Released as the BBC Microcomputer on 1 December 1981 the iconic computer will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Like many people my age I clearly remember it. I remember the clacky sound of the keys and the grinding noise of big disc drive. I can even recall the distinct smell of it. Despite…
It was 1983 and I was sat on my ZX Spectrum 48k, helping Horace cross the road to a ski shop, when my friendasked me, “Why doesn’t this game look like the ones in the arcade? Why doesn’t it look… better?” Too young to be able to give a technical answer, I just shrugged. It…
Right now, the news cycle in the US would rather blame mass shootings —17 and counting in 2019—on the effect of playing video games than on the wide availability of guns. WalMart has announced more restrictions on the games in store, rather than the guns they sell. But playing games with your young child is…
Does playing Tomb Raider really improve your IQ? It’s not as daft as it sounds. We may be in an era where we constantly bemoan the dumbing down of culture, but there is strong evidence to suggest that the huge increase in our daily exposure to technology — from using the Internet and smartphones to…
Up until now the games released on the PS4 have not been especially great, but this was largely to be expected. As with most next-gen consoles, the first thing developers do is simply beef up the graphics of previous games and rush them out. Hence, the graphically-superior-but-essentially-the-same, releases like Tomb Raider and Call of Duty.…
The exact details are disputed, but yes, this is one of the stranger stories from the world of games and it stands as a subterranean monument to the hubris that caused the great console crash of 1983. Back in 1982, E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial was a huge box office hit. Released in June of that…
No matter what PETA might think, there’s something hugely satisfying about making Darth Vader rampage though a wookiee village, literally causing fur to fly as he lobs the hairy warriors off bridges and parapets. Sadly you only play Vader at the start Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. After the first level, control switches to his…
Matt Pomroy dives into the debate about violence in video games. From the days of Space Invaders, killing has been a key part of the success of video games, and as the industry grows and becomes more competitive, game makers are increasingly turning to violence to court controversy and boost sales. But as the imagery…
Matt Pomroy 