Psychoville - Season #1

I've decided that watching just the first episode of each of the twenty-odd TV series that I've recently bought is not a very good idea. As such, I'm going back to taking one season at a time and reporting on my overall impression in the form of these here reviews on my blog. The fifth one up, then, is this creepy little number that goes by the name of Psychoville; not for the faint-hearted or squeamish. Before we get started though let me just announce that if given the option to go blu-ray or DVD, I'd certainly recommend going for the former option. Again, I was very impressed with the picture quality of the blu-ray disc; images are crisp and superbly detailed and it comes packaged with the most pristine, crystal-clear photo-gallery that I've seen in a long time. The menus are easy to navigate and the discs come with a reasonable amount of extras.    

Psychoville is brought to us by the same people that gave us The League of Gentlemen so let's not beat about the bush; the humour, tone, atmosphere and sheer all round absurdity of the show is right there on a par with it. Similarly, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton play four different characters. However, like The League of Gentlemen, I wouldn't say this is a "laugh-a-minute/laugh out loud funny" sort of comedy series because it veers far too heavily towards the dark side for that. But by drawing on the more disturbing side of human nature and exploring its more sinister side it is equally proficient at pulling the viewer into its quirky world. Most of us probably have all sorts of these types of emotions and qualities lurking deep down within us as well so seeing them enacted on screen in such a bizarre fashion certainly appeals to our more subversive side.

Once again I have to point out that we have here a British-based drama show which, I'm sorry to say, cannot touch those big-budget US dramas when it comes to creating scope, scale and depth. Seven, 30-minute episodes cannot compete with 45-60 minute affairs that weigh in at about 12-24 episodes per season. Indeed, the huge production costs of the US dramas practically make them little movies in their own right! Still, we can enjoy it for what it is...

The title menus and all-round outer-packaging create that mildly mysterious feel created by those slightly creepy victorian puppet shows; also, with a fully made up clown and theatrically attired dwarf, brings in that weird circus/fairground atmosphere that often has the outward appearance of wanting to be entertaining but which doesn't look quite right - as if hiding something dark underneath the surface. As mentioned, that's pretty much Psychoville in a nutshell.

The general structure of the first episode prepares us effectively for the season. Five eccentric characters each receive a letter that simply reads, "I know what you did." The sender is a mysterious black-gloved man who remains masked and whose identity remains hidden right up to the denouement at the end. There is a constant reference to blackmail but the conditions or terms of these are never discussed or made known. When each character receives the letter they are already deeply involved in dramatic events of their own so while the letter has obvious significance, as we're already thrown into the twisted development of their lives from the off, it's almost of secondary importance to the characters.

We trace the characters' lives by being shown sketches of their key moments in the form of 1-3 minute snippets. We flit backwards and forwards between the characters' stories by transitions that are marked by a burning film effect. When this occurs, we know that we are going to be focusing on a different character again and pick up on the action where we left off. The effect is that there are mini-cliffhangers within each episode but it also drives the story forward nicely. There are no hard-to-follow complications and  we always know exactly what predicament the characters are in. This adds up to making the series enjoyable and dynamic viewing.

Before moving onto the characters, a word about the content (mild spoilers ahead). Well, it's by the fellas who gave us The League of Gentlemen so expect the weird and the disturbing at almost every turn. It'll be the women, however, who will cause the most cringe-inducing moments of the show. Maureen Sowerbutts, in one scene for instance, takes a sausage from the plate of her fully-grown son and then masticates on it before shoveling the chewed up mush back into her son's mouth (no editing in sight); while Joy Aston, meanwhile, performs a makeshift blood transfusion that sucks almost all the blood out of her victim - as it then enters the body of a doll till the blood seeps from its eyes. If you can stomach these types of goings-on then you'll probably get a good kick out of the many other bizarre goings-on.  

Here are the five characters who receive those sinister messages from the black-gloved man (mild spoiler alert):

Oscar Lomax (Pemberton) is an old and blind millionaire eccentric who enlists the help of "Tea-Leaf" (a petty thief on community service) to read to him. His story lies in his obsession to find the last "first-edition" Beanie Baby in order to complete his collection. He is a bitter, bad-tempered and repulsive old git who has nothing better to do than to try to track down that elusive toy. We warm to him due to these weaknesses and vulnerabilities but also because of his ludicrous out-of-touch opinions.      

Mr Jelly, like Oscar Lomax, is played by Reece Shearsmith. He always appears in a clown costume but hardly ever gets any work as a children's entertainer because his twisted and aggressive attitude frightens the kids. Mr Jelly's story revolves around his bitter rivalry with Mr Jolly (ex-doctor now children's entertainer), who amputated the former's hand during a routine operation AND stole all of Mr Jelly's routines. We appreciate this character for his hopeless attempts at turning his career around.   

David Sowerbutts is the "man-child" played by Steve Pemberton. With learning difficulties but an encyclopedic interest in serial killers, along with a very strange mum and a misunderstanding about a murder that never happened, the two of them go off on a murdering spree of their own. We sympathise with this character because he is led on by his insane mother and is involved in situations beyond his understanding. Pemberton has a calmer, more restrained acting style than Shearsmith who can sometimes come across as a bit forced.  

Joy Aston, played by Dawn French, is arguably the most disturbed character of the pack. Her problem is that she has formed such a close relationship with a doll that she starts to believe that it is human and that it is her very own baby! Anyone who suggests the doll is otherwise or if she's ridiculed for her unhealthy attachment, she reacts with the wrath of the devil himself. I had my doubts whether such a big name could fit in with the tone of the show but she has one of those faces and acting styles that plays the delusional, naive crackpot very well.

