Creating and developing a character in Skyrim can be a daunting, overwhelming process, especially if you’ve never played an Elder Scrolls game before. So here’s a handy guide to character creation and development designed for newcomers to Skyrim and for anyone interested in starting again and playing as a well-designed, effective character type.

I’m starting with the assassin because it’s my personal character type of choice, but there’ll be more if this proves popular.

We’ll cover race selection, what skills and attributes to focus on and how to increase them fast, which Perks really help and which are a waste of XP, what kind of equipment load-out you should use and even what quests to prioritise in order to develop the relevant skills and earn bonuses to suit your character’s specialisation.

This is by no means a definitive, rigid set of instructions – the beauty of Skyrim is that you can do anything you want with your character – but it will, at the very least, give you some effective blueprints to work from.

ASSASSIN

This is my own personal character build of choice, and I plumped for it straight away in Skyrim, after enjoying playing this way the most in Oblivion. A high level character following this template can clear out an entire dungeon of enemies without ever being seen, and personally I never get tired of the booming sound effect you get every time you make a successful stealth attack. It’s a popular choice for many players because, so long as you’re careful not to break stealth, you can take down most non-boss enemies with one or two attacks.

Race:

Bosmer
This is the race I chose for my assassin because of the starting bonuses to Archery (+10), Light Armor (+5) and Sneak (+5), which are especially useful when starting out. The +5 to Alchemy can be useful for creating powerful poisons later on, but if you can do so much damage with stealth attacks that you’ll rarely really need any additional effects.

Khajit
A decent alternative to the Bosmer with a little more emphasis on Sneak over Archery. They also sacrifice the Light Armor bonus in favour of One-handed, making them a better choice if you prefer the more showboaty but riskier backstabbing assassin style. Their night vision power was useful for assassins in Oblivion – in which it got really dark when it was dark – but in Skyrim it never gets so dark that you really can’t see unaided.

Attributes:

If you’re playing as a pure assassin then you’ll barely need to upgrade anything other than Stamina, which will be very useful when you unlock the Eagle Eye and Steady Hand perks. You’ll want a Health increase occasionally just to make sure you’re not at risk of dying from one hit. And you might want to build up your Magicka if you decide to augment your Stealth skills with some Illusion magic.

Skills:

Sneak
This is the most important skill for an assassin so use it. Whenever there are other characters around, be they friend or foe, go into stealth mode and you will enhance this skill. It seems like a slow way to get about, but you’ll save so much time in the long run by being able to kill so many enemies with a single attack.

Archery
Ranged attacks are easier, less risky and usually just as effective for assassins so you should focus on the skill as much as possible. If you’re using your stealth skills effectively then you’ll rarely get charged by enemies and will get plenty of practice with your bow.

One-handed
One-handed stealth attacks do devastating damage and are immensely satisfying to pull off, but they do entail a lot of risk. Still, any assassin should get a little bit of practice with a dagger, lest he need to defend himself in close combat in an emergency.

Illusion
To assassin purists using Illusion magic is cheating, but it can be a great way to augment your stealth skills, particularly when they’re not that developed yet. Just keep spamming those low-level Illusion spells to rank up.

Best Perks:

Deadly Aim
This is the most important perk for an assassin. Even if you want to progress to up-close kills, this is a stepping stone on the way to the powerful Assassin’s Blade perk.

Stealth
You’ll want at least the first few levels of this but, seeing as stealth is still in part determined by your own real-time skill and judgement, you might not need to max it out if you’re good.

Steady Hand
This perk makes it much harder to hit moving targets as it gives you more time to line up your shot and your enemies less time to find you. It still comes in handy even if you are detected too.

Quiet Casting
Should you go down the Illusionist route then this is essential. There’s no use casting any stealth spells if enemies hear you casting them.

Wind Walker
If you’re really stealthy then you won’t need armour, but I’d recommend it as a precaution, and this Light Armor perk will help ensure using Steady Hand doesn’t drain your Stamina so badly.

Best Items:

Shrouded Gloves, Shrouded Hand Wraps, Cicero’s Gloves, Jester’s Gloves
Very powerful items in – or on, if you will – the hands of a hardcore assassin. They make backstabs do double damage, which is absolutely lethal if you combine them with the Assassin’s Blade perk.

Cicero’s Hat
The only downside of getting a 35% bonus to Sneaking is that you might not really feel the benefit of it later in the game.

Ancient Shrouded Cowl
This awesome cowl is tailor-made for assassins, offering a massive 35% bonus to all bow damage.

Nightingale Boots
Like regular boots of Muffle, but just a little bit better and with a cooler name.

