Rock, Paper, Shotgun

In response to tonight’s episode of Panorama, and the accompanying discussion of the subject at the moment, I’m reprinting an article I wrote in 2007 about the subject of gaming addiction. Originally written for PC Gamer, my intention was to explore the subject from an investigative angle, rather than as an attempt to prove an agenda of either side. Sadly, I’ve yet to see another piece approaching the subject in the same way in the years since. In the hope of throwing out a little evidence at this time, I’m re-posting it below. Clearly this is three years out of date now. The most crucial change since it was written is Keith Bakker’s complete reversal of his beliefs given at the time, now no longer recognising compulsive gaming as addiction, and no longer treating it. This change has a significant impact upon how the piece is read.

Read the rest of this entry »

The jury is, as far as I can tell, still somewhat out on the Games For Windows do-ever, but Microsoft’s Steam rival has certainly been offering a few tempting mega-discounts lately. This time (as LewieP tips us off to) it’s the original STALKER (Shadow of Chernobyl) for less than a pound/dollar. Only lasts for today, so get a wriggle on if you want it and aren’t one of those chaps claiming a moral objection to GFW.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s hot text time, you. Choice Of The Dragon collided with my consciousness the other day, and after initially sneering at the concept of a multiple choice question-based game about pretending to be a fantasy stereotype, I quickly discovered that the only thing a narrow mind brings me is a lesser gaming life.
Read the rest of this entry »

Do you know what I did? You do? Oh. So yeah, I wrote about Tron 2.0 for Eurogamer. With the new movie coming out soon, it seemed a good time to go back to a game that is oddly similar to the plot of the next film. I wrote words. Some of them were:

My lasting memories were of three things: 1) The pink worm monster thing I could never beat. 2) The light cycle races I could never win. 3) The Disc weapon. What I’d forgotten was that it was in many ways as much of an RPG as Deus Ex. Not only is there a good deal of walking through friendly areas, or areas populated with friendly NPCs at least, but there’s a lot of chitchat with them and your companions. Combined with this is the levelling up – something that’s so incredibly rarely featured in an FPS. And then on top of that is the absolutely superb way it lets you add in various abilities, augmentations and weapons.

Hands up if you knew that PS3 downloadable murder-mystery Blue Toad Murder Files was coming to PC. Hands up! Higher! Great, thanks. Those of you with your hands up will be taken out the back of Castle Shotgun and lynched for not informing us that this was happening. After the lynch, there will be a dynner. By then I expect you’ll have seen the error of your ways.

Blue Toad Murder Files is available from Steam right now, and a lovely trailer follows that’ll let you sample the masterful work of voice actor Tom Dusseck. He does all the characters, you know.
Read the rest of this entry »

Strictly speaking this was revealed last week, but I have been away from my instruments, and therefore unable to continuously monitor The News. DICE have said there is a fifth BFBC2V map, but it’s not going to be available right away. Why not? Well, it needs to be unlocked. They explain: “You and all your friends playing on PS3, PC, or Xbox 360 need to perform 69 million team actions across Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam. So what’s a team action? Well, it’s any and all of these: resupply, revive, heal, spot, and repair. We start counting on December 21st, so make sure you contribute from the start!”

Hmm. There’s a trailer for this shackled map, below. Exciting!
Read the rest of this entry »

One of my favourite things of recent years has been the standard of Crystal Dynamics’ Tomb Raider games. While there’s no doubt there’s Lara fatigue, it’s inappropriate when they’re some of the finest action platform/shooters around. So it’s with a happy face that I greet the news that the next game from the team is a complete reboot of the series, simply called Tomb Raider. The announcement comes via the cover of the next Game Informer, along with a press release. Details below.

Read the rest of this entry »

Are you sure you want to open today’s window? You shouldn’t be opening any windows or doors. It’s not safe out there. Listen- do you hear the moans? They hunger. If you insist on going in there, take this knife, but be careful. Because today’s game is…

Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I paid a visit to Creative Assembly, had a play of Total War: Shogun 2 and wrote about it. Yes. But not here! No. I did the deed over at IGN, and if you feel up to braving the journalism badlands outside of RPS then you can read it here. If you’ve lost interest in Total War, this preview is probably for you. Look, I say things like this:

Empire wasn’t perfect, and Creative Assembly know it. As such, this upgrade of the first game couldn’t have come at a better time. Firstly, compared to the huge tracts of history Creative Assembly’s been wrestling with recently, Medieval Japan is a comparatively tidy time period. Secondly, Creative Assembly are getting to look at their game in the context of the brand-free smash hit it once was- when all the mechanics worked almost flawlessly. Thirdly, the team are borrowing a bit of Eastern philosophy. Creative Assembly wants the design of Shogun 2 to be ‘zen’. Shogun 2, then, isn’t going to be a bigger game than previous Total War titles. It’s going to be better.

And then I segue into describing the new skill trees, the new interface and the new and ludicrously in-depth multiplayer, which boasts a (are you ready?) collectible card sub-game. Interested? Go and read.

This is lovely. Say hello to Sarif Industries, makers of top quality commercial augmentations. Go have a look at their site, listen to their sinister elevator music and check out their company statement. Get a little taste of Human Revolution’s day-after-tomorrow universe. Then gasp with exaggerated surprise as you bypass the firewall and get a look at Deus Ex 3′s hacking minigame. Good work, Squeenix. Here’s that link again. Thanks to RPS reader Ross “The Mangus” Angus for the tipoff.

The fifth window of our towering advent calendar of judgment must be opened. Open it! There we are. What lies beyond is a game of unfathomable human drama. A thing of betrayal and backstabbing, of hope and resilience, and – if it gets really bad – of making sure you set your alarm clock. What could it be?
Read the rest of this entry »