Games

Few films have had quite as big an impact on videogame design as Alien and Aliens. The influence of H.R. Giger's xenomorphs and James Cameron's gung-ho space marines can be found everywhere from '80s shooter R-Type to the rather more recent Gears of War.

With Ubisoft focusing the bulk of its  attention on the next-gen Assassin's Creed: Unity in the run-up to Christmas, this PS3/Xbox 360 instalment in the best-selling franchise feels like something of an afterthought by comparison.

Comic book superheroes have generally had a pretty tough time of it in the world of videogames, with recent movie-tie ins like Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk doing little to inspire confidence. However, there’s one classic comic book character that has (for the most part) avoided this fate – the Dark Knight himself, Batman.

It's safe to say that not many people pick up a Triple-A first-person shooter in the hopes of being treated to a storyline concerning metaphysics and the nature of choice. But that's just what Irrational Games has delivered with this blockbuster sequel.

Ever since some enterprising young programmers at MIT first cooked up the game Spacewar! on a PD-1 mini computer in the early '60s, shooting things has played an integral part in the history of videogames. Gearbox Software's gun-obsessed Borderlands 2 is the natural culmination of this trend.

Ironically for a game entitled Brave, this licensed tie-in to the latest Pixar film plays it incredibly safe. Sure, some people might argue that it doesn’t need to be particularly imaginative as it’s aimed at family audience. But the same thing could also be said for Disney’s enjoyable Toy Story 3 or Cars 2 games. And what about Traveller’s Tales’ Lego games, which are still phenomenally popular with players of all ages?

As much as we've enjoyed the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare games, the first …Black Ops left us pretty cold. Thankfully, those responsible have clearly learnt from their mistakes last time around and have won us over with this sensational sequel.