Tue, 10 Aug, 10
Author:
Matt Gardner

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Games deals

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EA Official Rock Band Drums £9.93 @ The Hut [Xbox 360]

EA Official Rock Band Drums £9.93 @ The Hut [Xbox 360]

Four pads, one kick pedal, two sticks and a barrage of coloured dots to guide your Monsterrific tendencies, The Hut’s got the official Rock Band drum kit back in stock, and it’s only going for £9.93.

I picked these up myself when Zavvi were doing them for just under £12 a few months back and since then they’ve been sliding in and ot of stock across The Hut group, but if you haven’t tried them out I urge you to do so.

Arguably the most realistic part (aside perhaps from the actual singing) of the music game experience, it’s a cracking form of stress release, it’ll make you feel like a kickass drummer, and it won’t take up too much space or make too much noise. Actually that last point is a bit of a lie, you mind find yourself buying some dampeners for the pads.

Thanks to tronic at HUKD

Sat, 31 Jul, 10
Author:
Tom Silkstone

Category:
Games deals

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Rock Band Drum Kit £9.95 @ Zavvi [Xbox 360 Accessories]

Rock Band Drum Kit £9.95 @ Zavvi [Xbox 360 Accessories]

Sitting down to the Rock Band Drum Kit after a long day at work is one of the best ways to alleviate stress by hammering the pads and smashing your foot into the kick pedal, you’ll also be able to build a band ensemble if you’ve not done so already.

Zavvi have the set back down at £9.95 again, pretty handy as The Hut have raised theirs again to £12.93, but you’ll still be saving yourself a good £3.

Compared to some of the other drum peripherals on the market these are surprisingly simple and lack the cymbals that the Guitar Hero: World Tour kit came with, but they still get the job done.

Being a guitar player I know that the experience you get from the guitar peripherals isn’t the greatest representation of the songs on the set list, sure it improves your finger dexterity and the speed at which you can hit the notes, but you’d still have to start from square one on a real guitar. However, all the drummers I’ve talked to have praised the way that music games simulate the actual experience, especially on the higher difficulty levels, and it’s a great place to start from if you’re considering learning the drums but don’t want to fork out for a proper kit until you know whether or not you’ve got the required co-ordination.

If you’ve been locked out out of the band experience that music games provide because of how much the controllers cost, now’s the perfect opportunity to start your path down the rock and roll road, just make sure you take advantage of the low price while it’s still available.

Thanks to andywedge + arasma @ HUKD

Official Rock Band Drum Kit £11.95 @ Zavvi [Xbox 360 Hardware]

Official Rock Band Drum Kit £11.95 @ Zavvi [Xbox 360 Hardware]

The high price of music game peripherals acts as a barrier to entry for many gamers and arguably contributed to the sharp sales decline of 2009. No one wants to shell out loads of money for expensive plastic tat in the middle of a credit crunch… but thanks to Zavvi (and an eagle-eyed Hot UK Deals member), now you can shell out hardly any money for some vastly reduced plastic tat! Zavvi are currently selling the official Rock Band drum kit (which is compatible with Guitar Hero) for £11.95, which will save you £7 compared to LoveFilm. As peripherals go, this is an excellent price for a solid and nifty piece of kit.

The official Rock Band drum kit is a great piece of kit. Solid, reliable and able to take a beating; it not only simulates the drumming experience, but actively replicates it. Drumming is the the most authentic of all the instruments supplied by music games at the moment… in fact, I personally know two people who learned to the drums by playing Rock Band and taking a couple of lessons just to practice their technique. They’re pretty good now- and you certainly can’t learn to play the guitar with the Explorer guitar!

Basically the Rock Band Drum kit is a steal at this price, and whilst it doesn’t include the optional cymbals, it’s still well worth buying. Stocks don’t tend to last very long- so if you fancy it, now’s the time to get involved. Note, however, that it hasn’t been confirmed to work with Rock Band 3… but considering their backwards compatibility policy, it probably will.

Thanks to lucerysmum at Hot UK Deals!

