Video games

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…

Computer games with ridiculous scenarios

Despite the bizarre or random storylines, these video games are also remarkably fun to play

Through gaming history, some of the best titles have been based on a premise that is, frankly, ridiculous. Take Jet Set Willy for example, where Willy the Miner of Manic Miner fame has to clear up his house after a massive party. Perhaps it's indicative…

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.

The story of Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt

The ongoing success story of the Scottish video games industry

On Edinburgh’s Leith Street a humdrum mix of cars, taxis and double decker buses circle a busy roundabout intersection. But inside that large glass building at Greenside Row, onscreen supercars race through red lights, hit tracks blaring from their…

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…

Distant Worlds aims to bring the music of the Final Fantasy video games to Edinburgh's Playhouse

Strings stir, cymbals clash as before us an epic battle unfolds as good once again fights the forces of evil. This isn’t an opera or a big budget movie but a scene from Final Fantasy, one of the longest running and most respected RPG videogame series.

Health to provide Max Payne 3 soundtrack

The LA noise rockers follow the game-soundtracking example of Opeth, Trivium and others

Ever since the very earliest days of home gaming and the release of the Atari 2600 (1977), videogame music has become a part of cultural life. The lack of processing power meant it was necessarily tinny, bleepy and repetitive. Despite this, 8- and…

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die

The starlet's debut album outshines the blogocentric hype

(Polydor) Amid the conspiracy theories, the double-standards, the cosmetic surgery obsessions, the questions of authenticity (or lack thereof – like pop was ever without a scheme); amid the histrionic revelations (how dare she have tried before!…

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…

BAFTA Young Games Designers Workshops

A unique opportunity for 12–16-year-olds to work with experts on the planning, design and creation of video games. Participants will have the chance to get a head start on their entries for the BAFTA Young Games Designers competition, which is open…

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned

The first of two episodic downloads for last year’s console hit is much darker then the core game. Playing as new lead Johnny Klebitz, vice president of biker gang The Lost, it’s up to you to diffuse a violent gang war. Unlike previous episodes, there’s…

Resident Evil - Capcom interview

Videogames have delved into the world of horror for a good number of years. Haunting Ground, The Suffering, Jericho, Alone in the Dark and many more have fought for the crown, but Resident Evil is the daddy of them all. On its launch back in 1996 it was…

Horror Games Roundup

With the launch of Resident Evil 5 Henry Northmore looks at why it’s a great time to be a fan of digital terror Silent Hill: Homecoming PS3/Xbox 360 (Konami) ●●●● Silent Hill has always been one of the most disturbing titles on the market…

New initiative for Scottish games industry talent

Channel 4's 4Talent Scotland initiative is working with four Scottish games companies to deliver Talent Arcade: The Brief - a new talent scheme to discover, train, and develop new gaming talent in Scotland, which was launched at this year's Edinburgh…

Game On

Too Human Xbox 360 (Microsoft) Third-person actioner as you play cybernetic god Baldur in the first part of a mighty, world-conquering trilogy from developer Silicon Knights. It mixes hardcore melee and long-range combat as you battle humongous war…