Gaming Blog - December, 2010

iPhone Review: Rage

Posted on 27th Dec 2010 at 09:45 by Joe Martin with 7 comments

The easy, initial reaction to Rage for the iPhone is to say that id Software has done it again, delivering a game that sets a benchmark of graphical splendour for the platform and will doubtless grow to be one of the iPhone’s definitive shooters.

Closer inspection, however, reveals that early assessment to only be two thirds right. Yes, Rage is a technical marvel and it’s amazing that id Software has managed to cram such large, detailed levels into a mobile phone game. However, this isn’t a definitive shooter. If anything, Rage follows in the steps of Quake Wars and Doom 3; it's graphically magnificent, but a fundamentally boring game.

Rage is closer to a lightgun game than an actual first person shooter. Cast as contestants on Mutant Bash TV – a gladiatorial TV show for the post-apocalypse civilisation – players basically run a scripted gauntlet and kill all the baddies they see along the way. You can’t control your movement, and your role in the game is merely to aim and shoot using the three weapons provided.

You Know You've Played Too Many Games When…

Posted on 23rd Dec 2010 at 11:41 by Joe Martin with 57 comments

You know you’ve played too many games when you deliberately get up early on a Saturday morning, just so you can explore the new Minecraft update in peace for a few hours.

…when you hum the Monkey Island theme tune to yourself when you’re tense, and it actually makes you feel better.

…when you catch yourself thinking, ‘Oh, quicksave!’ when you cross the road.

…when you have recurring dreams about writing the perfect walkthrough for Baldur’s Gate 2.

Give Me Back My Water Wings

Posted on 22nd Dec 2010 at 07:25 by Chris Pickering with 24 comments

Sprinting, shooting, jumping, punching. Name any human action verb, and you'll probably find it simulated reasonably well in a game somewhere. Unless, of course, it's swimming.

Despite all the water-levels inflicted on us, games have never quite managed swimming. In fact, Grand Theft Auto III famously featured a main character so downright terrified of the wet stuff that he’d curl up and die as soon as he got a splash on his little toe. I used to regularly bemoan the fact that I could lose all my best weapons merely by getting a dunking.

Thankfully, this is no longer common in these modern days of expansive gameplay, multimillion dollar budgets and huge areas to explore, but that doesn't mean matters have improved. Instead, we’re been handed some of the most dull swimming experiences we’ve ever had the misfortune to experience.

Bit-Gamer Competition #2

Posted on 20th Dec 2010 at 11:31 by Joe Martin with 23 comments

Congratulations to the three winners from last week, who told us their favourite games ever over Twitter. We sent them each a copy of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit on PlayStation 3 as a prize, but here's what the winners chose, in case you were wondering:

@dragronphreak - ~~Pools of Radiance~~ Ultima 7
@xmvx - Diablo 2
@Krisposkitt - BioShock

Now it's time for our second competition to celebrate the launch of Bit-Gamer.net. This time we've got a copy of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Codex Edition on Xbox 360 to send out - and, yes, this competition is open worldwide.

Want to win? Tell us over Twitter what games you are looking forward to!

To be in for a chance of winning, all you have to do is Follow @bit_gamer on Twitter and send us a tweet telling us which game you're most looking forward to next year.

The deadline for this competition is 5 January 2011.

We've already handed out a few unannounced prizes over Twitter too, and we expect to be giving out a lot more of as we've got a ludicrous amount of prizes to be given away. Congratulations to @darth_careful and @alastor2004, both of whom grabbed themselves copies of Diamond Dan on Steam.

We'll be bringing you a new competition after the New Year. Don't worry if you're not interested in signing up for Twitter either; you'll get a chance to win something soon!

Where are my gaming spin-offs?

Posted on 17th Dec 2010 at 10:12 by Chris Pickering with 22 comments

The world of television has always featured spin-offs. The long running Frasier starred a character created in the world of Cheers. The Day Today brought us into contact with the comedy stylings of Alan Partridge. Even Hollyoaks found itself giving birth to a late night ‘adult’ variations of its tea-time teenage themes.

Yet the video game world seemingly doesn’t wish to join in on this potential cavalcade of excitement. Recently the fantastic Red Dead Redemption was infested with zombies in Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare, which has John Marston attempt to stop the zombie horde. It’s really quite blooming good fun and you can only assume it was pretty bloomin' cheap to produce too.

iPhone Review: Hook Worlds

Posted on 16th Dec 2010 at 11:39 by Joe Martin with 3 comments

Hooks are a recurring motif for Rocketcat Games, it seems - as 'Cry' is to Crytek, perhaps. It's a motif that has taken center stage in both of Rocketcat's previous titles, Hook Champ and Super Quick Hook.

Now, it shows up again in Hook Worlds - albeit under three different guises.

You see, there are three games in Hook Worlds. The first of these, Curse of the Watcher, doesn't anything new or wholly unfamiliar to fans of Rocketcat's previous games. A cross between Super Quick Hook's endless Avalanche mode and Hook Champ's story-driven levels, Curse has players using rocketboots and a grappling hook to flee a pursuing ghost. The controls have changed about since Super Quick Hook, but it's still super accessible; a tap on the left or right is all you need to whip through the scenery.

Bit-Gamer launch competition

Posted on 13th Dec 2010 at 11:06 by Joe Martin with 32 comments

Things have changed for bit-tech's games content recently. You might have noticed the new logo and backgrounds, not to mention the new Hall of Fame article which we'll be updating regularly in the future. You might be wondering why the name of your favourite games review site has changed from bit-tech to bit-gamer.

One other thing that’s changed but which you might not have noticed yet is that bit-gamer has its own Twitter account now too – which is important because we’re going to start doing regular prize draws and competitions using it. More on that in a minute.

Bit-tech’s games content has changed a lot since I joined the company almost five years ago. We’ve changed our review style and the length of our articles, not to mention the type of games and platforms we cover. This last two years especially has seen a number of changes to bit-tech’s games content, with new writers working on the site and a renewed focus on features and previews. Some of my favourite articles we’ve ever done have been written in the last year, for example, while today sees the introduction of a new regular column, Critical Hit.

Free Games I Like: Virtua School

Posted on 11th Dec 2010 at 12:24 by Joe Martin with 5 comments

Ah, Virtua School. Another game I played far too much of as a teenager and which I’ve bought back to life on my iPod Touch courtesy of the ill-fated iDOS. I truly love this game.

Virtua School is a text-based game which casts you as a kid starting his first day of school, forced to deal with the usual array of problems – girls, bullies, exams and extra-curricular activities. Using multiple choice options you weave your way through these scenarios, with a single playthrough lasting around ten minutes.

What I like most about Virtua School though is the random events which are woven into each game to help make things a bit different. The changes range from big things, like bomb scares or after-school parties, to smaller alterations, like characters changing their opinions or reactions. Popular girl Liz might like you one day and hate you another.

bit-gamer.net

iPhone Review: Rage

You Know You've Played Too Many Games When…

Give Me Back My Water Wings

Bit-Gamer Competition #2

Where are my gaming spin-offs?

iPhone Review: Hook Worlds

Bit-Gamer launch competition

Free Games I Like: Virtua School

Authors

Tag Cloud

Archives

Links

Site Links

Our Other Sites

Popular Topics

Popular Companies