Robert Greenspan is a dwarf who is playing the role of one of the seven dwarfs in the pantomime production of "Snow White" in the glitzy seaside town of Eastbourne. Although he's probably the most normal of the five, this little fella's problem is that he's fallen in love with Debbie, who plays Snow White, and is mocked for it by the staff around him. The practical jokes and humiliation keep getting heaped upon him until an interesting twist leads him away from the theatre and into a dark wood with a mysterious cottage... The actor, Jason Tompkins, plays the role of a tormented soul very well.

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These are just the five characters who receive letters, there are many other key roles that help to make the story fit together including: Micheal Fry (Tea-Leaf), the carer for Oscar Lomax; Mr Jolly, the rival of Mr Jelly; Maureen Sowerbutts, the manipulative mother of David; George Aston, the long-suffering husband of Joy who's forced to play along with the baby charade; Kerry, the dwarf who is trying to protect Robert from himself; Debbie, the dipsy actor who plays Snow White; and then there is the black-gloved man himself, the mysterious figure who links them all together.

In conclusion, the show is certainly worth giving a whirl (at the time of writing Season #1 and #2 can be picked up for less than £6 each on blu-ray from Amazon) and with plenty of added extras to keep your interest up it's a very good value package. In my opinion, the tighter first three episodes eclipse the later ones as the mystery and intrigue remain high in those whereas in episodes 5, 6 and 7 the plot loses its way just a tad and the puzzle doesn't quite pique the curiosity as much. Also, the musical interlude with singing and dancing in the waxworks is blatantly filler in my eyes; totally pointless and incongruous tripe. 

There are also just a few other niggles: I am not a fan of watching an entire episode filmed on one set (as if it's a play) and (seemingly) in one long take. To me, this just seems like a cost-cutting exercise and I felt put-out because I was so used to the dynamic format of earlier episodes. In this respect Episode 4 was a bit of a fail for me, despite the great performance of Mark Gatiss (He of The League of Gentlemen fame). Finally. stereotyping plays a large part in this series (eccentric old millionaires, creepy clowns, dwarfs mistaken for children, the doll springing to life, the Nurse Ratched type tormenting the patients... etc etc) and I think it fair to say the show is riddled with them. Therefore, although surely original, unique and watchable in many respects, the odd reliance on these stereotypes must be held against it.

14

20  (GOOD)

The Experiment (2013) - Preparation & Rationale

Ok people, let's not piss about here; my poker game is fucked up good and proper and I very much need to put on those damn brakes! However, I tell you right now, I'm not ready to walk away from this game just yet baby. Oh no, not by a long chalk.

I'll be looking at the 1st January 2013 as the start of a brand new poker campaign. A clean slate and a fresh start that I perceive will be the beginning of a very exciting adventure. Behind the campaign - in my favour - will be years of experience, a positive long-term run of results that sees me as a winning player overall, and a body of knowledge about the game's strategy and psychology that should give me a fairly reasonable edge.  Running against me will be: a very poor run of results over the summer (and much of the Autumn) that puts me down around £1.2K for the year; a very noticeable trend in the live game towards aggression - which I've not yet fully adapted to; a shockingly bad recent trend towards playing my cards rather than playing the player and a lack of playing more volume (this year) which puts me a little bit out of touch.

I am calling my new campaign, The Experiment because I'm really in the dark now as to how this is all going to pan out. Am I just getting too old for the game? Am I missing all the new trends and just not adapting properly? Am I really just getting terrible cards and terrible luck? Have I still got what it takes? Am I just no good anymore? Was I really any good in the first place? Am I going to turn it all round?

I hope that by doing The Experiment, I can answer at least some of these questions.

The Rationale 
As there is a possibility that I'm not cut out for the modern game after all, I don't think I can really regard myself as a "semi-pro". On the other hand, I can still remember the magic moments and the glory days of winning reasonably large sums over a few sessions only a very short time ago. So I'm keeping an open mind and regarding myself as a reasonably good "amateur" player; someone who intends to make a long-term profit rather than who's there just to make up the numbers or to have a good time. I will probably just keep track of my live games as the £1/£2 games (and the odd £1/£1 game) involve larger sums than the smaller stakes games which I intend to play online.

I only intend to play when I feel the time is right and so I can't really be specific about volume. It will generally be on the odd Friday and/or Saturday night. I'm also undecided about my buy-in amount. Usually this will be the max or something close to it but with recent events going the way they have, I might be changing this strategy to suit the conditions. Finally, the all important bankroll: well, after a fairly heavy year (financially) both my liferoll AND bankroll have taken a bit of a hit. Therefore, although my effective bankroll will be £10K, I'm going to draw the line and state a stop-loss figure of £3K. In other words, if I get hit for a total of £3K for the year, The Experiment will end and be chalked-up as a failed business venture. I'll no doubt probably need to call a halt to my poker playing activities as well - and take up another interest.

Preparation
To prepare for this project, I'm actually going to play very little live poker over the next two months. My game is totally off the boil at the moment as something in my head really is telling me to make some god-awful decisions. Therefore, while I pinpoint exactly what that might be, visits to the live felt will be rare occasions.

Preparation, then, will mostly involve practice at the $0.10/$0.25 and $0.25/$0.50 online tables at PKR, along with reading up cash-game strategies in publications previously mentioned.

Roll on 2013.

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Lesson #8

Time to come clean... Over the last four months or so I've had a terrible time at the poker tables losing more sessions than I care to mention. As a result I've nearly lost the entire profit that I acquired in 2011. That's a four-figure sum and for this here recreational player that's a fairly sizable chunk of my bankroll. Thinking back, yes, I've been dealt lousy cards but if I were really honest I have to say that a change of attitude has probably meant that I've lost more than I should.

