Because it's July 4th, we thought we'd celebrate the birth of our nation by bringing you our favorite USA! USA! USA! Games! Enjoy, partner!

The History Channel: Civil War – A Nation Divided
Ok, we all know that any game made by the History Channel has to be bad, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be patriotic and educational! Think about how proud you will be of our nation after you fight both for AND against the abolition of slavery! Experience what it’s like to wade through trenches filled knee-deep with mud, blood, and excrement. Marvel at the state of disarray your compatriots uniforms and facial hair are in. Watch as your character spends four and a half minutes reloading his single-shot rifle right before he aims for an opposing soldier and misses, only to start the process all over again. If you like history, think first-person shooters are too fast paced, and are currently sporting a mustache like this guy, then The History Channel: Civil War – A Nation Divided is the perfect game for you to play this 4th of July while you’re home alone eating Barbeque take-out.
--Patrick Roche-Sowa

Bioshock: Political and popular trends in post-war America have resulted in a citizendry who views the history of America was the orderly stride of Christians across space and time, conquering, building and creating a brightly lit, nuclear-family centric suburban dream. the kind of landscape popularized by 1950s situation comedies where cars are big and problems are small-- a conservative  place populated by god-fearing citizens in tract homes with new appliances and shiny, shiny teeth. In real America before the World War 2, witchcraft, folk-beliefs and divining rods were as important as Jesus and capitalism, and for every slick radio crooner of the 1920s selling hair-cream, there was a backwoods, toothless banjo-picker moaning a blues about murdering his wife and leaving her body in a swamp. But the real history of America is a darker more complicated landscape, and Bioshock's sunken city of Rapture reminds me of that version of our country.

When I say I'm patriotic, that's what I'm patriotic for--the old, weird America. And Bioshock's Rapture captures the essence of those past times, from its Art Deco design to the ridiculous philosophy it was founded upon, Rapture seems to me like all the nation's freaks were driven into the sea, and became actual freaks--the artists, intellectuals, mad scientists and dreamers all feeding on each other in the most beautiful city every created at the bottom of the ocean. I love the menacing "advertising" for plasmids, the out of place ammo vending machines in the middle of sewers, the sense of decayed idealism turned to fascism, it all screams America! to me. .
--Stephen Johnson

24: The Game What’s more American than letting you control CTU Super Agent Jack Bauer? Nothing. This game even features an interrogation (read: torture) mini-game that makes sure you know exactly “where the bomb is?!” The sole purpose of this game is defeating the terrorists so Americans can continue to watch 24 on FOX. Or something… I don’t know. I didn’t really pay attention to the game’s plot.
--Brian Leahy

 Burger Time: Alright, back to real food! There's nothing more American than enjoying a nice, juicy and fattening hunk of ground meat. This game exemplifies a real American pass time: Sit down and play a video game about making an American meal then become hungry enough in the process to go grab yourself one. Samuel L. Jackson said it best in Pulp Fiction: "Hamburgers...the cornerstone of every nutritious breakfast." Go ahead, you can say it too. I dare you...I double dare you...
--John Manalang

Oregon Trail: Oh, Oregon Trail, you are the most American of all games. Describing the push of Manifest Destiny, and dealing with the horror of accidental drownings and, famously, dysentery, you made it possible for children of a certain age to see what it was like to brave the wild frontier and leave behind vulgar, crudely-written gravestones for all to see. Yes, it’s boring, and the graphics are teh suxx0rs, but few games are as uniquely American as this. Huzzah!
--Michael D'Alonzo

Grand Theft Auto IV: When immigrants would sail into Ellis Island in the early half of the 20th Century, they were greeted by Statue Liberty and the words, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." This is the essence of The American Dream and no game better personifies this than the recent Grand Theft Auto IV.

In the game you are a new immigrant, looking to find your fame and fortune in America. I haven't finished the game, but so far I've learned how to drive a car and I've made friends with a girl named Michelle. I can't wait until I learn how to make some money and maybe get some more friends.

Rarely does a game make you see the world differently, and now (with the help of GTA IV) I can see what an amazing place America really is. This truly is a land of hope, where your dreams really can come true.
--Jon Hunt

Track and Field: Released in 1983, this Konami game, made in Japan, captured the hearts of Olympic loving American boys and girls, encouraging us to mash buttons in slight variations for 6 heart pounding track and field events. There are 3 reasons this game is so American.
    1.) The opening theme is "Chariots of Fire," a classic Charlton Heston film and Heston with his gun-hugging and gruff demeanor was a quintessential American.
     2.) You can cheat your balls off if you use the power pad. We all did it. You just jump and straddle the pad watching your guy glide to a 52 foot long jump; a new world record!
      3.) The sequels all sucked. If there's anything more American than putting out something good and then milking it for years with crappy sequels, I ain't heard of it.
--Ty Colfax