Sat, 26 Jun, 10
Author:
Tom Silkstone

Category:
Games deals

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Rock Band (Game Only) £5.99 @ Gamestation [Wii Games]

Rock Band (Game Only) £5.99 @ Gamestation [Wii Games]

Rock Band was the first game that gave us the taste of a real band experience, allowing players to choose between beating out a rhythm on the drums, slapping the bass, nailing a face melting solo on the guitar, or screaming out some lyrics through the microphone.

Gamestation are currently parting with copies of the game on the Wii for £5.99, which is exactly a £1 cheaper than the next best offer of £6.99 coming in from Game.

Whilst you can play Rock Band by yourself, taking on the role of one member in the band whilst the others are all AI avatars, the game’s been designed with multiplayer in mind and it’s an amazing experience. Unfortunately the Wii version doesn’t have an online multiplayer, but you can still play local multiplayer when you’ve got a few friends round.

The Rock Band set lists have always been incredibly impressive unfortunately the Wii version’s seems somewhat stripped to the bones. That’s not to say there aren’t some great tracks present, you’ll still get some classic rock including ‘Enter Sandman’ by Metallic and ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’ by Blue Oyster Cult, as well as modern hits like ‘Dani California’ by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

The format of the gameplay is instantly recognisable with coloured notes descending down the screen for guitar, bass, and drums, whilst the lyrics scroll across the top of the screen. If one of your band members fails during the course of the song, you’ll be able to save them using any Overdrive power that you’ve managed to store up, but you’ll have to be quick otherwise the whole band’ll be thrown off the stage.

This is a great game that’ll definitely take the top spot of things to do if you’re at a loose end when you’ve got a couple of friends coming over at the weekend.

Thanks to Rhys135 @ HUKD

Fri, 11 Jun, 10
Author:
Neil Davey

Category:
Games reviews

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Green Day: Rock Band (Review)

Green Day: Rock Band (Review)

Format: XBOX 360 (reviewed), PS3, Wii

Developer: Harmonix

Publisher: EA

Game companies are nothing if not predictable. Once they’ve got a winning formula, you can expect to see it milked and imitated, usually until it’s a shadow of its former self.

So far, while the Rock Band / Guitar Hero genres have certainly been milked, they show no sign of wasting away. Indeed, they seem to be getting better and better (and next week I can tell you a lot more about Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and trust me, you want to know).

One of the more interesting innovations has been the “single act” title and, after the success – and all round excellent execution – of Beatles Rock Band, it was inevitable Harmonix would find another popular beat combo who’d willingly have their back catalogue converted to console gaming.

The list of contenders was / is huge. You need, what, a fan base, at least one guitar in the band and a decent number of albums under your belt? SO you’ve got Queen. Oasis. The Rolling Stones. U2. Kiss. An almost infinite number of 70s and 80s metal acts. Excuse while I salivate – and worry about my fingers – for Led Zeppelin Rock Band. Perhaps more fitting for a gamer of my, ahem, maturity would be the two chord delights of Status Quo… Ho ho.

And so step forward… Green Day? Sorry? Green Day? Really?

Actually, when you think about it in more detail, Green Day is a very sensible choice. The Californian sort-of-punks have eight studio albums under the belts and a career that’s spanned a remarkable 20 years (yeah, where DID it go?).

Click here to see if the game itself is any good....

The Beatles Rock Band (solus) £17.99 @ Games Centre [PS3 Games]

The Beatles Rock Band (solus) £17.99 @ Games Centre [PS3 Games]

A must for any Beatles fan at nearly £2 cheaper than the next best deal. It’s the solus version (obviously), but come on, isn’t your living room full of enough toy instruments by now? Besides, playing Slayer on a Beatles drum kit is just too weird.

A great deal of effort has been put into the visual presentation of the game. You’ll be playing in famous venues like the Cavern Club, the Ed Sullivan Show, Budokan, Shea Stadium and the rooftop of Apple Records or against psychedelic explosions of colour. Pointless for the player, but something decent for everyone else to look at instead of the usual shit-hole Rock Band venues. Cartoonified models of the Beatles themselves have been included too and perfectly match the vibrant backgrounds.

Harmonies are utilised for the first time in the series with everyone able to sing at the same time. This can be great, or it can sound like a drunken four man football chant. Your call.

