Howard Isgode

I think "Captain Planet" was more of a foot-bullet for environmentalism than anything else. I watched it as a kid, and so did most of my friends.... and I can't think of any other program we ridiculed more. Its heavy-handedness was apparent even then. The fact that the Planeteers were complete lamers didn't help, nor did the Captain's garish appearance... Ducktales was a favorite, though. Heh, I wonder which fictional character is responsible for influencing more capitalists, Scrooge McDuck or Howard Roark? I always wanted a money bin to swim in...

Fallout and Fallout 2 are terrific games. Both put you in the role of an adventurer in an anarchic, post-apocalyptic USA (I believe the cause was nuclear war with China, but you may imagine it was the prime movers' withdrawal if you like :-D). In the first game, your goal is to stop a fanatical mystic from destroying what's left of civilization; in the second, you're seeking some sort of agricultural technology to save your village - a Drexlerian/Star Trek type food assembler IIRC. [Keep in mind that these games are relatively old, so the presentation is very primitive compared to what's in the "New Releases" sections of stores now; not for everyone] Deus Ex is another game that comes to mind. It's also a little dated, having been released in 2000. In this game, you play a sort of Steve Austin (the bionic one)/James Bond government agent who uncovers a web of corruption. The plot of this game amounts to the idea "what if every conspiracy theory were true," which you may or may not find amusing. It's reminiscent of the Illuminatus! novels, as well as the TV show The Lone Gunmen. I only recommend the original; I found the sequel disappointing. Another RPG from that era was Planescape: Torment, which is legendary among gamers for its complex and engaging storyline. Like the already-mentioned Knights of the Old Republic, the moral choices you make during the game determine who your character evolves into. Unlike that game, though, combat is mostly auxiliary to Torment. Your ultimate goal isn't to defeat a boss monster, it's to discover your own nature. I highly recommend this game - just writing about it is giving me the urge to reinstall it! Be aware however that, for a game, this one has an enormous amount of dialogue and text. Having been weaned on Infocom, this wasn't a problem for me... but it does turn some people off. "Caveat emptor." More recently, there's been Half-Life 2 which puts you in the role of Gordon Freeman, a mild-mannered physicist(!) who must run and gun against another sort of Big Brother, totalitarian government. This is a great game - innovative, exciting, immersive and intense. It's a breath of fresh air from the typical shooters - but after 6 years in development, I'd expect no less. There's also the Railroad Tycoon series of games, if you ever wanted to run Taggart Transcontinental...