After all the waiting, tomorrow we'll be able to play the one of the first most anticipated games of the year, Mass Effect 2. While equal-opportunity gamers have been amped about the title since the original came out in late '07, there's a weird rift: casual gamers and the Shooters-Only Horde that snapped up Modern Warfare 2 by the kajillions look at the RPG label and yawn, while hardcore RPG fans sniff that the game's just a shooter with RPG tendencies As far as we're concerned, both sides of the naysayer divide need to take a flyer off the Presidium Ring of the Citadel, because ME2 is a jaw-dropper (we'll have an in-detail review up tomorrow).
The thing is, we can understand that some people have a preconceived notion about the RPG genre. Even the word "RPG" gives you the image of a dude who holds stock in Cheetos and only responds to his online name from the LARP message boards (which, if you must know, is "Eldred The Lothslayer" or "n00br4pist"). But no matter how many World of Warcrafts and EverQuests and Dragon Ages and Kingdom Hearts and Elvish Hymens there are out there scratching the swords-and-sorcery itch, there are still RPG games for people who prefer their potions 80-proof. Games like Mass Effect 2 have given a RPGs a broader (and more acne-free) audience. It's not the first of its kind (and with games like Alpha Protocol coming up, certainly not the last), but the Mass Effect series can certainly take credit in keeping RPGs alive. We rounded up 10 of our favorite games from the genre, all while guaranteeing 100% freedom from wizards and tree gnomes. Now leave us be, we've got avatars to customize!
TITLE: Final Fantasy IIV (1997)
CONSOLE(S): PlayStation, PS3 (through the PSN)
COMPLEX SAYS: The Final Fantasy series might have swords and magic in every story, but FFVIIis the hands-down the grittiest installment in the franchise, and the swords in question are huge to the point of ludicrousness. Besides, 10 million people can't be wrong, and YOU CAN'T BE A NERD IF YOU'RE IN THE MAJORITY, PEOPLE. IT'S SCIENCE.
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