Free Republic

Matilda Rapaport, a Swedish extreme free skier, has died after she was caught in an avalanche while filming promotional material for an upcoming video game last week in Chile. She was 30. Rapaport was engulfed by the avalanche Thursday after a winter storm in the resort village of Farrellones, about 45 miles northeast of Santiago in central Chile. According to a statement released Monday by Red Bull, one of her sponsors, she succumbed to her injuries a few days later “despite intensive medical care and treatment over the subsequent days.” She had been married to her longtime boyfriend, alpine World...

I've seen many people have sucess at moie names knowing only a fdistant memories. Im hoping you can help me with an old video arcade game. This was after pong but just before/during space invaders if I remember correctly. It was a game similar in graphics to asteroids that had two spaceships defending a group of ten or so fuel containers. The game lasted as long as you were able to keep wave after wave of enemy ships from stealing all the containers. My brother and I loved this game with one of us camping our ship near the containers...

The father of video games, Ralph H. Baer, has passed away at age 92. He came to rest in his New Hampshire home on the night of Saturday, Dec. 6 according to Wikipedia and a Facebook post by video game historian Leonard Herman, a friend of Baer. Dubbed the "Thomas Edison of the home TV game" by Popular Electronics Magazine in 1980, Baer's Odyssey game system was the first home video game system. The patent for the idea was filed on August 10, 1970 and the system was released by Magnavox in 1972.

The publisher of such gaming franchises as "The Legend of Zelda" and "Mario Bros." said Tuesday it wouldn't bow to pressure to allow players to engage in romantic activities with characters of the same sex in English editions of "Tomodachi Life." This follows a social media campaign launched by fans last month seeking virtual equality for the game's characters, which are modeled after real people. "Nintendo never intended to make any form of social commentary with the launch of 'Tomodachi Life,'" Nintendo of America Inc. said in a statement. "The relationship options in the game represent a playful alternate world...

The new Battlefield 4 video game from Electronic Arts, in which fictional forces from the United States, Russia and China go to war with each other features a curious, perhaps coincidental, new ‘map’ that is an almost exact replica of a massive ‘secret’ Ukranian tank depot. The map, dubbed Zavod 311, engages players from around the world in various scenarios that feature tanks, armored vehicles, helicopters, foot soldiers, and a host of weaponry with the goal being “conquest and control” of specific targets on the map. Up until recently it was just another map to play. But a report from...

If Wendy Davis’ 11-hour filibuster to protect late-term abortion in the Lone Star State wasn’t proof enough of the Texas pro-abortion movement’s desperation, a new video game does the trick. In “Choice: Texas,” designed by Carly Kocurek and Allyson Whipple and currently in development, players hunt for abortion access in Texas via the “choose-your-own-adventure” technique – and confront obstacles such as geography and healthcare. Gamers live vicariously through characters such as 35-year-old Latrice who, despite a long-time boyfriend, “has never planned to have children, and between her career and family obligations, she feels she has her hands full enough.” Another,...

An eight-year-old boy who allegedly shot dead his 87-year-old caregiver with her own gun had played a violent video game that awards points for killing people just minutes earlier. The boy, who has not been identified, was playing Grand Theft Auto IV before shooting relative Marie Smothers in the back of the head as she watched television in her Louisiana mobile home on Thursday night. The boy won't be charged for shooting Smothers, pronounced dead at the scene, because of his age. The Colt .38-caliber Detective Special revolver he used belonged to Smothers, who lived in the Country Breeze Mobile...

Alexander J. Velicky is part of the current generation of millennials trying desperately to find a job in the current economic climate. He’s 19, and could be part of the legions sending out resumes, CVs and cover letters to every company under the sun. He decided to do things a bit differently

Six-month-old Jonylah Watkins was fatally shot over a stolen video game console, Chicago police said Monday as they announced an arrest in a slaying that has come to symbolize the city's deadly gun culture. Authorities charged Koman Willis, 33, with killing the infant and shooting her father while they sat parked in a minivan in the Woodlawn neighborhood on March 11. A bullet entered Jonylah's right shoulder and traveled down through her left thigh. She died the following day. Her father, Jonathan Watkins, survived multiple gunshot wounds.

In case you missed it, MSNBC doesn't think the children you feed, clothe, discipline, educate, and raise belong to you.This is a play off of "all your base are belong to us." It's a meme that has been around for a long time, but I suspect many may not know it.