The 45 song track list consist of the master recordings including: ‘I Saw Her Standing There,’ ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand,’ ‘I Feel Fine,’ ‘Taxman,’ ‘Day Tripper,’ Back In The USSR,’ ‘I Am The Walrus,’ ‘Octopus’s Garden,’ ‘Here Comes The Sun,’ and ‘Get Back.’ There might be a few of your own favourites missing, but they might be amongst the current/future DLC packs as is the nature of band-specific games so far.

An excellent buy then for Beatles fans, or Rock Band addicts trying to 100% track out there.

From XBLA Grinding to the Spartans’ Last Stand – News Roundup 26th April 2010

Jet Set Radio Grinding onto XBLA?

From XBLA Grinding to the Spartans Last Stand   News Roundup 26th April 2010

Recent leaked pics indicate that classic Dreamcast hits Crazy Taxi and Sonic Adventure may well be headed to XBLA in the near future- but the latest update is that Jet Set Radio may also be hitting the online marketplace in the near future. A french gamer has taken a screengrab of a JSR demo appearing in his ‘Recent Games’ tab, though SEGA have yet to confirm or deny this as yet.

SEGA had an extremely strong working relationship with Microsoft back in the last generation, and many displaced SEGA franchises found a new home on the original Xbox (including Panzer Dragoon and the splendid Jet Set Radio Future). As a rabid SEGA fanboy, I’m having trouble containing my excitement- with any luck a new generation of gamers will be able to enjoy the cell-shaded rollerblading masterpiece.

Having said that, this is still just a rumour. Watch this space! [Spirit Pixel FR]

What classic franchises would you like to see on XBLA (and PSN)? Drop us a line in the comments!

Diehard Halo 2 Players Refuse to Finish the Fight!

From XBLA Grinding to the Spartans Last Stand   News Roundup 26th April 2010

Microsoft removed Live support for original Xbox games 10 days ago- but a small group of diehard fans have refused to quit and and are still playing online! According to a post on the Bungie forums, twenty players simply didn’t log out on the 15th and have been playing ever since.

Unfortunately, overheating issues are slowly whittling down their numbers. We wish these brave Spartans the best of luck in their final stand. [Bungie]

Capcom Apologises for Final Fight DRM

From XBLA Grinding to the Spartans Last Stand   News Roundup 26th April 2010

We recently reported that the PS3 version of Final Fight: Double Impact contained hidden Ubisoft-style DRM, requiring players to maintain a constant internet connection in order to play. Capcom have now apologised for withholding the information on release.

“Typically, the notification for a required PlayStation Network connection appears in the full game description when a game is downloaded from the PlayStation Store. Unfortunately when populating this content this detail was overlooked.”

Apparently the inclusion of this DRM was to curtail “PSN Sharing,” whereby multiple accounts could share the same game.

Mad Catz Signs Harmonix Rock Band Deal

From XBLA Grinding to the Spartans Last Stand   News Roundup 26th April 2010

Mad Catz have produced a number of third-party Guitar Hero and Rock Band peripherals, but they’re now going to be producing the official Rock Band peripherals after signing a multi-year deal with Harmonix. With any luck, they’ll be able to improve on the fairly flimsy Rock Band guitars… and include their epic Fender replica peripherals with Rock Band 3.

The agreement grants Mad Catz the rights to create Rock Band controllers “for all future iterations of the franchise – including the forthcoming Rock Band 3.” [Gamesindustry.biz]

News Update: New Lean PS3 Hardware Upgrade

From XBLA Grinding to the Spartans Last Stand   News Roundup 26th April 2010

According to a report by PSU, Sony will be rolling out a new improved graphics chip in future PS3s. This new RSX chip will be smaller, more efficient and cheaper to produce than the current model- meaning that it’s better for the environment, lessens the possibility of the dreaded YLOD and will reduce Sony’s loss from each PS3 sale. [PSU via VG247]

Mon, 26 Apr, 10
Author:
Matt Gardner

Category:
Games deals

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Rock Band: The Beatles £9.85 @ ShopTo [Wii Games]

Rock Band: The Beatles £9.85 @ ShopTo [Wii Games]

George Harrison, fantastically talented as he was, never really cut loose on any of the Beatles’ songs. Sure there were some wonderful little licks and chord shuffles here and there but he never really turned it up to 11 and busted out the solos, it just wasn’t really his style. But to write off this nostalgia-tinged title just because of that is to miss the point: Rock Band: The Beatles is a lovingly crafted homage that sets the bar high for single-artist-oriented music games.

