• 21Sep 09

  Still Alive

  Three points of interest:

  1) I've written a review of Shadow Complex. I hope you like it.

  2) I turned 23 over the weekend! My girlfriend (who, it should be noted, is the most awesome person in the world) got me a Street Fighter IV Mad Catz fighting stick, Fallout 3, Zack and Wiki, a t-shirt that I can't mention here in case children are present, and a Bad Religion mug. Hooray!

  3) I've been shortlisted in the Guardian Student Media Awards 2009 for Critic of the Year! I'm going to an award ceremony in London this November to find out whether I've won. Obviously I was a bit shocked and very proud to find out, even more so that it was for my games reviews. Thank you to everyone who ever spurred me on by saying they liked my content on Gamespot =)

  I will be starting a long overdue website soon (and by website, I really mean blog, but I detest the use of that word) with lots more interesting content by myself. I find it difficult to get enthusiastic about keeping a Gamespot blog to be honest, unless of course someone is willing to pay me for it

  -Alan

  • Posted Sep 21, 2009 1:29 pm GMT
  • Category: Editorial
  • 2 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Tweet
• 7May 09

  RIP 3D Realms

  3D Realms is (are?) no more

  This morning I read the very sad news that 3D Realms, developer of Duke Nukem 3D and alleged developer of Duke Nukem Forever were closing. Duke Nukem 3D was one of the first FPS games I ever played and I still have great memories of it... what horrible news to read first thing in the morning.

  Here's hoping 3DR are saved from the brink of extinction somehow, since DNF actually looked close to completion this time!

  • Posted May 7, 2009 3:06 am GMT
  • Category: Business
  • 5 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Tweet
• 31Mar 09

  Game Over?

  This was my last column as Tech editor for The Student. Not really sure where to go from here... I might migrate my writing to a blog and keep my Gamespot page open for game-related stuff, reviews etc. Would anyone really miss me?

  Leave it to Apple to come up with gadgets you didn't even know you wanted. Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you: the iPod Bluetooth Diabetes Monitor. An adapter pricks your finger and reads blood sugar levels, which are then sent to the iPod and your dietary recommendations for the day are calculated. I can't wait to find out what it makes of my lunch- half a bag of tortilla chips and a packet of chocolate Hobnobs (sadly, this is not a joke). Better yet, we should push for Xbox Live integration so players can browse online leaderboards of the highest blood sugar levels, unlocking achievements like "obesity" and "blindness" along the way. Who will drink enough golden syrup to be crowned number one?

  It's been over a year since I joined the editorial team at The Student and raised the bar for the number of terrible similes included in one article. My motivation for writing has always been transparent. I believe technology, science and games are fun, exciting and worth writing and reading about, regardless of whether you're a hardcore nerd or think "megahertz" is a geeky synonym for a hangover. If I managed to convince even one person of this during my tenure, it has been time well spent.

  And now... Similes of the Year! Craig selected his favourites from a year of writing, which I've reprinted below for your viewing pleasure.

  on Mass Effect: "Steering the Mako is akin to steering a sackful of balloons using a hair dryer"

  on the Max Payne movie: "The aesthetic of Sin City has been sloppily smeared into the gaping holes in the script like Polyfilla."

  on art in nonviolent games: "Cooking Mama looks like it was drawn by an alien race who had never seen human food before, while Beautiful Katamari is as 'beautiful' as a box of Duplo half-chewed by a three year old."

  on MGS4: "Metal Gear Solid 4 is so heavy on narrative that it squashes the underlying game like a fat man riding a child's bicycle"

  on Twitter: "Welcome to the future of communication: it's like being smacked over the head with a newspaper until you actively acknowledge the contents"

  • Posted Mar 31, 2009 10:17 am GMT
  • Category: Editorial
  • 2 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Tweet

See Previous Blog Posts »