Halo and Greed

At this point, the Halo franchise is old news. The companies behind it have already produced a trilogy and three spin-offs. On top of this, they have confirmed they will be creating another trilogy. If you weren’t keeping count, that’s a total of nine games. NINE GAMES! At what point is enough enough? Why do the producers insist on continuing to “beat a dead horse”?

The answer, obviously, is money. They keep making Halo games because their consumers keep buying them. Sure, the original trilogy (Halo, Halo 2, and Halo 3) were amazing games and deserved all the credence they received. The story was totally original and one of the most memorable and entertaining narratives in video game history. Not to mention, Halo 2 defined online multiplayer. It was the most widely played online console game of its time, and its multiplayer set the stage for what was expected from other shooters like Call of Duty and Gears of War.

However, the game creators weren’t satisfied with just being known for this epic trilogy. They insisted on making spin-offs. Halo 3: ODST presents a story from a perspective other than that of the trilogy’s main character (Master Chief), and the story takes place at the same time as the story from Halo 3. Halo Reach serves as a prequel to the original Halo trilogy. And lastly, Halo Wars takes the Halo universe and incorporates it into a real time strategy game. The fact that the producers totally shifted genres and turned a first person shooter into a real time strategy game shows that they will stop at nothing to keep making Halo games, and to build on their profits.

This idea can be further seen in how they have recently confirmed that they will be making another Halo trilogy, which continues the story from where Halo 3 left off. The issue I have with this is that the ending to Halo 3 does everything in its power to make players think the Master Chief has died. It would have been a fitting ending to the trilogy if it happened this way, but the producers were not satisfied. Instead, they chose to “resurrect” the Master Chief and completely alter how Halo 3 seemed to have ended in order to make another trilogy.

It is a shame that people continue to buy Halo games. If they did not, the producers would certainly not keep making them, and the “dead horse” would finally be left alone. For me, my biggest issue with them continuing to make Halo games is the fact that the novelty and creativity has totally disappeared. Outside of the RTS, the game’s mechanics have changed a minimal amount. Not to mention, the weapons and characters have also been the same throughout. As they continue to churn out games, it appears as if the designers no longer care or try. This makes me think they only keep making Halo games because of greed.

I sincerely hope that other game designers learn a lesson from the Halo franchise and know their limits in regards to making sequels. The companies behind video games need to have a better understanding of when their game’s novelty wears off. If they follow Halo’s lead and continue to make sequels and spin-offs, then all they are doing is taking advantage of their customers. The gaming industry should value and appreciate their customers, not take advantage of them due to their greed.

Subjective Sport, is it ineffective ?

Amongst the glut of games (web and console alike) only appealing to certain fans of certain things, exists one that ask a little more.

The object of this game “Kanye Zone” is to, as a mighty blue orb, prevent the head of Kanye West from touching a purple circle, known as his “zone”, for “cash”.

To play this game you have to have;

-fingers

-time

-access to a computer with internet access

To understand that point of this game, you have to be;

-familiar with Kanye West

-familiar with the lyrics to whatever that song is

Sure. Whatever. It’s pretty fun. There’s not much to “understand”, but it at first left me a titch irritated.

Namely because I don’t care for Kanye West.

As a musician, I’m uninterested and not at all impressed.

As a person, I’d sooner hang out with Mel Gibson.

As the subject of a web game, sure, why not. I don’t know what the deal with his “zone” is or why we should keep him out of it and frankly I don’t care.

If you have an avid aversion to something, in this situation, it’s difficult to separate that thing you don’t like from that game you’re trying to play. Why play it in the first place ? Because it’s sort of fun and you sort of find satisfaction in imagining yourself inconveniencing a celebrity you hate ?

On a broader note, no matter how aesthetically pleasing a game or anything is, the ugliness still remains so very obvious to the pooper at the party.

http://www.kanyezone.com/

 

Identity Crisis in Dys4ia

Dys4ia is an autobiographical game created by designer Anna Atrophy. The game functions as a series of 16-bit mini games that tell an interactive stories about challenges faced by transgender people. The challenge of Dys4ia does not come from enemies or puzzles; it is trying to feel empathetic towards someone with whom you probably couldn’t relate otherwise.