ShopTo are currently selling the Wii version of the game,you’ll need to buy the instruments separately I’m afraid, for just £9.85, which is over £5 cheaper than nearest competitor Amazon!

With 45 tracks on offer here, a Career Mode stuffed with Beatles memorabilia and biographical history, and top notch presentation, this is no knock-off game. A true family affair with a library that will certainly appeal to any and all Beatles fans out there this actually, rather unsurprisingly, has a incredible hit:dud ratio. The new introduction of three part harmonies – you’ll need three mics of course – is perfect, as singing along to these songs is actually the main highlight here.

More than a simple music game, this is a title that reminds us exactly why the Beatles were so highly adored, how they reached the pinnacle of the music world, and why their music has endured for so long. The gameplay might be more simple than some of the other solo heavy games, but none feel more beautifully woven than this.

Thanks to Rhys135 at HUKD

EA Official Rock Band Drums £15.96 @ The Hut [Xbox 360]

EA Official Rock Band Drums £15.96 @ The Hut [Xbox 360]

Back in stock and lower in price once more, we’ve featured several deals for this piece of kit over the last few months and shoppers have happily snapped them up with speed so if you fancy getting into the groove and channelling the spirit of Lars Ulrich you’d probably better get your skates on.

You can pick up the drum kit at The Hut for just £15.96 at the moment. The Listed price is, in fact, £17.73, but entering the code NWDCOL will help knock 10% off of the price.

You get four pads, a kick pedal and two sticks for your money, and they all work fine although the build quality on thekick pedal is a little suspect. I boast a pair of clumsy size twelves at the end of my legs and, trust me, although the pads will take a hell of lot of punishment, the kick pedals can vary. It’s not quite as nice a product as Red Octane’s rig for GH: World Tour, but the that’s why Activision kept Red Octane.

Thankfully, though, the drums’ integration into the game is slightly superior to that in Guitar Hero. Whereas GH is more likely to make you feel like a six-stringed rock god than Harmonix’s effort with its forgiving note timing and subsequent swathes of solo notes, Rock Band nails the drums, offering exceptional like for likepassages that never feel stale, breaking them up with freestyle sections that adjust even the most inept performance to sound like a fill straight out of a Deep Purple track.

As for alternative hardware, well you could pick up the Mat Catz portable kit for a couple of quid cheaper, but without a stand they’re hell to set up in a way that won’t completely screw up your back. If you can spare the extra 2 or 3 pounds I’d go for this option. Stress relief has never been more fun!

Thanks to andywedge at HUKD

Thu, 22 Apr, 10
Author:
Marius Goubert

Category:
Games deals

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Rock Band: AC/DC Live £5.85 @ ShopTo [Wii Games]

Rock Band: AC/DC Live £5.85 @ ShopTo [Wii Games]Although Rockband: AC/DC Live offers a rather superficial in-game experience compared with the likes of Rockband and Rockband 2, it still contains a fantastic selection of tracks. All 18 songs are of surprisingly high quality and have been recorded live; making Rockband: AC/DC a worthwhile purchase for any genuine fans of the band. The price has now fallen to £5.85 from Shopto which beats the next best deal by exactly £3.

So long as it’s the music that you’re primarily interested in, then Rockband: AC/DC won’t disappoint. However, given that the game lacks many features which fans of Rockband and Guitar Hero have come to expect, the package might come across as a little lackluster. Rockband: AC/DC Live lacks any real World Tour Mode, there is no online play, hardly any character customization options, no cash to collect, and nothing to unlock. Your on-screen character is randomly generated and you get no reward for completing songs (apart from the personnel satisfaction of course).

However – although it’s a shame that you cannot export the tracks to Rockband in the Wii version – Rockband: AC/DC Live does deliver some great tunes. And if collecting money and buying alternative outfits for your on-screen avatar doesn’t really interest you, then you might enjoy the minimalistic approach. It’s probably not the wisest purchase for someone looking to buy their first standalone-music-game, but for just over £5, Rockband: AC/DC is worth it just for the quality of the song selection.

