Review: Ice Age art: arrival of the modern mind

Choosing a museum exhibition when charged with reviewing art seemed like a bit of a cop-out. I’ve always found history to be deeply fascinating, but these seemed more like artefacts than artworks; crude curios from a past we can scarcely imagine. How wrong I was. The British Museum’s Ice Age art: arrival of the modern mind is a… Continue reading Review: Ice Age art: arrival of the modern mind

Women, RPGs and me

The core tenet of games is the ability to inhabit other worlds. They allow us to step out of the banal drudgery of everyday existence and into the shoes of a New York gangster, a dragon-slaying hero, or a star-sailing space marine. And very occasionally, she’s a girl. To most male gamers – the one’s I’ve talked… Continue reading Women, RPGs and me

Preview: Tomb Raider

Square Enix need Tomb Raider, the latest in a line of re-imaginings by veteran developer Crystal Dynamics, to be a success. Profits have plummeted, and their last major release – Hitman: Absolution – was dogged by PR problems and some disappointing reviews. A no-holds-barred, open environment ‘survival action’ game, as they have termed it, has… Continue reading Preview: Tomb Raider

72 reasons why Xbox 720 is doomed to fail

Following the possibly spurious but seemingly well-substantiated rumours about the next Xbox (and the next Playstation), I decided to provide a thoughtful breakdown and assessment of what all that information meant. I then decided that was too much effort. I may be numerically illiterate, but seeing as 72 X(box) 0 is zero, I’m actually overcompensating.

Classic Review: Mass Effect 2

It’s chock full of loading screens with the most basic of tips, à la such prudent examples as Battlefront 2 or my favourite multiplayer game ever, 007: Nightfire. There’s far less customisation: you can only change your own armour, and the selection of both this and weapons squad-wide has been super slim-lined. You’re nannied yet… Continue reading Classic Review: Mass Effect 2