> Ya know, Half Life 2 came out back when the "evil government conspiracy"
> theme was popular, back when the X-Files were mega-big, and it's as much
> of a right-wing trope as it is a left-wing one.
True, and that's one of the reasons Half Life 2 is a lesser achievement than the first game. I think the writers were trying to make a point about interstellar neocolonialism, but didn't tap into the actual social movements against neoliberalism. The result is political neutralization -- the soldiers in game 1 are now zombified humans in game 2, the national security state of game 1 is now the faceless Combine in game 2, Black Mesa Labs is replaced by generic neo-Expressionist alien bases, etc.
I don't mean to argue that all games are automatically progressive - some are and some aren't. It's just that Left narratives have enormous traction within gaming culture, far more relative to their field than progressive directors or independent studios vis-a-vis Hollywood or national TV.
-- DRR