“They’re making uniformed direction changes, just like a flock of birds avoiding a predator”

–Dr Alan Grant

Spiderman 2, the first free roaming superhero game and a movie license to boot, has imbued the web spinners gaming exploits with certain standards that every following game has struggled to attain. Spider fans have expected each follow up game to be a step up but most, whether the cartoon free roaming of Ultimate Spiderman, or the linear but interesting Shattered Dimensions, have never quite succeeded. So there were some high hopes for Amazing Spiderman, does the webslinger have any new tricks up his crimson sleeve?

Well yes and no, yes there’s a few new tricks here and there but no, the game doesn’t rise to be a definitive Spiderman game. It’s definitely a case of, as good as but not quite better when lined up with previous Spidey games.

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It’s very cold outside (well it might be for you, but where I am its stinking hot in winter, furnace of hell in summer) but this is considered, in movie terms, the summer blockbuster period. Not so much for games though. It’s more a time for quiet reflection and trying out the odd movie game that looks okay like Amazing Spiderman.

This week we begin with a little movie game news for a future summer release that might excite you.

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I’ve spent the last fortnight going through one of my favourite geek rituals: immersing myself in everything to do with a much anticipated film or game fast approaching release. In this case it’s The Dark Knight Rises, and in addition to reading Batfamily comics and watching movies and cartoons, I’ve been hell bent on 100 percenting Arkham City.

It’s put me in mind of the direction the next Rocksteady made Batman game might go. Arkham City was like an all you can eat buffet of Batman’s rogues gallery, but there’s still plenty of inspiration to draw on. So here’s a top five list of bad guys that would make for good fodder in Arkham 3.

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I’ve been suffering a little bit of a malaise this year, kind of a combination of commitments weighing too heavily on me and feeling a little old. In short I was getting a little tired of the old gaming. It was starting to feel like another commitment, and I’m way too lazy to increase my all ready full plate. If an activity is not enjoyable or not required, I’m unlikely to do it.

Then, on my son Cameron’s recommendation, I read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It’s a novel about, amongst other things, gaming. It's not too much a stretch to say it's probably the best representation of the idiosyncrasies of gaming in fiction ever put to paper.

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