story posts

With Starcraft 2 literally just around the corner, it's certainly important to understand just what has been going on in the Starcraft universe, from before the start of the first game until now. Thankfully, we've got you covered with an in-depth synopsis of the story. Even if you haven't played through Starcraft, you will know exactly what ties into where as you delve into Jim Raynor's story in Wings of Liberty.

Note: This article contains massive spoilers of the original game's story.

At first glance, you might think that Prototype is all about destructive action, special moves and bloodshed. Well, the game has plenty of all those things, but it also has a story tying it all together. In this video, Executive Product Tim Bennison describes the game's plot, its characters, and what motivates the superpowered protagonist Alex Mercer. There's a lot that happens, but ultimately Alex is looking to become the ultimate badass in search for vengeance.

Download HD Prototype 'Story' Video (225 MB)
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This trailer probably would have made a stronger impression around July 4th, but it still does a good job conveying the story behind Red Faction: Guerrilla.

Download HD Red Faction: Guerrilla Story Trailer (32 MB)
Check out all Red Faction: Guerrilla downloads

This story trailer for Prince of Persia explains the origins of the darkness the Prince must face.

Download HD Prince of Persia Story Trailer (126 MB)
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The newest in a series of Mirror's Edge animated story trailers shows how the main character, Faith, trained to become a runner for the resistance. All these videos build a deep back story as we draw closer to the game's release on consoles this fall and on the PC sometime in the winter.

Download HD Mirror's Edge Story Trailer #3 (89 MB)
Download HD Mirror's Edge Story Trailer #2 ( MB)
Download HD Mirror's Edge Story Trailer #1 ( MB)
Check out all Mirror's Edge Downloads

Gallery: Mirror's Edge

The newest animated video provides more background on the story of Mirror's Edge. This one talks about the history of the city and how it eventually fell into totalitarian control.

Download HD Mirror's Edge Story Trailer 2 (98 MB)
Download HD Mirror's Edge Story Trailer 1 (47 MB)

Ahh, the tyranny of the blank page. For a writer, there is nothing more daunting than staring at an empty space with a deadline looming. Yet that's what wordsmiths do every day -- dig deep to find the content, the signal amidst the noise. However, it's one thing to sit and write a novel, where it's just the writer and the story, with the audience taking a static, non-participatory role. When one writes for a video game, the audience becomes an active part of the experience, and the writer must take that into account.

Yet often, the player merely sits through the story portion of a game, frequently told through cutscenes. Even those games which tout branching storylines with multiple endings do little more than offer closed choices, offering only the illusion of audience control. Are there any real choices to be had to affect a game's plot? Do narratives merely interrupt gameplay? What exactly is the role of story in video games?

GameTrailers is hosting some exclusive Dead Space videos from EA3, an Electronic Arts media event. There are several showroom floor gameplay videos, and one video interview with Executive Producer Glen Schofield. In the interview (embedded above), Schofield talks about the dismemberment system, realistic zero gravity gameplay, what sorts of characters you'll meet in the game, and the many, many kinds of deaths your character can experience.

The gameplay stuff is the real meat of it all, though. We've embedded one of those videos behind the break. You'll see some extremely intense encounters, but we think the most interesting bit is the zero gravity stuff. It reminds us of the mind-screwing final sequence of Danny Boyle's Sunshine. Give it a look. If you're a Survival Horror aficionado, it's worth it.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun has since its inception set the standard of excellence for intelligent PC gaming-related blogging. A recent piece there called "Pyro Maniacs: Achieving Nothing in TF2" is no exception.

In the article, RPS regular Alec Meer describes his experience logging into a Team Fortress 2 server designed specifically for grinding achievements. There was no legitimate competitive gameplay on this server. No, it was just an elaborate "obstacle course" for nailing achivements as fast as humanly possible. And if that's not horrific enough on its own, the conduct of the players on the server took digital douchebaggery to a whole new level.

It's a story about the very worst the community has to offer -- achievement grinding that makes Asian MMOs look tame by comparison, immature shouting matches filled with obscenities and latent insecurities. It's everything that's wrong with modern gaming, all in one article. A must-read.