Lesson #8 - Think like a casual player = Play like a casual player = Expect the results of a casual player.
As we all know, having the right attitude is crucial if you want to be a long-term winning poker player. But at times, this game can be so cruel that you can undergo a shift in attitude that can tip the balance - and the edge - against yourself. As my bankroll headed on the donward spiral earlier this year I told myself, as all logical-minded players do when things aren't going great, that it was just a blip and that results would soon turn around. The problem is, they didn't - and they haven't. They didn't after one month, two months or three months - and they haven't after four months!! My bankroll is still heading down that hill!

One of the changes that happened, I believe, was a change in an attitude towards money which went from not minding too much about losing to not really minding at all; to the point where a casual, couldn't-care-less attitude about losing totally took over me. Then, as the money kept going south and I kept believing I would win it back soon enough, I actually started to get a bit cocky and believed that no matter what I did, I'd win it back - that's when playing too many hands and way too loose came in to my play. I'd also have sessions where I'd turn up with the idea that I'd just play safe and simply bet big when I had a big hand, having a total disregard for the dynamics at the table.

When I start The Experiment in 2013, thinking like a casual player will be right out. I know I may not play as much as I could nowadays but it will all be about reading the situation much more carefully and not turning up feeling that I have a right to just piss about cos it will all come good in the end. I now know that if I keep this cavalier attitude up it certainly won't come good, and the end will amount to yours truly paying a high price. Three words for The Experiment in 2013: Concentration, concentration, concentration.

Top 30 (Indie) Games on Steam - 5 Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous Games
We now come to the last five of those Top 30 indie games; those hard-to-categorise games that refuse to be pigeon-holed. Then again, as we shall see, these games can actually be compartmentalised - it's just that there are only a very few others of their kind that they can compete with. Here they are:

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Aztaka - It was either this, Torchlight I (or II) or Titan Quest and as the latter two are generally clones of the Diablo series, I thought I'd go with something that mixes the genre up a bit. To be honest, I've hardly played the game but from what I have played, it's one of those which I intend to get involved in when I finally get the time. It incorporates platforming and RPG elements into the Hack & Slash genre and all wrapped up in an Egyptian/Mayan type setting.

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Deathspank is another game that grew out of the Hack & Slash / Diablo phenomenon of yesteryear. The difference is that this humorous, wacky cartoon-like game oozes character and is so much more enjoyable due to its unique graphical style - which kind of unfurls like an ever-unfolding pop-up book as you explore. It really makes you appreciate the environments and has you longing to see what sort of landscape the developers throw up next. Sometimes you can get confused with how and what to use in the inventory (a few consultations with walkthroughs were needed) but apart from this the game is a blast. It comes with a great sequel (Thongs of Virtue) as well!!

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Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is really a platformer-puzzler but put in the miscellaneous section because I wasn't really thinking straight when doing my categorisations. It is very much like Unmechanical in that you control a spaceship with varying abilities in order to move away or destroy enemies and obstacles. It is also a game I've hardly played because I just haven't got round to it but is intriguing enough for me to know I'll revisit it and give it a proper run through when I get time.

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On The Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness - Episode 1 is as awkwardly titled as it is hard to categorise, but I guess you could file it under turn-based/third-person group action game. I'm usually turned off turn-based games just as much as I am by adventure games but in the case of OTRSPOD-E1, like Deathspank and Psychonauts, its environments are the most interesting to watch out of all the indie games in my Top 30 list. You control 3 characters while battling against various enemies like tin cans, clowns, mimes and the like. Yep, it's surreal in parts and, despite the incongruous use of bad language (clearly put in to appeal to the teenage market) it's a fine romp. It does take some getting used to, however, if you're new to this type of screwy game.


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Psychonauts is a third-person action game that is one of my favourite games of all time. I didn't actually purchase it through Steam originally but it's available on Steam so needs to be on this list all the same. You start the game in some sort of summer camp full of oddball and dysfunctional characters. As you explore you enter various worlds where the game takes on a kind of trippy platform-puzzler type of form. Each world has its own uniquely bizarre environment with the level designs being nothing short of genius. The game pulls you in while casting a magical spell over you and the "wow factor", for me, was through the roof. An absolute mind-blast of a game!!

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Honourable Mentions:

Amnesia - Scarey first person sneak 'em up.

Aquaria - Top-down, under-water exploration game.

Botanicular - Weird adventure game that has no talking and no text - jury still out on this one.

Magicka - Hack & Slash dungeon crawl game - jury also still out (aint had time to play it).

On The Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness - Ep 2 - Sequel to above.

Puzzle Dimension - 3D puzzler where the platform can be turned 360 degrees. Looks too hard for this reviewer.

Quantum Conundrum - First-person, Portal- like action game. Good, up to the point where you realise puzzles are all the same based around a theme.

Roboblitz - Platformer game, like Mr Robot, where you control a robot around some sort of research centre in outer space.

Waveform - Control a line while attempting to make it connect with dots as you travel from left to right. 
 

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...And that's it! I hope you enjoyed my little journey through the best games on Steam; maybe you might even try one yourself! I'll leave you with a final list of good, non-Indie games that are available on Steam and which fall under three different categories not covered by the above. (No FPS, turn-based or adventure games here.)

Role Playing Games 

Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion

Risen 

The Witcher

Driving Games

Blur

Burnout Paradise

Flatout: Ultimate Carnage

Trackmania

Real-Time Strategy

Age of Empires III

Age of Empires Online

Command & Conquer 3

Company of Heroes

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...And now I'm really all done; all on record, all done and dusted on the Steam game front. 

Until next time...

Uncle Wobble.

Top 30 (Indie) Games On Steam - 5 Precision Platformers

Precision Platformer
Platformers come in all sorts of varieties but can generally be boiled down to three main types: (1) The Platform Puzzler - where you move around various platforms solving puzzles. (2) The Platform Shooter - where you move around various platforms while wildly shooting things and (3) The Precision Platformer - where you move around various platforms and complete a goal in the quickest time. It is to the latter variety we now turn.