Nightingale Bow
This bow not only carries heavy elemental damage bonuses, it also slows its target, which is nearly as good as paralyzing them.

Boots Of The Old Gods
Unlike most stealthy boots, these don’t make you any quieter, instead offering a simple 20% bonus to Sneak.

The Pale Blade
The Fear enchantment can be a life saver for assassin’s, and this special blade has the added bonus of some hefty Frost damage. Fins it in Frostmere Crypt, which is on a mountain about halfway between Morthal and Dawnstar.

Nightingale Hood
If you choose to enhance your natural stealth skills with some Illusion magic then this will make a good alternative to a helm.

Ebony Mail
This awesome armour offers quiet movement and poisons enemies that get close, but it does count as Heavy Armor, and if you’ve been playing as an assassin throughout you’re unlikely to have much Heavy Armor skill. Once you reach level 30, head to the Sacellum of Boethiah – east of Wildhlem on the very edge of the map – to begin the Boethiah’s Calling Quest. The Ebony Mail is your reward for completing it.

Krosis
This Dragon Priest Mask offers good protection from damage and a 20% bonus to archery, as well as to both Lockpicking and Alchemy. Get it from Krosis himself who can be found, along with a dragon, at Shearpoint, a Word Wall on a peak halfway between Whiterun and Windhelm.

Valdr’s Lucky Dagger
If you fail to make a stealth attack then a critical hit is the next best thing, and this dagger has a generous 25% chance to strike a critical hit. Valdr will give it to you if you help him at Moss Mother Cavern, which is on the west bank of the lake north of Falkreath.

Bow of Stunning, Immobilizing, Petrifying
Very useful generic magic weapon for an assassin, simply because paralyzed targets are much easier to hit for a second time.

Illusion Spells:

Invisibility
You can’t get much stealthier than being invisible. Trouble is, actually doing anything breaks the spell.

Muffle
A handy way to improve stealth, especially early on before your Sneak skill has improved much. Get yourself some boots with this built in.

Fear, Rout, Hysteria
Useful if you do get spotted and mobbed by enemies. It’s well worth getting a dagger with a Fear enchantment.

Best quests:

Dark Brotherhood
Obviously the best faction to join for an assassin – your skills will be well suited to each quest, and the rewards will feed back into those same skills. In order to join you need to speak to Aventus Aretino in the Aretino home in Windhelm and complete his Innocent Lost quest. It’s also worth noting that in order to get hold of the awesome Ancient Shrouded armour set you need to complete the Locate The Assassin of Old quest and to unlock that you must kill Gaius Maro in a city when you complete the Breaching Security mission. Kill him outside of a city and you won’t receive Olava’s Token and won’t be able to unlock Locate The Assassin of Old.

Thieves Guild
All that lockpicking, pickpocketing and stealing isn’t much use to an assassin but the Thieves Guild still offers numerous benefits for the discerning hired killer. Once you’ve completed the Dark Brotherhood and earned the Dawnstar Sanctuary, for example, you can buy upgrades for it from Delvin Mallory at the Riften Thieves Guild. There’ll also be plenty of opportunities to practice your stealth skills and some handy item awards as you rank up.

No One Escapes Cidhna Mine
To get the Armor Of The Old Gods set, go to Markath, witness the attack in the marketplace and receive a note from Eltrys, which will trigger The Forsworn Conspiracy quest. At the end of this quest agree to go to jail and No One Escapes Cidhna Mine will start. During this quest, co-operate with Madanach and you will be rewarded with the Armor Of The Old Gods.

Vampirism:

Vampires make great assassins because of their Illusion magic and stealth bonuses, but there are downsides to being a vampire – you’re weakened during the day and you have to feed – so it’s a matter of preference really. Become one by getting attacked by one and contracting the Sanguinare Vampiris disease. Go three full days without curing it and you’ll turn full vampire. Look out for the following quests, which do, or at least can, involve vampires:

Laid To Rest
Trouble In Skyrim
A Daedra’s Best Friend
Rising at Dawn
Kill Hern

Fans of Retro Gamer’s hardware bookazines will be pleased to hear that they are now available to buy for Kindle. The Classic Videogames Hardware Genius Guide is available now for just £5.81 and features in-depth guides to some of the best computers and consoles of all time. The Amiga, Super Nintendo, PC Engine, Atari 2600 and ZX Spectrum are just a few of the machines featured, and all come with the fantastic in-depth information that only Retro Gamer offers.

