Review: Lego Lord of the Rings game
One brick to rule them all
Being half Scottish, many of my summers were spent camping in the glens. After the daily grind of hitting each other with sticks, getting bitten by midges and eating fried spam, my sister would fill our evenings by reciting The Lord of the Rings – from memory! Being a more committed geek than me, by the age of 14 she had somehow …
Earthworm Jim
Antique Code Show Groovy!
I can’t think of one person I’ve met who didn’t enjoy the run and gun fun of Earthworm Jim. Released in 1994 on both the Super Nintendo and Sega Megadrive (Genesis) it made my eyes pop. The graphics were revolutionary (and surreal) and it’s certainly one of the most popular platform games ever made. It went on to spawn a cartoon …
Ten... PC games you may have missed
Product Round-up Shooting stars
So now my Panda is Level 90 I thought it might be time to get my head out of the Brewmasters keg and have a look a selection of other games that have been released while I have been in my MMO reverie. If you don't fancy playing COD: BO2 or Halo 4 and are bored of relentless franchise titles then take a look at the games below. …
Ten gaming headsets
Product Round-up Bang, crash, wallop
Recently, I have battled underwater in Guild Wars 2 and fought through the Temple of the Jade serpent in The Mists of Pandaria. Luckily, during my adventures, I have had the opportunity to test some of the best gaming headsets money can buy, but which headset allowed me to hear every bubble burst and even the quietest Windwalker …
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria review
Review Paw choice?
A couple of years ago I was addicted to Farmville and I've always had a soft spot for Pokémon. As much as I hate to say, it the Mists of Pandaria is coming over all Pokéville 2. Everyone is battling minipets or farming, which all feels a bit twee but I can’t deny it’s also extremely enjoyable... except when I see my baby polar …
Valve's Half-Life
Antique Code Show Our very own Tesla Girl recalls a year in physicist Gordon Freeman's company
I’m not a fan of modern first-person shooters, which is a shame because there used to be a massive soft spot in my heart for Half-Life and its head crabs.
When then small, independent developer Value announced it was basing its first game around the exploits of a theoretical physicist, most gamers were understandably …
Guild Wars 2 game review
Review A real Blizzard stomper?
I’ve just been reigning supreme on Tekken Tag Tournament 2 playing Panda and knocking out the advanced bear fighting moves while I wait to play a Panadrian Monk in the mother of all MMOs World of Warcraft. I wasn’t planning on playing Guild Wars 2, as I was worried it might become a distraction in couple of weeks when I need to …
Populous
Antique Code Show Conquest mode
So I just re watched Cabin in the Woods (spoiler alert) and when the big glowing god hand explodes out of the earth in the last frame, I was left with a niggle at the back of my subconscious.
Populous 1989 Bullfrog Productions Divine intervention
It wasn't till later in the pub that I remembered my formative god/hand …
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Antique Code Show Cucco Gank
I didn't play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time when it was first released in the late 1990s because I was too busy on my SEGA playing Sonic. However, I do remember that I always used to think the name Zelda referred to the main character. It wasn't until I watched The Legend of Neil that I realised the hero's name was Link …
Ghostbusters
Antique Code Show Plasma TV?
In 1984 Activision released their adaptation of the classic movie Ghostbusters. I was 12 and remember after seeing the movie wanting the game more than George Michael's Careless Whisper which, in hindsight, was quite a sensible choice.
Ghostbusters 1984 game The ghost of pixels past
As Ray Parker Junior says "I ain't 'fraid …
Darksiders II
Review Cower, brief mortals
Typically, the only death I have any time for in my life is Terry Prachett's characterisation of Death and his constant fascination with humanity's foibles. Unsurprisingly, the Death of Darksiders II is a different incarnation altogether, a less bleak and more blood thirsty kinda guy.
Darksiders II Purple blaze
Life's not …
Goldeneye
Antique Code Show You only live twice?
Playing Goldeneye always felt more like an event rather than a gaming session. Four controllers and a 20in telly – it seemed huge at the time, believe me – headshotting friends had never been such fun. I have always had a soft spot for commies but playing Pierce Brosnan – wreaking havoc on Eastern Europe in Goldeneye – made me …
Spy Hunter
Antique Code Show Captured by the game
Take my money! Spy Hunter at the arcade was definitely school of hard knocks, just trying to stay alive meant keeping my foot on the brake as the Peter Gunn soundtrack, with it’s chugging beeps, ricocheted around my head.
