Like any new form of artistic expression, video games have faced an uphill battle in gaining legitimacy as a story-telling medium. (This may have something to do with the fact most of the best selling games out there have more freakin’ sweet guns than emotionally compelling characters.)

Well, all of that’s about to change. Below is a video-game-themed play I’ve written, a potent treatise on the woeful human condition. Savvy gamers will notice each line of the play is quoted directly from a video game.

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It’s not often that the N64 makes headlines nowadays. Sure, it’s often remembered for its influence on the world of consoles — but is ultimately left in the past. Yet, late last year a video titled “The Super Mario 64 Challenge” surfaced, just recently getting some significant attention. Essentially, a group of Japanese gamers have invented a new way of playing Super Mario 64, and it seems they might inspire a Nintendo 64 renaissance (well, at least, one concerned with Super Mario 64, that is). Read More »

Bringing two great things together can be sweet, like chocolate and peanut butter. Sometimes, however, it’s a disaster. Since the 1990s, video game companies have experimented with franchise team-ups with mixed results. Some were great ideas that were poorly executed. Others never should’ve made it to the drawing board. Be careful what you wish for, fanboys, because for every Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, you get one of these…

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The new Xbox 360 commercials are dumb. Sure, there’s lots of eye candy and pretty music, but just think about the commercial for a second: they show some people watching an Xbox 360 in motion and enjoying, only to later find out that the 360 has EATEN THEIR BRAIN, hollowing out their skulls and replacing the insides with colorful images beamed in by some ungodly TV technology. Last time I checked, moms and politicians everywhere are still arguing that video games rot our brains, so I can’t say this ad speaks in the gamer’s favor. Furthermore, let’s pray that HDTV (Head Destroying TV?) isn’t some secret government plot to erase our minds.

But I digress; the point is, it can be hard to get your point across in a 30-60 second commercial, and most of these attempts end up being failures (that laughing baby doll from the first PS3 commercial still gives me the creeps). Yet over the course of the medium’s few decades of existence, there have been a few successful ad campaigns that have, at the very least, given us half a minute of pure enjoyment. Here are a few that have stayed in my mind throughout the years:

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Since Fat Princess’s recent announcement, much has been said regarding the stereotypical princess in games. Feminists generally aren’t receptive to the whole “damsel in distress needing to be saved” persona (especially when it’s paired with uncontrollable binge eating, like it is in Fat Princess). Being a female myself, I see their point here, but unlike them, I don’t believe the answer lies in abolishing characters like this altogether. With the proper makeover, I believe any princess has badass potential.

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Apparently Super Smash Bros.: Brawl has been having issues running on some Wiis. Nintendo has stated that it’s due to “some contamination with the lens of the disk drive.” However, they don’t specify whether or not this is a user-induced problem or a factory error, though their repair service (free of charge with this form/FAQ) suggests it’s a manufacturing error. Neither do they say if this is an incidental problem throughout the range of Wiis in the market, or if it was a bad batch from a particular time period. Not that it matters necessarily, but it’d be nice to know that this is a minor production incident and not a major design flaw.
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