Precision Platformers are obviously very closely related to the Platform Puzzler and indeed, if you just want to go ahead and clear levels without concerning yourself with the time-factor, they are almost exactly the same (although a tad more basic)! But good Precision Platformers make you really want to complete levels in the best time. The main mechanic to make the player want to do this comes in the form of a carrot on a stick variety - whereby you are either awarded different medals according to your ability and/or shown a high-score chart that makes you want to constantly improve and to beat other players online. For this reason, Precision Platformers can be both the most addictive and most frustrating type of game, taking you to the brink of madness and having you pull your own hair out in big clumps.

Here's the Top 5 on Steam:

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Adventures of Shuggy is an extremely inventive precision platformer that is heavily weighted towards solving fantastic puzzles and certainly gives the "wow" factor when completing the first world of levels. (I'm on the second world now.) You control a vampire-cat like thing around screens of well designed levels that challenge your logical thinking skills. Each level has its own unique gameplay mechanic giving it huge variety and meaning that you really don't feel you have to go back and beat old times because you're more intrigued by what type of twist to the gameplay will occur next.

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Nimbus  is one of those underrated platformer games that is beautifully crafted and a joy to play. You control a spaceship that's propelled by momentum given to you not only in the form of gravity but by various contraptions located around the landscape. These come in all sorts of varieties such as: cannons, springy trampolines, wind tunnels and arrows that jet propel you... etc etc. Completing levels in the best time is all about experimenting with trajectory, what angle you take corners at and lots of trial and error - all fun and absorbing stuff. Restarting a level is immediate and done in a blink of an eye so there's no annoying load screens to contend with. Times are recorded to one-thousandth of a second and to follow your progress and development times are recorded on leaderboards.

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Storm In A Teacup is a very cutesy, straightforward, side-scrolling platformer whose main strength is its simplicity, childlike but stylish artwork and basic gameplay design. You control a teacup, with a fuzzy head poking out, while floating around a landscape collecting sugar lumps and bonus stickers.You get awards for: (1) Collecting all the cubes; (2) Not dying and (3) Picking up the hard-to-get-at sticker. With a huge variety of obstacles consisting of swinging platforms, spikes, lava, evil clouds...etc etc, the game is dynamic enough to keep you coming back for more. The main thing to master in this game is the skill to float (while manipulating the energy bar effectively) which involves rapidly tapping the space bar. One word of warning: the sugary sweet music will drive you slowly insane - you have the option to turn it off.

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Super Meat Boy is the cult-classic of the group and the one with the subsequent runaway success. Graphically, it's blocky, pixelated and looks like it had the least amount of time spent on programming and developing it. However, once you start getting involved and completing its levels, it kind of sucks you in and grabs you so that you find it hard to let go. It does this by being super-quick and slick in all sorts of ways. Its menu screens guide you through the game seamlessly so that you're never left hanging about, levels can be restarted immediately with no load screens - and it makes you think that you can really beat this bleedin' level if only you could just... and that'll be its addictive hook, pulling you in. All this by just controlling a red hunk of meat around fairly plain landscapes!

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Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack is the game that I wanted Gish to be. In that game, you have five lives but have to restart the entire game from the beginning when you lose those lives; meaning it's all repeat, repeat, repeat - a good enough game, made boring by a stupid, game-breaker mechanic. Enter the fresh, vibrant and colourful Mutant Blobs Attack! True, many elements have been stolen from Gish but it has so much more variety and twists and turns that it makes this little number so much more dynamic and so many times better! Once you have completed a level, it unlocks it so that you can go back to redo it for a better time or score (Why didn't Gish have this!!??). The leaderboard is done really well and really makes you want to go back to shave a few more seconds off your time. All good!

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Honourable Mentions:  

Bit. Trip Runner - More of a "rhythm game" where a little 8-bit man runs along from left to right and must either jump, slide, kick or spring when arriving at certain obstacles. Fast, furious and difficult.

Dustforce - The next generation up from Super Meat Boy but with added gameplay mechanics that makes it far too difficult for this reviewer.

Hamilton's Great Adventure - With an Indiana Jones theme and blurring the boundary between "puzzler" and "precisioner", you control an adventurer who needs to exit to a portal while walking a path full of traps and crumbling surfaces. A very good game that just missed a Top 5 place on this AND the Platform Puzzler section.

Offspring Fling - The poor boy's Super Meat Boy programmed with an 8-bit configuration.

Pixeljunk Eden - One of those arty/ambient type games more for relaxation and for whiling away a few lazy minutes. Control a little worm-type creature by leaping around and flying through the air while watching flowers bloom and glow.

Rayman Origins - Not an Indie game but a kick-ass platformer, available on Steam, that just has to be given a mention here due to its fantastic gameplay. It's fast, furious and full of surprises.

Sonic Generation - Not an Indie game but a half-decent platformer available on Steam anyway. Not really my cup of tea but a popular classic so given a mention here.

Wik and the Fable of Souls - No longer available on Steam but a finely done platformer set to a fairy-story theme. Watch the little goblin type fella swing around on trees and platforms with his tongue! Collect bugs and spit them out to feed the monster before he reaches the end of the screen.

Kona's Crate - A lunar-lander type game where you power a crate through jet propulsion while guiding it carefully around obstacles and bringing it to the chief. Not on Steam but available through Gamer's Gate.
    

     

Turning Into A Nerd - The Top 24

Well, here I am stuck at Nerdsville Central and I don't see any sign of a departing train coming any time soon! Steam games and TV shows!? I really should get out more!! But while I'm here, I may as well post my final list of those top 24 shows that I intend to review. With just two more posts to make on the Top 30 Steam games, it really will be time to move away from all these lists, it's getting ridiculous.

