…that it might be a while before I posted again.

To be completely honest, I haven’t checked back to this blog since I started at Mousebreaker, but then it was pointed out to me that I haven’t updated this in a long time when the truth is my personal writing hasn’t stood still - it’s just slowed down to a more managable pace, like a snail deciding it’s time to take it easy.

So I thought I’d pop in tonight and put things right. Firstly the Buzzin’ Games tab has gone, because I don’t have time to do daily blogging for them anymore, and the feed was filling up with stuff that wasn’t written by me. So that’s gone.

Then there were the outstanding reviews (by which I mean ‘unfinished’ rather than ‘amazing’ - I’m not quite that conceited) to be finished. Those have been tagged up and added to the del.icio.us feed, but for completeness sake, these were My Sims PC, Madworld on Wii and 101 in 1 Explosive Megamix on DS. I also found time to polish off my first and last article for Frugal Gaming: How to be a Guitar Hero on a Budget”.

After that getting settled into my new job got in the way of things for a while - though it was quite nice to get my first game scripting credit in Mousebreaker’s Rock Band Sim (yep, around 80% of the text and random events was written by me. Was good fun, that.)

Since then I’ve been taking the odd review for AceGamez when it takes my fancy. To the best of my recollection, that’s included only a handful of games: The Path, Rock Band Unplugged and Overlord 2, all of which were pretty good fun. I like having less free time, means I don’t have to review dross all the time!

And I’ve also got a regular column on another games site, courtesy of a nice fella I met at the event I mentioned just two posts and about 6 months ago. I write for Gaming Daily every Tuesday inspiration permitting, and even generally when inspiration leaves me floundering like a fish out of water. Only on a keyboard instead of on some sands and… you know what, this similie isn’t working, let’s just cut and run. So far my sum total of columns have resulted in:
Sims Based Shenanigans, Party Games to Pass the Test of Time, Taking the Ache from Achievements (If You Spell It Wrong), A Question of Control, Bad Taste and Games PR and Diary of a Fresh Faced iPhone owner Parts 1 and 2.

Oh, and I finished a review of the last piece of Fallout 3 downloadable content last night, but it’s not gone live yet.

Phew! That’s me caught up. How are you?

Hello all, Right, a lot has changed since I last posted. I’ve finished my spell at Tech Digest, but fell straight into a full time paid role as a flash gaming website’s Deputy Editor. Exciting stuff obviously, and I’m very excited about it. The downside is that the frenzied pace at which this site has been updated with more writing that you could shake a faulty biro at will once again slow down. At least until I get into the swing of things at any rate.

So this could be the last post for a while. A review (Guitar Hero Aerosmith PC), a preview (101 in 1 Explosive Megamix on DS) and my final batch of Tech Digest posts, which I will list in a moment. Got a couple of updates to come in the next few days/weeks too - a MadWorld review, a 101 in 1 Megamix review, a My Sims PC review and an article of getting Guitar Hero/Rock Band on a budget for Frugal Gaming. Will post those when they appear.

Right, the TechDigest portfolio continues:

The Nintoaster is back - now in 16-bit
DSi downloadable content to rival iPhone app store?
DS Makes the Kama Sutra even more embarrassing
Samsung announces N310
Blue OLED efficiency up 25%
Thomson launches next generation mp3 format
Fitness First ad gives you something to ponder while you ‘weight’
“Xbox 360″ graphics on phone by end of the year
Make your own liquid nitrogen ice cream
KOZO lamps bring the charms of the industrial revolution to modern lighting
Pirate Bay to offer increased annonymity to bit torrent users
AT&T leak some juicy iPhone gossip
OnLive: Top end PC gaming on your TV for less than a subscription to Xbox Live
LOL Juice no laughing matter, says school
Elecom Power Graphixx series make mp3 players jealous of the earphones
Teen paints 60ft penis on roof of parents’ house for Google Earth
GALLERY: Our 12 favourite fake and fictional Twitterers
Prison Officer sacked after friending prisoners on Facebook

Wow, really busy at the moment, but really having a great time with my writing.

I’ve been filling in full time over at Tech Digest for someone who’s currently on holiday and I’m really enjoying myself. On top of that I also attended a preview event for Buzzin Games last night in central London. Not really had time to do much else.

Still, here’s some more of my TD posts for completeness’ sake. A record 10 of these were posted today when I actually joined the guys in their new Goodge Street offices:

Introducing the Pocket Yoga - the netbook that never was
Gazillion Entertainment to publish Marvel comics MMO
Top 10 Drinking Gadgets
MSI Wind U110 ECO offers good battery to the netbook experience
Plans for mobile reception on the tube abanoned
US media warns parents of sexual predators in Animal Crossing
Mass Effect 2 officially announced
22% of the UK don’t want your fancy high speed internet
UK retailer says PS3 and PSP price cut imminent
Gang smuggles 1,638 gallons of vodka across Russian border through massive pipeline
“Weapon of mosquito destruction” developed
Tweet your way to employment with Twitter JobSearch
Portable turntable means DJs have no excuse not to join the party
YouTube Video of the Day: Synchronised face dancing”
UK government considering monitoring social networks
Wheels? Too convenient! Try tiny motorised legs
iPhone to be free on two year tariffs
Internet Explorer 8 out today
Resident Evil 5 is this week’s best selling UK entertainment product
Serpent speakers offer flexible audio without that hissing noise
Trumpet Hero controller looks wonderfully inpractical
Robo-fish would be the coolest bath toy ever
Exploring London’s highlights with Google Street View
Spotify provide the soundtrack for 2009’s Earth Hour
Internet Explorer 8 hacked within 24 hours

Phew! You can add coding all those anchor text links into this blog on the exhausting writing pile, too. With that, I’m off to get stuck into my freshly delivered MadWorld promo…

[Post updated to add additional posts for the week]

Hello all,

I’ve just written my first review for Buzzin Games, the UK games blog I just started writing for. The game: F.E.A.R 2. The experience: average for a first person shooter.