The challenge that faces Dys4ia is to make a seemingly alien lifestyle something that anyone can understand and relate to. In this respect, the game succeeds. The game revolves entirely around the day-to-day struggles of a transgender person. Functioning less like a traditional game and more like an interactive narrative, Dys4ia makes empathizing with transgender paper very accessible.

Listening to Anna’s embarrassment at having to shave her face or be referred to as “sir” or “Mr.” showed the frustration of transgender people. Everyone feels insecure about their physical appearance from time to time, but to constantly feel as though you are stuck in a body that does not correspond with your gender identity sounds soul crushing.

As the player navigates the life of Ms. Atrophy, they experience distinct spheres of the transgender experience, including personal, social, and medical aspects. Through each encounter, a sense of alienation and powerlessness is pervasive as the player listens to those in unable to understand what Anna is coping with.

Dys4ia is not completely bleak. As the game progresses, soon Anna starts to experience (slowly but surely) positive changes in her life. Things start small, like the beginning of breast development or having the nerve to correct people on how they refer to her. Eventually, the player is left with a beautiful sentiment of feeling optimistic and being on the right track to developing into the person one is meant to be.

Check it out here:

http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/dys4ia/

Persona 4: Diversity in Character (Part 2)

When I last left off, I had just finished talking about how one of the characters, Kanji Tatsumi, is used to talk about homosexuality. Now, we shall look at another character who talks about sexism.

Naoto Shirogane

The other character I will talk about is Naoto Shirogane. Let’s start similarly to Kanji. Based on the picture above, what do you think Naoto is like? His posture kind of hints at being somewhat formal and smart. He appears quite serious and determined. When you first meet him, he’s introduced as the “Detective Prince”, a high school detective that has been asked by the Inaba Police Department to help with the recent murders. He’s also quite perceptive, being one of the first people to noticing patterns in the cases, such as the Midnight Channel and the recent kidnappings. (When a person appears on the Midnight Channel, they are reported missing for several days before you rescue them). His manner of speaking is also quite formal, and he takes his job quite seriously. So it appears the first impression was correct. So, what am I getting at here? Well, in the list of first impressions above, there is one thing incorrect. Can you figure out what’s wrong?

It’s the very first word: “His”. Naoto Shirogane is actually a female. However, this isn’t a “let’s make a gender-neutral looking character” situation, sort of. While indeed her design is gender-neutral, they had a reason to; she was disguising herself as male. Her main reason for this is that she was trying to escape the sexism present in the police force. She is already a high school student working alongside the police; she didn’t exactly have high respect from fellow officers. The other members of the force view her as a child of sorts, and that she probably shouldn’t be involved. The only reason she is is that she’s good, and has solved many cases. However, if she revealed herself as female to the police force, she would be taken even less seriously, and probably wouldn’t even be able to work with the police.

Her Shadow also reinforces this. In fact, when we encounter her Shadow is when we discover that she is indeed female. Her Shadow references her desire to be male, like all other famous detectives found in novels and the media. The Shadow also refers to her desire to no longer be treated like a child. Throughout the game, she acts rather mature, representing her desire to be taken seriously. However, several members of the police force still treat her like a child, because she still somewhat acts like a child. For example, at this point in the game, the police had, more or less, considered the murder case as closed. Naoto was unsure about this, and persisted on the case. This persistence made her peers feel she was acting childish.

Like with Kanji, the inclusion of Naoto’s character sends another message to the player without being incredibly blunt; this message being that sexism is still around today. Instead of doing the usual method of displaying it, the game showed just how far a character would go to avoid it. In order to avoid the sexism present in the work force, a female was willing to pretend to be male, and possibly, willing to have a sex change. I think even fewer games tackle this issue when compared to homosexuality, but there’s a simple reason for that, which actually makes things somewhat ironic. That simple reason? Sexism. Sexism is the reason why it is hard for a message about sexism to be delivered through games. If a game tries to deliver a message about sexism, a majority of gamers, being male, might take it as being “feminist”, so they will either ignore the message or not play the game at all. Essentially, Naoto was used to deliver a message about sexism without flat out showing it to us.

