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Here Are 2017's Biggest News Stories From Video Games
With the book closed on 2017, it is hard to deny that it was an incredibly strange year. Not only did global geopolitics get aggressively nuclear, but sentient artificial intelligence both blessed and abandoned us, and alien forces subjugated the world to its will. It was a year with a lot of good and a lot of bad. Now that we're all on the other side of the it, it seems like a good idea to take a look at those 365 days in news one more time and pick out the biggest stories.
January
Captain John Price Kills Terrorist Leader Vladimir Makarov
What Happened: Known terrorist Vladimir Makarov, having staged an attack on Zakhaev International Airport and escaped the custody of the International Criminal Court, was found hiding at the Hotel Oasis in the Arabian Peninsula. Captain John Price of the British Special Forces killed Makarov during a tense shootout. Price's mission partner, a Russian loyalist once under Makarov known only as Yuri, did not survive the mission.
How It Worked Out: With Marakov dead, his ultranationalist terrorist network has been slowly deconstructed. After several wars, the world has mostly decided it is time to rest. There are also conflicting reports of Marakov and Yuri being assassinated by Price while sitting in a Jeep in 1996, which no one is quite sure what to do with. (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3)
February
WAREZ President Goodman Attempts To Take Over NeoGeo World
What Happened: Sponsored by the top corporation WAREZ and its president, Goodman, the NeoGeo Battle Coliseum tournament drew to a close with a shocking revelation. The top entrepreneur stepped out of the shadows to reveal that two of the fighters, Yuki and Ai, were actually secret agents of the government. Goodman, who arranged the tournament in an effort to topple the NeoGeo world heroes that stood in opposition to him taking over the world took on the role of fighter himself.
How It Worked Out: Goodman showed off his fighting prowess, including a flaming ghost ape that is bound to him for some reason named Gorilla King. Despite this, however, he was defeated by Yuki and Ai and his evil plans never came to fruition. (NeoGeo Battle Coliseum)
April
Ethan And Mia Winters Disappear In Dulvey, Louisiana Several Years Apart
What Happened: Mia Winters was reported missing in 2014, having told her husband, Ethan, that she was leaving on a babysitting job. Upon receiving a cryptic message from her, Ethan tracked her last known location down to Dulvey, Louisiana, near a farming property belonging to local recluse Jack Baker and his family.
How It Worked Out: There has been no information on what occurred after Winters stepped onto the Baker estate, which is less than two miles from the 2014 crash site of the Annabelle, a cargo ship that ran aground and split in half from the shock. The Baker estate is also presumed to be the last-known location of a film crew that was shooting footage for a paranormal-investigation documentary. Reports of helicopters bearing circular logos have been sighted in the area. (Resident Evil VII: Biohazard)
May
A Blackout At Underwater Theme Park Threatens Massive Explosion
What Happened: A blackout at the underwater theme park LeMU trapped multiple people inside the park after a dome sprung a leak, causing water pressure to rise to levels that made it unsafe to even swim. The water pressure was so great that the unintentional prisoners could only be expected to survive 119 hours before the buildings they were in would be crushed.
How It Worked Out: There has been no public acknowledgement of the LeMU disaster, though multiple people who once claimed to have firsthand knowledge of it have claimed to feel a presence watching and occasionally guiding them. (Ever17)
June
The Earth Is Attacked By Alien Bugs
What Happened: Aliens invaded Earth in early June, beginning not from little green men from the skies, but with giant insects burrowing up from underground. While the world governments initially wanted to understand if the creatures came in peace, it soon became clear that they only sought to kill and destroy. The bugs were found to be living in massive colonies underground and were soon joined by troops coming from space in flying ships and giant robots.
How It Worked Out: Japan's Earth Defense Force confronted the alien mothership over a small town north of Tokyo. A single EDF soldier was able to defeat the mothership by launching hundreds of rockets into its core over the span of 10 to 15 minutes. With that victory, it is assumed that the aliens will never, ever attack Earth again. (Earth Defense Force 2017)
July
The World R:2 Launches, But Quickly Devolves Into Player-Killing
What Happened: Three years after the disappearance of the benevolent A.I. Aura that restored and governed the popular MMORPG, The World, CC Corp. has attempted to release a follow up to what was once the world's most active video game. CC Corp. has very little choice in the matter, as the Restore Aura process that they attempted ended up destroying 80 percent of the original game's servers, but it does not seem most players are eager to participate in the World R:2, as it has quickly become a den of hostile players doing nothing but killing each other.
How It Worked Out: The World R:2 immediately came under fire after one player named Shiho fell into a coma as a consequence of being killed by another player in the game. Additionally, rumors are about about players in the game receiving special boons by random draw that give them similar powers to the ones that destroyed the previous game during the Restore Aura process. (.hack//GU)
September
Coyotes' Leader Slick Clyde Travels Back In Time To Take Over America
What Happened: The leader of the international hitmen group, The Coyotes, lays on his deathbed near his foster sons, one of whom is a cyborg, and laments that he was unable to take over the United States like he wanted. To fix this regret, Slick Clyde steals plans for a time machine and travels back to 1977 to take over the country.
How It Worked Out: It worked out poorly because being a cyborg does not actually enhance your driving ability, and all the conflicts were solved with driving. (Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense)
Those were the major news stories of 2017, though 2018 is already looking difficult to handle. Doctors at Caduceus are warning of possible new virus strains, while the dismantling of the Patriots has given way to Private Military companies as major world forces and influences. Still, it probably can't be worse than aliens, right?
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