By Reece Merryweather-Brown

Well, now that the hype has died down, I think it’s about time we looked at who is really the best character in GTA V. Due to the multiple ways of looking at each character I propose we start with the most important part: their gameplay.

By Josh Foote

There’s something magical about Halloween. As a kid it’s a chance to eat excess chocolate and sweets and to scare a few neighbours with cheap plastic spiders and water pistols. For adults, it’s a chance to organise a gathering with friends and make fools of ourselves while dressed as zombies, witches and pop culture characters.  

It also means that I get to indulge in a wide range of films, television and video games that all try their best to spook you. There’s something about being scared that truly fascinates me. That feeling of a cold shiver down the spine and the ever increasing pulse of your heart beating as you turn a corner expecting something to come out and kill you, it’s truly breath-taking! Sadly Halloween has come and gone and in my spooky blues I decided to look back at my favourite horror games and analyse why I love them so much. Before I begin this is my own personal favourite list and therefore, is truly subjective. If I have missed out a particular gem then it’s because I either haven’t played it or didn’t like it. So with that little disclaimer out of the way let’s dive right in with! 

By Jamie Kennett and Luke Kirby

Scramble! Scramble! The Steam Autumn Sale (or Spring Sale if you're in the antipodes) is on, from now until the 3rd of December (next Tuesday). So if you're a PC gamer, you best get on the Store and start spending. If ever there's a time to expand your games library, its now. I never buy PC games unless its during a Steam sale, and need I explain why? Games like Skyrim are a mere £3 right now. Three pounds.

On the other side of "Read more", Luke gives some pro tips on what to buy and when.

By Carla Hodge

Short-but-sweet news: John Carmack, creator of such legendary games as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake, has resigned from ID Software (stylized as "id") to work full time at Oculus. He recently took a position as the chief technology officer to develop and launch the Oculus Rift. 

Carmack commented on Twitter that he wanted to remain with ID, but "it just didn't work out" and noted that "the divided focus was challenging".  

By Edward Mitchell

If you don’t know about Magicka, then you are in for a huge treat. Not 
only is there some great content out there for the game, but it’s also a 
really great game to play. 

If you look at the YouTube channels BlueXephos (more commonly known as the Yogscast) and TotalHalibut (better known as TotalBiscuit, The Cynical Brit) they did an amazingly funny series on the game, when it was first released. They also brought about the knowledge of "A.R.S.E. mines", which I’ll talk about later. A brief summary (or a TL,DR) would be a fantasy-based RPG game where you play as a mage who gets dropped into a world where he shouldn’t belong...

By Graham Osborne

Spanning nearly two console generations, Ratchet and Clank is probably the longest-running franchise for Sony at the moment. It’s had its ups and downs, but the series has aged well.

Into the Nexus is the conclusion of the “Future” series of Ratchet and Clank that began with Tools of Destruction on the PS3. As far as endings go, it’s pretty good. Nothing amazingly special, but not claw-your-eyes-out terrible.

By Luke Kirby

Bioshock fans rejoiced last week as Burial at Sea Episode 1 was released, taking fans to an all-too-familiar yet alien setting. 

I’m sure most are aware that Burial at Sea allows players to roam around Rapture prior to its demise and before it became hell, a thousand leagues below the surface. When I found out this was a feature I was undeniably excited and during the first section I found myself completely ignoring both Elizabeth and my waypoint to have a look at Rapture during its prime. Irrational Games have done a great job placing us into an environment that, up until now, we have only been able to imagine.  

By Carla Hodge

The British Medical Journal has published an investigation that indicates playing video games at a young age doesn't increase behavioural issues later in life. 

Scientists did science by recording the behaviour of 11,000 five year olds over a period of two years, and discovered that the same children did not experience elevated levels of conduct problems, hyperactivity or inattention, the mysteriously-named 'emotional symptoms', peer relationship problems, or prosocial behaviour. All of those things sound like excellent things to avoid. The study did find that five year olds who watched TV (including DVDs or, if you're old-school, videos) daily for three hours or more experienced conduct issues by the age of seven. 

By Carla Hodge

Well, it didn't take long. Sony announced yesterday that one million PS4s had been sold in the US and Canada in the space of a day; not bad going for a brand new piece of technology. The PS4 emerged as an early favourite in the next-gen console race, thanks to a controversial and rather unwelcome set of Xbox One announcements at E3 earlier this year. The tight DRM and seemingly always-on Kinect turned a lot of potential purchasers off (and subsequently into very, very angry people on the internet), and the lower price point of the PS4 has no doubt helped pre-orders. 

By Luke Kirby

Unless you’ve been living in solitude for the past 18 years it’s fairly likely that you’re aware of a little franchise known as Pokémon. Pokémon Red & Blue came out on the Gameboy in 1996, but the franchise has come a long way since its handheld release, with the popular anime series, manga, home console games, toys, books and cards - which were the most addictive thing, and despite not knowing how to play the card game according to the rules, I still spent all my weekly pocket money on one or two smaller card packs.

Jump to present day and we have Pokémon X & Y, the sixth generation and the first Pokémon game for the Nintendo 3DS, now including a grand total 718 of the creatures. When I first saw screenshots and the trailer my first thought was that they are finally making progress with the franchise. Having not played Pokémon Y I won’t be able to comment on any major differences; the only difference I’m aware of is the Pokémon exclusive to each version.