It’s not easy being a Mac owning gamer. For so long the deserved recipient of the industries jokes and PC gamers distain, gaming on Mac has always been something of an afterthought, falling some way down on Apple’s priorities both from a hardware and software perspective. With games software remaining overpriced, underpowered and largely unsupported, Mac gaming has existed as the proverbial wasteland for the mouse and keyboard loyalist. However, to quote the ever quotable …

By now, I’m sure we’re all aware of EA Sports’ ghastly intentions of charging used game buyers extra for the use of online play within their games. As the uglier sister of the already rather ugly “Project Ten Dollar”, EA’s Online Pass system means all future EA Sports releases will ship bundled with a code, which when entered correctly will allow access to the online components of their games. Although similar to the bundled codes …

Well, that was a fairly lengthy wait. After initially penning my thoughts on the iPad and my own personal purchasing dilemma back in March, the iPad has finally been made available for pre-order beyond the state lines and borders of the good old Yoo Ess. It’s been a long old wait, one not helped by an almost constant desire to import, but one I’m hoping will prove to be worth it in the long run. …

Tired? Stressed? Working too long? Struggling to muster up enough energy to get busy with the better half? Perhaps your smartphone is to blame. According to Gizmodo sister site Jezebel, a recent study conducted by pharmaceutical company Bayer revealed that 28% of women blamed the iPhone and Blackberry for the lack of their partners sex drive. Sitting alongside other predictable factors such as fatigue and the everyday stresses of the working man, smartphones increasingly appear …

Ladies, gentleman and cyber geeks; the humble 3 and a half inch floppy is no more. In a move that will shock few and actually affect even fewer, Sony have revealed their intentions to cease production and sales of the aged storage format in Japan, effectively calling time on the  floppy’s very existence. With Sony – the last major manufacturer of the 3.5″ wonder – all set to pull the trigger in March 2011, the firm’s …

Developer: Sports Interactive Publisher: SEGA Released: 13 April 2010 Available for: iPhone Time Played: 3 Seasons Verdict: 4/5 Thumbs Up “Although some key features have been lost in translation between the PC and iPhone versions of Football Manager, inevitably so given the vast difference in resources available to the two formats, Football Manager Handheld is an exceptional – if not perfect – first step into development on Apple’s handheld from Sports Interactive.”

2012 could turn out to be a big year for human kind. As predicted by the Ancient Mayan civilization and depicted by a particularly rubbish movie last year, our time on this planet is due to come to an abrupt end on December 21, 2012. I’m not sure about you, but I won’t waste my time with any plans for Christmas. How the human race will meet its untimely demise is currently unknown, but according …

When it comes to defending the video games industry against negative press, I find it pays to tread carefully. As attested to by the now former South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson, citing that his family faced more danger from gamers than from bikers, it’s important that people keep a cool and calm head when defending our beloved past time. To respond to ignorance with chidlsih name calling, threats or dressing up as Pikachu simply …

Review by Mat C Near Orbital Vanguard Alliance (N.O.V.A) Developer: Gameloft Publisher: Gameloft/Apple Released: 17th December 2009 Available for: iPhone & iPod Touch Time Played: Finished (Single player only) Verdict:  2/5 Rotten Egg One of my favorite things about digital distribution is that it’s possible to log onto store fronts such as Steam and iTunes and access a vast range of content at any time, regardless of a game’s release date, quality or sales figures. …

A quest for revenge. Blood spilled on the cliff sides of Mount Olympus. Betrayal from an ally. Untold numbers of casualties slain by the Blades of Athena, etched into Kratos’ flesh and chained to his arms. A boss battle. The slaying of a God at the hands of a vengeful Spartan and the resulting condemnation to the depths of Hades. At that point, the opening hour of God of War III draws to a frenetic …

True story: since playing Heavy Rain I have heard the name “Jason” so many times that it has lost all meaning. It now registers simply as a blurred noise in my head, like the distant ringing of somebody else’s telephone or a car alarm down the street. Now, I loved Heavy Rain, but some of the voice acting was just awful. Press X to Jason pays homage to that with this simple flash game, which …

I should probably start this piece by laying my cards on the table right away. I am a self-certified, unashamed Apple fanboy. One who will make no apologies for being so. I have bricked up all of the windows on my house in an effort to rid myself completely of the dirty “W” word, I have more of those cute Apple stickers than I now have non-Apple items to falsely re-brand, and when Steve Jobs …

There comes a time in the life of every gaming girl and boy when we just hit a wall within a video game. It may be an individual game or an entire franchise, and it may even be something we’ve enjoyed playing immensely for several weeks, months or years. It might not even happen within every game we play, nor is it necessarily restricted to typically “bad” games. Make no mistake however that once that …

Review by Mat C Heavy Rain Developer Quantic Dream Publisher SCEE Released February 23, 2010 Available for PS3 Time Played Finished Verdict:   5/5 Gold Star “Anticipated as much for its storytelling narrative as it has been criticised for offering little but a string of elaborate Quick Time Events (QTEs), the arrival of Heavy Rain has not been a quiet one. Sony have even gone so far as to actually market it with an advertising campaign; …