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call of duty

December 2nd

…neutralize targets. Behind their cosmetic differences, smart-talking laser guns in Borderlands 2 and AK-47s in Call of Duty: Black Ops behave exactly the same.

This lack of respect seems to foster dissonance in both discussions of military action and civilian gun ownership. Even ignoring all the other ways the modern military shooter has little in common with real war, by ignoring the physicality of the soldier holding the gun and fostering a lack of respect for that particular gun, these games gloss over the fact that real war is fought by human beings against other human beings. […] It’s…

Abstract image evoking bird silhouette

May 11th

…to Three, the one and only Tom Chick lauds Imperialism II as a critical comment on empire and exploitation.

At The Escapist, Robert Rath breaks apart Vice and Activision’s new Call of Duty “documentary” on private military contractors (PMCs), which he argues distorts political and economic facts to suit the upcoming game’s fiction:

Here’s the worst part: I want [Activision] to make a good documentary about PMCs. You have the resources and connections to do it and it could be a great public education tool. The rise of military contractors is indeed an emerging trend, and brings

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This Year in Videogame Blogging: 2014

…Episode 3 and how it portrays toxic masculinity. In trying to assert dominance, he noted, the character Carver ends up seeding only destruction.

On Kill Screen, Carli Velocci explained she had a panic attack while playing The Walking Dead. Given what it’s going for, she mused on whether that was a good thing.

War never changes. Neither does Call of Duty. Christ Priestman wondered: if Call of Duty can’t do grief right, then who can?

With an eye toward history, Andrew Dunn lamented Valiant Hearts’ atonal treatment of the conflict of its subject matter, the first World…

August 16th

Where have all the flowers gone? And if your answer to that is anything but “Oklahoma!” we can never be friends. But that’s enough deep cut references out of me for one opener — let’s move ahead and get going with This Week in Videogame Blogging!

Nasty, Brutish and Short

Robert Rath, famous for his Critical Intel column, appears to have found a new home at Playboy, discussing Call of Duty consultant P.W. Singer’s very FPS-inspired novel Ghost Fleet:

Ghost Fleet is what Call of Duty would be like if it put on a tie

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This Year In Videogame Blogging: 2017

…Rockholz Wesley Rockholz explains the construction of For Honor and the particular balance problem: “where predictability should be punished, predictable defensive play is unpunishable.”

  • Why PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds’ violence is Important | YouTube – Writing on Games – Hamish Black Hamish Black explains the emotions and headspace PUBG engenders through the swiftness and omnipresence of its violence.
  • Watching History Fade Away in ‘Call of Duty: WWII’ | Waypoint – Rob Zacny In the face of family members that served through it, Rob Zacny sees the latest Call of Duty failing their generation, as it doesn’t reflect the Second World…

    • December 1st

    …about as AAA as it gets.

    • REDO! – Patience Is a Virtue | RE:BIND Mx Medea explores a slice of Survival Metroid Horror.
    • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Turns Trauma and Fear into Cheap Tricks – Uppercut Chris Compendio takes a tour through the traumatic set dressing of the latest CoD.

    “What Call of Duty: Modern Warfare does is exploit the real-life horrors that countless people overseas, children especially, are suffering through just to make more privileged and comfortable gamers say “huh, really makes you think.” And even that descriptor may give the game

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    July 5th

    …contemporary tensions.

    • 25 Years In The Making: The Strange, Real World of Ace Combat | Uppercut Autumn Wright delves into the worldbuilding of the Ace Combat series, as well as its uncomfortable imperialist antecedents.
    • Shutter Stroll, Time, and Quarantine | Vista Magazine – Medium Taylor Hidalgo finds meaning in the silence, in-game, in our present moment.
    • GROTESQUE WEALTH – DEEP HELL Bryn Gelbart considers how Sekiro articulates ideas about health, wealth, and the ethics of immortality.
    • The Reckless Gender Politics of Call of Duty: Warzone | Unwinnable Porter Simmons looks at the crass, manly thrill

    …

    August 23rd

    …Corner: Hashihime of the Old Book Town | Unwinnable Gingy Gibson considers the contemporary experience of a horror Visual Novel in the context of working life as a front-line healthcare worker.

  • CoD of Duty – DEEP HELL Skeleton examines the latest Call of Duty‘s ahistorical revisionism in the context of the series’ long-established banal jingoism.
  • The Storm-Cloud of Death Stranding – Uppercut Matteo Lupetti investigates the climate science and symbolism behind representation of clouds in art, and relates this context to Death Stranding‘s imagery and ideology.
  • My Life as a Fallout 4 NPC | Sidequest Sara Davis…

    • Kotaku UK archive

    …Odysseys Hint Art Challenges 2018/01/02 The World Of Ruin In Ffvi Is About Searching For Hope In Desperate Times 2018/01/03 New Style Boutique Styling Star The Kotaku Review 2018/01/04 A Pocket Of Passionate Players Is The Only Thing Keeping Competitive Arms Alive 2018/01/05 Finding Paradise Explores How Childhood Trauma Can Echo Through Our Lives 2018/01/05 Ten Speedruns That Take Over Nine Hours To Finish 2018/01/08 Blizzard Cant Leave Mercy Alone 2018/01/09 16 Things Twitter Taught Me About Warframe 2018/01/09 Hackers Aside Call Of Duty World At War Is Still Gruesome Fun 2018/01/09 Mario And Sonic A Tale Of Two Mascots…

    March 2021

    …(Manual captions)

    Violently Aware

    Finally, this trio of essays finds their authors grappling with their complicity of in-game violence.

    • On Indie, Oxenfree | Story Without Killing – Micah Edmonds (26:07)

      Micah Edmonds uses a belated playthrough of narrative adventure game Oxenfree to think about how to go about really enjoying games if not the dopamine-feedback loop of combat. (Autocaptions)

    • Ski Sniper – SWITCH STANCE – Joe Bush (17:34)

      Joe Bush tries to come to terms with his enjoyment of the absurdist violence of Ski Sniper. (Autocaptions)

    • Was Call of Duty: Black

      …