Editor in Chief Aaron Asadi said: “This eBook is a fantastic resource for all retro videogame fans. Offering in-depth information on some of the iconic consoles from the last 50 years, there are also run-downs of the best games from each piece of hardware, allowing readers to relive the classic videogame moments from days gone by. The is the perfect trip down memory lane, and represents excellent value for money.”

The Classic Videogames Hardware Genius Guide eBook is available now from Amazon (http://amzn.to/iZODFT).

iCloud For Beginners is the brand new digital-only, Multi-Touch ebook from X360 publisher Imagine Publishing, and is the first UK launch for Apple’s new iBooks 2 app. And if you’ve got an iPad, you seriously need to check it the flip out.

Using one revolutionary new Apple technology to show you how to use another, iCloud For Beginners teaches everything users need to know about iCloud, the free new back-up and sync service. From how to set-up your free iCloud account to sharing your information across your Apple devices, the ebook uses cutting-edge technology to deliver enhanced, easy-to-use tutorials.

And much does this fusion of ass-kicking cutting-edge tech cost?

99p (or $1.49)

Really, that’s all. So check it out and start making the most of iCloud now.

iCloud For Beginners is available now on iTunes and iBookstore worldwide.

We felt what you might call a minor disturbance in the Force when Activision released its now wildly successful Skylanders game last year. In case you don’t know about it, Skylanders : Spyro’s Adventure is a toy/video game hybrid that comes with a ‘Portal of Power’ that connects to a console or computer, and toys that carry all the game characters information.

You get your characters in the game by buying the toys – and of course there are various kinds with various powers – and the two are totally linked. It’s an admittedly clever idea that we’re mystified no one else has really latched onto  – combining video games and toys the way Skylanders does is a no brainer really – but we were slightly surprised at the lack of response by gamers as a whole. Skylanders is just the kind of thing that we’d expect gamers to be wary of, linking content to items you have to continuously buy the way it does, but because it’s a kids game and focused on toys – which have always been that way – no one really paid attention. Given Skylanders is what it is, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with it, but we did wonder how long it would take for another publisher to try something like it for a main stream game. And we wondered what kind of reaction making gamers buy something large and gaudy just to get game content would garner.

It didn’t take long as last week EA announced that Mass Effect 3 figures were on the way that would have exclusive Mass Effect 3 DLC content attached to them. These, by the way, look to be figures that were part of an earlier wave of Mass Effect figures, only this time with Mass Effect multiplayer DLC attached to them. Looks like a great way to stock clear to us. We’ve never been big game tat or game toy collectors, but we can totally see the appeal for some people. Yet at the same time we felt a much larger disturbance in the Force at the announcement. I think I even used the words, ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this.’

The reaction of the gaming community was varied, and for our part  as we’ve slowly reflected on the idea, just how good or bad it is really depends on how much that DLC affects the game for those who aren’t interested in buying plastic figures. What’ll be key in our minds is whether or not they’ll be any other way of getting hold of this DLC other than through this figures, and most importantly how powerful and how much of a game changer some of this stuff will be.

If player with figures end up getting vastly better weapons and upgrades, that’ll be enough to send many gamers – including us – into paroxysms of rage. Why? Because what that’ll effectively be doing is splitting ME3’s multiplayer community, and be the most expensive DLC we’ve ever seen – these figures are around $17 each (no word yet on UK price or release).

You might say that’s a silly idea and we’re fairly sure that whatever comes with the figures will be release separately for download after, but we’re watching this one very closely, and you should be too. If it’s a success and, here is the caveat, Bio Ware does manage to get away with having any of that content totally exclusive to the figures and only the figures – watch out. That could be the thin end of the wedge that ends up with everyone having to buy bits of tat they don’t want just to get game content – which is a terrifying idea. It’s unlikely to happen, and you might call us paranoid, but that’s our job, to watch trends as they emerge and speculate about where they might go – besides we get to say, ‘I told you so,’ if it does get out of hand further down the track.

The new issue of X360 features not just one, but five huge exclusives, headed up by our massive 8-page feature on Prototype 2, the smashiest sequel of all time! Yeah, that’s right… smashiest!

We’ve also got exclusive studio access to Hitman: Absolution, a unique exploration of Halo’s pivotal role in shaping the FPS as we know it, expert predictions on GTA V’s release date and sales potential and a full review of the forthcoming JRPG giant, Final Fantasy XIII-2.

As ever, you don’t just get a magazine in X360, you get a free DVD and book too. The DVD now features incredible HD video files of the latest mind-blowing game trailers, features and interviews, and this month’s book features both an expert Soul Calibur V guide and a month-by-month 360 fan’s planner for the year ahead.

