Music Becomes a Real Game Changer

By LAURA PARKER

Ben Sklar for The New York Times

Austin Wintory, conducting musicians at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, recording for the new video game The Banner Saga.

With The Banner Saga, “game music turns the player into a co-storyteller,” says the composer Austin Wintory.

Game Theory

Surprises and Challenges for Video Games in 2013

By STEPHEN TOTILO

A look at the the year in video games with the regular critics for The New York Times and others.

Empty Shelves Signal Revival in Game Consoles

By NICK WINGFIELD

Those sales bolster the view that the console business is turning into a two-horse race, with Nintendo a distant third.

Video Game Review

You Can’t Save Them All

By CHRIS SUELLENTROP

The Walking Dead: Season Two is approachable for the gaming illiterate while also demonstrating the promise of video games as something more than a vehicle for fast-twitch excitement.

In the Footsteps of Lara Croft

By CHRIS SUELLENTROP

Though some games, like Tomb Raider, offer heroines, some gamers are personally filling a gap by creating strong female characters of their own.

Video Games

Puzzles, Pirates and Loony Worlds

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

New video games released in December include Peggle 2, Assassin’s Creed Pirates, Blek and Doki-Doki Universe.

Video Game Review

Leaping In and Out of an Origami World

By STEPHEN TOTILO

Through its use of the PlayStation Vita, the video game Tearaway breaks the fourth wall in a way that presents a world of virtual people who seem aware of the person playing the game.

Critic’s Notebook

Multiplayer Games With a Local Touch

By CHRIS SUELLENTROP

“Indie Essentials: 25 Must-Play Video Games,” a playable exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image, provides the easiest way to experience “local multiplayer” games.

Slide Show

George Yao spent six months on top of the virtual world of the online game Clash of Clans. “Looking back, I think I must have been insane,” he said of his immersion in the game.

Master of His Virtual Domain

By MATT BAI

George Yao, an ordinary guy, spent $250 a week conquering the online game Clash of Clans, at one point bringing five iPads into the shower with him so that none of his accounts would go inactive.