VideoGamer.com Plays

What we've been playing this week.

Tom Orry, Editor - Trials HD, XBLA
Could this be the most fun I've had with a game this year? Trials HD just has that something special that makes you want to keep playing, no matter how many times you crash and burn. It's the first XBLA game since Geometry Wars 2 that I feel compelled to keep playing beyond playing it for the review. At one point during the week Seb had practically given up trying to get past a near vertical wall of tyres, so I grabbed the controller from him and proceeded to show him how it should be done. 250 odd tries later that tyre wall was history.

Wesley Yin-Poole, Deputy Editor – Trials HD, XBLA
For me, the brilliance of Trials HD lies in the funnies. The rag doll physics are wonderful, not because they’re particularly processor pushing, but because your bike rider often ends up in such silly positions post crash. His head might be stuck on a platform, his back might be snapping on a jut or his hand might be stuck in a wall. Then, gravity takes hold, and his body will hilariously slide off of a ledge, spiralling to his doom and exploding barrels miles below. Seb’s put together a great video feature with some of our best Trials HD moments. I urge you to check it out.

Neon Kelly, Previews Editor - Disaster: Day of Crisis, Real Life
Okay, so I'm taking slight liberties here. The truth of the matter is that I've barely had any time to play games this week because I've been sorting stuff out in my new house. So, why pick Disaster: Day of Crisis? Well, on Thursday I was woken up by my flatmate with the news that our shiny new pad was flooded. One of our neighbours had left a tap running, and as a result water was pissing into my bathroom and through a light-fitting in the kitchen below. The damage wasn't too bad, but I had to spend most of my morning sorting out an electrician to check that we weren't about to fry ourselves. I know that none of this is remotely video games-related, but I had to write about something. I'll do better next week: we'll all be in Cologne by then, attempting to see every big game for the next year or so. It's going to be a mission, but I'm well up for it.

James Orry, News Editor - Football Manager Live, PC
Not wanting to follow the other lemmings and chat about Trials HD I've chosen to mix things up, do something a little different and talk about Football Manager Live. Well, I would if I had anything of interest to chat about. I'm about a third of the way through the season and the Danglers find themselves in 15th position only one point from the drop zone. At least I have some real football to help pass the time in the months ahead - COYS.

Sebastian Ford, Video Producer – Oblivion, Xbox 360, PS3, PC
God I love this game. Any who have me on their friends list will probably have noticed that I spend the majority of my evenings ploughing through this truly epic example of interactive entertainment. Until recently, said ploughing had slowed to a meagre trickle with level progress going painfully slow. It was my saviour of a brother who ended up guiding me back onto the glorious path of productivity, gaining me something like four or five levels in the space of about an hour (“Seb you’re doing this wrong. Seb you’re doing this wrong”). Maybe I’m just stubborn but I’m reluctant to find answers on the net, and somehow getting someone to complete it for me doesn’t feel like cheating, especially if they’re related.

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