There are several other characters in Persona 4 which also deliver messages. For example, Rise Kujikawa delivers a message about celebrities. Her Shadow shows a fear of hers; she fears that people only like her for her popularity. People only want to know “Risette”, the version of her that appears on stage, and not the actual Rise. With characters such as this, Persona 4 is able to tell a story that is further reinforced by its characters. All of the characters have desires and fears that the player gets to see, as well as faults they want to correct. Over the course of the story, you see these characters grow and become different than when they started. This is an aspect of character development that I feel many games lack, and an aspect that helps make Persona 4’s story shine.

Note: Extra Credits actually did pretty much a whole episode talking about Kanji, and a bit about Naoto. You can watch it here.

Rock, Paper, Scissors: A True MacGuffin

When this game of 1 out of 3 chances started; I can’t really say. But everyone has known this somewhat “ritual” ever since their parents were kids. It’s simple, quick, and easy to know the rules.

Rock beats Scissors

Scissors cuts Paper

Paper covers Rock

That’s about it. But it gets a little more involved by making sure to throw your choice out at the same time as the other players.I don’t know if I’m the only one that did this, but I did kind of question how a sturdy and strong rock could be beaten by a flimsy piece of paper. I’ve seen rocks work as paper weights let alone just have a piece of paper cover it up and be beaten. For example, let’s walk through the ways to beat your opponent:

 

Rock beats scissors: “Oh no! These scissors are bent! I can’t use them”

Scissors cuts Paper: “Oh no! The paper is in strips! I can’t use this for writing on!

Paper covers Rock: “Oh no! My rock has a…blanket over it and is still in one piece.”

You know this looks badass.

I’ll admit over time, people came up with their own revised versions of the game such as using different objects to shape your hand into. As a kid, I’ve scene dynamite, tidal wave, lava and earthquake. Weren’t we so inventive. And thanks to Adultswim.com we now have Rock, Paper, Scissors as a three way fighting game called Rock, Paper, Scissors Extreme Deathmatch. Really good game and as action packed as three random objects can be (link at the bottom).

Along with this game as something to do when you and your friend is bored and without paper to play Tic-Tac-Toe with, (thanks scissors) it’s used mostly today as a MacGuffin. Let me explain this writer’s term. A MacGuffin is a plot device can be any object, character, or event that moves a movie or a story along. If anything, something that’s really convenient at certain times that helps a character. An example of this would be like the 1st ring from Lord of the Rings. It was said that the 1st ring could control all the rings and was very important to find. That ring worked as convenience and became a MacGuffin. Or even the glasses from Transformers, which had the map of where the Alspark (another MacGuffin) would be located. With this game, it’s used as a sort of “mini-game” when making hard decisions. Let’s say you’re about to play cards with friends so there’s no way to tell who would go first. Rock, Paper, Scissors is used to be the deciding factor, moving the game along. Rock, Paper, Scissors is a traditional game of chance and luck since even with playing with more than 4 people would possibly result in all three choices being thrown out. Meaning…I don’t know. I personally have never had that issue and I doubt many people would keep going with the game since the moves circle each other endlessly. But it’s a game and a mini-game all in one just as any hand-clapping game could be. Whether you liked it or hated it, it’s one of those “eh” games that mostly relies on luck and quick thinking.

Rock, Paper, Scissors Extreme Deathmatch

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2- “No Russian” Controversy (SPOILERS)

Before starting the campaign for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a dialogue box appears with a warning for players. It says, “DISTURBING CONTENT NOTICE: Some players may find one of the missions disturbing or offensive. Would you like to have the option to skip this mission?” The player can either pick “Yes, ask me later” or “No, I will not be offended.” When I first played the game, I was shocked that Infinity Ward felt it necessary to include this type of warning in a game with a mature rating, as the game’s intended audience is people old enough to handle these kinds of graphic images.  Along with this, because of the importance of the mission’s contents to future aspects of the story, I believe that players should not have the option to skip the mission.

 

The mission in question is entitled “No Russian,” in reference to the fact that the player and the Russian terrorists he has infiltrated are instructed by their boss to only speak English. A video of the mission’s gameplay can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhslvePOPbE, although be warned it is not safe for work. Anyways, the mission has the player assume the role of deep-cover CIA agent Joseph Allen, who has infiltrated a group of Russian ultranationalist terrorists. The terrorists are carrying out a massacre at a Russian airport, killing everyone they see with heavy machine guns and grenades. However, the success of the mission does not rely on whether or not the player decides to assist in the killing of innocent civilians or airport security. The images throughout the mission are certainly graphic and disturbing, but they are necessary in portraying the terror and brutality brought upon by the actions of these terrorists. At the end of the mission, the terrorist boss (Makarov) reveals that he knows Joseph Allen’s true identity and kills him (i.e. the player).

