The Players

Born on a New York City park bench during a bread riot, Ajax is a purveyor and self-appointed expert on all things hardcore. He has taught English to foreigners, done overnights in the pokey and published a number of science fiction and fantasy stories. This is his first time reviewing video games. He likes our web site because it’s hardcore.

Ajay has been a hardcore gamer since he owned a Sega Genesis during the Dark Ages of the 90s. He moved on to the Nintendo 64 and had brief affair with the GameCube before becoming a member of the Glorious PC Gaming Master Race. Ajay games on Android phones because the Apple logo makes him hungry. When he's not gaming he does freelance writing.

Hardcore Droid's Editor-in-Chief has been a writer, an aspiring graphic artist, a heavy metal singer, as well as a teacher of English in high schools and trade schools. His short stories have appeared in online magazines, anthologies and literary journals.

Former movie review writer for his local newspaper: The Telescope, and aspiring novelist, Ben Jones has been writing for as long as he has been playing games. He's an avid fan of some of the more classic RPG's like Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger, and The Legend of Zelda. To him the quality of a game's story is just as important as it's gameplay.

“Brian Penny is not a gamer.” At least that’s what he told his parents after secretly dropping out of AZ State to play Smash Bros & Goldeneye. After two years of battling a crippling World of Warcraft addiction, he walked away from a successful career as an analyst in the mortgage industry to blow the whistle on corruption. When he’s not tea bagging fellow gamers, Brian kills time writing for The Huffington Post, MainStreet.com, Lifehack.org, and more. He documents his experiences working with Anonymous, fighting the banks, and practicing meditation and yoga on his blog.

Eric Miller is a freelance writer with experience that he considers important. Eric currently lives in Southern California hoping that it doesn’t fall into the ocean before he finds a safe place to watch the end of world.

is a blogger and lifelong gamer living in Philadelphia, PA. His other writings can be found at GadgeTell.com. When not writing about gadgets or Android games he spends his time reading about the Singularity, playing in a rock band, and writing a graphic novel.

Feature editor, Jeanne Jackson, is a writer with more than 25 years experience on newspapers, magazines and websites. A graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, she worked for the Asbury Park Press newspaper for 11 years and wrote a column for the Times of Trenton for nearly a decade. She has written for numerous publications including New Jersey Monthly and Working Mother. She has written and edited for both Princeton and Rutgers University and Columbia Teachers College. She is currently teaching journalism at Rutgers University and working as a communications specialist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab.

Hardcore Droid's reviews editor hasn't stopped gaming ever since he first played Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders for the Commodore 64. He is always on the lookout for solid game narratives and never gets tired of writing about the games that do it right. Or terribly wrong.

John is a gamer from Illinois who has been playing video games since encountering Galaga on his cousin’s Atari 2600. His favorite gaming memories include Final Fantasy III, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade, Planescape: Torment, Persona 3 and 4, the Infamous series, and the time a series of “friendly fire” incidents while playing NES brawler River City Ransom with his cousin escalated into an actual fistfight.

Jon Igielnik is a copywriter, tech-lover and Android enthusiast living in New York City. He uses a Google Nexus and doesn't look back.

has been a videogamer since discovering text-based adventure games as a little girl. She blogs on games and life at Simpsonsparadox.com.

It all began with Starfox 64, and ever since she's been using the boost to get through. Once upon a time you could've found her playing Tekken at the old Chinatown arcade, but now she plays at home on her Xbox, and that suits her fine. One of her favorite childhood memories is of going to a Mexican place by the water and playing some Stones on the jukebox, while taking over the Harley-Davidson pinball machine.

is a freelance writer fascinated by all things digital. He spends his time writing about Android and the mobile industry, playing with gadgets, and contemplating the world. In the little spare time he has, Peter likes to build empires and crush enemies in old RTS games.

is a freelance writer living in New York City, where he lives with his girlfriend and several guitars. He has been sequestering himself in his room to play video games since he was 8 years old, some more hardcore than others. He enjoys RPGs, strategy games, and every single thing related to Pokemon. Following Sam on Twitter (@SamusMcQueen) has been known to cause heart murmurs in Southern belles and small children.

Saul Berenbaum has been playing videogames since he was two years old. An independent filmmaker and freelance editor, he'll cut a music video in an afternoon and then play through Super Mario Bros. in seven minutes just because he can. He also loves to brag about having beaten Viewtiful Joe 1 & 2 on Ultra V-Rated, like he's doing right now. You can reach him at SaulBerenbaum@gmail.com.

has been a game journalist since 2006, writing for IGN, Gamasutra, and Cheat Code Central. An avid gaming history buff, he enjoys writing about classic gaming most of all.

is a writer, cartoonist, and gamer. He works full time in the IT industry and wants desperately to do something more creative with his life. He is currently going to Stonecoast for his MFA in Creative Writing. Writer of speculative fiction. Designer of Board Games. Magic Player.