Gaming

Tomb Raider: Interview - Lead writer Rhianna Pratchett on rebooting video game fanchise

2013 Tomb Raider game release starts afresh with gameplay and story

Lara Croft is surely the most iconic female videogames character of all time. After 17 years (the first Tomb Raider was released in 1996), two big budget movie adaptations (with Angelina Jolie taking the title role) and a multitude of games, the…

Aliens: Colonial Marines - (Sega) PC/PS3/Xbox 360

Cack-handed effort aims for homage over gameplay, plot or polish

Billed as a direct sequel to James Cameron’s seminal 1986 film Aliens, Gearbox’s much anticipated project finally bursts from the chest of development hell after a turbulent gestation period (originally scheduled for release in 2008). You’re one of a…

The ten best video games of 2012

Featuring Far Cry 3, Dishonored, Need for Speed, Mass Effect 3 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown

10. SSX (PS3/Xbox 360). Not the return to form many were hoping for, a sudden U-turn in development left this awkwardly combining grittiness (oxygen levels, avalanches, freezing conditions) with the series’ traditional over-the-top gameplay. A marked…

Wii U Review: In-depth playtest of Nintendo gameing console

We give Nintendo’s fun new console a proper home trial

We tried out the demo model back in October but now we’ve got our mitts on Nintendo’s Wii U, with all the features up and running it’s time to give their latest console a serious test drive. The GamePad really does add a new element to gaming, actually…

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

After EA’s furiously po-faced Medal of Honor: Warfighter, it’s nice to see Activision countering with their annual package of unashamed nonsense. Following on from events in the first game, the sequel jumps around time and space as a team of special…

Far Cry 3 (PS3/Xbox 360/PC)

Sublime and satisfying shooter set in vast and stunningly-realised island network

The original Far Cry was an ambitious FPS set on a tropical island, populated by an assortment of goons and – controversially – a menagerie of mutants. After developer Crytek split from Ubisoft to work on a new series (Crysis), it seemed like the Far…

Need for Speed: Most Wanted (PS3/Xbox 360/PC)

Criterion's solid, engrossing racer combines panache and technical bravado

It’s over a decade since British developer Criterion made their mark with Burnout, a technically solid but otherwise unremarkable racer on PS2. Over the course of four sequels the series increasingly fused combat into the mix as aggressive driving was…

Review: Wii U - Playtest of new Nintendo gaming console

New touch screen gamepad console is sophisticated and fun but no game changer

In recent years Nintendo has avoided the techno wars by taking a sidestep into imagination rather than battle for technical supremacy. While Microsoft and Sony have launched ever more powerful gaming consoles Nintendo have given us the Wii and 3DS.

TOWIE stars launch Halo 4

TV gossip

Jonathan Ross, Daisy Lowe, and 'The Only Way is Essex's Sam and Billie Faiers launched 'Halo 4' in London last night (05.11.12). The stars turned up at a party to unveil the computer game held at the city's Design Museum. The game was hailed in by a…

Games review - Medal of Honor: Warfighter (PC/PS3/Xbox 360)

Second attempt to reinvigorate series lacks originality and imagination

Steven Spielberg launched Medal of Honor back in 1999 as a companion piece to Saving Private Ryan, setting in motion events which birthed the Call of Duty juggernaut four years later. As members of the original team left to join Activision’s rival…

Batman: Arkham City leads Golden Joystick Awards 2012 winners

Batman, Civilization V, Angry Birds Space and Minecraft among award winners

Batman, Civilization V and Angry Birds Space were among the award winners at the 2012 Golden Joystick Awards, held earlier today. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the UK’s Golden Joystick awards, with the winners of that inaugural year including…

Top five: Scariest video games of all time

Featuring Doom 3, Silent Hill 2, Dead Space and Thief: Deadly Shadows

5. Doom 3 (2004) The original Doom (1993) popularised the first person shooter, now the single most successful game genre, currently dominated by the ever-decreasing Call of Duty series. Developer id went back to Mars a decade later and remade their…