Spyhunter 1983 by Bally Midway Arcade moneyspinner turned console favourite
Ported to my NES, the whole …
Ten... PC games you may have missed
Product Round-up Who needs consoles, eh?
It's been pretty dry – unlike the British weather – for big title PC games since October, Star Wars (now free to play) and Diablo being the only exceptions. With the amount of time people are spending indoors this summer, I am surprised gaming companies aren't rushing titles out in hopes of seeing the money pour in.
The games …
My dad found the Higgs boson! Reminiscences of a CERN kid
Hold it buddy - US atom bureau pass, but born in Iran?
When your Dad’s a bus driver or a bank manager life must be simple. Bring-your-kids-to-work day involves things like garages and spreadsheets: when I was little it meant trying not to step in front of a particle beam.
As a child I attended the playgroup at CERN while my older sister was enrolled at their international school …
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
Review Gotham bricky
The only Batman I have ever cared about is the cynical desperate anti-hero of Frank Miller's The Dark Night Returns but Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes may have just changed my mind.
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes The fall of Superman
Like the Batman franchise the Lego game series is prolific. Since 2005 we have Star Wars, …
Speedball 2 Brutal Deluxe
Antique Code Show Foul play
I know it’s not 2095 yet but with Boris back in power and the Olympics imminent, I am preparing myself to witness London fall into terminal decline due to sports related overspending and aggressive austerity measures. Indeed, I can envisage an appetite for a Rollerball-style games event; entertaining the galleries of corporate …
Diablo III
Review Hell’s bells
Back in 1997, I worked in a youth centre and some fool gave me the keys to the place. So I would sneak in every night to continue a degrading tryst with Diablo I, cutting down waves of monsters in anticipation of a loot splurge. It was a while before I worked out the portal system – I used to moan about the amount of walking – …
Ten... eight-bit classic games
Retro Week An Antique Code Show Special
Reg Hardware Retro Week Logo
I live with geeks, and when they aren't at hackfest they are in the front room playing Vindicators and Spyhunter on a Friday night. I think they only tolerate my presence because my dad works at CERN and I used to be able to program Turbo Pascal before all that PCP melted my frontal lobe.
One …
Jazz Jackrabbit
Antique Code Show Easter Bunny?
What with Easter's inextricable link with bunnies, it seemed in order to revisit an old lop eared friend. Jazz Jackrabbit is a side scrolling platform game and one I consider to be DOS shareware gaming at its finest. Who would have thought our friend Jazz would come from the same stable as a Gears of War Nemacyst?
Jazz …
Rock'n'Roll Racing
Antique Code Show Driving you insane
Having just reviewed the Steelseries SRW-S1 steering wheel on some pretty serious racing games, I was reminded that I have had a soft spot for a certain genre of racing game but it was a long time ago and involved some particularly severe riffs.
Rock'n'Roll Racing
In my humble opinion - and yes I did go to Download and …
Mass Effect 3
Review Smokin' Reapers
I had my doubts whether any game could live up to the amount of hype seen surrounding Mass Effect 3’s release. I shouldn't have been concerned though, I love it. The twisting compelling narrative; the authentic character interaction; the seamless integration of cut scenes and action and, last but definitely not least, the awe- …
Wacom Cintiq 24HD interactive pen display
Review The ultimate keyboard shortcut
So the Wacom Cintiq 24HD shows up at my door and it's huge. Seriously, this marriage of 24in display and graphics tablet tech needs two people to lift it out of the packaging and there are step-by-step instructions on just how to do it. This is definitely a professional piece of kit and, costing around £2000, I reckon unless you …
Ten... gaming mice
Product round-up The big cheese
The three qualities I look for in a gaming mouse are: comfort, aesthetics and accuracy. And considering the imminent financial meltdown of the entire world, I'd like to think that I can get these three qualities for less than a week's shopping at Sainsbury's.
Compared to last year prices, what's on offer seems to be slightly …
Ten... digital adult toys
NSFW The tingle factor
Reg Hardware Sex Week
Wireless vibrators activated by your mobile phone or MP3 player – who would have thought it? Growing up during a time when women still had pubic hair and leading a fantasy romance with Tony Hadley took up most of my time, if I was lucky Valentine's day involved a card and a flower picked out of someone …
Steelseries SRW-S1 PC gaming steering wheel
Review Taken for a spin
Admittedly, until recently my idea of a racing game was Super Mario Kart as I don't play too many driving games. However, the Steelseries SRW-S1 steering wheel certainly had me intrigued enough to want to take it for a spin.