 

Leaving behind the body of an American agent at the scene of the massacre was Makarov’s plan all along, confirmed by how he ordered all the terrorists to only speak in English. He sought to deceive the Russian government by tricking them into believing that United States was responsible, in order that they invade the United States. His plan is totally successful, and this mission begins the cascade that leads to the start of World War 3. Later on in Modern Warfare 3, the player gets to hear Makarov as he states, “The bigger the lie, the more likely people will believe it,” referencing back to this mission from Modern Warfare 2.

 

All in all, I believe that players of this game should be forced into playing this mission. The game is rated mature for a reason: it is supposed to have violence and graphic content. It is expected that people who buy the game are mature enough to handle these circumstances. It is not the game designers fault that ignorant parents buy these types of games for their ten-year old children. Not to mention, the actions taken out in this mission are absolutely vital to understand the events that follow in the story. Without playing “No Russian,” players would have no understanding of why Russia invaded the United States and chose to start World War 3. Furthermore, they would have less of an appreciation for how evil Makarov, the series’ primary antagonist, truly is. Thus, because of the mission’s importance to the story and the game’s mature rating, I do not believe that players should be given the option to skip “No Russian” in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Sports Games

I have loved sports my entire life. I have played sports since I was child and even till this day, watching sports is one of my favorite ways to relax. Therefore, I was extremely attracted to the arcade games that ESPN.com was sponsoring as an attempt to gain more publicity for its site. I have never been more disappointed in a video game in my entire life. As my prompt, I claim that ESPN absolutely fails as video game producer. As a multiple billion dollar corporation with a monopoly on the sports world, the games that I got to play seemed like a sad product of what ESPN was capable of producing. The graphics were horrid. It seemed like the playstation games from the early 2000’s were more sophisticated, while the controls made no sense at all. There were many times that I clicked the left button and my player would then continue to go right. The speed button wouldn’t work at random times, and although i did very well in the scoring, I must say that a corporation with status of ESPN should hold itself to higher standards. Although many will say that it is just a site arcade game with no real effort probably put into the game, I have other examples of games that cause ESPN to be known as a failure in the gaming world. The NBA 2k series as well as the NFL 2k series were among the biggest busts in video game franchise history. Having played the NFL 2k series, the game was primitive compared to the ultra popular NFL Madden game by EA sports. Although I am biased toward the Madden games because it is my favorite video game, anyone with any taste in sports gaming will agree that the ESPN games simply weren’t up to par with EA sports, which has become a multi-billion dollar corporation in it’s own right. NFL 2k was slow, the game wasn’t realistic, and often a player got bored playing the game. The only benefit that the NFL 2K series had in comparison to the madden series was that the graphics were far superior. However the NFL 2K series failed to create any buzz and disbanded after 8 years. Now, Madden has become a cultural phenomenon where we get to vote on the cover athlete, there is a curse of the madden cover (which for all you madden lovers out there, I do believe in) , and the madden cover athlete appears on Letterman and George Lopez TV shows. EA sports also beat out the NBA 2K series for over a decade with it’s NBA LIVE franchise. ESPN has seemingly made a increased effort, combined with the demise of the NBA LIVE brand, leaving NBA 2K as the only viable basketball game in the market, which can’t really be counted as a success. As much as people despise ESPN, there is no doubt in anybody’s mind that they can do better than the picture below, which obviously shows some very poor gaming, graphics, and even the poor controlling is visible in the game.

ESPN at it’s finest?

http://espn.go.com/free-online-games/- to play the game, or take your pick in whatever game you would like  to play.

