Submergence Over Man's Armageddon

A favorite source of frights and thrill has made its triumphant return this past year.  Frictional Games, the company responsible for the Amnesia horror sensation, now has a new name to boast.  Soma was released September 22 on all major console and computer platforms, including Linux.  Similarly to its predecessor, it features a first person perspective of a story driven journey with the usual abundance of clues, puzzles, and of course, hostile creatures lurking within.  Frictional Games's signature use of psychological horror elements will ensure that the player is trembling with apprehension long before the first dangerous encounter.

Those who have played the original Amnesia will find that beyond these characteristics, Soma can be considered radically different.  Instead of a story set within the past, it begins in the present day before transitioning to the year 2104, shortly following an apocalyptic event involving a comet collision with the Earth's surface.  The player awakes within the remnants of what was once an underwater research facility, which might now serve as the final refuge of mankind.  Despite being completely unaware of how or why he was left here, protagonist Simon Jarrett must take whatever necessary measures to ensure that life, in some form, is able to continue beyond the now unsustainable world.  This in combination with advanced technology capable of virtually recreating reality in spite of the end of physical life, will leave the player ultimately questioning both the nature and existence of reality itself.  

http://somagame.com

Convoluted Controversy or (The Pursuit of Happiness)

One of the most groundbreaking games ever developed, the latest in a series that has pioneered the very concept of the sandbox open world and shattered sales records around the world, is Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto, unless you have no experience with the game itself whatsoever.  Then it is simply a headline that makes its way to Fox and CNN every few years or so, usually describing it as the bane of parental existence.  Originally a phrase describing a federal crime, it has now been instilled with a, if nothing else, much more popularized purpose.  Before helping yourself to the following trailers, you may wish to know that there may be EXPLICIT material that awaits you.  For the most part it is merely less than articulate language, but as this is not a product intended for small children, perhaps these trailers aren't either.        

If nothing else, let these videos, which are merely some of Rockstar's promotional advertisements between the game's original release in 2013 and next-gen release a year later, at least partially relieve you of a certain ignorance that has lead to such an extent of hysteria.  While GTA is certainly not alone in being the subject of scrutiny for controversially mature content, particularly in games, it has certainly become one of the public's prime candidates for generating negative publicity towards gaming itself.  Often, it serves as the subject of debate regarding a violent calamity within the United States, in particular.  When responsibility is demanded for these events, gaming is a seemingly irresistible scapegoat.  Believe what you will, but where is the logic within condemning something, anything, with little to no understanding of it?  Is it really as psychologically influential as names in journalism, mostly outside of the industry, have crudely dictated in the past?  This is merely one of many forms of entertainment, one that serves as a reflection of what already exists.  It is inspired by reality, and because of this can be a source of insight.  Grand Theft Auto particularly reveals some of the less desirable truths that would more favorably be ignored.  How this knowledge is used is for the user to decide.        

      Grand Theft Auto V is set within the ficional city of Los Santos and surrounding Blaine County, a more or less exaggerated social depiction of Los Angeles and Orange County.  In this place of debauchery, corruption, and occasionally outright chaos, three professional criminals will attempt to prosper, usually by less than honorable means.  Each character embodies a particular social demographic within their own storyline, and will encounter countless other stereotypes along their way.  This tale, more than most, explores the concept of the "American Dream," offering a more satirical perspective of a social principle typically known for its gilded reputation.      

http://www.rockstargames.com/V/