I’m generally a mild mannered polite sort of chap, a person who is considered shy and quiet preferring to sit and watch the crowd instead of participating. Yet put a controller in my hand and something terrifying happens, I become easily frustrated and prone to outbursts. I go from lying back relaxed playing a fun game with friends to Basil Fawlty-esque moments, me crouched onto all fours screaming notes only heard in the fiery depths of hell. I did it in Halo 3, did it in Geometry Wars 2 (many, many times) but nothing quite incites the badness inside me like football games.

It’s a much more personal experience than playing as an identikit marine on some alien land, you’re playing as your club and it adds a level of passion to gaming that is missing from other genres. If I lose at Halo (which if I’m honest is pretty likely) then I have let myself down, but if I lose at Fifa or Pro Evolution Soccer then I’ve let down the century of history that’s behind my club along with all those fans that pay good money to see the club. That’s the level of stress that comes with playing online with your club, you go on with an inherent responsibility to uphold the values and traditions of the club… it sounds amazingly stupid but ask any football fan what it feels like to lose online and they’ll tell you it hurts like no other game. One notable moment came when playing my own sister at Fifa 97 on the Mega Drive back in the day, I made a comeback of herculean proportions and turned around a five goal deficit to win in the last minute. My joyous moment was short-lived though as she leapt around screaming in my youthful face before tearing a magazine I was absently flicking through in half, today we’re lucky though as mute buttons means your moment of hate can be hidden online. If they can give me immense anger though it follows through that they can give me the greatest joy possible. I’m currently playing Football Manager 2009 on the PC and finding myself being cheered up after awful days by my team playing well. I’m lying awake at night grinning thinking of how my inspirational team talk turned around that European game and how I have a cup final to look forward to at the weekend. It’s perhaps a testament to the madness of the fans that even fictitious representations of football inspire the same emotions and dreams as the real thing. In 19 years of gaming I’ve not seen another genre come close, and I doubt I ever will.

Those of you who frequent our forums may have noticed I have gotten rather excited about a game I found on the interwebs not too long ago.
I’ve decided to make it a personal crusade of mine to make sure as many people know about this game as humanly possible, because really… I think it is bloody fantastic.

Auditorium is a simple yet addictive game based all around puzzles involving music. Your task is to fill the speakers with sound, using tools with arrows and adjustable areas of influence, which are provided to you at the start of each level.
It sounds simple enough, and yet as you go on it pulls you in more and more, making things just slightly more complex, adding colours and more bars. You start off with a simple rift and as you progress you are rewarded with beautiful harmonies.

It’s a refreshing change for a game, there is no right or wrong answer, obviously some ways of completing a section will be easier than others, and yet there is no frustration to it, no time limits; just some very relaxing music, and hours of your life instantly disappear.

I think it is fantastic to see a game reaching to our other senses, I mean we all go on about games being visually stunning (and this is in its sheer simplicity), but how about how it sounds? A puzzle for the ears, it is such a fantastic concept.

I also can’t believe how polished the demo is. Lately big titles have had full releases which have been buggy as hell, and yet here is a simple game, to put them to shame. Obviously it is a completely different calibre of game, but you can see the thought and effort that has gone into it.

The end goal will be to have this game on a portable device or console, but I couldn’t wait that long to tell you all about it, when the demo is just simply so wonderful!

I had spent quite some time on my 360 in the months of September and October but as the nights got colder and more shops started to insist on playing Cliff Richard over the in store music system, I find myself nudging back to my PC.

The change came as a result of me upgrading my outdated graphics to something a little better, a GeForce 8600GT as it happens. Sure it’s not the greatest card on the planet but at a measly £30 I couldn’t resist.

My PC is my own build, I selected the parts individually and built it up, my little electronic child if you will. Sure it’s getting on a bit, but the new graphics card is like a replacement hip, it keeps it on its legs for that little bit longer. Next summer I plan on retiring my current rig into second in command which just means it will be my home media server, ensuring all my photos, movies and music have a safe place to live.

There’s a certain feeling you get when building your own gaming PC, maybe it’s like success, but I like to think of it as that certain bit of satisfaction you got when you put the last block in place on your Robin Hood Lego set as a child, you spend hours planning it, more so afterwards making sure it’s all shipshape and correct and then you bask in the glory of victory.

While I won’t be one to take anything away from a console - I’ve had many enjoyable moments on them - it’s just not the same as playing on your own build, just… not the same feeling.