Persona 4: Diversity in Character (Part 1)

Persona 4 is considered one of the best RPGs on the PS2, beating out games such as Kingdom Hearts 2 (Metacritic 87), Dragon Quest 8 (Metacritic 89), and Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance (Metacritic 87). Heck, it beats out quite a few modern games, such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (88), and Deus Ex: Human Revolution (89). It also scores only 1 point behind games such as Mass Effect and Gears of War 3 (Both 91). However, it is not nearly as well known. It is quite a shame, seeing as there are quite a few lessons that other games can learn from Persona 4. The biggest lesson to learn from it would be the story, or, more specifically, the driving force of the story: the characters. Persona 4 has a very diverse cast of characters (which Extra Credits has mentioned several times), yet they all seem like normal people. First though, I’d like to briefly explain the story.

In Persona 4, the main character, a high school student, arrives in the small town of Inaba. Not long after you arrive, strange things start happening. First off, 2 unexplainable murders occur several days apart. Second, a rumor starts going around for a thing called the Midnight Channel, which happens at midnight when it’s raining. Third, after experiencing the Midnight Channel for the first time, the player discovers a dangerous world within the TV, called the TV World. You soon find out the three are related. The two people who were murdered were shown on the Midnight Channel a few days before they were killed. These people were killed by being thrown into the TV World. You and you friends also discover a hidden ability, called a Persona, that can only be gained by facing one’s Shadow. These Shadows represent a hidden secret or trait of that person, a secret or trait that they themselves haven’t fully embraced. If you are still confused about the story, this video kinda explains/parodies the start of the story in more detail. Video. Now that the basic storyline is out of the way, let’s start talking about the diversity topics.

There are many characters in this game, almost all of them feel like real people and help the story. However, there are two characters in particular that tackle topics that few games rarely even mention: homosexuality and sexism. Usually, if a game mentions these topics, it takes them in a very light-hearted or mocking manner. Quick question: How many games have you played that brings up the issue of homosexuality? Next: How many games have you played that brings up the issue of homosexuality without using it as a joke/fan service, and without the use of stereotypes? Persona 4 is one of the few games that falls into the latter category.

Kanji Tatsumi

First impressions: Just looking at him, what do you think his character is like? I think most people will probably think he looks like a “bully” of sorts. The scar over his left eye, the skull and crossbones shirt, and his posture all seem to imply this. This could then lead to a belief that he thinks himself manlier than everyone else, because he is stronger than everyone else. This is reinforced by the fact that, when he’s first mentioned in game, it’s through a news article about him. This news article was about how he had single-handedly beaten up a biker gang. When you first see him, you can quite easily believe that he’d be the type of person who would do that. There are even rumors going around that, after beating up this biker gang, he became the new leader of it. It is also mentioned that he skips school often and tends to get into fights. So far, our first impressions seem about spot on.

And then he gets thrown into the TV World and we get to see his Shadow. His shadow very bluntly shows to the player that there is more to Kanji than first meets the eye. Basically, his Shadow acts rather stereotypically like a homosexual. At first, Kanji will refute what the Shadow says, but eventually, accepts that it is indeed a part of him. After saving Kanji, the player is able to learn more about Kanji, and, as you talk to him, you learn many of the initial thoughts about him were quite wrong. For example, he explains that the reason why he fought the biker gang earlier in the game wasn’t to become the new leader, nor was it simply for the sake of fighting. He did it because he wanted them to stop riding around his mom’s shop. You also learn that Kanji has some hidden hobbies, such as tailoring. Instead of being this super tough guy who only knows how to fight, we see that he’s actually a bit of a softie. For example, when you first start talking to him, he ends up helping a young boy who lost a toy doll. Kanji later on makes him a new one.

And this brings us right back to the topic of homosexuality. It is hinted at in the game that he questions his sexuality and the opposite gender. This is mainly due to his soft side, which sometimes seems to be ridiculed by people. To him, the only people who understand him are other guys. So when another character, Naoto Shirogane (coincidentally enough, the other character I wanted to talk about), starts wanting to learn more about him, Kanji ends up developing a bit of a crush on him. At this point, we see the possibility that he could in fact be a homosexual. The game never confirms or denies this, but Kanji does say that his Shadow is indeed a part of him, and that he’s more comfortable with it. Even though Persona 4 might or might not have a character who is not a homosexual, they did bring up the topic of it, as well as talk about it in a way that most games wouldn’t dare.

Pikachu driven by Satan or Jesus?

