So I've Finally Purchased An Xbox 360.

Description Price Total
1 326909 Halo 3 10.00 GBP 10.00 GBP
*BUNDLE 333169*
1 330227 Assassin's Creed 10.00 GBP 10.00 GBP
*BUNDLE 333169*
1 332626 Xbox 360 Premium Console 249.99 GBP 249.99 GBP
*BUNDLE 333169*

DELIVERY: 0.00 GBP
TOTAL: 269.99 GBP

So I can finally experience the delights of an Xbox 360. If it weren't for the university assignments I have looming over me like Satan himself then I'd be in for a very enjoyable Christmas!

SocioTown - A New 3D Browser-Based MMO.

Games like Runescape and Habbo Hotel have shown that browser-based MMO's have a large market due to their ability to work on a wide-range of systems and browsers. Simplicity is an attractive option amongst the casual gaming audience and you only have to look at Metaplace to see what this appeal can generate. Obviously this leads to countless iterations all attempting to appeal to a largely young audience. SocioTown is yet another entry attempting to crack the market.

Stating that your game is 'the biggest and most sophisticated browser-based 3D virtual world to date' may seem overly-ambitious but SocioTown is already looking pretty impressive compared to similar entries. Utilising Adobe’s Shockwave Player it provides players with a 'fully immersive and persistent 3D environment' which is already shaping up to look a lot better than the likes of Runescape or Habbo. I'm impressed that the game is actually running in a web browser because I've seen recent games with far worse graphics that could only be played on the desktop. Of course these games weren't optimised for the browser but it's still an impressive feat.

Similar to Habbo players own their own apartments which they can kit out with furnishings bought from the various stores dotted around the town. From the trailer the room edit function already seems far more sophisticated and flexible than the simple drop and rotate functions of Habbo allowing for a more personal touch to your apartment. However, unlike Habbo where you can only access rooms through menu options SocioTown is a persistent world (much like Second Life) where you can walk in and out of your neighbors apartments without going through cumbersome menus. Of course, there's also the option to change and buy your own clothes and this is done through actually shopping for them (again, like Second Life) rather than just choosing them from a menu.



There are two unique functions that set SocioTown apart from other browser-based MMO's; the social network and live music. Chatting to people instantly adds them to your social network which forms a graphical representation of automatically connected dots so you can check how far your social network reaches at up to three degrees of separation. A part of this is your inner circle of friends, which means the more you talk to them then the better friend they become. The second unique feature, the live music system, looks very interesting. Instruments such as drum kits and keyboards can be controlled by the mouse to create your own music with friends (I'm wondering if this will work as well as LOTR: Online does) which can then be rated. I remember Coke Music having this sort of rating system but the music itself had far less flexibility.

While it's visuals may mark it apart from the rest of the market SocioTown's success will ultimately depend on whether or not it's unique features can offer more than just a novelty to an already packed market.

Currently in late Alpha development it is scheduled to enter public testing before the end of the year.

SocioTown official site.

Got a game you want me to take a look at? Email me or comment in the comments section!

Bot Arena 3.

I was a big fan of the old TV program Robot Wars when I was younger because what male kid wouldn't want to see robots cutting each other up with chainsaws and flame throwers? Unfortunately Bot Arena 3 is devoid of chainsaws but the robots and their destructive habits remain. However, a lack of chainsaws doesn't equal a bad game - as much as I'd love to see them!

Career mode sees you progressing through the ranks with your small crew of bots. Upgrades are made available after you beat each arena and the cash you win from each fight allows you to purchase them. It can take a few matches to know what the best combination is but, basically, it's the stronger the better (duh!). Challenge mode, with tasks like evasion from other bots, can be incredibly hard and frustrating but at least Kongregate offers you a badge if you complete them all.

Unfortunately the bot AI isn't the best in the world and they can often get stuck in a corner, which is frustrating when you need the support. The click and drag controls for each bot could also do with some refining because bots don't always react. Earning cash can also get a little repetitive as you need to keep replaying the same arena in order to be strong enough to beat the newly unlocked one. Other than that it's a neat little game that's worth a play.

Bot Arena 3 - Kongregate.

Indy Games You Should Be Playing - 11-17 November 2007

Mid-November sees the days getting ever more colder as the nights get longer and the winter blues inevitably set in. Don't fret though, there's plenty of indy game goodness to keep you stuck in your nice warm house!

This week I've mostly been using the wonderful Kongregate for my daily dose of independent games. While most of the games aren't exclusive to the site the community and the achievements are - both of which are the icing on the cake! Here's my favourite picks of the week:


Asteroids Revenge III - Crash to Survive turns the tables on the traditional asteroids game by putting you in the shoes of an asteroid itself. You progress through the levels by upgrading your asteroid (speed, shield etc) and flinging yourself and your allies at the human ships. The whole game is a build-up to a final endless level where literally everything is thrown at you and your trust allies.Unfortunately you're not likely to go back to the game once you've beat the achievements but it's fun while it lasts.

Dolphin Olympics 2 is short but sweet. The aim is to rack up a humongous score by flipping your dolphin as high as possible while forcing it to do tricks (as everyone knows is the only reason dolphins exist). The high scores are literally impossible to beat if you want a life but it's a nice little challenge to try and beat your own score. There's a freeplay mode but it's only really useful if you want to perfect your timing as playing this game with no challenge in mind is pretty pointless.