Steelseries SRW-S1 gaming steering wheel Custom job: Steelseries' SRW-S1 gaming steering wheel …
Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards
Antique Code Show Thanks for the mammaries
Reg Hardware Sex Week
I'm actually surprised that it took till 1987 for someone to make a real effort and bring sexy time into a computer game. This new sub-genre effectively combined sex, comedy and gaming into a somewhat sleazy but hilarious adventure. It's all about the polyester leisure suit and gold chains... feel that …
Eight... HD camera smartphones
Product round-up Sharp shooters for parties and protests
You know that really annoying person who is videoing the gig with their camera phone to stick on Facebook when they get home? That's me. These days my TV is HD and my games console is HD, so it only makes sense that my phone – the device I use the most, day in and day out – should be HD too. Luckily, HD on smartphones is …
System Shock
Antique Code Show Sci-fi showdown
We've come along way since Looking Glass Technologies released System Shock in 1994, which earned it the distinction of being first first-person game with an engine able to render sloping walls. Before then, gaming environments were limited to verticals and horizontals.
System Shock by Looking Glass Technologies Making waves: …
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Review In a galaxy far, far away...
Star Wars: The Old Republic is a massive game with hundreds of hours of game play, so this review is just a chicken scratch on the surface of something we will see develop and grow over months, if not years. Undoubtedly, SWTOR has a solid foundation but does it have enough successful constituent parts to be enduring?
Star Wars …
Santa's Xmas Caper
Antique Code Show Jingle bell-end?
So let’s just get one thing straight: 99.99 per cent of Christmas-themed games suck.
I might make an exception for Christmas Nights on Sega depending on my mood, but, hey, it’s that time of year again and between the overwhelming urge to take a machete to every brightly tinseled tree I see, there must be time to reminisce about …
The Dark Meadow
iGamer Pan's people
I've just been to see the Guillermo del Toro produced cinematic update of Don’t be Afraid of the Dark and it was all shades of Pan's Labyrinth, dark basements and flesh-eating homunculi. The Dark Meadow steals this striking vision and mélanges together mechanisms of FPS combat, role-playing and exploration.
The Dark Meadow iOS …
Rainbow Islands
Antique Code Show Cutesy-cutesy
I know you played this. Admit it, darn you! Or at least you coveted it from afar as I did, watching my little sister Chloe play it and waiting till she fell asleep to sneak into her room to worship it’s vivid iridescent rays - or as close as you can get with just 4096 colors!
Rainbow Islands is one of the most successful …
Silverlit Spy Cam
Geek Treat of the Week Spy in the sky
Never mind all my boasting about training for a helicopter pilot licence to help me survive the zombie apocalypse, it's been a long time since I had a go at flying anything. Looking back, that was a mistake because this Spy Cam 'copter is fun, fun, fun.
I was really impressed at how simple this toy chopper is to set up and use, …
Hands on with Star Wars: The Old Republic
First Look Impressive. Most impressive
So I have been waiting and waiting and waiting and finally the gaming world is flooded with Star Wars: The Old Republic beta keys.
Star Wars: The Old Republic Slays against the machine
My first question is, what level could I get to before Sunday night? After that, I don’t get to play again till 20 December, the day the game …
id Software Doom
Antique Code Show Scary monsters and super creeps
id Software’s latest FPS Rage left a niggling feeling of déjà vu at the back of my brain for about a week after I started playing it, until I realised I was getting some subliminal Doom flashbacks.
id Software Doom House of Doom
In 1992, game developer id Software needed something special to follow up the hit that was …
Muvizu animation suite
Review Unreal 3D modelling without the boring bits
Digimania's Muvizu is free 3D animation software running on the Unreal engine. It allows you to create movies and even upload them directly to YouTube or Facebook from the application. Considering how much Autodesk Maya or 3DS Max will set you back and how many man hours it will take you to do the simplest of animations (and …
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Review Bludgeons and dragons
Skyrim is set in the land of the Nords, a craggy treacherous landscape that reminds me of George R R Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire and has the same epic scale. After the King of Skyrim is assassinated the land is plunged into civil war and the region has become severed from the rest of the empire. The game starts by …
The Adventures of Tintin: the Game
Review Quiffly does it
Until I was five, my dad worked at Cern and we lived in the Jura Mountains across the France-Switzerland border. At weekends my mum would take us to Jouets Weber, the largest toyshop in Geneva. It stocked a large number of Tintin books, which my mum translated to me at bedtime.
