Today’s video games are becoming more and more like playable movies.

As a kid growing up in the 80s and 90s I spent more time than I should have playing video games.

The graphics back then couldn’t hold a candle to what is available today, but what they lacked in graphical power they made up for in playability. Most of the games in that era were tough to beat. 

Today games feature more movie-like experiences, with digital surround sound and graphics that come close to watching a movie. But it’s not just the sound and pretty pictures that provide movie like entertainment; it’s the deep stories game developers are incorporating into their work.

In the early days you were lucky to see a cut scene or two that conveyed some of the back story. But as the industry has grown, developers have begun to implement character progression and plotlines.

This not only opens the game up to multiple play throughs, but more bang for the consumer’s buck.

Games in the Bioshock series provide a strong story line within the game, with a minimal amount of cut scenes.

Recently I’ve been laboring through The Last of Us, a game based on a fictional world where strange spores transform people into mindless creatures that attack the uninfected.

But the story is not about the creatures, it centers on two main characters, Joel and Ellie. Joel, the hardened survivor who has endured 20 years of the post apocalyptic world after witnessing the death of his daughter during the initial outbreak, is watching after Ellie, a teenage girl who really doesn’t need that much protection.

I won’t ruin the story, but if you’re a gamer and haven’t played it, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy. I suggest the remastered version since it comes with all of the extras.