Thanks to Oriana the Quiet from Hotukdeals.

Sun, 11 Apr, 10
Author:
Matt Gardner

Category:
Games deals

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Official Rock Band Drums £17.91 @ Asda [Xbox 360 Games]

Official Rock Band Drums £17.91 @ Asda [Xbox 360 Games]

Rock Band isn’t really the same when playing by yourself. The guitar parts and karaoke wannabe simulator feel a little lonely and underwhelming when pushing through them by yourself. The drums, however, are actually quite fun for a ten minutes, stress-relieving workout. Don’t get me wrong, it’s exponentially more fun when jamming virtually with a bunch of mates, but there’s something deeply therapeutic about smashing skip-loads of hell out of a plastic drum kit in time with loud music.

Arguably the best part of the ‘band expansion’ that has rocked music games games in the last couple of years, you can now pick up the Xbox 360 drum kit for Rock Band for just £17.91 at Asda at the moment. Granted, it’s not quite as good as the now-expired £25 Band in a Box GAME deal that came and went in the blink of an eye, and they’re not quite as sturdy as the Guitar Hero 5 drum kit, but it’s still a pretty good price.

The Rock Band drums are pretty simple: four colour-coordinated pads, one kick pedal. As previously mentioned, it’s not quite as sturdy as the GH set, and the kick pedal has a tendency to fall apart if you treat it like Godzilla treats bustling urban environments, but by and large it’ll stand up to most things that you throw at it.

I actually much prefer how Rock Band handles the drumming, with little freestyle bits activating Overdrive/Star Power rather than GH’s often unresponsive double cymbal smash, and those freestyle bits actually sound half decent even if you’re just hitting out at things like a blindfolded child presented with a piñata. It comes down to personal preference really between the two franchises in the end though.

Thanks to leeds_united_afc at HUKD.

Wed, 31 Mar, 10
Author:
Admin

Category:
Games deals

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Rock Band Unplugged £14.99 @ Play.com [PSP Game]

Rock Band Unplugged £14.99 @ Play.com [PSP Game]

As we’ve celebrated the PSP’s fifth birthday this year – and by celebrated I mean we sort of shrugged a little and sighed – it’s been debated in the media whether or not the PSP was a big fat white elephant. I take a certain amount of umbrage with this simply because there are some very good games out there for Sony’s brick, and Rock Band Unplugged is certainly one of them.

You can pick up Harmonix’s band simulator for under £15 from Play at the moment, saving your a pound or so on the nearest competitor. GAME did have it a while back for £7.99, but that went pretty quickly as you might expect.

The game has received a mixed response as people have been disappointed that it’s not really Rock Band. While this may be true, in reality the game actually predates the entire Guitar Hero phenomenon. Plus it’d be a bit hard to fit a guitar and drum kit in your pocket.

Many years ago before people were rocking out with plastic guitars and drums while screaming down microphones, Harmonix released the game Frequency on the PS2.   It was a music game played by pressing three buttons on the controller to match notches coming down the screen.  The piece of music  was broken down into eight tracks with one or more of drums, guitar, sfx and vocals. Once a bar had been successfully played, it would then play automatically and the player would then move to a different track.  Frequency received good reviews but failed commercially as the game’s setlist and the gameplay made the game inaccessible.

Frequency was followed up by Amplitude, which kept the same core gameplay but added a more mainstream tracklist and online play. Again it was well received critically but failed to make any impact at retail.   While there were rumours of another sequel titled Velocity, Harmonix instead developed the Karaoke Revolution series of Konami.

Skip forward a few years and Harmonix has hit the big time – largely thanks to getting a leg up from Activision – and Rock Band Unplugged mixes the original Frequency/Amplitude gameplay with Rock Band giving four tracks (drums, vocals, guitar, bass) each with four notes matching to left, up, triangle and circle and using the L/R buttons to change between the tracks.  There’s no multiplayer, but most people will prefer playing with the bigger console versions together.  For those wanting a slice of Harmonix on the train ride to work without the hand cramp inducing controller for the Guitar Hero DS series, then Rock Band Unplugged is definitely worth a look.

