Halo 4. Got it Saturday, played it yesterday. Only got as far as the first level with the Forerunners, (playing on Heroic) and so far, it's been very good - yes, it's very Halo - with minimal tweaks to the gameplay (the Covenant AI at long range is still pretty poor) but I'm still pretty pleased with it - not to mention it is an absolute joy to behold, with some really nice extras in the graphics - and an amazing soundtrack.

'Smart as' on the playstation Vita.

It's a brain training game. You have four 'brain characteristics' - language, maths, logic and observation - and each day the game tests you on three of them. Each characteristic has 7 or 8 minigames associated with it and so you get three random minigames to play per day from a choice of about 30. The minigames use all the Vita's features like touchscreens and cameras and what have you - for example if you're asked to do a sum in your head, you'll write the answer on the screen and the game will recognise it (which it does particularly well, even if it's only one letter or number at a time). Another game might ask you to take a photograph, which it then turns into a jigsaw for you to solve. After you've played three games, you get a percentage score on each characteristic. Those four scores are combined to give you an overall percentage which is your 'brain health'.

Each minigame has four grades of difficulty and completing it gives you (as well as the characteristic percentage) a score of between one and three stars. You can unlock any minigame by getting three stars at it to practice in 'free play' and getting three stars in the 'easy' grade of each minigame unlocks 'medium' grade to try and so on through 'hard' and 'genius'.

So far, so predictable. It's all very well done, with clear 'web 2.0 curvy corner' boxes and big fridge magnet style numbers and letters. John Cleese provides a voice for the whole thing, explaining how the minigames play and encouraging/admonishing you depending on how well you did. It's a great script, making him sound a bit like a benign but somewhat world weary secondary school teacher. He does tend to start repeating himself eventually, but there's a wide range of pithy and occasionally sarcastic asides to keep the whole thing rolling along.

The twist is the Vita is an internet connected device, so your profile and scores don't just stay on your vita. They get uploaded to a common database and thus you can compare your brain to the brains of your friends who have the game, people in your town or city, people in your country, people all over the world. Every day the game also asks you a demographic question - do you prefer golf or tennis, do you read fiction or non-fiction, how old are you - and thus you can also compare your scores against other people who share the same interests as you or are the same age, and so on.
If you manage to get three stars in a minigame, you can then set it as a 'challenge' to your friends on anyone within a couple of miles radius, to see if they can beat your time or score. Finally each town or city has it's own unique challenge, so in a foursquare style way you can compete to be the smartest person in your town. At least among those who have the game.

It's a fairly simple game at it's core but it's very well made and the online functions add a great deal to it in terms of interest and competition. Apart from a few games, I'm not entirely sure it couldn't have been done just as well on a smartphone but nevertheless, it's a great deal and available (in vita terms) for a cut price.

Postal 2, I'd say WTF but I know exactly WTF which is why I bought it

The game recently got Greenlit on Steam, but I bought the game through GOG a few weeks beforehand. Apparently they are planning on updating the game now that it has been Greenlit and have said that previous owners (game was first released in 2003) will also be eligible for the new content, just hoping my GOG copy works.

Angry Birds Star Wars - not a big fan of the series, but this one's brilliant!

got postal 2 on desura for 60p and got a free steam key for it

I've gone back to some older games (although some aren't old in that sense) to decide if I'm going to get rid or hang on and play. Well I played an hour of Fallout NV and it crashed so that's going, I'm totally stuck on a mission on Ace Combat so that's going, I've not played Viva Pinata 2 for I don't know how long so that's going but I did start to get back into Bioshock 2 and ended up playing it most of the day. Turns out the combo of ice plasmid and drill works really well!

I only sell games if I know for certain I won't go back - I still dust off PS1 games!

Battlefield 3 - single player campaign. I got the limited edition from CJS for £9.40 (origin download).

It's alright - it's a bit more unforgiving than the CoD series, in that you can die pretty easily, so you spend a little more time thinking tactically rather than just charging in.

It is a bit bug-ridden though. I've found a couple - one of which I cannot overcome. For those who have played it, it's the bit where you meet Dimi on Kaffarov's Villa - you can't shoot at the end of the cut scene, so you die. Every. Fcuking. Time!

That game was nonsense on PS3 at least; didn't matter what gun you fired or at what body part, every baddie had to take the required amount of hits

Currently playing Amazing Spider-Man, I hope it's not one of these games where every boss fight is the same, cos even the common fighting is a bit one note. Though the game is otherwise incredibly well-made.

I don't see that problem on the PC. Running around a building with an Auto-Shotgun is very rewarding. Otherwise, it seems fairly well balanced - the enemy seem as vulnerable as the player in combat. I just wish they'd iron out the bugs.

Finally got past the stupid bug and finished the game.

I have never seen so many quick time events in a single game. I'm so glad I paid less than a tenner for it.

Good stuff. I rented it as part of an unlimited deal - I was still angry at it! Professional reviewers should just come right out and say 'Utter bollocks!' when it comes to game campaigns that shoddy.

Ah the integrity of games journalists... there's a topic that's been round the houses a couple of times recently.

Stop it, I'm imagining a sitcom about games writers now

did anyone see the steam slipup for two worlds 2: velvet edition? was selling on steam store for just 15 cents, grabbed myself a few copys