VideoGamer.com Plays

What we've been playing this week.

Tom Orry, Editor - Heavy Rain, PS3

I'm months late, I know, but I've finally found time to play Heavy Rain on the PS3. I guess I'm about a third of the way through, and things are just starting to get good. I have one problem, though. Why did Shelby leave that baby with the mother and not call Social Services? I thought I could do what I wanted in this game, but there was no option for that. And what is it about people having showers? And why did Ethan put on the same pants he wore to bed? Do video game characters only have one pair of pants?

Martin Gaston, Staff Writer - Helsing's Fire, iPhone

I'm usually quick to decry the concept of the iPhone as a gaming platform, but the 59p Helsing's Fire has been solidly glued to my hand for the last week. It's a puzzler through and through, with you clearing levels by illuminating certain on-screen baddies in the correct pattern. It's rarely super taxing (unless you tell it to crank up the difficulty), but it also never fails to keep your brain amused. In all likelihood I'll probably be clearing a few levels as you read this.

Emily Gera, Staff Writer - Thief II, PC

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Hey Emily, why are you playing Thief II 10 years after it was released. Hey Emily, are you from the past, or an alternate Sliders dimension where the only games that exist are highlights from the last decade? Hey Emily, should I send help?" And I know your feelings of worry conflict with your much more legitimate question: "Hey Emily, can your puny female brain not handle Alien Swarm?" To answer you, I'm playing Thief II because I can't find where I put Mass Effect 2 so I can replay it. So no, I'm not ten years behind the times, I'm seven months. Now who looks like an idiot? But no, Thief II is a brilliant and classic game of the Noughties. If you're remotely interested in first-person stealth and steam punk then definitely try it out. And it features one the best video game characters of the last ten years, the immeasurably cool Garett.

Jamin Smith, Staff Writer - Limbo, XBLA

Despite being the darkest game I think I've ever played, Limbo is a little ray of light in an otherwise gloomy sea of guns, grenades and space marines. Limbo is beautiful, gory, clever, frustrating, satisfying, thought provoking, weird and wonderful in one glorious downloadable package. It's the kind of game I know I'll play through several times, which is something I seldom find myself doing these days. While it doesn't boast the profound and pretentious weight of the enigmatic Braid (which is up there with my favourite games of all time), Limbo is still a fantastic game. The fact that the words 'game of the year' are cropping up in discussions about it is more than reason enough to check it out. Do it now.