And if you just want more games we’ve got the best coverage you’ll find anywhere on Rainbow 6 Patriots, Max Payne 3, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, Soul Calibur V, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Call Of Duty Elite Premium, Lollipop Chainsaw, Ridge Racer Unbounded and many, many more.

X360 issue 81 is available now at all good newsagents and from the Imagine Shop. Digital versions are also available through the iTunes Newsstand app.

If you love games, this is the book for you. Packed with all the best games for iOS, iPad & iPhone Games Directory shows you how you can turn your smartphone or tablet into a device to rival home consoles. Covering every gaming category on the App Store, over 300 games are reviewed, highlighting the best apps on offer. From Cut The Rope and Angry Birds to FIFA 12 and Scrabble, you’ll find all the games you’ll ever need in this ultimate guide.

Aaron Asadi, Editor In Chief, stated; “The iPad and iPhone are the ideal devices for gaming. Accessible, portable and reliable, they are certainly giving traditional consoles a run for their money. With the book, you’ll discover the must-own games from every category on the App Store, from quick time-wasters to games that will have you hooked for months. If you own an iDevice and you want to find the best games for it, this is the place to be.”

The iPad & iPhone Games Directory is on sale now (24/11) from www.imaginebookshop.co.uk priced £9.99.

I’ve probably been playing games for longer than you’ve been alive – that’s almost three decades. And when I started working with games, over ten years ago, you probably didn’t even have pubes. I’m a veteran of electronic entertainment and I love it. But, y’know, when you’re so close to something you see its flaws more clearly than anyone else.

So yeah, I have issues, problems and gripes with gaming as a whole and I’m going to share them with you because maybe you’ll agree with some of them and enjoy it for that, or maybe you’ll fervently disagree with others and call me names in the comments, and enjoy it for that. I just hope I feel better for getting all this off my chest. So, I love games, but I hate…

XP for no reason

As a lifelong RPG fan, I love earning XP and levelling up, but ever since Call Of Duty 4 more and more games are putting in XP and levelling up for absolutely no reason. I actually think it’s worthwhile and well implemented in the Call Of Duty series, but most games just use it as a cynical tool to keep you playing.

Slow menus

I’m predominantly a console gamer, but I do also love PC games and appreciate the importance of the PC as a gaming platform. Most game developers, for example, have their own roots in PC gaming. But some of them need to work harder at making their menus navigable for console users. I’m looking at you, Bethesda. I team of your caliber should know better than the “let’s just give ‘em the same as the PC version” menu system in Skyrim.

Annual updates

It used to just be sports games, but now several major franchises have gone annual and, personally, I don’t buy into it. I never even bought into it with sports games. I’m still playing FIFA 11 at the moment because I don’t like FIFA 12 as much. You might enjoy buying and playing a new Call Of Duty and/or Assassin’s Creed every year, but I’m sure you’d get a better experience overall if they were coming out every two or three years. The ‘when it’s ready’ approach to development scheduling will always produce better games.

Easy ones

I’m all for accessibility and I’m all for tutorials and I’m all for games that don’t require you to spend hours learning and practicing complex skills and techniques, but that’s no excuse for games being just plain easy. One thing more likely to turn a player off of a game than anything else is frustration, but boredom isn’t much better, so making a game that’s just a pushover isn’t the answer. I want my games to kick my ass sometimes, and if they’re well designed I won’t be frustrated about it – I’ll be itching to restart straight away and do right what I did wrong the first time.

The stories

If there’s something that really bugs me it’s credit being given to videogame stories where it is not due. Claims that the stories of games like Heavy Rain, Mass Effect, Red Dead Redemption, Uncharted, L.A. Noire and BioShock are among the best in any media are absolutely ludicrous. These games, among others, are driving storytelling in games forward, and should be applauded for that, but there’s still a long, long way to go and suggesting that they’re already on a par with the best stories cinema has to offer is letting developers off far too lightly. We need to stop heaping unreserved praise on these admirable, but ultimately failed, attempts to tell sophisticated, mature stories and push developers to do better. Because it can be done. Videogames do have the potential to tell great stories in their own unique way, but so far only one developer truly deserves to be considered a decent storyteller and that’s Valve.

False promises

There was a time when games would earn plaudits by exceeding expectations and defying the perceived limitations of what was possible. These days the trick to getting your game hailed as a classic seems to be to make all kinds of far-fetched claims during the build up to its release and hope that everyone would rather blindly go along with your lies than admit to themselves that games aren’t actually as innovative or as progressive as they desperately want to believe they are. And it works again and again. It’s sad, really.

