Halo for PC

Hell yeah.

Those among us who curse Microsoft for making Halo a Xbox-only release are now dancing around the room shouting "Praise the lord!!" and waving their arms wildly above their head. I only just found out how long the PC edition of Halo has been around, and spent 4 hours downloading a copy of the trial version. This is what we have been waiting for. Instantly, there is BANG! theme tune, BANG! awesome multiplayer, BANG! four letters which, when ordered how they are now, spells the one word which changed our lives. Finally, a good turn.

As 90's graphics goes, this is sweet. Clear, if not slightly blocky, colours are present, theme tune is awesome, jackal tactics actually make sense (evidently microsoft forgot how to do that when Reach came out), plasma burns, huge, fastloading maps, and most of all, FUEL ROD GUNS! (Sorry, personal favourite) I just can't get enough of this aesomeness. Loving it already, dudes and dudettes.

All this had happened before I noticed the Multiplayer button on the right.

16 players can seamlessly operate from halfway across the world, firing and mauling, CTF-ing and Slaying, an we've only got the trial version. Hundreds of gamers play, and that again in weapons, space and customisable options are present. No forge (sigh) but it isn't needed. The trial version of this game is pure awesomeness on it's own, and I would love to see the full game in action.

Jay D
The Brit Among Us

Motherload

MotherLoad is an interesting game. It is one of those titles that never quite hit the mark where "Trend" is concerned, but is a shadowy kind of thing that indulges in a kind of cult, who strive for highscores etc.. I personally have had about $15,000,000 at one point, but lost the save with my old computer and haven't really played it since. It is a ridiculously large game, with a whole host of "legends" to discover, a group of people at my old school sharing tales of mysterious eyes and stardust pockets lurking in places deeper than any of us have ever been.

The 2D gameplay style is intensely addicting and randomly generates a below-surface environment through of the usual ores and air pockets, but with a few surprises like artifacts and lava at certain points. A pretty cool game all in all, and one that is hopefully going to hit it big soon.

Jay D
The Brit Among Us

Brentwood Laser Tag

Brentwood Laser Tag was first mentioned to me by a friend about 6 months ago. There were 20 of us at a party, all experienced shooters, meaning 10 on each side most  us rst timers. It was like a campaign sniper mission, but in real life and with guns that are ridiculously like the real thing, with red dot sights and all. The supressors flash when you fire, and a gunshot noise will be made, potentially alerting others to your position, and giving them the option to countersnipe. Missions like Solo ops put you on your own, and protect the package is a tactical game involving a suitcase that's supposed to conatin nuclear bombs of something (it's beyond me). Shots will "Hit" at any point above the waist, and will mean that you effectively "Die" for 15 seconds, giving you time to return to your base and decide what to do with your next life.

The combat is excellent, and the features that the guns have, combined with the camoflague, responsive shooting, and brilliant outdoor map, makes this a place to remember. It is absolutely brilliant, in that it is a safe, authentic, realistic-feeling environment that succeeds where other Laser tags fail- the feeling of being in somewhere now. The matches are brilliant, the technologies are brilliant, and for £20 a head, this is a briliant thing to do. Unless you have 3 heads. Then it's just expensive.

However, though we were lucky for the first half, we later encountered a member of staff telling us that the rules say we can’t run. This is a stupid rule, as it is basically tries to tell us that we should get shot while moving between cover. A damper, but not terrible.

Jay D
The Brit Among Us

The Lazer Collection

Dannyboy, Stateside boy among us, first showed me this when he was with me once. I looked at the way "Lazer" was spelt and and looked away. Ridiculous I thought. I look back now and wonder what the hell was wrong with me that day. It starts with the usual, a screentest that later on was turned into somethng full, but as it progresses starts to earn some genuine laughs. They are just videos of situations all over the shot, that happen to have someone or something going "BBBBLLLAAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!" at some point. Random, but funny.

They have this original style that, despite looking like a bit of a ASDF movie clone to me, gives you some new, quality videos. They are genuinely brilliant, with a completely unique twist and unexpectedness that guides you ever-deeper into this.

The lazer Collection, I think, is based around an original video of some random think going "I'm a' firing my laser!!!" then releasing a blast of energy through it's mouth. As you go on, this is usd to suprisingly good effect, with a lot of scenes ending with the completely ransdom intrusion of this strange thing. I personally love their creative style, and can't wait to review the other videos.

Jay D

The Brit among Us