Papa's Pizzeria is one of those frustrating multi-tasking games that start off easy but get incredibly hard while leaving you wondering why you would subject yourself to something that leaves you wanting to tear your hair out. So why I have I chosen it as a best pick? Well, it's still fairly fun!

As you've probably guessed from the title the aim of the game is to run a Pizzeria. Sound easy? Well, customers don't like to wait and they're also incredibly picky about the amount of topping they want, how long it has to be cooked, and how many slices you have to cut it into. Each of these has it's own station so you're frantically clicking between the four. Bugger any of these stages up and it will effect your tip. Thankfully you can save pizzas for later and whack them out according to their customer profile but when you're under stress you can often forget this.

It's worth-playing but - unless you're good with your hands - you won't get very far.

Honorable Mentions:

Cottage of Doom - Winner of TIGSources 'B Game Competition' Cottage of Doom is a fun but simple zombie romp in which you defend a cottage against a horde of zombies. Use whatever is at your disposal to block the entrances and keep those zombies out!

Dark Cut² - take on the role of a Civil War surgeon as you preform operations Trauma Centre style! Not for the queasy amongst you!

Tactical Assassin - A short but cleverly done sniper game in which you assassinate stick men. What's better than mixing killing with sick men?

Campaign Game - What better way to support your candidate by battling it out in a turn-based combat game? You can also piss on your political opponents in the multiplayer mode.

Some oldies on the list but I was catching up on the indy goodness over the weekend. Next week I'll have more up-to-date games.

Half-Life 2: RTS Style.

Half-Life 2 has an amazing mod scene (thanks to the incredible flexibility of the Source engine) and everything from playing as zombies, building forts, modern warfare and - of course - creating pretty much anything you want with Garry's Mod, has been covered and played by myself with much enthusiasm. So, due to this, it was only inevitable that someone would figure out that the Half-Life 2 world needed some RTS lovin'.

While Bungie may be going all RTS with Halo Wars Valve doesn't seem have similar ideas for Half-Life 2 so it's ultimately left up to the mod scene to cover this niche. Half-Life 2: Wars is the result and -by God - it's not a bad one. It's just incredible to see how the Source engine can adapt to pretty much any game style.

All the basic stuff you'd expect from an RTS is here; unit control, objectives, the fog of war and resource gathering through capture points (base-building and multiplayer is to be added in the next release). It's neat to see tiny Rebel and Combine soldiers run around like disposable ants but you can still zoom in close Company of Hero's style.

Of course, there's a few problems but that can be expected anything that's under development. You're forces don't always attack the target you want them to attack and it can seem a bit random at times. It's also incredibly hard to see the flying vehicles and they managed to slaughter my men with little help from RPG troops. Slow-down can occur when big battles occur but that's probably the state of my computer rather than the actual mod.

It's a common occurrence to see new mod's that only have a bunch of concept drawings and sketchy screenshots so it's great to see a creator release such an early build for player consumption. This does mean there are only two extremely short levels but it's a nice taster for things to come.

I'll be watching this one with great interest!

Download it here (needs Half-Life 2 and Episode 1 to work).

(Via Rock, Paper, Shotgun)

Sky News Reports on Peadophilia in Second Life.

Ah, Second Life! Land of furries, flying genitals, more sex than you can shake a stick at and - now - people who like to pretend to have sex with children. In a world where the only limit is your imagination it's inevitable that those with twisted minds are going to set up home.

The video above is a Sky News report on an area in Second Life known as 'Wonderland'. Like countless area's in Second Life it's a place that people with the sole objective of getting some virtual 'no strings' sex can call home; except in this twisted place the avatars are in the guise of children - some as young as toddlers.

The video, admittedly, employs shock tactics and has a scaremongering feel to it but it does highlight a legitimate and important issue in regard to what crosses the line in the so-called freedom of Second Life. The residents of Second Life may hark on about how their creativity shouldn't be limited but I don't see how sex with children could possibly have a legitimate reason to exist in society, regardless of whether or not that world is virtual.

The comments to the TechCrunch article on this video disturb me. People seem to think that if it's two adults controlling the avatars (one a child avatar, and one a adult avatar) then there's nothing wrong with it;

Hold on. they aren’t actually children, they are grown ups pretending to be children, fantasizing with other grown ups pretending to be children….or women…or furry animals.
Where are the children and who is actually getting hurt? Sounds like a bunch of lonely nerds jerking each other, in 3d. Nothing out of the norm here. - TechCrunch comment.

Peadophilia is not always about the children getting hurt. If an adult is logging on to Second Life in order to roleplay having sex with a child then there has to be some deep psychological problem there. If people are fantasising about having sex with children then there's something wrong with them, how can you disagree with that? You might say that it doesn't mean they'll go on to have sex with children but if they are constantly acting out their fantasy in a virtual world then who's to say they won't want to try this in the real world sometime? Fantasy can only accomplish so much after all. Say someone is infatuated with a particular fetish and watches the type of porn that satisfies their desire. The desire to be subjected to images of their fetish means that some part of them would want to try it out themselves - why else do we have our fantasies? Of course it's something that we wish we could do in the real world but wouldn't we act out our fantasies if the opportunity arose?

You can't compare something like BDSM to having sex with children. Sure, plenty of people might not agree with BDSM but, in the end, you're not forcing innocent children to have sex with you by doing it. You can't support people fantasising about child sex because - while they are not actually hurting any children - it implies a desire to have sex with children and there's something dangerously wrong with that. Second Life, and society, has absolutely no place for this.

Direct link to Sky News report on YouTube. (Via TechCrunch)