Top 24 TV Series 

(Based on researching reviews, TV & film websites, Amazon, Imdb, TV.com etc 

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And that's yer lot. I know you won't give a toss but, for the record, I'm going to write a list of how it's all panning out:

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Cracker - The Complete Collection

This box set, along with The Sopranos collection, was purchased well before I had the crazy idea of watching and reviewing 24 of the top critically acclaimed TV series of the last twenty years. And as I have just finished watching the last episode of Season #3, it is the next in the line up for a review. Unfortunately, as I watched the bulk of this collection many months ago, it is not exactly fresh in the memory so I may well miss out crucial elements - but that's just the way of the world.  (I've also watched all episodes of every season of The Sopranos - but that series needs to be given full justice and may well be worthy of a repeat viewing for the sake of completing a fresher and better quality review.)

Anyway, let's stop whittering on and get on with it...

First the boring maths bit...

This box set contains the three seasons of Cracker. Each season consists of three episodes which makes nine episodes in total. However, two more stand-alone episodes were commissioned after the 3rd season ended meaning there are 11 episodes in this box set. An episode length varies because some were first broadcast in two installments over two weeks while some were of the three installment variety. Each installment was scheduled a one-hour slot but, with adverts and breaks, each one amounted to about 50 minutes in length. This made a full episode either a 100 minute affair or a mammoth 150 minuter. It does pay to know which type you're settling into because if you watch late at night and want to watch in the one sitting those two and a half hour episodes can really challenge your stamina to stay awake. (Not that they're dull mind you.) To confuse matters, the last two "special" episodes were shown in just one installment and were each about 100 minutes in length.

Just like Sherlock, the show itself is a "crime of the week" type affair which has the inept police befuddled and confused and totally unable to make head or tail of how the hell to proceed with a line of enquiry. Enter the huge, roly-poly figure of the great criminal psychologist, Fitz. Very much like a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, our Fitz (played by Robbie Coltrane) has deductive and reasoning skills well beyond the mere mortals he has to work with. Both Holmes and Fitz are experts at deducing facts from studying a crime scene and both have supreme psychological profiling abilities but the main difference between the character of Sherlock and Fitz is that rather than focusing on the reading  of people by studying their appearance and what they wear, the emphasis on the latter character is his interrogation of suspects when brought in for questioning. In this respect, it makes Cracker more grounded in realism and a lot more believable (but, as we shall see later, no less ridiculously melodramatic).

Fitzy-babes will stop at nothing to get the truth out of his suspects and when a suspect is finally hauled in, his interrogation techniques can make for uncomfortable viewing. As he tries to tap into the other person's weaknesses and as they are often accused of serious crimes such as murder and sex offences, taboos involving family members and sexual relations with various partners are explored resulting in conversations that often seem downright perverse. However, as we're all aware that it's part of the process for getting a confession, it is a necessary evil.

This brings me to the actual character of Fitz. Now as a struggling poker player but also as someone who likes to think he can read other people in different ways, I was drawn to Cracker not only because of the psychological element to it, and how the protagonist attacks weaknesses, but also because in the promo material he is said to have a few weaknesses of his own that I could relate to. Being a "drunken excuse for a husband", a "lousy father" and a "gambling washout" may not quite be the terms in which I like to describe myself but I can, at least partly, identify with such things.

It was his penchant for gambling that I was mainly interested in because how, I thought, could such a "brilliant pychologist" - who can reason so well and understand so many principles - throw away and lose so much money at gambling? Surely, I reasoned, with such an aptitude for psychology he could not only avoid the casino games (where you're guaranteed to lose at, long-term) and move over to poker which gives the edge to, and generally rewards, the more skilled? This would also mean he could interact more socially with others AND engage in his put-downs when he tires of the ineptitude or incompetence of others around him (another trait shared with the character of Sherlock). But then, of course, there was the episode where he attends a gamblers' anonymous session where we see for ourselves the reason why he puts roulette above poker - he's one of those self-destructive type of gamblers who just love the buzz, quick thrill and rush of winning and wants that feeling again and again. And that's a strong addiction.

Of course there are other characters who appear throughout all the seasons as well and these are family and close friends who mean a lot to Cracker and who have a bearing on how he conducts his life. However, after Episode 4 "To Be A Somebody" which is the best episode in my opinion, these people in his life start to become so heavily embroiled in the cases he is involved in that it pushes the credibility boundary a little too far. By the time we get to the end of Season #2 in "Men Should Weep" they throw everything including the kitchen sink at us! The beginning of Season #3 doesn't let up as the drama is laid on with such an enormous trowel and to such overly melodramatic proportions that realism goes out the window (or off the edge of a building if you will) - there are just TOO many dramatic events coming at us TOO fast and furious. In retrospect, this may have had something to do with the fact that the series was shown in installments and so needed plenty off cliffhangers to keep the audience coming back, but having all this going on in one episode in its entirety is a bit much.

On the subject of drama, characters and friendship I was watching a documentary the other day on the history of the displaying of emotions through the ages. What struck a chord here was the idea that those who go overboard with their emotions on a regular basis tend, in some respects, to be more shallow than their more reserved counterparts who keep their emotions in check and who are more grounded. The logic behind it being that when the latter truly display outward feelings of emotion, they are somehow shown to be more genuine.

Now there was obviously more to it than that but, to me, this sort of logic helps to explain why Sherlock has the edge over Cracker when it comes to quality and depth. While Fitz has plenty of family and friends in his life to care about and to interact with, the choice of the writers to involve them so much means the drama and emotions run high - far too high. Sherlock, by his own admission has no friends at all and his relationship with his brother is stone cold to say the least. This means that, given Sherlock's situation and ability to detach himself from others, when he does have to make difficult decisions involving the lives of others - the situation comes across more genuinely and with more intensity and depth. So, yes, Cracker is a cracker for those who love their melodrama nice and thick like a rich cream cake but head for Sherlock for depth, sophistication and more class.


