Hardcore Romances the Game
At A Glance
- Hardcore taps his sensitive side to highlight a few Xbox 360 classics laced with romance.
Published February 5, 2008
It's that time of year again where you can't turn on the TV or brave the local grocery store without boxes of chocolates whizzing by your head, crafty florists sinking their hooks into frantic husbands, and restaurateurs licking their greedy chops in anticipation of the love rush that is Valentine's Day.
Ashley's more than just a fellow soldier.
Where at one time games may have been widely separated from these lovey-dovey festivities, romance has managed to finagle its fickle soul right into the heart of our most beloved games, and they're the better for it.
Space Opera Love Triangle
Properly played, Commander Shepard of Mass Effect™ has more pressing matters to attend to than saving the galaxy. There's romance to be nurtured and love to be had! With a shocking display of outstanding writing and unnervingly accurate digital acting, Bioware has crafted a believable, and, dare I say it, emotional subplot worthy of exploration.
Yes, I speak of course of Master Chief's and Cortana's reluctantly admitted attachment to one another.
If you're wondering just how to get in tune with Commander Shepard's sensitive side, be sure to lend a compassionate ear to your comrades between the major story-based missions. I'll leave it up to your keen sense of deduction to puzzle out which characters make for viable mates. Okay, one hint, Wrex (thank goodness!) isn't an option.
Our Love Affair with Lara
Though she is a virtual tease, we at Xbox Nation cannot help but worship at the lovely feet of gaming's most notoriously voluptuous heroine. Indeed, any time spent with Ms. Lara Croft is time well spent and you can do no better than Crystal Dynamics' Lara Croft Tomb Raider™ Anniversary. This high-definition re-imagining of Lara's first adventure reacquaints us with her vivacious charms with a one-two punch of nostalgia and refinement. Exquisite.
A love affair twelve years and counting.
Volleyball Friends
While romance may not be the order of the bikini-clad day in Dead or Alive: Xtreme2, the lovely DOA ladies are all about love and friendship in their never-ending quest to befriend one another. Gifts are given, games are played, partnerships are formed, and a healthy dose of frolicking is enjoyed by all.
Piñata Love
Any game that features piñata romance must be given its just due come Valentine's Day. Rare's masterful Viva Piñata™ marks the family friendly portion of our program, with its delicate balance of piñata relationships, garden maintenance and experimentation. It takes a talented gardener indeed to romance the full complement of piñatas, an achievement (pun intended) that has eluded many a hardcore gamer.
Spy Crush
Sam Fisher's dark spiral into grieving father and government fugitive in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell® Double Agent™ finds a flicker of light (if you play it right) in the arms of the lovely Enrica Villablanca, a brilliant but troubled scientist sadly in the employ of one John Brown's Army, the terrorist organization Fisher has infiltrated undercover to bring down.
Getting cuddly with the enemy may seem a mammoth miscalculation in a game where every action carries with it often unpredictable ramifications, but do yourself a favor and trust Sam's judgment on this one. It just might unlock a path to easier success later on.
Wake Me When You Need Me
We finish at last with the grand-daddy of Xbox® love stories, a budding relationship that has taken three full games to understand and flourish. Yes, I speak of course of Master Chief's and Cortana's reluctantly admitted attachment to one another.
Bad idea to stand between Master Chief and Cortana.
After betting humanity's fate on the wisdom of a possibly corrupted Cortana and spending the vast bulk of the game attempting to rescue her in Halo® 3, our hero of few words and intangible heroine are reunited in time to give tongue to their devotion to one another. Wake me when you need me indeed!
There is love in the virtual air on Xbox 360 and Valentine's Day gives us a chance to celebrate all that games have done right with romance. Happy Valentine's Day, gamers! Now, I think my head is going to explode …
Article by Hardcore
