Putting aside all concerns of characterization and storytelling for the moment, as far as I'm concerned, Crisis Core is a complete failure in terms of mechanics and gameplay. There's no arguing that it's probably the most beautiful PSP game produced thus far, easily eclipsing the vast majority of PS2 games when it comes to visual sweetness, but once the sugar high wears off, it's hard to ignore the repetitive combat and absurd design choices that keep it from being anything but fanservice piffle.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence

Crysis almost certainly did fall short of its sales potential, even if it sold over 1 million, and piracy may indeed have taken a significant toll. But it's not because the game is too system-intensive, or because the game wasn't any good; rather, it's because Crytek overlooked one of the key channels for modern PC gaming: digital distribution.

The response to my previous post has been remarkable; clearly, many gamers are passionate about DRM and its place (or lack thereof) in PC gaming. I've read through all the comments, and would like to take a moment to respond to them.

Bioware's highly acclaimed and formerly XBox 360 exclusive RPG Mass Effect is fast approaching its release on the PC. Most PC gamers were undoubtedly pleased to hear about enhanced graphics, faster load times, and a re-designed menu system; but it's likely that fewer were happy to hear about the evil digital rights management that will be unscrupulously bundled with the game.

I downloaded Doom on a whim off of Live, and I've got to say I'm surprised by just how good it still is. Great level design, interesting enemies, good weapon balance.

Music can't really make the game part of a game better. With the exception of rhythm-based games, music doesn't really have any connection to gameplay. Which kind of begs the question: to what extent is it fair to judge a game by its music?

Some of GTA4's problems can be attributed to the developers' desire to hold features over from previous incarnations, and the rest seem to be caused by the understandable lack of focus that results from attempting to create a truly epic game world. All of these problems are outweighed by what the game gets right, both in the superlative story it tells and the unprecedented freedom the multiplayer mode offers.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Intense Violence, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol, Partial Nudity, Strong Language

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