Bad endings

I so rarely complete games. This is partly because I get loads of free ones and am easily distracted by shiny, new treats, but it’s mainly because almost every game I ever play gets boring about two thirds of the way through and grinds its way to a disappointing, and usually annoying, anticlimax. It’s understandable that designers want to get their best work in early to draw you in, and that any game is going to be more compelling during the midway period when it’s gradually drip feeding new features into the mix, but do the endings always have to be so crap? No, they don’t. Once again, see Valve. Half-Life 2 is guilty of dragging itself out a bit in the middle, but the final hour of Episode 3 is the best hour of gaming you’ll ever play. That’s how to do an ending – leave us desperately wanting more.

Graphics whores

I don’t subscribe to the “graphics don’t matter” school of thought at all. Graphics do matter and if you’ve invested a large sum of money in a machine with powerful graphics technology at its core then you’re entitled to expect developers to take advantage of that technology. However, a lot of games – like a lot of people – seem to get away with being boring and uninspired simply because they’re damn pretty to look at. Worse still is the boring obsession gamers have with discussing graphics. What’s to discuss? Anything beyond “It looks good/bad” just seems like obsessive, nitpicky or both, if you ask me. Still, the fact that all three of the best looking games ever – Killzone 3, Crysis 2 and Rage – failed to achieve stellar sales suggests graphics whorism isn’t as prevalent as it can sometimes seem.

Geek in-jokes

What is it with geeks and their inability to understand when a joke has run its course? You do realise that ‘meme’ is essentially a shorter way of saying ‘joke that has been milked to death already’, don’t you? This dead horse flogging approach to humour is as rife in games as it is on the internet. The worst example? “The cake is a lie”. A good joke is like an exotic animal. It thrives in its natural habitat, but as soon as you remove it from where it belongs you destroy its beauty and kill its spirit. Printing “The Cake Is A Lie” on a T-shirt is like making a dolphin live in a bucket. Leave it where it belongs! In Portal! There’s even a reference to the Portal cake in Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow! Not only is it embarrassingly unfunny it undermines the otherwise beautifully crafted atmosphere of the game. Stop it!

Awkward controls

The basic design of a regular videogame controller has remained essentially the same now for nearly a decade and a half and by this point developing an intuitive control system ought to be a question of common sense. Yet some games still have unnecessarily fiddly control systems that repeatedly break me out of the game experience by forcing me to think about how to do what I want to do instead of just doing it. Metal Gear Solid 4 is probably the worst culprit of this generation, and playing those Resident Evil HD remakes reminded me of why I could never get along with those games the first time around. Then there’s Assassin’s Creed, a series with such a nonsensical control set-up that it has to dedicate a part of its HUD to telling you what each button will actually do at any given time. I’m not saying every game should have the exact same controls, but there does seem to be a lot of fixing that which isn’t broke going on.

Generic settings

Having just given Assassin’s Creed a bit of a kicking for its control system, I’m going to give it some credit here for being the exception that proves the rule of games seldom venturing beyond a very small selection of setting types. Assassin’s Creed’s detailed historical settings really are unique, distinctive and refreshing. But for every Assassin’s Creed, BioShock or Portal 2 one of these there are dozens of depressingly familiar game worlds. Even the settings of series like The Elder Scrolls or Mass Effect, despite being well flesh-outed and richly detailed, are still starting to feel a bit by-numbers to me.

Macho characters

A lot is made of how poorly women are represented in games, and they sure are, but this discussion often carries with it an assumption that representations of men in games are somehow far preferable. Maybe if you’re a thirteen year old dipshit with anger issues, but I’m not one. And I find the likes of Master Chief, Marcus Fenix, Chris Redfield and Solid Snake embarrassing. I didn’t mind so much when the macho men were just deliberately goofy stereotypes like Duke Nukem and Serious Sam, but now that we’re somehow expected to invest emotion and meaning into these meatheads, it’s just getting pathetic. Shall I namedrop Valve again? Yes, I shall. Eli Vance – there’s a real man for you.

Stealth games

The weird thing about this one is that I enjoy employing stealth in games that aren’t ‘stealth games’. That’s how I play both Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer and Skyrim, for example. But in the former I’m sneaking around real people and in the latter my sneaking depends upon clearly defined stats and perks, not on some arbitrary set of parameters and inconsistent AI. That’s what I hate about stealth games – the mechanics and AI are invariably stupid and unrealistic, and it’s so frustrating being forced to play by their crummy rules. Plus, there’s too much waiting, and that feels like a massive waste of time.

