Search results
Apr 19, 2016 · He uppercuts an Interpol agent so hard lightning erupts from his body!” Just spectacular. Rating: One ripped, kicking in the door and ruling everyone Captain America from 2011's The First...
5 January 1966 – Lightning F3 XR721 of No. 56 Squadron RAF belly landed and hit a wall at Helmingham, Suffolk after the engine flamed out. The ejection seat fired but the pilot was killed.
2 days ago · 00:51. Thousands of ticketless fans attempted to enter Florida’s Hard Rock Stadium for Argentina and Colombia’s Copa America final, said a stadium spokesperson. Many were seen scaling walls ...
- 1 min
- Adefela Olowoselu
- Celebrate your nations independence by blowing up a small chunk of it.
- The Last of Us
- Bioshock Infinite
- Saints Row IV
- Grand Theft Auto IV
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Super Baseball 2020
- Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes
- Empire: Total War
- America's Army
By IGN Staff
Updated: Jan 27, 2021 8:01 am
Posted: Jul 4, 2019 3:57 pm
It's the Fourth of July, which means that - for our American readers, at least - it's the day we mark as when the United States officially cast off the rule of King George III and declared our independence.
The vote to do so was actually held on July 2nd, but the 4th was the day that famed Declaration of Independence was adopted by Congress so it could eventually be stolen by Nicholas Cage (for its own protection, of course).
Regardless, we here got to thinking about how video games have become such a prevalent form of entertainment in the US (yes, across the rest of the world as well, but it's our birthday so it's gonna be about us today), and how so many games have chosen to use the good ol' US of A as a backdrop - both literally and metaphorically - to tell their stories. So, before we leave to don our best, most ostentatious red, white and blue getup and gather 'round someone's laptop or phone for the traditional Watching of Bill Pullman Talking About Aliens, here are some of our picks for the Most American™ games of all time.
Even in its apocalyptic state, the remnants of the United States are still standing in The Last of Us. Amidst the chaos surrounding the country, you can still sense the ideals set by the founding fathers. As people try and claim land and ownership of their governing prospects, it is still prevalent that the drive to remain human, respect humanity, and uphold a standard of law (as much as the current state of the world allows) is strong.
And that is what being American is. To be able to possess free will, no matter how messed up the world is, is in itself something America will always fight for.
I was initially going to write Cornhole, but Bioshock Infinite has enough of the American traditions showcased in the game to suffice. It even keeps in some of America's old-fashioned racism and problems with inequality.
- Stella Chung, Associate Producer
The Bioshock games were always about a uniquely American form of objectivism; a strongman justifying authoritarian control with vague and lofty principals like "liberty" or "individualism." But Father Comstock is the most American of all the franchise's villains, and Columbia is such a heightened, feverish version of American patriotism gone wrong that seeing scenes reminiscent of it in the real world is really eery. Plus you get to frag 8 foot tall mechanized Founding Fathers which is cool.
- Eric Sams, Social Media Manager
Saints Row IV is a game where you play as a gang leader, who is also the President of the United States, which is also a Matrix-like construct of a hostile alien race. You can fly a jet shaped like an eagle and wield a gun that assaults people with dubstep. You can save Christmas, go to hell, and disarm a missle mid-flight while blasting Aerosmith. It simply does not get more (mid-2000's) American then that.
- Jeremy Azevedo, Sr. Director of Games Video
Grand Theft Auto IV is probably one of the most American games I’ve ever played. It stars an immigrant coming over in search of a better life, realizing American streets are NOT paved with gold, but then picking himself up by his bootstraps and becoming a successful businessperson (albeit in the criminal underworld).
You also take part in other American activities such as fighting loan sharks, killing terrorists for the government, and conducting...uh...business transactions with sex workers. ‘Murica!
Grand Theft Auto V summed up what the USA looked like to an outsider like me; the country seen through the lens of its most extreme traits. Capitalism-obsessed and nihilistic, yes, but with endless opportunity and an insatiable attitude for doing-whatever-the-hell you want. Wanna hijack a jet-ski while wearing an Armani suit and ride it onto the beach? 'Merica's the place for you.
- Lucy O'Brien, Executive Features Editor
I can't think of anything more American than going old-skool with Super Baseball 2020 on SNES! If you choose the American Dreams team, you can be even more patriotic.
- Jessie Wade, Homepage Editor
In Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, players must covertly infiltrate an American military encampment in Gauntanamo Bay to rescue a pair of children being held prisoner. To me, there's nothing less American than children being held prisoner in military encampments. Thankfully, Metal Gear is a fictional series, and nothing like this would ever happen in real life. I like video games because they don't involve politics.
- Max Scoville, Host/Writer
What’s more American than re-enacting the Battle of Bunker Hill, one of the most important engagements in the American War of Independence? You totally can in Empire: Total War. Sure, the Americans historically lose that battle, but boy do we make the British pay for that victory!
And since this is a video game, you can always replay it until you win, which does nothing to change the course of actual history. But if George Washington could see you, he’d probably give you supportive clap on the back!
When the US Army gets involved in video game development and publishing, you know you've got a classic military recruitment tool on your hands!
- Ginger Smith, Product Manager
Red Lightning is a wargame created by Norm Koger and published by Strategic Simulations for the Atari ST and MS-DOS in 1989. An Amiga conversion followed a year later. The game is set in Europe and hypothesizes a Soviet invasion of Western Europe.
See lightning strikes in real time across the planet. Free access to maps of former thunderstorms. By Blitzortung.org and contributors.
Aug 19, 2020 · Lightning is a random act of nature that can strike at any time of the year, most often during summer months. So far this year, there have been 26 people reported to have been struck by lightning; 12 of those people died.*
