Showing results by author "Steven L. Kent" in All Categories

Steven L. Kent has been playing video games since Pong and writing about the industry since the Nintendo Entertainment System. In volume 1 of The Ultimate History of Video Games, he chronicled the industry’s first thirty years. In volume 2, he narrates gaming’s entrance into the twenty-first century, as Nintendo, Sega, Sony, and Microsoft battle to capture the global market.

Private first-class Wayson Harris was raised in a U.A. orphanage among thousands of clones born and bred as the ultimate soldiers. But Harris isn't like the other Marines: He has a mind of his own. He figures he's paying for that independent streak when his first assignment out of boot camp is the smallest Marine outpost in the whole U.A. When a rogue general surfaces, the remote desert world Harris thought was a dead-end posting becomes anything but. Fighting off the general's raid gains Harris a promotion. But it also brings him to the attention of some unfriendly U.A. leaders.

With all the whiz, bang, pop, and shimmer of a glowing arcade, volume 1 of The Ultimate History of Video Games reveals everything you ever wanted to know and more about the unforgettable games that changed the world, the visionaries who made them, and the fanatics who played them. Starting in arcades then moving to televisions and handheld devices, the video game invasion has entranced kids and the young at heart for nearly fifty years. And gaming historian Steven L. Kent has been there to record the craze from the very beginning.

1983. The US nuclear submarine USS Roanoke embarks on a classified spy mission into Soviet waters. Their goal: to find evidence of a new, faster, and deadlier Soviet submarine that could tip the balance of the Cold War. But the Roanoke crew isn't alone. Something is on board with them. Something cunning and malevolent. Trapped in enemy territory and hunted by Soviet submarines, tensions escalate and crew members turn on each other. When the lights go out and horror fills the corridors, it will take everything the crew has to survive the menace.

After launching an unsuccessful invasion of Washington, DC, the Unified Authority is on the verge of defeat. Then the clones intercept a message detailing the U.A.’s last ditch plan for survival: a super weapon, a virus designed to attack the clones’ internal architecture. Only one clone was created without the fatal flaw — Wayson Harris, an outlaw model with independent thoughts and an addiction to violence.

The Unified Authority has spread human colonies across the Milky Way, keeping strict order with a powerful military made up almost entirely of clones. But now the clones have formed their own empire, and they aim to keep it...no matter who they must defeat. Born and bred to fight for the U.A., clone marine Wayson Harris has unleashed his fury as he and his brethren rebel against their former masters. But there is a greater threat approaching.

The clone soldiers of the Enlisted Man’s Empire, formerly members of the Unified Authority’s powerful military, maintain a tenuous grasp on the power they fought so hard to gain. But the U.A. will not be so easy to suppress as they had hoped.... A provocateur attacks the Pentagon. Gunships converge on the penitentiary where Unified Authority war criminals are held. And a clone assassin murders Admiral Don Cutter, commander in chief of the Enlisted Man's Empire....

Earth, AD 2519. Less than a year has passed since the clone military of the Enlisted Man’s Empire toppled the government of the Unified Authority. Now the clones rule Earth, but a new enemy has emerged — and set off civil war.... Formerly trained to fight for the U.A., clone Marine Wayson Harris had led the Enlisted Man’s Empire invasion of Earth and wrested control away from the old regime. He’s now ready to do what it takes to ensure the new balance of power isn’t jeopardized.

Lt. Wayson Harris is one of thousands of clones born and bred to be the ultimate soldiers. But unlike the others, Harris is an outlawed model - one with independent thoughts and an addiction to violence. Presumed dead after his troops were massacred, Harris - who blames the U.A. for the slaughter - has gone AWOL as a bounty hunter. Still, it’s hard for a clone to overcome his conditioning, and Harris finds himself drawn back into the U.A.'s service by his mentor and creator, Fleet Admiral Bryce Klyber.

Wayson Harris was one of thousands of clones born and bred to be the ultimate soldiers. But as an outlawed model, he was different from the rest - possessing independent thoughts and an addiction to violence. Stranded on a frontier planet, Harris is desperate to get back to civilization - and back into the fight. But the rebel factions are warring among themselves, and Harris is contacted by a group that wants to return to the Unified Authority's command.