Pointless sandboxes

There was a plague of this early in this generation. The sandboxes of the last-gen GTA games were revolutionary and technically mindblowing on that hardware. It’s piss easy to make a sandbox game on a 360 or PS3 though and from a game design perspective, nothing could be simpler (and lazier) than building a big, open environment and scattering things around it to collect and destroy. It’s always dressed up in buzzwords like ‘freedom’ and ‘choice’ but it’s all bull. Sandbox games should require more carefully crafted design, not less. It’s most common among licensed tie-in games and is often seen alongside the more recent lazy trend of arbitrary XP systems. Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention how much I hate it in racing games. Burnout Paradise isn’t a bad game, exactly, but the switch to open world robbed it of so much that I loved about the earlier Burnout titles.

Nonsense puzzles

This is why, despite their featuring a genuine with rare in videogames, I’ve never been able to abide the Monkey Island games. I dislike the point and click genre as a whole really, along with any game that leans heavily on prescriptive, single (usually illogical) solution puzzles. If I think of a solution to an in-game problem that makes logical sense then I want it to work, or I at least want to see exactly why it doesn’t work. I don’t to be told “You cannot use this here” or some other variant on “computer says no” just because the game designer had some other, more convoluted solution in mind when he or she made the game. It just ends up being a matter of pure trial and error and that’s not my idea of fun at all.

Expensive gimmicks

I love Guitar Hero, but I loved it more when the guitar added a very reasonable £10 to the RRP of the game. Once Activision got a hold of the idea, though, the peripherals got more and more expensive and more and more pointless. It all culminated in the ridiculous Tony Hawk board controller. At that point, Activision had apparently found the limit of just how much over-priced gaming clutter people actually want in their lives, and has since scaled back its gimmick flogging to the much craftier Skylanders brand. I hate it on principle.

Fanboys

Fanboyism is boring and annoying, that we all know, but that’s not the worst thing about it. The real problem I have with it is that if it isn’t kept in check, it’s far too easily exploited and this has a negative effect on everyone that isn’t directly profiting. It’s one of the reasons the games industry is so cluttered with endlessly iterated brands and spin-offs and reboots and remakes and nonsensical story arcs, and has such a hard time introducing anything new or truly progressive. A lot of gamers get really attached to dated, generic crap for some reason, and don’t seem to realise that almost anything billed ‘for the fans’ is there to exploit them.

Motion control

I’d be alright with motion control if it weren’t for the inevitable lack of control. There’s fun to be had seeing yourself, or a version of yourself, on-screen in a game, but most motion control games just make it harder and more exhausting to do things that could be done much more accurately with a button and/or a stick. The whole idea that using your body to control games makes it feel like you’re really doing whatever you’re supposed to be doing is a lie. Nothing breaks the immersion of a game more than unresponsive, inaccurate controls and that, as far as I can tell, is the main USP of motion control – it doesn’t do what you want it to do.

Cut-scenes

The most obvious reason I hate cut-scenes in games is that they’re usually really badly done and the stories usually suck anyway, so who cares? But there’s a more fundamental reason I object to their use in games. Even when they are, in themselves, pretty good, such as in the Uncharted series, I still find it depressing that game developers are just copying cinematic techniques instead of exploring the unique storytelling possibilities interactive entertainment can offer. Sorry to sound like a stuck record, but this is yet another area in which Valve leads the way. It’s no coincidence that Valve almost never uses cut-scenes (only very sparsely in Left 4 Dead to bookend episodes, but Left 4 Dead is styled like a collection of B-movies, so it’s deliberate and applicable), instead preferring to use seamless, reactive, interactive storytelling that ensures you always feel like you’re at the centre of what’s going on and never jarringly pulls you out of the game.

PC gamers

As I already said, I love the depth and innovation of PC games, but hardcore PC gamers have to be some of the weirdest, most deluded, most inexplicably arrogant people on the entire planet. First of all there’s the very idea that a set of tools designed for typing and operating utility software is somehow objectively better for playing games than a device designed for playing games. I’m happy for some people to prefer using a mouse and keyboard over using a pad, but the way they say it offers precise control as if it’s a fact is so annoying. Once and for all, control in games is about movement as well as about aim and if you think four fricking arrow keys offers you more precision than an analogue stick then you’re an idiot. Oh God, and they cannot accept that they’re idiots just because they know a bit about how computers work, when to the rest of us it’s obvious they’re idiots because only an idiot would spend a small fortune (and Lord knows how much time) on a ‘rig’ just for marginally faster loading times and marginally better graphics performance. I hate them so much. That said, I’m always really glad to count one or two of them among my friends when I’m having issues with my PC. But I still hate them.

