If there was ever any lingering doubt that videogames are capable of achieving great things in the realm of aesthetics, it is, at least in part, dispelled by the coming of Bioshock Infinite — the most recent darling of game enthusiasts and reviewers everywhere.

Literary pundits and theoreticians posit a bevy of lofty ideals toward which all good literature should aspire. For example, according to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “fiction reveals truth that reality obscures.” Emerson is perhaps trying to say that fiction is a way for people to access knowledge outside of their daily experiences.

Arts and Entertainment Editor Zachary Zahos '15 finds the heroic deeds of Harry Potter and Carrie from TV's Homeland depressing in light of his feeble, mortal accomplishments.

Diamonds and video games are bloodier than you think. Kai Sam Ng '14 urges us to look beyond the reel, and stop making soldiers lead double lives of loyalty and doubt.

Brimming with zombie communists and undead mailmen, the especially bloody and brainless addition to the Resident Evil saga disturbs Sam Bromer '16. The latest video-game-adaptation sequel feels like one long video game, or a particularly macabre episode of Dora the Explorer ... oh, why even bother.

George Karalis '13 lets you know the latest indie game sensation, the genre and geometry-defying platformer, Fez.

George Karalis '13 contemplates the beautiful, minimalist indie Dear Esther, a video game that questions the very definition of its medium.

Zachary Zahos '15 reviews the final, epic and somewhat controversial installment in the Mass Effect video game trilogy.

George Karalis '13 tackles a subject new for The Sun's Arts section: video games. Who's excited?

Left 4 Dead was Valve's big shooter title last fall. It's a cooperative 4-player shooter with a survival/horror theme. It introduced procedural monster and item spawning through an AI called the "Director", and also added true multi-threading support to the ever evolving Source engine. The gameplay is fun and intense, though at release time, there wasn't much content. I pre-ordered Left 4 Dead on Steam for $45 and burned out on it in about a week. However, Valve is now back with 2 new versus campaigns and a new game mode with 16 maps in this free downloadable content pack. The new mode pits your team against an infinite stream of monsters, with the goal of surviving for as long as possible. It's probably the most intense mode yet.