During his media event yesterday to roll out his "comprehensive" plan to address gun violence, Barack Obama didn't mention the entertainment industry at all, despite hints from Joe Biden that films, television, and video games would all be on the table for discussion. Instead, another Democrat has picked up that issue in the House. Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) has introduced legislation that would require all retailers to prevent the sale of violent video games to minors: Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) introduced a bill this week that would ban the sale of violent video games to minors.The Supreme Court struck down...

I saw something today that upset and deeply disturbed me. I was walking past my son's bedroom, where he spends all his time on his computer playing those damn games of his. I stopped when I heard the sound of Wayne LaPierre's voice as he gave his speech about the Newtown massacre. I was surprised my son, who is just 14, was getting involved in anything political, but I was glad he was exposing himself to the right people. I opened the door, intending to tell him how proud I was, when the image on the screen stopped me cold....

Don’t worry, DC has it covered In another futile attempt to curb gun violence in the Land of the Free, US Vice President Joe Biden is reaching out to the video game industry for ideas. That will give you an idea of how much crap the government has on the shelf. Biden will meet with gaming industry representatives on Friday, as he explores cultural factors that supposedly contribute to violent behavior. Biden already met with other entertainment industry representatives earlier this week and he is expected to present his recommendations to President Barack Obama next week. Although many techies...

Drive Deserted Streets in North Korea's Super-Depressing New Video Game By Fruzsina Eördögh Posted Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012, at 6:31 PM ET North Korea has made its first video game! Well, kinda. The browser-based Pyongyang Racer is too old-school to appeal to gaming aficionados, but it’s not exactly supposed to compete with Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Made by a North Korea-based IT company and a British-owned travel agency that arranges tours of the country, the game is a marketing stunt, plain and simple.* It hasn’t made me want to visit North Korea any time soon, but the Internet...

Military futurist Peter Singer -- and consultant for the forthcoming Call of Duty -- reveals what kind of dark assumptions are baked into the next blockbuster game. The Internet has been abuzz over details -- and several intriguing YouTube videos -- of the upcoming "Call of Duty: Black Ops II," scheduled to hit shelves in November. A sequel to the 2010 blockbuster "Call of Duty: Black Ops," the latest iteration of the video game continues the saga of American and Russian operatives immersed in a complex 1960s Cold War plot. But much of the sequel takes place in 2025, when...

In our collective consciousness, the French have a reputation for scent. Cut into a wheel of Roquefort, uncork a vintage bottle of Petrus or a flacon of Parisian perfume and you'll smell what I mean. So, it should come as no surprise that French company, Olf-Action, has developed SMELLIT, a device designed to aromatically enhance the video games and movies of your home entertainment system. A cluster of what look like six miniature jet turbines affixed to a stand presumably will blast out synchronized odors that correspond with onscreen activity. SMELLIT hasn't officially been released yet, but it's due for...

<p>"Blackwater" was developed by Zombie Studios and overseen by former Navy SEAL and Blackwater founder Erik Prince.</p> <p>More and more, today's video game business is driven by huge military shooters like Activision's "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" and Electronic Arts' "Battlefield 3."</p>

(LEAD) (Yonhap Feature) New video game on Kim Jong-un gains popularity worldwide By Tony Chang SEOUL, May 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's heir-apparent son takes over the helm of his destitute communist country in 2012. He reunites the two Koreas, for which he is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but he takes further aim at world domination. The 20-something son, Kim Jong-un, who in real life is still being groomed to succeed his father as the country's next leader, is the very villain to shoot down in a new U.S. video game currently on sale worldwide. The...

I still remember seeing Red Dawn for the first time. I remember thinking that the choices that were made were so foreign, yet so plausible, that it gave me serious pause and made me think “what would I do in that situation? How would I react?” My school mascot wasn’t the Wolverines, mind you, but it still sounded every bit as defiant if you yelled it the same way. Enter Homefront – the latest game from THQ, with a story line written by the author of Red Dawn (and Apocalypse Now). More after the jump. Step into the shoes of...

A new video game, called "Wikileaks: The Game", has been released. The game features President Obama and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. In the game, players control Mr. Assange as he attempts to download classified information from the President's laptop while the President takes a snooze. How much information Mr. Assange is able to download depends on the player. In the real world, however, Assange is clearly defeating the President, hands down. But of course, this isn't the real world, it's a video game. Besides, the President doesn't appear to be too concerned about the leaking of classified information and, at...