Picture the scene: “So my friend, you have a copy of Animal Crossing. What’s it all about then?”

“Well, you are a young guy or girl who leaves home and moves to a small town in a forest. You haven’t got any money to start with so you have to take out a mortgage on a house from the local shopkeeper.
You start working for him doing small chores and then you have to find other ways to pay off your mortgage. You can run errands for your neighbours or catch bugs and fish to se...

So far, the Game Boy Advance has unfortunately been pretty short on RPG's, until recently that is. With the release of Breath of Fire, a classic has had the chance to take the limelight once again, that is, if it's not outdone by the sensational Golden Sun. Once again, you start your quest as a young boy, with both parents for once.
You wake up on a stormy night (Everything's usual so far), and have to rush out of town, because the rain is starting a landslide. Just before you leave your ...

Judging by his recent appearance on Frasier, Bill Gates can't act, however, he and Microsoft can produce a console worthy of our fine industry. The Xbox launched with a game so good that it has almost spoiled its owners. Halo, then followed by the very playable Project Gotham and Amped was indeed an impressive launch, but then of course things had to go downhill. In 2002, while obviously still early on, the Xbox has failed to deliver a game that Xbox fans can truly shout about, and when a game like...

Five.
Running as fast as is humanly possible, the relative safety of Red teams base lies just up ahead. The sounds of gunfire, ricochets and explosions are only barely audible over the chattering, shouting and cursing of players engaged in battle.
Four. Its deceptively difficult carrying the flag, at first it seems as easy as running in, snatching the flag from the opponents grasp and then running back. Of course when first thought about it was dismissed out of hand that the ...

(First published in 2002) Casuals, eh? They’re the foundation of the games-playing industry, it’s their wallets the publishers are aiming for, yet some would argue that the massive influence they wield is as dangerous and undeserving as the man who currently sits across the pond, in the White House, and on top of a large nuclear arsenal.
Who can trust them? They don’t buy ICO, they don’t buy Rez, they consistently reward the weakest franchises and clog up our treasured interest with ...

One of the undoubted success stories on the Dreamcast was Crazy Taxi. Hitmaker took the simple concept of picking up and dropping off passengers against a strict time limit and in turn produced a game that was as much fun as it was addictive.
Before long this game had earned itself a loyal following of Crazy Taxi devotees, whilst it was widely recognised as being a prime an example of what the Dreamcast can do so well with the right developers backing; that is to bring excellent pure-...

Many have suggested that the rather muted response the Gamecube received on its Japanese launch had more than a small amount to do with the absence of the perennial favourite Mario's own title. Whilst Mario Sunshine may be a long way from completion, it has provided the perfect opportunity for his brother Luigi to take centre stage for the first time since he appeared way back in 1993. Whilst Luigi Mansion may have a lot to live up to under the shadow of previous Mario titles, it does add an entirely...

There's one very tangible difference between Nintendo and its competitors. It's not that Nintendo is aimed at children whereas Sony and Microsoft products are aimed at adults. That's something of a myth anyway, really. That's all to do with marketing demographics. Sony and Microsoft aggressively pursue those market sectors, whereas Nintendo don't. But that's beside the point. The difference is that Nintendo is a developer itself, whereas Sony and Microsoft aren't, or at least aren't in the same...

If one were to try and describe the beauty that is the Mona Lisa to someone who had never seen it, how would they go about doing it? Would they talk about Da Vinci's brilliant usage of color, his subtle line movements? Would they focus on the female subject at the expense of the background? Or, would they instead just describe her mysterious smile, one that has fascinated mankind since it was first brushed across canvas? That is the trouble with describing a masterpiece. One hardly knows where to...

A game of two halves. Never has this most clichéd of statements held more truth than in regards to Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. With an opening menu in which your only decision is to play multi or single player games, which bring with them their own opening movies, differing control systems and gameplay dynamics, Ubisoft have decided that two differing strategies are required to make this year’s iteration of the Splinter Cell franchise stand out from the crowd.
The single player aspec...