QTEs (“Quick Time Events”)

While I hate the idea of cut-scenes for reasons already stated above, some of the more action-orientated ones can be pretty entertaining. And this is why I absolutely cannot fathom why so many develops insist on punctuating them with button prompts. I hear what they say, that they want the player to continue to feel involved through the cut-scene, but they’re wrong. If you don’t want to break the player out of the game, don’t use cut-scenes. But if you really must break me out of the game with a cut-scene, don’t then immediately break me out of the friggin’ cut-scene. Or worse still, make me watch the cut-scene repeatedly because I don’t press a button quick enough. I’d rather be playing than watching, but I’d rather be watching than some awkward hybrid of both that’s seemingly designed to ensure that doing one makes it impossible to do the other properly. There is absolutely no defence for it.

Oh wow, that really does feel much better. A huge weight has been lifted. I suggest everyone tries this. Aaahhh…

I think a great deal of videogame stories – particularly those of the bigger series out there – have a problem. They’re too big, too complex, and often, too convinced of their own brilliance. Videogame narratives tend to be either overly self-involved or so unbearably silly that we choose to ignore them, paying no heed to the talk of conspiracies within conspiracies or whatever the reason was for that alien invasion in favour or just blasting through enemies and savouring the gameplay (which is, by and large, usually rather good).

The thought came to me when reading details about the Resident Evil 6 plot, and realising that despite having played Resident Evils 1, 2, 4 and 5, I still felt largely in the dark as to what was going on. T-Viruses, G-Viruses, Uroborous, Las Plagas, all the characters and conspiracies and backstabbings…I can barely follow any of it, and nor do I feel compelled to. It’s over-convoluted nonsense. I fondly remember playing the first, and even the second, Resident Evil games. Enter a haunted house or fight your way through a zombie invasion – they were nicely contained narratives that were all the more immersive and gripping because I wasn’t getting distracted by the kind of tedious subplots and overwrought backstory development that’s now undermined the series.

It’s a problem inherent in many series that have got a bit long in the tooth. I won’t deny that I’m interested to see what happens next in the story of Desmond Miles, but the longer Ubisoft stretches out the narrative of Assassin’s Creed the more its tight, interesting story is beginning to unravel. Gears Of Wars story built throughout its three games, hinting at something deeper and brilliant beyond what we were being told, but then failed to take it anywhere, ending the trilogy on a damn squib of a conclusion that failed to answer most of the questions its fanbase wanted resolved. The Metal Gear Solid saga does have some fantastic story elements running through it  – Metal Gear Solid 3 in particular has one of the great videogame narratives in recent memory – but that’s only if you can keep up with the tangled backstory and incestuous relationships of the characters. Anyone who could keep up with what was going on at the end of Metal Gear Solid 2 or throughout Metal Gear Solid 4 then we salute you, good sir.

There are plenty more examples – the later Silent Hill games, the F.E.A.R. series, and yes, even Halo’s story is, let’s be honest, utter nonsense. The longer a series goes on, the more ignorable its story tends to become.

The best examples of videogame narratives are those that are self-contained, unique, and most of all, simple. Red Dead Redemption is a great example, as is BioShock (the sequel to which threatened to destroy it’s well-constructed plot, but actually managed to develop the narrative without picking it apart completely). Final Fantasy VII told a beautiful story of love and saving the world without complicating matters with the needless exposition the series crams into its more recent entries, and although the Uncharted series may be a shameless imitation of Fifties adventure romps and Indiana Jones it can’t be denied that the formula works.

The Modern Warfare series is in no way a prime example of good storytelling, but the first and third entries into the series are indicative of the fact that keeping things easy to grasp always makes for the better story. They were simple manhunts, sending you around the world in a bombastic and exhilarating chase for the enemy. Modern Warfare 2’s story, in comparison, was an over-complicated trawl that threw too many elements into the mix, turning gamers off in the process. The return to the cat and mouse chase in MW3 fared far better.

I would even go as far as to say that the Kane & Lynch games, despite the fact that they’re undeniably less accomplished games than Halo, still have the better stories by way of the fact I can easily enjoy and follow them. I also fully expect myself to enjoy the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot over past franchise entries too, given that it replaces globetrotting and insidious conspiracies with one, singular plot element: survive.

I’m not saying that all videogame stories should be uncomplicated, undemanding affairs. BioShock’s certainly wasn’t and it worked, and I’ve no doubt Irrational will achieve something similar with BioShock: Infinite. But I firmly believe that developers need to learn when to stop adding elements and retconning their sprawling narratives in an effort to try and make something new. Yes, videogame developers are building entire worlds, but the stories they tell don’t have to be as complicated as the mechanics that underpin them.