Mon, 22 Mar, 10
Author:
Jonathan Lester

Category:
Games deals

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Rock Band: Band in a Box £24.98 @ GAME [Xbox 360 Games]

Rock Band: Band in a Box £24.98 @ GAME [Xbox 360 Games]

Yes, you read that correctly. GAME are currently stocking the Xbox 360 Band in a Box that includes the Rock Band guitar, drums and microphone for £25, which is a saving of over £80 (and a saving of £35 compared to Gameplay, the nearest price rival). This has to be a misprice or stock clearance  - so don’t expect it to remain at this price for long. If you need the peripherals then there hasn’t been a better time to pick them up!

Ed: This has been in and out of stock several times today. It’s worth checking back every once in a while at this price!

The Rock Band Guitar feels a little light and flimsy for my tastes, but the solo buttons are a fun addition that are essential for nailing some of the nastier tracks (Green Grass and High Tides, anyone?!). Luckily, the Drum Kit and Microphone are solid pieces of kit that feel weighty and authentic… and are more than capable of soaking up the sort of punishment that a drunken post-pub Rock Band session tends to inflict on peripherals.

Note that this pack does not include any software- you’ll have to buy Rock Band 2 seperately. However, for this price, it’s perfect for replacing broken peripherals or finally picking up the drums that you’ve been holding out for.

This deal is certainly time and stock sensitive. There’s no time for hesitation, folks- though make sure that you retain your digital receipts in case this is a genuine price mistake (that GAME occasionally refuse to honour). Good luck, everyone!

Thanks to gajamaflake at Hot UK Deals. Great find!

Official Rock Band Drums £18.89 @ Sendit [Xbox 360 Games]

Official Rock Band Drums £18.89 @ Sendit [Xbox 360 Games]

Peripherals can be expensive, yet another reason why Bobby Kotick will probably spend his eternity in the afterlife chained to a wheel, or more aptly tied to the summit of a mountain by a bungie cord that’s just too short to reach the fields of profit that lie at the mountain’s foot. No more so than the drum kits required to fully enjoy four player band-oriented mayhem, but the folks over at Sendit have a plan, and a fine one at that.

When I say plan, what I actually mean is that they’ve gone and gotten some stock in and priced it moderately fairly, meaning that at the moment you can pick up a sweet set of official Rock Band drums for just £18.89 which is over £1 cheaper than the last time we saw the set for under £20, which was a while ago.

The drums are arguably the best part of the band experience for these games, they’re certainly the closest mirror to actually playing the instrument concerned (apart from singing of course), and they allow for all kinds of stress relief. Sort of. You see whilst fairly well made, the Rock Band set suffers from a few niggling issues, the most infamous of which is the tendency of the foot pedal to snap. The Guitar Hero set is far more sturdy, it must be said, although the integration of the hardware is more fun on the Harmonix games.

nevertheless, this is a cracking price for a pretty well constructed set. You can beat ten tonnes of crap into these things and they’ll still stand tall and proud, although you might want to consider investing in some pad silencers for the sake of your housemates if you don’t want to be set upon in the night.

Thanks to andywedge at HUKD

Games Therapy: Happiness Comes With A Controller

Games Therapy: Happiness Comes With A Controller

There’s been research about the violence, corruption and addiction in games but there’s also been plenty of research into why they can also make you happy. These sharp and tasty bursts of excitement can make a sad person smile, an angry person relax and bring about a feeling of contentment.

In-depth studies on the positive effects of games range from improved visual processing abilities to being better at problem solving and taking careful risks.  Before I get into the complexities of why games are such wonderful things that we should play all day and night, allow me to explain why I think they can make you happy.

Games Therapy: Happiness Comes With A Controller

Take Andy*, he’s a fairly well adjusted man with a good sense of humour, a great job and a nice life. You see him ambling down the street or driving past in his expensive car and you think, “Yeah, he has  it all.” Only, he doesn’t. Andy has battled with depression for most of his adult life and it is gaming that’s proved to be his rescue.

Click here to read more of the Happy Happy Games article...