More excitingly, this week I shall be providing cover for Tech Digest while one of their writers is on holiday. So look out for my pieces on there for the next week - in fact, you can see a few of my pieces already:

Second Generation Surface Two-Three Years Away

Take the noise (and fun) out of karaoke with Urusakunai Kara OK!

Sega Mega Drive to make a come back

House of the Dead: Overkill needs to wash its mouth out with soapy water

There’s the potential for me to do a video review as well, but we’ll see if I get around to it…

Wow! It’s as if my blog post channelled the black magic of the Content Management System at AceGamez, because all four of the promised reviews have popped up on the site this morning…

So, first up we have a couple of oldies I noticed weren’t on the site, so decided to put my thoughts on. Those being Alone in the Dark on Xbox 360, and Manhunt 2 on Wii. Clairvoyants from yesterday’s entry will have correctly surmised that these were the 5/10 rated games… a bit harsh to put them on the same mark when Alone in the Dark does a lot of neat innovative stuff, while Manhunt 2 resolutely refuses to, but thems the breaks.

And I can only imagine the horror on readers faces when they deduce that this means 50 Cent: Blood on the Sands got either an 8 or a 10. Yep, I wasn’t expecting it either but despite the horrific licence, Fiddy’s second adventure is an enjoyable mindless romp with a tongue in cheek sense of humour. It also takes the best elements of Rainbow Six Vegas and The Club, combining them into some weird arcade-cover-taking hybrid. Don’t ask, it just works (or better yet, read the review).

Finally, everyone should have guessed the 10/10. Well done Rockstar Games for showing the rest of Xbox Live what downloadable content should offer with The Lost and Damned. 1600 points may sound a lot (around £14 to be exact), but it puts the others to shame with so much extra content and an enjoyable new storyline which interestingly bisects the old one. It might be even better than Niko’s adventure with hindsight…

Hello,

It’s been a bit of a while since my last update here… should have some more reviews to add soon including Manhunt 2, Alone in the Dark, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sands and Grand Theft Auto 4: The Lost and Damned. Just waiting for them to go up on the site. To add some suspense, one of these has got a perfect 10, another an 8 and two 5s. There may be a surprise in there…

But the main point of this blog is firstly to make everyone aware that my Twitter page has taken on a more games news focus, so feel free to follow @alan_p_martin.

Secondly I’ve started writing news for a UK games blog - Buzzin Games - so take a look and leave a comment or two.

Right my wireless keyboard seems to be protesting its miserable existence by going on strike (that or the batteries are dying), so I shall close. Until the reviews go up…

Hoorah, my review of Operation Anchorage has gone live.

Except that as you’ll see, reviewing it wasn’t half as much fun as it should have been. Fallout 3 was brilliant because it was non-linear, wide open and with many different ways to play it. Operation Anchorage removes almost every single choice, and as such it’s a pretty average first person shooter. Two more pieces of DLC to rescue it, Bethesda…

Whoops, as I came to publish my latest review (XBLA’s The Maw) I notice I didn’t give the Christmas batch their usual muted fanfare so I’d better do that while I’m here.

First up there was You’re In The Movies - a 360 title that promised much (some entertaining minigames and friends making fools of themselves on camera) and achieved little (except some light excercise from re-arranging my front room to try and get the damned thing to work properly). There’s a great game in there somewhere, but right now the tech just isn’t good enough.

Then we have Football Director DS - the first football management sim to grace the system, and unfortunately far too shallow to be recommended very highly.

Stay tuned for a review of the first of the Fallout 3 DLC coming up in the next few days…

Hello,

As this domain has been renewed for another year, I guess I should post what I’ve been up to over the last few weeks. So here we go:

Firstly, the Xbox Live remake of Duke Nukem 3d, which has held up remarkably well for a 12 year old game. Worth the 800 points, I’d say.

Then we have Braid - another one from the XBLA vaults. At 1200 points, it may seem steep but it’s one of the most memorable games I’ve played in year, full of brilliant ideas to tie puzzles to platforming in a way unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.

Then we have Fable 2 - the follow up to one of the other memorable titles I’ve played in the last few years. It mostly outshines the original, but loses something in terms of memorable moments.

Finally, Far Cry 2. I didn’t care much for the first one, but this spiritual successor is a brilliant adult game which steers clear of videogaming cliché and creates an unforgettable experience despite its frustrating flaws.

Not a bad selection of review code I’ve gotten lately - there’s 2 more reviews on the way, but they’re yet to be published. Until next time!

I’ve been quite busy on various other things, and as such my rate of reviewing stuff has slowed to a tortoise-pace. Nonetheless, by stacking them all up into one post I can now surprise anyone reading this with a flurry of activity!

First, a Top Spin 3 review for Worthplaying. Executive summary: as good as a DS tennis game can get, but that’s not saying a huge deal.

Secondly: Castle Crashers for Worthplaying. A superb 4 player beat-em-up with a delightful cartoon art style.

Finally Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise: An amazing conversion of a classic 360 game to a machine a fraction of its power. Thumbs up!