In Wolfenstein II: New Colossus, our hero B.J. Blazkowicz has grown into far more than a couple of chunky pixels -- but he still kills a lot of Nazis. In Wolfenstein II: New Colossus, our hero B.J. Blazkowicz has grown into far more than a couple of chunky pixels -- but he still kills a lot of Nazis. For years now, some of the best, wildest, most moving or revealing stories we've been telling ourselves have come not from books, movies or TV, but from video games. So we're running an occasional series, Reading The Game, in which we take a look at some of these games from a literary perspective. In the beginning, B.J. Blazkowicz, hero of the Castle Wolfenstein series, was just a rough collection of pixels that excelled at exactly one thing: killing Nazis.

New'Wolfenstein: Youngblood' video game brings twin sisters to the forefront in the long-running alternative history battle against the Nazis. The storied video game "Wolfenstein 3D" is considered by many to have helped spark the first-person shooter genre, which spawned successors such as "Doom" and "Call of Duty." Ever since that first game, released in 1992, "B.J." Blazkowicz has been the hero of the series fighting Nazis in the game's alternate historical setting, in which Germany won World War II. But this latest game turns the action over to his twin daughters. Microsoft Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation 4, and PCs, rated Mature for ages 17-up), the young adult sisters, Jessie ("Jess") and Zofia ("Soph"), must search for their father who has gone missing.

It had just turned April when we declared that 2017 was a great year for video games. The post-holiday quarter is usually fairly quiet for new releases, but in 2017 it brought us legitimate contenders for game of the year in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn and Persona 5 -- and that's not to mention Resident Evil 7's return to form. Now the year is almost over, and we've had a stunning Mario game, another great Wolfenstein title and even an Assassin's Creed game that exceeded all expectations. Getting an entire editorial team to agree on just one game is tough, and ultimately not that fun, so we didn't try. Instead, we each picked the one game that stood out to us the most -- avoiding duplicates -- and then named the title we're most looking forward to for 2018. I never expected that an Assassin's Creed game would end up being one of my favorite games this year. But yes, Origins really is that good. I didn't think I'd have patience for yet another massive open-world game, let alone one in a franchise that's embodied the worst elements of big-budget game development.

Our list includes favorites for Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox for kids, teens and adults. Exclusively available for Nintendo Switch, Super Mario Odyssey is easy to pick up but impossible to put down. 'Tis the season to be jolly – and what better way to keep the kids (and kids at heart) happy and entertained than with a brand-new video game? This year saw no shortage of explosive action titles, fantasy role-playing games, and near-photorealistic sports simulations. Here are my recommended discs (or downloads) to make someone's holiday break a merrier one.

If you've been looking for a time to expand your video game library, Black Friday is bound to be a boon for your favorite hobby. The days after Thanksgiving are prime time for price drops, especially for fans of Microsoft's console, the Xbox One. Whether you're looking to pick up one of the newest variations of the current generation gaming console or you already have the system set up and you're after some new games to play as winter comes around, these are the best deals you'll find for the Xbox One. First unveiled last year, the Xbox One S is a great entry point for those who haven't yet entered the current console generation. The slimmed down version of the Xbox One--it's 40 percent smaller than the original--includes support for 4K resolution and high dynamic range (HDR) color.

Wolfenstein has been around longer than I've been alive. What began as two innovative anti-Nazi stealth video games for the Apple II and Commodore 64 became id Software's famous first-person anti-Nazi shooter. The latest iteration is released this week and, for the first time, some people are offended by its opposition to Nazis. How on earth have we got here? Creators are increasingly crafting deeper, political stories, confronting issues of race, gender and sexuality in big budget games.