Member the Adventure games missions you used to play? We member. The basement at the Hardcore Gamer office has a section known as the Crust Room, with an old grey couch and a big old CRT TV. All the classic systems are down there collecting dust, so in an effort to improve the cleanliness of our work space, we dust off these old consoles every so often and put an old game through its paces, just to make sure everything stays in working order. We even have a beige computer with a floppy disk drive.

Chances are you've heard this scenario before: a new game is announced at a big event like E3 or PAX. You're told what the game will contain and you're instantly excited. Time passes and more information is released, increasing your excitement, and fan theories stir the interest even more. Finally, perhaps after a delay or two, the game is released, but it ultimately fails to live up to your expectati

Final Fantasy XIII had to deal with a ton of controversy on its release. Very linear gameplay and a problematic fighting system hurt the appeal of the game, while its story also failed to deliver. Despite the criticism, there are loyal fans who fiercely defend it. In the end though, FFXIII , followed by the disappointing MMO FFXIV have caused some to wonder if Final Fantasy as a series can survive in today's gaming mar

One of the main reasons the story falls so flat is your character’s infinite silence. The only way to communicate with other characters is through a series of expressions that only really serve to illicit a base reaction from any NPC that sees them without any real discourse. Sure using the right expression will curry favor with the townspeople of Albion, and the wrong one will help to make them view you are boorish and rude, but it helps to illustrate the core issue with Fable II’s system. The game becomes about the choices you make, but not necessarily about the characters that those choices may alter. Due to the one-dimensional townspeople and lack of real interaction, scenes that should have some amount of emotional resonance fall significantly short. The only real feeling you have for any character is for your faithful canine companion, and even that is tenuous.

Mixed with Disturbed’s rendition of Sound of Silence, and the trailer fits very well into the long line of impressive trailers for the franchise. The trailer is a great introduction to the game, as it’s the start of a new era in the Gears of War universe. This era is likely to continue, too, as the game received strong reviews and continues to sport a large player b

Electronic Arts and DICE broke from the current first-person shooter trend and opted to send players back in time rather than into the future of warfare. Battlefield 1 has been a huge success for the publisher and developer, and continues to garner impressive player numbers across all platfo

Now, with that said, one would think this review is going to continue down this path and Fable II will once again fail to reach the pinnacle that was expected of it. With such flaws as a poor map, an unbalanced economy, and a relatively dull plot, how could a game recover? It is quite simple, really. Like its incredibly detailed morality system, the developers seemed to be presented with a choice. They could either give it an epic story with incredibly detailed and fleshed-out characters or sacrifice a large amount of your gaming freedom, or they could give you an engrossing game with limitless options but sacrifice a fanciful plot. They chose the latter and, like your character, whether that is a good or a bad thing is essentially up to you.

Following a big gameplay reveal in May, Destiny 2 is sure to have a major presence at this year's E3 event. Activision and Bungie have already revealed plenty about the upcoming RPG/shooter hybrid, but there's still a lot left for fans to discover. Those that want to see more of Destiny 2 in action should be sure to tune in to Sony's press conference, as Destiny has had a consistent presence at Sony's portion of the show over the last few ye

NPC reactions is an area where Fable probably could have benefited from some more tweaking, since early on in the game no one takes the hero seriously, but after playing a few hours the player is likely either the most beloved or feared resident of Albion. The citizens of Albion are superficial as once the fame came in so did the opportunity to take on a spouse or three. Fable was progressive in terms of marriage, allowing the player to take a spouse of the same gender and engage in polygamy. Well, maybe polygamy wasn't accepted in Albion since there could only be one spouse per town, so these multiple partners weren't exactly legit. They ended up leaving me anyway since I never spent any time with them or gave them gifts, but considering how difficult and time consuming it was to actually take a spouse to bed, they seemed to be more trouble than they were worth. The main purpose spouses served in Fable was when playing as an evil character, killing them would net so many evil alignment points.