The above is a physics-based demonstration created by Thiago Costa using Softimage’s ICE platform. Softimage is a high-end 3D computer graphics application used for producing 3D modelling and animation in films, advertising, and videogames. Its use has been limited so far in videogames, but you may have seen it employed in films such as Thor and District 9.

It’s exciting to think about the possibilities that could come from incorporating such advanced technology such as this into the next-generation of videogames. Imagine a Gears Of War in which bullets sent fragments of soil flying into the air, or a Halo in which your alien enemies were realistically shredded and torn apart by your bullets. In the videogame industry’s continual quest to present worlds indistinguishable from reality, giving the gameworld a physicality such as that witnessed above is surely the next step.

XCom, Syndicate and Counter-Strike are some of the most hallowed game names in PC gaming, and the kind of games that older 360 gamers who once dabbled in PC gaming hold near and dear to their hearts. We’ve always wanted to see them come back, and this year we’re getting a bumper crop of quality reboots – which we’re excited about.

That said, isn’t uncommon to hear gamers complain about the culture of reboots in gaming, claiming it shows a lack of creativity, and that like Hollywood the industry is running out of ideas. But it’s hard to agree with that argument given the general iterative nature of gaming – ideas’ are repeated and polished in various forms as a matter of course – and the decent quality of some recent high profile former PC only reboots we’ve had, like Deus EX: Human which shows that reboots can be done with great creativity.

There are a slew of reboots coming from various sources in 2012, including the Tomb Raider reboot, with it’s far grittier survival horror take on Ms Crofts adventures, and Ninja Theory’s alternate universe take on Devil May Cry with an all new Dante that sent fans into such an uproar, but to our minds it’s the recasting of classic PC games like Syndicate, Counter-Strike Global Offensive and X-Com on 360 that show the most promise.

Syndicate (Starbreeze Studios)

The original Syndicate was an excellent top down RTS which put you in control of a futuristic team of augmented corporate assassin’s and came to us in 1993 courtesy of a team at Bullfrog under the one and only Peter Molyneux. Syndicate is being re-interpreted as an FPS in which you play a single cyborg corporate killer by Starbreeze Studios, but it looks like the developer is making up for the loss of your team, and the originals tactical element, by giving you some interesting abilities. Your agent will have a DART chip in his head that’ll allow him to slow down time in tactical view, mark targets, use mind control on other people with chips that can make them turn on their fellows or commit suicide. You can even manipulate mechanical parts of the futuristic environment, creating cover for yourself or removing it for enemies. It’s fast paced, bloody and gruesome – you upgrade by ripping chips out of enemy heads – and it’s four player co-op mode promises to really capture the spirit of the original as your squad takes on enemy agents online.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)

Counter-Strike was an online military shooter hit back in 1999, years before COD was even a glint in it’s creators eyes, and playing it it’s easy to see why. Playing Terrorists or Counter-Terrorists, trying to hold hostages or plant bombs or free them and defuse the bombs, and armed with realistic weapons that were affected by physics, Counter-Strike was a fun addictive experience for millions of gamers world wide. Valve is taking the right approach with it’s classic multiplayer only shooter on 360, releasing it as an updated XBLA title. From what we’ve seen you’re going to get the same classic gameplay over XBLA, only with vastly updated graphics, a better interface and a smattering of new maps and a new gameplay mode called Arsenal. Counter-Strike is a near perfect multiplayer shooter, so the opportunity to play it with our mates over Live is an exciting prospect.

X-Com  (2K)

The original X-Com: Enemy Unknown is a much beloved turns based and resource management strategy game in which you controlled squads of agents working for an alien busting US Agency in the future, and 2K is creating two very different reboots based on it. The first is an FPS simply entitled ‘XCOM’ which is set in a Norman Rockwell inspired 1960’s and casts you as head of an anti-alien FBI style agency. It’s an FPS with deep squad controls as you and two other agents take to the field battling against all manner of weird and frightening nano-tech aliens.

XCom: Enemy Unknown (Firaxis)

The second reboot X-Com: Enemy Unknown is a turns- based strategy game in the vein of the original from the team behind Civilisation, Firaxis now coming in 2013. From what we’ve seen the Sid Meier led developer is keeping what made the original great, with tension filled strategy play in which only smarts will keep your squad alive, to deep resource management as you research weapons based on alien tech. It sounds like Firaxis is really polishing X-Com: Enemy Unknown’s core concept as well as updating and simplifying its control to work on 360. It’s hard not to get excited about this double dose of reboot goodness- there’s potentially something here for everyone.