gaming
theartsdesk |

We are bowled over! 

We knew that theartsdesk.com had plenty of supporters out there – we’ve always had a loyal readership of arts lovers and professionals alike – but the response to our appeal to help us relaunch and reboot has been something else.

Jon Turney |

For a couple of decades, the free video game America’s Army was a powerful recruitment aid for the US military. More than a shoot-em-up, players might find themselves dressing virtual wounds, struggling to co-ordinate tactics with their squad, and facing other supposedly realistic aspects of active service. The realism, of course, had one strict limit. If you died, you could reset the game and play again.

Steve O'Rourke
Rage 2 is a wacky Dayglo-infused post-apocalyptic world filled with various different factions who, for one reason or another, want you dead. Think…
Steve O'Rourke
Based on the 2006 book of the same name, and set in the same universe as the 2013 film adaptation, World War Z follows groups of survivors of a…
Steve O'Rourke
The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame is based on events that take place in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part film that came out in February. The story begins…

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a great deal, and hope you do too.

To take a monthly subscription now simply click here.

Or
Why not take an annual subscription and save a third off our monthly price simply click here.

Steve O'Rourke
A rocky start for a new franchise that offers potential and problems in equal measure
Steve O'Rourke
Nearly a decade has passed since the last incarnation but little has changed in this stagnant shooter
Steve O'Rourke
The veteran series returns for another ambitious tour of duty
Steve O'Rourke
When home runs go horribly wrong
Steve O'Rourke
An ambitious Wild West odyssey that matches epic scale with benchmark skill
Steve O'Rourke
Solo rations have been relegated from this benchmark war series
Steve O'Rourke
It looks and plays great, but what’s new?
Alfred Quantrill
A comprehensive look at gaming present and future has surprisingly broad appeal
Steve O'Rourke
Swinging in the city with the arachnid avenger
Steve O'Rourke
High tech meets high calibre in this year’s list of gaming’s brightest sparks
Steve O'Rourke
A comprehensive management sim where you feed the exhibits, the punters and your bank balance
theartsdesk
In association with The Hospital Club's h.Club100 Awards, we're looking for the best cultural writers, bloggers and vloggers
Steve O'Rourke
A big budget interactive story where your decisions can flip the script
theartsdesk
Enter our competition to win a spectacular weekend at England's finest arts festival
Steve O'Rourke
Father-son adventure is a slick and gorgeous spectacle
Steve O'Rourke
God, guns and the great outdoors
Steve O'Rourke
Bring out your wild side in this strange survivalist simulation
Steve O'Rourke
Why bob and weave when you can ground and pound?
Steve O'Rourke
Quality nearly matches quantity
Steve O'Rourke
The force is less strong with this one
Steve O'Rourke
Little blocks, big heroes, loads of fun
Steve O'Rourke
The veteran franchise returns for another bout of epic war games
theartsdesk
News from The Hospital Club's annual awards for the creative industries, plus theartsdesk's Young Reviewer of the Year
Steve O'Rourke
Slicker and slower, the latest version of the football bestseller takes its time to shine

the future of arts journalism

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing! 

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Support the future of arts journalism

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thanks so much for choosing genuinely independent arts journalism theartsdesk’s mission has never been more important – in an age of relentless algorithmic recommendation, sponsored content and unreliable AI, the expertise and discernment of individual critics deeply embedded in their specialist areas is absolutely vital.

If you want more of that in your life, why not subscribe now?

If you do this before the 31st August, you’ll be able to keep at this “founders rate” for life: your subs will never increase! You can choose to subscribe annually for just £40 simply click here
or monthly for £5 per month simply click here.

Not ready to subscribe?

If you want to support with a little extra or aren’t ready to subscribe just yet, there’s also the option to give direct to our crowdfunder to support our imminent redesign and exciting expansion with new features and collaborations Simply contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d.

However you choose to be involved, you can proudly say that you are picking the right side in the battle for truth and humanity in the modern information landscape. And we will be very glad to have you on board!

latest in today

We are bowled over! We knew that theartsdesk.com had plenty of supporters out there – we’ve always had a loyal readership of arts…
Everything I Ever Saw continues The Menzingers’ tradition of heartfelt storytelling through their signature Americana punk rock style. It's…
Reviewing The Clash’s 27 October 1976 appearance at Birmingham’s Barbarella’s, UK music weekly Sounds detected a particular, unique,…
“Trump Arrangement Syndrome”, my propensity to see the world refracted through the lens of the omnipresent ogre’s cult, raised its head…
The Fez Festival of World Sacred Music has been peerless over the years in presenting world/global music acts in one magical place. Only…
Ever since he crashed into the world with that eerie masterpiece, Maxinquaye (1995) – an album that has never aged – Bristol-born Tricky,…
Mould are a post-punk sounding trio from Bristol. The press release says that their debut album is “13 tracks that explore the horrors of…
The regular scriptwriter for Yorgos Lanthimos’s films, Efthimis Filippou, has worked with another director, Karim Aïnouz, on Rosebush…
This week saw something of a landmark gig for Birmingham’s ever-exuberant folkies, Bonfire Radicals. New album, Spaghetti Junction was…
A voice at the start of dancer Aakash Odedra’s performance speaks out of the darkness about the Sufi myth behind what we are going to see,…

Most read

What did the Romans do for us? On the evidence of new drama Britannia, they pillaged, murdered and tortured, but also found themselves…
Stuttgart Ballet, one of Europe's most highly respected companies, is clearly determined to show London its best sides – all of them.…
Director Louise Courvoisier has put herself firmly on the film map with this story of young Totone and his little sister, carving out a…
There’s not – and never has been, really – that much discourse about commercial dance music as music. It’s either talked about by ageing…
Although the title of this new DVD box set was a given considering the nature of the films included, all six films collected are – whatever…
The last time I saw bouncers standing at the foot of the stage at a comedy venue was at a Roy "Chubby" Brown gig. Back then, I remarked how…
Sunshine, sex and oodles of style: Vera (ITV) has no truck with any of them and is therefore unusual among Sunday evening dramas. There’s…
Mk.gee has been an unexpected thread in a year of music that’s pulled me in many different directions, punctuating the need for unique,…
Aptly scheduled for our Great British Heatwave, writer Catherine Shepherd’s eight-part drama whisks us away to a remote Greek island, where…
Inspired by the desire to remain present in the modern world, Sea Girls’ latest album, Midnight Butterflies, is a collection of uplifting…