The Greatest Stories Ever Told 08.01.06: Choose Your Own Adventure

Posted by Brad Garoon on 08.01.2006

It's only my second column and I'm already sliding. Sigh.

Thanks to everyone who e-mailed me with their comments on the debut column. I appreciate them greatly. Okay, here's the deal with this week.

My life got turned upside down with a big move across the state of Michigan and a new job that's taken up most of my time. Things will slow down this week hopefully but I haven't had time to devote the effort in storytelling that you deserve as a 411 reader. This week, I present to you a choice.

In my debut column I talked about the Legacy of Kain. This series of games took on, amongst other things, the question of theodicy. This sparked my interest in other games that question religious authority and perhaps make allusions at the belief systems we all subscribe to in our real lives.

I want you, the reader, to e-mail me and let me know whether you want another column on a game with religious suggestions or one that is purely fun. Here are the options.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Glabados church is based on Saint Ajora Glabados. The legend states that he was a foreseer of bad fortune and thus became extremely popular as a prophet. The governing body became fearful of him and murdered him after one of his disciples turned him in for money. Sound familiar? The headquarters of the governing church was destroyed by a tidal wave days after his death. Throughout the story the protagonists learn about the churches manipulation of actual history and their cover up of a terrible incident that will soon come about again.

The Simpsons: Hit & Run: Although years of bad writing and worse pop culture references have all but killed the show and historically video games based on the show have been dreadful, one was put out with an interesting and fun story that brought the characters back to their roots. You've got Mr. Burns being evil, Apu exploiting the Kwik-E-Mart, Bart being a prankster, Lisa being too smart for her own good, aliens, destruction, fast cars, and Homer being outrageous but to the point that we all love. No disgraceful representations here. It's also full of all kinds of twists and turns. If the Simpsons movie is as good as this game then we're all in for a treat.

So there you have it. Both of these columns are coming but you get to choose which one comes out first. Heavy and religious or light-hearted and animated. You have until August 7 to get your e-mails in, so think hard and choose wisely.