotorious for its violence and misogyny, or misunderstood for its biting social commentary? Grand Theft Auto IV polarizes; video game docent Phillip A. Lobo attempts to broker a meeting.
Read MoreCulture critics decry video games – including 2K’s BioShock – as mindless, pointless haphazard wastes of time. Phillip A. Lobo offers one fan’s spirited rebuttal.
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