Wayson Harris is not your ordinary clone. He is an outlawed model with a mind of his own, an unquenchable thirst for battle, and a huge chip on his shoulder. Harris quit the U.A. Marines once it became clear its officers didn't give a damn how many clones were lost. But now he's been recalled for duty under the Elite Conscription Act. An unstoppable alien force is advancing on Earth, wiping out the U.A.'s colonies one by one along the way. It's up to Harris and his men to make a last stand on the planet of New Copenhagen, where they must win the battle and the war - or lose all.

After a blistering defeat by alien forces, clone soldier Lt. Wayson Harris and his brethren have been exiled to the far reaches of the galaxy where the Unified Authority intends to use them as targets for live-fire training exercises. But the clones they created and trained to fight have founded their own empire. Now, Harris will unleash his rage against the might of the U.A. Fleet, leading an army with everything to fight for, and one thing to die for - revenge.

Like the thousands of clones before him, Lieutenant Wayson Harris was born and bred as the ultimate soldier. But he is unique, possessing independence of thought - and an addiction to the rage of battle. So when he and other clone survivors of the New Copenhagen debacle are sent to cool their heels in an isolated "relocation camp," Harris feels on edge. And with good reason.

Gestrandet auf einem Grenzplaneten, versucht der Klon Wayson Harris verzweifelt, sich wieder zurück in den Kampf zu stürzen. Als eine Gruppe, die sich wieder dem Kommando und dem Schutz der Vereinigten Obrigkeit anschließen will, ihn darum bittet, ihr Angebot zu übermitteln, kann Harris einmal mehr in die Uniform der V.O.-Marines schlüpfen. Doch während er einen Angriff auf den Feind anführt, entdeckt Harris, dass die Rebellen einen mächtigen Verbündeten gefunden haben, mit dem niemand hätte rechnen können.

Lt. Wayson Harris ist einer von Tausenden von Klonen, die geboren und großgezogen wurden, um zu einem ultimativen Soldaten zu werden. Im Gegensatz zu den anderen, ist Harris jedoch ein geächtetes Modell – eines mit eigenständigen Gedanken und einem Hang zur Gewalt. Während er gegen seine Konditionierung ankämpft, wird Harris von der Vereinigten Obrigkeit zum Dienst einberufen. Mit Separatisten unterwegs durch die Galaxie, muss Harris nun eine Entscheidung treffen.

Die Erde im Jahre des Herrn 2508. Die Menschen bevölkern alle sechs Arme der Milchstraße. Die despotische Vereinigte Obrigkeit kontrolliert die Erdkolonien mit eiserner Hand. Aufstände werden mithilfe eines mächtigen Militärs bereits im Keim erstickt. Dieses besteht fast ausschließlich aus ersetzbaren Klonen, die als Massenware hergestellt werden. Private First Class Wayson Harris wuchs in einem Waisenhaus der Vereinigten Obrigkeit unter Tausenden von Klonen auf, die als ultimative Soldaten herangezüchtet wurden.

Die Erde im Jahr 2514: Menschen bevölkern alle sechs Arme der Milchstraße. Die despotische Vereinigte Obrigkeit kontrolliert die Erdkolonien mithilfe eines mächtigen Militärs, das fast vollständig aus Klonen besteht – doch als Außerirdische die VO angreifen, beschuldigt man die Klone. Nach der vernichtenden Avatari-Invasion werden Lieutenant Wayson Harris und seine Klonsoldaten an den Rand der Galaxis verbannt, um als Übungsziele für die neuen mächtigen Schiffe der Vereinigten Obrigkeit benutzt zu werden.

Die Erde im Jahr 2516: Menschen bevölkern alle sechs Arme der Milchstraße. Die despotische Vereinigte Obrigkeit kontrolliert die Erdkolonien mithilfe eines mächtigen Militärs, das fast vollständig aus Klonen besteht – bis die außerirdischen Avatari die Kontrolle über alle Planeten – bis auf zwei – an sich reißen. Nachdem sie ein letztes Gefecht ausgestanden haben, um Neu-Kopenhagen vor dem anrückenden außerirdischen Feind zu verteidigen, werden Lieutenant Wayson Harris und die anderen überlebenden Klone in ein abgelegenes Umsiedlungslager geschickt.

2514 n.Chr.: Eine unaufhaltsame Alien-Armee hält auf die Erde zu und droht die Kolonien der Vereinigten Obrigkeit eine nach der anderen auszulöschen. Es liegt nun an Wayson Harris, dem geächteten Klon, und seiner Truppe das letzte Gefecht auf dem Planeten von New Copenhagen auszutragen – entweder sie gewinnen den Kampf und damit den Krieg oder werden alles verlieren.