13
20   (FINE)

Sherlock - Season #1 + #2

Unlike the more ambitious and big budget TV series' that are coming out of the US by storm these days, UK based efforts are modest affairs. One area in which the UK is left way behind by comparison is in the amount of episodes churned out per season. Blockbusting US titles can typically number around 12-24 movie-quality episodes per season whereas we with a tighter budget can usually muster up about 6, if we're lucky. With Sherlock we get three! Thankfully, if you want to give this series a whirl right now, you can at least get two seasons worth - and that means six; six 90 minute episodes that really do a good job in grabbing you by the balls.

Sherlock Holmes, as we all know from Arthur Conan Doyle, loves to solve crimes and the makers of Sherlock have made their eponymous hero no different. In fact, if he is not able to engage in this particular activity for a lengthy time, he starts to go a bit mental. Episodes are given the same titles that were given to the Conan Doyle stories but are given an up-to-date twist and all take place (with the exception of "Hound of the Baskervilles")  in good ol' London town. In addition he's placed right in the 21st century with modern technology to boot.

Menu screens and episodes are all wrapped up with an appropriately anthemic and sweeping soundtrack giving you that sense of anticipation that you're going to be watching something special and it's a catchy enough tune that you'll be humming it often.

Each episode involves a "crime of the week" type scenario which is too tricky for mere police to handle but not so for the supremely brilliant Sherlock whose keen powers of observation and deduction go beyond the super-human. This man can stare at a person or a corpse for just a few moments and then state virtually all of the pertinent facts about them in the blinking of an eye; rattling off the details like a man possessed. Simple clues like hairs on trousers, stains on the clothes, scratches on a phone or marks on the shoes or an item of jewelry are enough to inform him of such details as the person's exact whereabouts for the last 48 hours, what issues they have with rival siblings, who was looking at them on the train or where they went on holiday. This skill was well executed and proved an impressive party-trick at first but the novelty does start to appear contrived after the seventh or eighth time and does start to wear thin - although it's still interesting to follow.

Benedict Cumberbatch, then, does a fine job as the enigmatic Holmes and his machine-gun dialogue and quick-fire wit gets rattled off as smooth and as crisp as a cold bar of chocolate out of the fridge on a summer's day. But that's not to say that the sun permanently shines with such glistening radiance out of his bulbous proverbial. He is also a flawed character in that his passion for solving crimes and his driven attitude means that he has no time to form friendships; even John Watson, who he recruits as a room-mate, is seen more as an acquaintance and a sort of helper than a friend. Also, you can't help notice his immense arrogance, and it's his faith in his intellectual superiority that he has over everyone (with the possible exception of Moriarty) that makes him feel the need to utter put-downs at every opportunity. Still, these qualities, although negative, help to fill out the character of Sherlock and actually add to our appreciation of who he is and what he's about.And of course make us keep watching and coming back for more.

The pacing of the show is fast and gallops along at a quick tempo. Consequently there is no filler and the action never seems to drag like it can do in the epic that is Lost. As mentioned it's the crisp dialogue that partly accounts for this but the tight plot lines and the fact that every scene is germane also explains why the adventures are gripping. There are six stories to get your teeth into, all hinting at the ever-present spirit of Moriarty who seems to be responsible behind all the evil goings-on. The part of Moriarty himself (played by Andrew Scott) is hammed-up to extremes with the intonation in his voice going haywire to reflect his insanity but I guess an arch-nemesis of such caliber has to be played in such a wacky way.  Of all the episodes, I'd say only the second episode of the first season ("The Blind Banker") falls short of the high quality of the rest.

Martin Freeman (as Watson), Una Stubbs (as the landlady, Ms Hudson) and Mark Gatiss (as the brother, Mycroft Holmes) all put on stellar performances but it's the straight-faced performance of Gatiss that is a stand out for me.

16
20  (VERY GOOD)

Seven More To Consider...

Soon to follow will be my third review of a TV series that I have decided to explore out of a list of twenty that I mentioned on the blog 3 weeks ago. Quality TV has pretty much past me by over the last twenty years so over the summer I bought myself a new TV along with a library of DVD and blu-ray discs with the intention of catching up on what I've missed all this time. Seven more have come to light whilst researching and while I probably won't be buying all of these, I will likely add a few more from these seven making it a list of about 24 or so. I put them here just for the record...

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1. Boardwalk Empire (Ongoing)

2. Prison Break (4 Seasons produced - will just buy Season #1 for starters)

3. Homeland (Ongoing)

4. The Shield (7 Seasons produced - will probably buy the whole collection)

5. Sons of Anarchy  (4 Seasons produced - will likely buy whole collection on blu-ray)

6. The X-Files (9 Seasons produced - undecided)

7. Firefly (1 Season of an unfinished production - undecided)

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Next up on my televisual feast of entertainment was a little BBC produced number that goes by the name of Sherlock. This is just one of three UK based productions that has edged its way into my Top 20 list. The rest hail from the US where, nowadays, they do TV a lot better. As I have just finished watching the 6th and final episode of the two seasons, I'll be reviewing this next. 

Anyway, I'm too tired to write this now (11:30PM and work tomorrow) so I'll bid you adieu until next time. Ta ta for now...

Uncle Wobble.

Top 30 (Indie) Games On Steam - 5 Shoot & Blast Games

Shoot & Blast
In the good ol' days of the 1970s and early 1980s, before the age of consoles and home computers, if a kid wanted to play a video-game he'd have to head on over to an amusement arcade and put 10p in a slot and stand at a machine. For this he'd usually get about three or four minutes of entertainment or one minute if it was something like Defender, Tempest, Robotron or Centipede. Most would come to be known as "shoot 'em ups". The concept was simple: control a blob, with pixels the size of ball-bearings, around a screen and shoot any other thing that moved.

