VideoGamer.com Plays

What we've been playing this week.

Tom Orry, Editor - Space Invaders Extreme 2, DS
Smackdown vs Raw 2010 and Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time are both big releases, but the game I've had most fun with this week is Square Enix's Space Invaders Extreme 2. Maybe I'm just getting old, but the simple old-school gameplay seemed to hit the right note with me. If you're still undecided over whether to pick this up for your DS, take it from me that you won't be disappointed. It's very similar to the original, but it's no less addictive and exhilarating to play, taking the classic gameplay and giving it an almost puzzle game-like twist. The music is great too, although if I'm being honest I think I preferred the soundtrack the original game offered. Still great to waste hours with, zoned out with headphones on though.

Wesley Yin-Poole, Deputy Editor – Dragon Age: Origins, PC
This is one of those 'I can't tell you wot I fink yet' jobs, I'm afraid. But I can tell you 'wot I fink' of my first few hours spent in BioWare's fantasy role-playing game. In a word: big. Dragon Age: Origins is sucking me in. I can feel it. It's like a black hole, and I'm the Enterprise, or something. I can easily see myself pumping over a hundred hours into the game, which is a good sign. Oh, I've just thought of another… five words: The Lord of the Rings. From the score to the dwarf/human/elf race list, from the high fantasy concept to the rain-soaked night time battle against a horde of growling demonic monsters that occurs just an hour in, Dragon Age bears more than a few striking resemblances to Peter Jackson's epic film version of Tolkien's masterwork. This isn't a criticism, just an observation. So far, so very good.

Neon Kelly, Preview Editor - Borderlands, Xbox 360, PC, PS3
I've got a sniper rifle that will set you on fire. I've got a shotgun that shoots strange, wavey pellets. I've got a grenade that steals your health. I've got a dismembered dog's paw on a string around my neck, and I also suspect that I have a serious addiction to steroids. Borderlands gives me all these things, and it gives them to me in a tasty little parcel of co-op shooty goodness. It's certainly a strange game, and I've no doubt that some people will be left bewildered by the MMORPG-style quests and complete lack of plot, but the core shooting is utterly sublime. This is also the only game this year that has let me punch the head off a flaming midget. Thank you Gearbox!

James Orry, News Editor - Football Manager Live, PC
Another season - my tenth in the St John Game World - came to an end last week and after a bit of nail biting the Juicy Danglers finished a comfortable 10 points away from the drop zone, but disappointingly, a whopping 14 points from 10th position. There's hope for much more next season, though, with the core of the team still young and improving. The signs are already there; mid season the team firmly sat in the relegation zone, but a series of big wins, including matches against many of the league's best, saw a dramatic change in fortunes. With the addition of one or two senior players the Juicy Danglers might be ready for a return to its former glory.

Sebastian Ford, Video Producer - WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2010, Xbox 360, PS3
I have now interviewed two wrestlers for this game, John Morrison and the frankly enormous Kane, and I was honestly surprised just how pleasant and easy to chat to they both were. Between the two I have only played as Morrison in-game; he's so insanely acrobatic that I wasn't really drawn to the slower super-weight wrestlers, and he has a pimp-like charm that really amuses me. Probably the biggest thing that has put me off wrestling games in the past was just how unwieldy the characters were in the ring - sluggish movement and difficult move combinations really brought my enthusiasm down for the genre as a whole. This seems to have been so well addressed in Smackdown vs Raw 2010 that I think I might get it as my go-to, mates over, cold beer, local multiplayer game of choice.

For more on what we've been up to this week check out the brand-new VideoGamer.com Podcast.