Ulysses! — Sega Master System Version. The plot: Just like in ‘Super Mario 3,’ in this version of James Joyce’s modern classic you must fight through sixteen ever-changing levels with distinct themes: Dream World, Beach World, Tower World, Medical World, Library World, Mermaid World, etc. Power-ups: Grab bottles of Guinness for Extra Strength. Final Boss Battle: Either the ghost of Stephen’s mother, or the nightmare that is history itself.
White Noise! — Commodore 64 Version. The plot: Similar to ‘Robotron: 2048,’ in this game you must keep your post-modern nuclear family alive against the relentless onslaught of “The Airborne Toxic Event.” Power-ups: Eat Dylar to ward off that nagging, pesky fear of death. Final Boss Battle: The relentless “white noise” of modern consumerism, which includes video games themselves, which is kind of a neat twist, right?
Infinite Jest! — Atari 2600 Version. Just like in ‘Space Invaders,’ your little widget shoots laser beams, fighting off infinite rows of… endless scholarly footnotes. Power-ups: Um, the ability to keep playing the game without dying of boredom? Or something? Final Boss Battle: Jeez, man, I dunno. I gave up on really long hard books after ‘Ulysses,’ but man, ‘Infinite Jest’ has a lot of footnotes, eh? Anyway, is the book any good?
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