Days of Revolution

Genre: Real Time Strategy
Format: PC
PEGI: 12
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Cover

This game seems somewhat rushed; the social unrest in the Middle East and North Africa began in December 2010 and here we are in February 2011 with the first game based on these unprecedented events. However, as RTS games go, this one is a peach. 


You play as the anonymous leader of protesters within your chosen country. All Arab nations are available for selection and they range in difficulty from Tunisia (very easy) to Iran (very difficult).


As leader of the desperate protesters you must gather your forces and take over the designated focal point of your chosen capital city. Once you have achieved this you must deal with hoardes of riot police, para-military, army and, in the Iran and Libya levels, airstrikes.

It's kicking off in Cairo

You have only a limited amount of time to achieve your goals and overthrow the various despots that confront you before the tide of local and Western opinion turns against you. Some despots, like Gaddafi (Libya) and Ahmadinejad (Iran), pose a greater threat than the others and are more likely to deploy deadly force against your democracy longing throngs.


Graphically, this game is nothing special and looks suspiciously like it's based on a much earlier RTS game about the planning of unrest in various cities... However, if you can get over the second-rate graphics you will be rewarded with a more than adequate gaming experience.


VT Rating: 7/10

Paul: The Game

Genre: Arcade
Format: Nintendo DS
PEGI: 3
Publisher: A&E

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are funny guys. Their movies and TV shows pay homage to and reference various pop culture phenomena. The game of their current movie is no exception.

What they have done (or allowed some programmer to do) is ported the old Atari ET: The Extra Terrestrial game to the Nintendo DS format and given it some flashy cutscenes (taken from the Paul movie).

However, the game is as fascinating and playable as it was on the Atari 2600, and you will be sniggering to yourself throughout as you marvel at how clever the Hot Fuzz boys really are. £27.99 is a small price to pay for this sort of ironic, postmodern genius.

VT Rating: 7/10