And they’ve all appeared online.
Firstly did you hear about the planned search engine ‘Groggle?’
Before you click off this page thinking I’m referring to some Google rip-off just a read a little more.
Groggle was due to be launched by an Australian to allow the nation to find the best-priced ‘grog’ in nearby stores.
Ingenious idea right?
Well, it was until search giant Google complained at his effort to trademark the name, prompting a six-month legal wrangle.
Now the name Groggle has been changed to a more conventional title, Drinkle, ahead of its launch in 2011.
Secondly, and don’t ask me how the hell I got onto this but... has anyone ever looked at pet dating websites?
I’m not sure exactly HOW I found this the other day but hey, it made me giggle.
Basically www.datemypet.com is apparently the leading online dating website created exclusively for pet lovers.
The website claims “whether you are looking for a life partner, a buddy for your pet or just someone to hang out with, here you’ll be able to find exactly who you are looking for – pet lovers like yourself”.
Let’s just hope most of the owners on the website don’t look like they’re pets! Eek.
And finally, remember the campaign last year to rock Simon Cowell’s world and send Rage Against The Machine’s classic rock anthem ‘Killing In The Name’ to the top of the charts?
Well, campaigners have come up with an even whackier idea to truly funk up the system.
A couple of weeks ago more than 20,000 people had backed a campaign to get a recording of four-and-a-half minutes of silence to top the charts this Christmas.
Supporters have signed up on Facebook to back Cage Against The Machine which aims to put avant-garde composer John Cage’s silent work 4’33" in the top spot.
A similar internet campaign last year saw Rage’s anthem beat 2009 X Factor winner Joe McElderry’s song The Climb to the Christmas number one.
The winner of this year’s X Factor is expected to be a strong contender to top the charts this Christmas.
So who’s up for making December 25 a ‘silent night’?
Ho ho ho...
Here are the latest releases and games charts:
Title: Call of Duty: Black Ops
Platform: PS3
Genre: Shooter
Price: £54.99
Hit count: 9/10
As the bar is raised ever higher with each passing year, so the pressure intensifies on the Call Of Duty franchise to remain at the pinnacle of the first person shooter genre.
And Treyarch has done it again, posting a shooter that would be a standalone success if it were only the multiplayer mode that came on the disc, let alone the incredible single player story.
Set in the 1960s, and following the fortunes of Black Ops’ Alex Mason for the most part, the game produces as refined (and brutal) a shooter as you’ll have ever experienced.
You won’t miss the departed campaign co-op, and you will absolutely love the vehicle missions, atmospheric music and incredible explosions aplenty.
All action lovers shouldn’t even bother putting this on their Christmas lists – they need to go and get this now.
Title: Pro Evolution Soccer 2011
Platform: PSP
Genre: Football
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 7/10
The battle for footballing supremacy always looms large on the next-gen consoles each year, and the PSP also hosts its own soccer showdown between FIFA and Pro Evolution every 12 months – the Carling Cup to the Champions League, if you will.
Here, much like its big brother, PES 2011 relies heavily on its ‘total freedom’ gameplay system where players have full control over every pass and shot through the addition of a permanent power bar.
On the small screen, a few hours with PES 2011 makes you realise that not too much else has changed though, in terms of presentation, licensing and overall reinvigoration of the series.
The game engine has certainly freshened up the experience, and there’s no doubt that you’ll score the kind of goals that FIFA could only look at and long for.
So what’s the final score this year? Probably a well fought draw.
Title: Blacklight: Tango Down
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: Check PSN store
Hit count: 8/10
Like many shooters launched in the last couple of years Modern Warfare 2 seems to have stolen the march.
So much so in fact that many, including the actually quite good ones, get overlooked.
And Blacklight: Tango Down is one of them.
The multiplayer-focused first-person shooter isn’t the most original, but it’s cheap, fun – oh, and violent as hell.
It boasts 12 maps and a Black Ops mode which enables you to play with four others.
You progress quickly through the game earning rewards quickly as you go.
These lead to all manner of upgrades – including some pretty gnarly weaponry.
Title: Goldeneye
Platform: Wii
Genre: Shooter
Price: £34.99
Hit count: 9/10
It’s a brave developer that takes on the legendary Goldeneye game for a remake.
It’s still the stuff of legend for those old enough to remember marathon multiplayer sessions with four of you huddled around one TV in split screen mode. But things move on, and with Pierce Brosnan controversially ousted from what really was his Bond film, Daniel Craig brings a more brutal flavour to the 2010 versions, which thankfully turns out to be a fantastic first person shooter in its own right, with just enough nods to its glory days.
And it all boils down to gameplay.
Goldeneye has one of the best executions of FPS shooter mechanics using the motion-sensing controller, plus there’s the option to play in analogue-style classic controller mode – something for gamers of all generations.
And yes, the old split screen is back, alongside today’s customary online gaming options, which will once again bring a kind of multiplayer mayhem to your TV that will warm the cockles on a winter’s evening. Bond is well and truly back, whoever’s playing him!
Title: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 7/10
So, the epic story continues, as players once again assume the role of the devastatingly powerful Starkiller – Darth Vader’s secret apprentice – set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge Of The Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.
What ensues is a truly beautiful recreation of this intergalactic world, which Star Wars fans really shouldn’t miss out on.
However, beyond the beauty and scale of the level environments, The Force Unleashed II comes up short in several departments.
The over-the-top powers at your disposal somehow lessen the experience, while the well-considered combat mechanics feel like they weren’t developed to their full potential.
This is all a crying shame, because this should be a rip-snorting action title, but ultimately the core gameplay failings and brevity of the main story make this an opportunity missed by Starkiller, Vader and co.
GAME CHART ALL FORMATS FULL PRICE
1. Football Manager 2011
2. FIFA 11
3. Fable III
4. Just Dance 2
5. Professor Layton And The Lost Future
6. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
7. Fallout: New Vegas
8. Medal Of Honor
9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
10. The Sims 3
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (c) 2010 UKIE Ltd
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