They were fun, while they lasted, and were based around the concept that most people enjoy firing at things and watching them explode. Nowadays, of course, when you think of a "shoot 'em up" video game they normally come in first-person variety hence the term "First Person Shoot Em Ups" or "FPS" for short. These can be fun (No One Lives Forever, Medal of Honour and Bioshock were just a few of my favourites) but when you get to a certain age they become repetitive and can just make you feel a tad queasy.(I can't play a FPS now for longer than 15 minutes before I start to feel sick - and much prefer the third person variety!) Luckily for me, the pleasure received while playing the old-fashioned variety of shoot 'em up games never gets old and my innate urge to shoot and destroy can still be satiated with this older variety (hence my term "Shoot and Blast" games).

Here are my Top 5 indie "Shoot & Blast" games that are available from Steam:

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Alien Zombie Megadeath is an absorbing shooter that has some of the most satisfying sounds and explosions you can wish for in a blast 'em up game. Your character, dressed in a space-suit and jumping around between five or six platforms, attempts to survive various waves of aliens by shooting at them with his laser gun. Improvements to this weapon come in the form of power-ups which you gain by just coming into contact with the necessary icon. The difficulty rises at just the right pitch.

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Everyday Shooter is an artsy version of your classic "twin-stick" shoot 'em up game. ("Twin Stick" meaning you move with the WASD keys and fire with the arrow keys.) There are only 8 levels but each one has its own type of mechanic which forces you to play each level slightly differently giving the gameplay experience more variety. The other USP of the game lies in the sound whereby explosions are highlighted by musical accompaniment - usually in the form of guitar chords. This, again, gives a unique feeling to the gaming experience.

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Geometry Wars is the grand-daddy of them all. This is the one that you'll keep coming back to again and again. With this classic twin-stick game, you guide a strange crescent-shaped object inside the screen while avoiding your attackers that come in the form of different shapes and colours. Each shape, or enemy, has their own certain way of moving and you have to anticipate this as you go around blasting them with laser fire - which gets more powerful as you progress. The wild explosions create a kaleidoscopic firework display on your screen which is so hypnotising that you'll want to attempt to beat your Top 10 scores again and again and again. As the difficulty increases the action gets more wild and frenetic. Definitely the most addictive of the bunch.

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Shoot Many Robots, with its hillbilly and deep-south feel is a platform shoot 'em up game with a side-scrolling element to it that has you travel from left to right to complete levels. As you go you obliterate robots in their droves with your guns that can be equipped and upgraded when you finish those levels; giving the game a basic RPG feel. SMRs is not really a deep game but totally nuts. Yeh, you collect nuts as you go along and use these as the currency to upgrade those weapons and your clothing- other than this, you shoot many many many robots. Good for a 30 minute blast.

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Zuma's Revenge, the sequel to Zuma's Deluxe, has a winning formula that has been copied, adapted and tinkered around with by other gaming companies for years. You control a frog that is positioned in a fixed place but which revolves around an axis. A ball of a certain colour appears in its mouth and it's your job to fire it at another ball of the same colour which is part of a chain of balls heading along a path towards a hole. Match three of the same colour and all balls of that colour in that link explode, thus making the whole chain shorter and easing your task which is not to allow the chain to reach the hole. Wipe out the chain and it's onto the next level. Fun, simple and addictive.

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Honourable Mentions

Mutant Storm Reloaded is another twin-stick shooter that consists of short, 30-40 second levels or "rooms" which you plough through by destroying the aliens inside. There are about 96 levels to get through and each one has 7 difficulty levels represented by different colour belts, from white (easiest) to black (hardest).

Titan Attacks is an extremely simple Space Invader type game that just has you blasting at a screen aliens before moving you onto increasingly more difficult screens. After each screen you're given the option to upgrade your ship in different ways. The point is to get as far as you can and beat your high-score. Fun and addictive.

Inferno is by a fine company called RadianGames who have produced a fine stable of quality shoot 'em up games but which are sadly unavailable on Steam. This one has you negotiating levels of increasing difficulty where you blast away at various blobs and upgrade your ship at "shops" along the way. You can purchase this, and other RadianGames, at Gamer's Gate.

Super Crossfire also hails from RadianGames and is also unavailable on Steam. This Space Invader type game has the same type of gameplay mechanic as Titan Attacks but is just that little bit more faster-paced and frenetic. All RadianGames have excellent, pumping soundtracks and when played loud they really get you buzzing!    

Lost - Season #1

A guy wakes up from an unconscious state. He's a bit battered and bruised but manages to slowly rise to his feet. He's in unfamiliar surroundings but it's a tropical forest or wood of some kind. An urge propels him forwards and he arrives on a beach to be confronted by the wreckage of a plane and the aftermath of the crash. People are running around hysterically. Being a doctor, Jack (for that is the man's name) runs around frantically helping the injured. Thus begins the 25 episode (Season 1) saga of the 48 survivors of the Oceanic Airline flight 815 from Sydney to Los Angeles.

I must confess resisting having anything to do with the Lost series at first, for a number of reasons: (1) The idea of having survivors stranded on a desert island just seemed lame not to say cliched and something that had been done to death in many various forms and guises already. (2) The premise seemed flawed and ridiculous: 48 survivors being stranded on a huge island and not being rescued just wouldn't happen in the 21st century. (3) The fact that the series was ridiculed for having its actors look like fully made-up models put me off.

However, after researching which TV series' from the last 15 years would make a good Top 20 list, not only did Lost crop up as a major contender but quite a few acquaintances were recommending it to me with hard-to-resist regularity. Furthermore, after perusing review sites and various forums and the like, many people were quite adamant that it was the best TV series to own on blu-ray (the beautiful Hawaiian backdrop being the main clincher here) so I took the plunge and purchased the entire 6-season blu-ray collection. Before we go any further, I have to say I was not disappointed with the fantastic picture quality and would definitely chime in with those who sing the praises of the blu-ray option. (At the time of writing, with the blu-ray boxed set coming in at just £60, as opposed to the £50 of the DVD boxed set, going blu-ray is a no-brainer.)  But enough of the preamble. Is the show actually any good?