Red. Blue. Yellow. Gold. Silver. Diamond. These are words that when said together, ignite one word in every boys mind. POKEMON. Besides the fact that all of these are colors, they all have one thing in common, and that is that they were versions of the most popular hand held consul game ever, Pokemon. Since it was Easter this weekend, I thought that I would make this blog as a religious driven argument. To understand this blog, I have to take all readers back to my own background upon this argument comes from. Since I went to a Catholic Jesuit High School, all students were required to take a Theology course every semester whether we were Catholic or not. During my senior year of High School, my theology teacher proposed that he was not a fan of Pokemon because he felt it encouraged kids to be part of cults and also promotes values of evolution that do not agree with the way the human body works. Again these are his thoughts not mine. Sadly, he even wrote a book on how Pokemon was an inherently bad game for kids to play. I was even told that it had been banned at one of the Christian grade schools. I remember thinking at the time that it was ridiculous that we have come to a point where even Pokemon is being analyzed as the work of the devil. Therefore, my prompt for this blog is that I do not believe Pokemon is a metaphor or symbol for Satanic worship at any place in the game.

When he showed this image in class, I was shocked because since I hadn’t played since I was a boy, i was unaccustomed to the new stuff that pokemon has been putting out there. Sadly, i had no idea that the new Pokemon games had even created something as bizarre as this pokemon. I reminisce on the good old days where the only focus we had was on pikachu and charizard. I remember my theology teacher stating that he main reasons he disapproved of Pokemon was because there were some types of Pokemon that he called Physic and Dark pokemon. My counter argument for this was that although it has been 10 years since I last played Pokemon, I seemed to recall that there are other Pokemon that could be considered just as heavenly as the dark pokemon are considered evil.  He also proclaimed that Pokemon was a source of evil because it allowed kids to categorize based on looks alone. I countered saying that it wasn’t necessarily looks that a group different from another, more like there skill set. For example, football players and basketball players are not put in the same league because they have different skill sets. It’s the same thing. He also brought up the text in the image, using it as evidence of Pokemon having the godlike power of sending people to hell, which can cause a effect on children and cause them to lose faith. Again it seems astounding to me that we live in a world where Pokemon is being critiqued on the same level as the bible. No matter what the complaints are about pokemon being satanic lingo, i definitely will cherish it as part of my childhood gaming.

 

video games sending negative propaganda

The game Ethnic Cleansing, created in 2002, is known as one of the most politically incorrect games in the gaming market today. I was introduced to it during the previous year in high school. It was used to us as an example of media planting ideas in our minds blindly, very similar to the propaganda concept that has discussed in class. This game is played by a person who has to go through a ghetto to kill black people, and then proceed to kill various Jewish before proceeding to the end of the game where he must kill Ariel Sharon, the former Prime Minister of Israel.  This game is clearly a Neo-Nazi propaganda idea, and clearly places ideas within the players head that these actions are appropriate. As my thesis, i propose that games provoke racial hatred by common consensus such as these should be banned from the gaming industry. I propose this because it is free media rights such as these that allow and initiate racial problems that plague our society today, and companies such as Resistance Records, which runs the game, ought to either shut down the game or at least modify the game to prohibit racist ideas. I know many people will claim that the games we choose to play is our freedom given to us by the constitution, but I have always claimed that a society with too much freedom can be more dangerous than no freedom at all. Freedom such as the ability to create your own games that can spread racist propaganda will eventually lead to racial ideas being branded into people’s mind and become part of their lifestyle, as this game has been publicly publicized by Neo-Nazi’s and white supremacists. This argument has been supported by the Anti-Defamation League as well as Stuff Magazine, labeling Ethnic Cleansing the 4th most controversial game. Oddly enough, people have also been sound in rejecting this game, as Resistance Records attempted to create sequels to Ethnic Cleansing, and all attempts failed and were not as popular. Not only does the game itself give away unpleasant ideas of racism, the phrase “Ethnic Cleansing” is said to mean  ”purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic area”, however not to be confused with genocide”. Such similar acts have been known to be conducted in by Nazi’s as well as in Yugoslavia and Cambodia. It is because of this unpleasant nature of ideas attached to the games that I support my original premise of controlling games with negative ideas attached to them.

This link will allow those to view the game, it’s images, sounds, goals, and levels and depending on whether you have the correct programs installed, will allow you to play the free version. http://www.resistance.com/ethniccleansing/catalog.htm