Sony PS Vita handheld console - playtest

We try out the new hardware with some of the PSV launch titles, including WipeOut and Uncharted

Sony’s new PS Vita is a pretty impressive bit of kit. It’s the most powerful dedicated handheld gaming device on the market. In practical terms it’s pretty much a PS3 in your pocket. The full HD OLED screen really pops and, due to the processing power…

August games review round-up

Gran Turismo 5, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 and Bulletstorm reviewed

Gran Turismo 5 ●●●● PS3 (Sony) After five years of protracted development, Gran Turismo 5 features over 1,000 cars and 71 tracks. It’s a petrolhead’s dream, although its claim to be ‘the real driving simulator’ is somewhat undermined by moronic AI…

Games contest Dare to be Digital attracts best of Scotland's gamers

University of Abertay comp is breeding ground for games industry talent

Dare to be Digital, now entering its eleventh year, has become the breeding ground for Scotland’s games industry talent. Hosted by the University of Abertay, Dundee, 15 teams of five are already feverishly programming a working videogame before the…

Video game LA Noire features Mad Men's Aaron Staton

Rockstar Games’ recreate 1947 Los Angeles in latest title LA Noire

Henry Northmore checks out Rockstar Games’ meticulous recreation of 1947 Los Angeles in their latest title LA Noire. They’ve already created digital versions of gangland America in the groundbreaking Grant Theft Auto series, and of the Wild West in Red…

Can Nintendo’s new 3DS handheld live up to the hype?

Playtest reveals augmented reality games as best showcase for 3D

This piece could discuss technical specifications and the history of Nintendo’s innovative design, but instead let’s cut to the chase: does the 3D work? Happily the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. It’s actually pretty amazing. With the 3DS Nintendo have…

2011's most anticipated gaming releases

Gears of War 3, Batman: Arkham City, Little Big Planet 2, LA Noire

It’s January so the perfect time to look ahead at the videogames that will be rocking your console in 2011. As per usual sequels are big news. Gears of War 3 (Xbox 360, Microsoft, 8 Apr) will be making a full frontal assault on the first person shooter…

Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2010

Now into its eighth year, the international festival of computer gaming and technology is far more integrated with the festival proper this year, offering public screenings of the Total War series and previews of Playstation Minis, along with a variety…

God of War III - The academic analysis

I spent my youth browsing encyclopaedias and ancient Greek dictionaries rather than playing computer games; always thinking of history, and book-learning, as real fun. It’s from this academic standpoint that I approach God of War III, a game that is…

Bioshock 2

(2K Games) Xbox 360/PS3/PC Set eight years after the events of Bioshock, this standalone sequel improves on its predecessor without escaping its shackles entirely. Here, the player takes charge of the very first Big Daddy, a hulk genetic…

Darksiders

(THQ) Xbox 360/PS3 You take on the mantle of War (of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse fame) as angels and demons clash and the fate of the world hangs in the balance. While Darksiders won’t win any awards for originality, it’s an undeniably…

Bayonetta

(Sega) Xbox 360/PS3 It’s been a strong few months in the world of action gaming, as Bayonetta proves. Directed by Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya, you take control of a shape-shifting witch for a frenetic ballet of blood, bullets and blades.

Darksiders

XBOX 360/PS3 (THQ) If you’re hungry for action, Darksiders should satiate any hunger pangs for third person thrills. Taking it’s cues from the likes of Devil May Cry, God of War and Legacy of Kain you take on the mantle of War (of the Four Horsemen…

Best of a decade: Grand Theft Auto IV released

GTA IV shifted a massive 3.7 million units on the first day of release, and went on to become one of the best-selling games of the decade. Henry Northmore looks at how a Dundee-based games design company produced a worldwide phenomenon Grand Theft…