The Adventures of Tin Tin Take a hit and throw up …
Lemmings
Antique Code Show Fatal attraction
Lemmings was developed by DMA who are now known as Rockstar North of Grand Theft Auto fame. Who’d a thought such innocent beginnings would lead to such depraved offspring?
DMA Design Lemmings Multiformat title: to begin with only multiplayer on the Amiga
Originally released on the Commodore Amiga, Lemmings was one of the most …
Zombify Me
Horror App of the Week 'Tis the season to be scary
Sitting round waiting for the new season of The Walking Dead to start can get boring. You see, I like zombies and anything to do with zombies, so the Zombify Me app for iPhone is a no-brainer… see what I did there?
Zombify Me iOS app Zombify Me iOS app Zombify Me: You can capture new images or transform old ones
Being able …
BioWare Baldur's Gate
Antique Code Show Put down the dice
I remember one summer when my dad decided it would be great to go on holiday for two weeks in a stone farm house in Scotland, it rained and we spent the whole time playing Dungeons and Dragons.
BioWare Baldur's Gate PC game A few more options than a roll of the dice
Yet it wasn’t until the release of Baldur’s Gate in 1998 …
Toshiba Qosmio X770 17.3in 3D gaming notebook
Review Fully loaded
When Toshiba UK announced the launch of the Qosmio X770 3D – a new gaming laptop with stereoscopic 3D graphics and a 17.3in HD screen, I immediately thought: could this be an Alienware killer? Toshiba has been said to lag behind other manufacturers when it comes to high-end gaming laptops, but after spending time with the X770 I …
The Secret of Monkey Island
Antique Code Show I rate pirates
The Secret of Monkey Island ignites the urge to buckle swashes in everyone and 20 years on from its debut everyone I know still loves this game.
The Secret of Monkey Island screenshot She goes sixty miles to the galleon
Especially my friend Pippa, who manages to constantly find parallels between our pop punk adventures and …
Star Control
Antique Code Show Captain's log...
Star Control 2 is a bloody good game, but not the game I fell in love with. Yet it was playing the original Star Control on my Sega Genesis that just makes me feel all squidgy inside. With colour spaceships that battle across my screen to eerie alien toonz, I didn't need Arnie in Total Recall to fulfil my sci-fi fetish.
Star …
Dead Island
Review Death takes a holiday
Sweaty locals and voodoo always remind me of Angel Heart and I was as confused as Mickey Rourke after watching Dead Island's appalling intro. Seriously, who says "git" these days? Must be all those red pills and JD. This may explain the reverse time trailer I saw a few months back, which mislead me into thinking there might be …
Sid Meier's Civilization
Antique Code Show Just one more turn?
I remember 1991 starting on a sombre note, with my sister and I sitting in a bar doing shots under an Apocalypse Now poster waiting for the start of World War III, as we watched US bombers strafe Iraq. The end of civilisation? Well, not quite.
Sid Meier's Civilization Civil engineering?
Looking back on events of the time, the …
Ten... gaming headsets
Product Round-up Hear my player
I wish I had my own flat, but I don’t. Cue Slayer Reign in Blood thundering from upstairs. Six hours into a raid and my housemate comes home and turns the volume up on their shitty boombox above my head and I have completely lost any sense of immersion. Yes I could get into a ‘speaker-off’ with them but luckily I have some of …
id Software Wolfenstein 3D
Antique Code Show Glourious Basterd
With the EDL taking the opportunity to whip up support after the latest riots, it seems a fitting time to resurrect the memory of shooting fascists. Indeed, it must be heartwarming for id Software to know it invented the gaming genre that is now outselling porn: Wolfenstein 3D was the definitive first-person shooter. …
Bullfrog Syndicate
Antique Code Show Persuadertron = win
Bullfrog’s innovative titles gave me some of my best 1990s gaming memories. Who could forget Populous and Dungeon Keeper? The pre-cyberpunk aesthetic of Syndicate mesmerised me and gave us Agent Smith before anyone had even heard of The Matrix. This game isn’t complex but as long as I have a Persuadertron, I am going to do well …
