With both young and adult gamers as loyal fans, The Legend of Zelda is one of the most beloved video game series ever created. The contributors to this volume consider the following questions and more: What is the nature of the gamer’s connection to Link? Does Link have a will, or do gamers project their wills onto him? How does the gamer experience the game? Do the rules of logic apply in the game world? How is space created and distributed in Hyrule (the fictional land in which ...

Considered a sign of the ‘coming of age’ of video games as an artistic medium, the award-winning BioShock franchise covers vast philosophical ground. BioShock and Philosophy: Irrational Game, Rational Book presents expert reflections by philosophers (and Bioshock connoisseurs) on this critically acclaimed and immersive fan-favorite.Reveals the philosophical questions raised through the artistic complexity, compelling characters and absorbing plots of this ground-brea...

Unlock the Secrets of Hyrule with the Power of PhilosophyA groundbreaking and critically acclaimed masterpiece, The Legend of Zelda was released in Japan in 1986. That first entry spawned one of the greatest series in gaming history, leading up to Echoes of Wisdom in 2024. Link's quest to vanquish evil, unite the Triforce, and restore peace to Hyrule is at the heart of most Zelda games, but it's not just the story that has captivated fans...

Recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most popular MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) in videogame history, World of Warcraft is everywhere - from episodes of South Park and The Simpsons, to online series like Watch the Guild, accolades and awards from game critics, and prime-time commercials with Mr. T. Inevitably, such a cultural phenomenon triggers deeper questions. When does an assumed identity become r...

Since the Doom series, First Person Shooter (FPS) videogames have ricocheted through the gaming community, often reaching outside that community to the wider public. While critics primarily lampoon FPSs for their aggressiveness and on-screen violence, gamers see something else. Halo is one of the greatest, most successful FPSs ever to grace the world of gaming. Although Halo is a FPS, it has a science-fiction storyline that draws from previous award-winning scien...

Considered a sign of the "coming of age" of video games as an artistic medium, the award-winning BioShock franchise covers vast philosophical ground. BioShock and Philosophy: Irrational Game, Rational Book presents expert reflections by philosophers (and BioShock connoisseurs) on this critically acclaimed and immersive fan-favorite.● Reveals the philosophical questions raised through the artistic complexity, compelling characters, and absorbing plots of t...

The final novel of the Forerunner Saga trilogy by science fiction legend Greg Bear—set in the Halo universe and based on the New York Times bestselling video game series!One hundred thousand years ago. Chaos rules the final days of the Forerunner empire. The Flood—a horrifying, shape-changing, and unstoppable parasite—has arrived in force, aided by unexpected allies, and internal strife has desperately weakened Forerunner defenses. Facing the immi...

The first novel in the Forerunner Saga trilogy by science fiction legend Greg Bear—set in the Halo universe and based on the New York Times bestselling video game series!One hundred thousand years ago, the galaxy was populated by a great variety of beings.But one species—eons beyond all others in both technology and knowledge—achieved dominance.They ruled in peace, but met opposition with quick and brutal effectiveness.They...

The New York Times bestselling series based on the blockbuster video game for Xbox!It is 2555, more than two years after the Master Chief went missing-in-action following a decisive conflict on Installation 00—the massive, extragalactic Forerunner construct known as the Ark—as part of the final chapter in humanity’s bloody thirty-year struggle against the overwhelming forces of the Covenant. Now, as a tenuous peace exists between the humans and the Elites,...

The New York Times bestselling series based on the blockbuster Xbox® games continues with the acclaimed story of Spartan Edward Buck—first seen in HALO: ODST and reappearing in HALO 5: GUARDIANS!While Spartans get all the glory, no soldier―not even the legendary Master Chief―wins a war on his own. Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck and his team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODSTs) played a major role in saving Earth from all-out invasion at t...

For fans of the Halo games and readers of military science fiction and alien-culture sagas, Halo: Broken Circle dives deep into Forerunner technology, elite honor codes, and the secret dawn of one of the Halo u****niverse’s greatest conflicts.Centuries before the Human-Covenant War would rage across the galaxy, a similar conflict erupted between the Prophets and the Elites—two alien races at odds over the sacred artifacts left by the power...

The first novel of the Kilo-Five Trilogy by #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Traviss—part of the expanded universe based on the award-winning video game series Halo!The theocratic military alliance known as the Covenant has collapsed after a long, brutal war with humanity that saw billions slaughtered on Earth and its colonies. For the first time in thirty years, however, peace finally seems possible. But though the fi...