RPG Reactor

Most people recognize that there is a huge gulf between console and PC gaming. Console gaming, you see, tends to put a greater emphasis on accessibility, whereas PC gaming seems to favor deep, thoughtful games that can be hard to get into. Well, nothing lasts forever.

Two of the finest specimens ever of Computer Role Playing where the cult classics, Fallout 1 and 2. An intricate game system, complex and immersive character design, open gameplay, and most of all, a hugely interesting game world all added up to one word- masterpiece. Many of the same designers of those two games (released by Black Isle and Interplay), led by Tim Cain, splintered off to form Troika. Their first project? Arcanum.

I'm sure there isn't a single person out there who doesn't know the Baldur's Gate name. After all, it is one of the best selling CRPGs out there and not without good reason. While the original BG was good, I can't say that I completely enjoyed it. Fortunately, I'm happy to say that Baldur's Gate II is a different story. Gone are the long, boring dialog trees and unimaginative quests. This game lives up to its predecessor and even surpasses it in every way.

Gamecube-owners can rejoice, for another RPG has come to the Gamecube, and to make things even better Baten Kaitos is an original RPG, only for the Gamecube. So no port, like the first RPGs for the Gamecube, for example Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II, or Skies of Arcadia Legends. This game has taken its rightful place in the list of better RPGs at the moment.

The Breath of Fire series started out on the Snes in 1995, with the second version also on the SNES and the third on the Playstation. This is the fourth game in the series, and the question is, is it a worthy successor?

This game was the long, long awaited sequel to Chrono Trigger, one of the last and most famous RPG's to grace the SNES, so can you imagine the anticipation?

From Software is better known for their Armored Core series rather than their RPG series of yesteryear King's Field. In 2009, however, they are looking to thrust themselves back into the limelight with their latest creation, Demon's Souls. Touted as the spiritual successor of King's Field, Demon's Souls proves that hardcore RPGing is far from dead.

First-person RPGs have a deep history within PC gaming. From System Shock to The Elder Scrolls games, it's a genre unique to the PC. Deus Ex is poised to be the next generation of the genre and with Warren Spector at the helm, it's looking to be a no-brainer.

Few games have suffered the constant delays that Diablo II encountered on its long trek from Blizzard's legendary design studios into your CD tray. For years we were tantalized with screenshots and character information, salivating over every little feature and spell... and then one day, very unobtrusively, on one summer day, it was completed and shipped. The epic continuation and perhaps conclusion of the Diablo Legacy.

For the longest time Final Fantasy Tactics has had a stranglehold over the console strategy/RPG market; leaving little breathing room for possible contenders to its throne. Even the absence of a sequel on the next-gen consoles wasn't enough to open the door to newcomers. Miraculously, after nearly a decade of rule, a new king has taken the SRPG throne and the funny part is, it isn't a sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics.