Archive for August 23rd, 2008

Just recently Sony launched their ‘Platinum’ range of games for the PlayStation 3. The idea has been around since the days of the first PlayStation and is quite simple: offer popular, but older, games at a cheaper price under a unified branding scheme to entice those who might have missed out first time round. It [...]

It’d be easy to think of bedroom coders as just a part of gaming history, those that helped get us going back in the old days but no longer relevant. However, in today’s age of shovel-ware, sequels and desire for mass-market appeal I’d argue that bedroom coders and independent developers are more important than ever. [...]

When I was younger I used to play the trumpet. I wasn’t amazing, but I was reasonably competent and had a great time playing in the school band and, for a while, a brass quartet. I certainly remember the satisfaction to be had from successfully performing a song, especially a tricky tune, and how much [...]

British summertimes are quite something: the weather can swing between roasting hot and torrential downpour at the drop of a hat; strawberries are consumed on mass; we place ridiculous expections on the current British hope for Wimbledon (only to be disappointed with crushing inevitability); and, in the tradition of all good Brits through the ages, [...]

Let’s get this out of the way up front: I am a big fan of the Lost TV series. I even enjoyed season two with all its hatch-based nonsense-mongering. I like a good bit of adventure and mystery, and the show’s use of flashbacks really appeals to me. However, my interest hits its limits with [...]

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a copy of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for my PlayStation 3 (yes, a release we got in Europe before the US, it does happen once in a blue moon). I’ve always enjoyed the Gran Turismo series and Prologue seemed like a good sampler for the future GT5, [...]

The success of the Brain Training games, and all pretenders to the throne that have followed, have shown that we quite like putting our noggins to the test. So a game that is essentially a collection of 130-ish puzzles and brainteasers is no bad idea, but how do you make an assortment of puzzles feel [...]

I hardly imagine I’m alone when I say that when driving along from time-to-time I secretly wish I could just slam down on the accelerator and take off through the traffic, racing to my destination. Come on, admit it, we’ve all longed to test out our inner-racer. So what stops us from actually doing it, [...]

When I was a kid I used to play with Lego (essentially building blocks, for anyone who is now sat with a look of puzzlement on their face). I had a really big box full of the stuff and I loved playing with it. Whilst you could get sets for building pre-determined things, complete with [...]

When I heard about a rhythm game for the DS that featured a selection of J-Pop tunes, some that I was more than a little familiar with already, I was as good as sold. When a mate of mine who had always raised more than eyebrow at my interest in Japanese music recommend the game [...]