Author: John Breeden II

John has spent his journalism career covering just about everything, from small-town meetings and crime scenes to Capitol Hill and the U.S. Congress. He got his start writing about games and technology with a computer column called On the Chip Side, which grew to more than 1 million in circulation and ran in newspapers across several states. Today, John is an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years of experience. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Newsweek and many other publications, and he writes a regular technology and government column for Nextgov/FCW and hosts security and educational webinars for FedInsider. He is also the founder of the Tech Writers Bureau and the chief editor of GameIndustry.com. He still loves disappearing into games, whether that means crawling through Baldur’s Gate dungeons deep into the night or planning one more big offensive in the latest wargame.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Update 2.0 Brings New Life to the Zone

The free S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Update 2.0 improves performance, upgrades visuals, adds new weapons, expands weather and fog systems, and makes the Zone feel more alive than ever for both new players and returning stalkers.

IRON NEST Turns Heavy Artillery Into a Brilliant Battlefield Puzzle

IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator puts players inside a massive diesel-punk war machine, challenging them to fully operate the beast by hand, calculate firing solutions, load the shells and try to make every thunderously powerful shot count.

Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand Heroically Holds the Line With Defensive Combat

Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand turns Relic’s World War II RTS into a tense roguelike wave-defense experience where players dig in, build layered defenses and hold the line against increasingly dangerous enemy assaults.

Scarlet Deer Inn Embroiders a Beautiful But Deadly Folk Tale

Scarlet Deer Inn draws players in with its hand-embroidered characters, medieval folk music and a quiet village story before shifting into a darker platforming adventure filled with monsters, torchlight, traps and challenging underground exploration.

The Gothic 1 Remake Brings a Pioneering RPG Back to Life

In Gothic 1 Remake, Alkimia Interactive rebuilds one of the earliest great open-world RPGs with superb modern graphics, expanded adventures and a faithful approach to the systems that made Gothic memorable, even when some of its old-school design may challenge newer players.

Beggar’s Road Finds Big Adventure in a Small Medieval World

Set in a small but surprisingly lively corner of 1407’s Liege, Beggar’s Road mixes dark humor, faction politics and low-key survival into a compact roguelike RPG that offers a lot more depth than its humble setup first suggests.

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes Turns Desperation Into Great Strategy

With tense fleet management, excellent real-time battles and a constant stream of hard choices, Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes captures the desperation, paranoia and pressure of the TV series better than most other licensed type games ever do.

007 First Light Delivers Bond at His Best

With a sharp young James Bond, an espionage-heavy story, flexible mission design and action sequences worthy of the films, 007 First Light feels less like a licensed game and more like a great Bond movie that happens to be playable.

Full Metal Sergeant 2 Marches Forward With Smarter Combat

Developer CarloC’s latest indie military sim keeps the boot camp charm, tough training choices and offbeat camp events that made Full Metal Sergeant memorable, then adds a much stronger turn-based combat system that finally lets players put those hard-won recruit skills to proper use.

Reentry Captures Both the Terror and the Thrill of Spaceflight

With incredible detail, authentic spacecraft systems and launches that feel as dangerous and thrilling as they should, Reentry is one of the most impressive space simulators on PC, even if its steep learning curve will keep it grounded for some players.