Murray Robertson

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 best video game opening sequences

Featuring Prey, Half-Life, Metal Gear Solid 2, Mass Effect 2 and Bioshock

Prey begins with our protagonist, a Cherokee named Tommy, cursing his lot in life in the toilets of his local drinking hole. Events rapidly escalate from an argument with his girlfriend to a violent bar fight before the jukebox ominously starts playing…

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…

Alex Cross

Film lacking flair and panache and bearing all the hallmarks of a cult bad film in the making

James Patterson’s series of novels about the titular detective has twice before been adapted for the screen, starring Morgan Freeman in both Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. Now rebooted in the guise of one-man media empire Tyler Perry, Rob…

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…

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…

Silent Hill: Revelation

Poorly-handled horror sequel inspired by the spooky video game

It's become cliché to point out that video games don't translate well to film but here's yet another example to ram the point home. After pilfering imagery and plot from the Silent Hill 3 game, Deathwatch director Michael J Bassett brings nothing new to…

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…

KWAT

Wordy sketch show of varying quality

Formerly known as Quattro Formaggio, the more easily digestible KWAT is a slightly more mature sketch group than most seen at the Fringe. This cerebral show recalls the work of former Perrier Best Newcomers The Consultants. And, like them, this literate…

Elis James - Speaking As a Mother …

A gathering of bad experiences in a charming and disorganised show

Apologising to his fans, Elis James warns he’s changed style from his usual long-form storytelling to observational comedy because he wants to buy a house. It’s a lie. From an hilarious opening story about the worst gig in his life, to being…

Chris Ramsey

Warm tales from a hugely charismatic performer

Quite why Chris Ramsey is so surprised by his popularity, it’s hard to tell. A nominee of last year’s Edinburgh Comedy Award, he cannot believe his luck and claims to be having the time of his life. This concept of good fortune forms the basis of his…

Fred MacAulay

Persistently strong material and natural affability from Fringe institution

Now a firm Fringe institution, Fred MacAulay could coast by on easy charm alone. But that would never do, and even when he tackles well-trodden topics like air travel there's always the safe feeling that he'll have put in the graft for a proper big…

Jarred Christmas

Breathless show from the Pot Noodle pimp

Jarred Christmas launches his show with such energetic gusto it's a wonder he's not flat out on the floor after the first minute. It's a spectacular entry, not particularly inventive but perfectly judged to endear himself to the crowd and terrify his…

Oyster Eyes Presents: Some Rice

Confidently juvenile with some testing sketches

Oddball sketch quartet Oyster Eyes launch onto the stage with a ridiculous self-penned showtune, full of energy and interspersed with surreal stings, setting out their stall for this mixed but ultimately successful show. From the introduction we…

Mark Nelson: Under the Radar

The formerly vicious comic's new attitude results in moments of profound hilarity

Mark Nelson may be going soft. When he first launched onto the scene, winning the inaugural Scottish Comedian of the Year competition in 2006, his more barbed quips could have made Frankie Boyle wince. Now just into his thirties and settled down, Nelson…

Seann Walsh

Unadventurous material and scattered thoughts ultimately fuse

Now familiar to millions from stints on Live at the Apollo and Stand Up for the Week, Seann Walsh just has to announce his name from the wings to provoke rapturous applause from an eager audience. It's therefore no surprise when the response to his…

Sex Money Death

Bittersweet observations in a thoughtful hour from comedian Stuart Black

Having recently hit the big four-O, sad sack pessimist Stuart Black has been fondly reminiscing about his childhood. He reasons that adult issues of sex, money and death represent the end of innocence and he yearns for simpler times. Black deftly…

Scott Agnew: Tales of the Sauna

Fascinating insight into a furtive institution

Scott Agnew’s exploration of the gay sauna world attempts to blow the lid on this furtive institution. After disarmingly segregating his audience into gay and straight, Agnew dives into his material almost too keenly. He seems wary of overdoing audience…

The Boom Jennies: Mischief

Great chemistry hampered by a poor script

The Boom Jennies are three accomplished performers with great chemistry and good timing. What lets them down here are a poor script and weak punchlines. Each sketch features three middle class women blustering around and politely remonstrating with…

Highlights from the Fighting Fantasy series of role-playing games

Henry Northmore and Murray Robertson pick their favourite Fighting Fantasy books

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain A collaboration between Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, this was the book that started it all. The first installment was written back in 1982, and is set as you set out to plunder the treasure of the mystical mage.

Andrew Keen: Manifesto for digital change

Author and digital entrepreneur appears with Ewan Morrison at the Edinburgh International Book Fest

Author and digital entrepreneur Andrew Keen has serious concerns with the internet. ‘First we lived in villages, now we live on the internet,’ he muses. ‘And there are some people out here in California who believe it’s a utopia, an idyll which will…

London-dwelling Aussie comic Celia Pacquola returns to 2012 Edinburgh Fringe

Show taking travel and relationships as starting point

‘It was like walking into a fairytale. There’s a castle!’ Celia Pacquola fondly remembers arriving in Edinburgh for her first Fringe in 2009. ‘We have castles in Australia but they’re made of sand.’ Since moving to London two years ago, Pacquola has had…

Billy the Mime: Steven Banks breaks with convention at Edinburgh Fringe 2012

Billy's not kidding around in darkly funny mime act

Of the many versions of the titular joke featured in 2005 documentary The Aristocrats, one interpretation stands out. In broad daylight on LA’s Venice Beach, actor and comedian Steven Banks mimes the dysfunctional family tale of incest, coprophilia…