Hasbro Classic Game Collection

Those classic board games that enticed a generation of players are now ready for your PC / ESRB E Everyone

Whoever said that video gaming is a childish pastime clearly hasn't seen the prices of videogames these days. For $50 and above per product, video gaming is no longer a right. It's a luxury that only adults - given their purchasing power - can actually enjoy.

Indeed, with the rising cost of videogame software, the hobby has become an expensive investment. Review websites are enjoying wide readerships because people want to know - for certain - whether or not a video game is worth the money they'll spend on the same.

Sadly, reviews aren't always as accurate as one would expect them to be. Videogame reviews are always subjective, always dependent on the likes, dislikes and other idiosyncrasies beholden to the reviewer. And if recent controversies are to be believed, videogame reviews are also dependent on how much advertising dough the company has spent on the review website's pages.

Thankfully, most games - particularly PC games - offer free PC game demos. These demos are partial representations of the actual game. They may allow the player to play the game for a limited amount of time, or they may allow the player to play a small portion of the game, say a level or two. The game company hopes that such small immersion in the game's virtual world would be enough to lure the player into buying the full version.

Videogame companies also hope that these demos will be better versions of game reviews, as the prospective buyer himself can gauge the merits of the game to see if it's the right one for him.

Many video gaming companies have made it a habit to release free PC game demos. Ubisoft is, perhaps, the most prominent of them all. With hits like the Call of Duty series, the Rainbow 6 series and the Ghost Recon series, players have come to expect that Ubisoft's titles will have demos distributed prior to their release.

Ubisoft, just like other videogame companies, have another reason for releasing these demos, namely, for beta testing purposes.

Beta testing refers to that stage of the videogame's creation when bugs are being sought and the engine is being test driven to perfection. Beta testing is doubly important for videogames with online components (which account for 95% of the videogame software programs released these days), as this stage not only challenges the engine itself but also the infrastructure and stability of the videogame's would-be server.

Unlike the usual free PC game demos, however, videogames being beta tested allow users to download a game client that more or less comprises the entire game.

There are two types of beta testing: open and closed. Open beta testing allows everyone who has the means to download the game client to do so. Closed beta testing only allows a selected number of people - usually invited - to download and test the game client.

Where can you download these PC game demos? There are many websites that host every PC game demo ever released. You can try Gamespot.com, Fileplanet.com and even IGN.com for a comprehensive listing of these demos as well as access their amazingly fast servers.

Adam Leeds is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about diamonds and jewels, please visit Free PC Games Today for current articles and discussions.

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