Well, all in all, I have to say that Lost ends up being a bit of a mixed bag. First off, though, I am happy to say that I was able to put all my prejudices to one side regarding the cliched and unlikely premise. Yes, the stranded on an island theme has been done to death since Robinson Crusoe and, yes, 21st century technology would have meant they'd be located and rescued within days - but all that becomes secondary and unimportant as we get pulled into the characters' histories and back-stories along with what on earth is going on, on the island. We are, in other words, fully able to suspend are disbelief and get fully involved with the story. Another way that Lost is able to do this is with its use of intense cliffhangers during, and at the end of, each episode. It is definitely one of those shows that will have you wondering how things "fit" and mulling over the significance of past events long after you've switched the TV off.

This high "tease-factor", then, is certainly one of the show's strengths but at times can be taken to extreme lengths when a very long period of time can pass without all the permutations behind certain dramatic events get resolved. Of course suspense is a good thing but for some viewers being kept in the dark for so long might prove a little frustrating and may even have you feeling a bit cheated.

The absurdity of not being rescued then, is obscured or hidden effectively by the intense adventures the survivors have on the island along with the flashbacks of the lives of 14 of the 48 survivors. All of the stories, of course, involve high drama with pretty much every dramatic scenario you can think of being covered (Spoiler alert): we have a fugitive on the run after murdering someone and robbing a bank; we have a con-man who, when a young boy, was in the house when his mother was murdered by her lover and in the same room when the murderer shot himself; we have a wheelchair bound guy who can miraculously walk after the crash; there's the doctor who ratted on his dad after he botched an operation while drunk; there is the cursed lottery winner whose numbers prove very significant; the Republican guard who falls in love with the woman he's supposed to torture; there are prophecies of doom involving an unborn child; drug abuse; a brother and sister falling in love with each other... and the list goes on. (End of spoiler alert)  

The stories themselves do give the viewer a wider context of events and the show would certainly be dull without them (or would have to be less than half the length) but they do sometimes drag... and this brings me to my main criticism regarding the plot. The pacing of Lost can drag a little in parts; not only within the stories but also with events on the island as well - and I did find myself frustratingly uttering "just get on with it" on a few occasions. I inwardly groaned with the scenes involving the raft at the end (especially the tedious launch and setting off) which was obviously filler and bored me to tears. I'm happy to say though that, while sluggish on occasions, there was plenty to keep me thinking and it was not really a deal-breaker.

My other, minor, gripe would be with the way the characters would often be far too ready to jump to conclusions when things went wrong. A typical reaction, when anything untoward happened, would often be to apportion blame and to act aggressively and belligerently towards the assumed guilty party. This would obviously create conflict and animosity - an ingredient, of course, that a good drama should have - but it just seemed to be laid on far too thick and edging it too close to soap-opera territory for my liking. Some even ended up looking a bit out of character. (Spoiler alert) One stand-out example of this would be how John Locke is treated after carrying the fatally injured Boone back to camp after being barely able to walk himself. True, he does omit a slight detail when giving an account of how Boone sustained the injuries - but he did do everything he could to save Boone. For this, he's thoroughly despised by the usually logical-thinking Jack and almost killed by the thoroughly loathsome Shannon. (End of spoiler alert.)      

The acting and the characters, like my overall impression of the show, were a mixed bag. It's probably best to do a run-down. My opinions are based on what I have seen of Season #1. (Images are from Wikipedia)...

Jack Shephard

Jack Shepherd is the doctor of the group and takes the role of the leader. He's a caring, likeable character and has everyone's best interest at heart. His acting style is agreeable and he does a good all-round job.  

 

Kate Austen

Kate is a very pro-active character who likes to get involved with all the goings-on. She has a dark past and is a very devious character. I don't really like her very much; she often puts on facial expressions that suggest she's caring and understanding but her flashbacks show that she is out to use people for her own personal interest and she has done nothing that warrants sympathy.

 James "Sawyer" Ford

This is the alpha-male of the group who likes to show off his abs at any opportunity. The audience are obviously supposed to dislike this character because he loots from dead bodies, hoards and withholds vital supplies and is entirely motivated by self-interest. He's smug, smarmy and uncooperative. I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds his scowl annoying.

John Locke

The enigmatic, intriguing and paradoxical  John Locke is by far the most interesting character of the bunch. He is from a very humble background yet is transformed by the island into a hunting and tracking machine with the wisdom of Socrates to boot. His bass-like voice brings a calm and logic to the proceedings and I like the fact that he is a bit of an outsider doing his own thing. I like his acting also.

 Sayid Jarrah  

Being the scientist/technician of the group, Sayid has a prominent role to play. The problem is, I just find him as dull as dishwater. His flashbacks, involving his love for a captured enemy, were similarly dreary and I just don't think he brings much to the table. His voice is monotone and he has a boring emotionless face. 

Charlie Pace

It's quite hard to dislike Charlie I suppose, the front-man of the group of the dubiously named Driveshaft, albeit with his penchant for heroin and brief dalliance into ripping off rich young ladies of their father's prized possessions. His obsession with protecting Claire is quite endearing and check out the intonation in his raised voice when he gets excited and emotional.

Claire Littleton

Although pregnant for most of Season 1 and conspicuous by her absence during her kidnapping, Claire seemed to be a sidelined character who didn't really do very much. Other than being "the pregnant and kidnapped one" there really isn't much else to say. Her flashbacks had intrigue for sure but a fortune-teller prophesying doom and gloom is a bit old-hat.

Hugo "Hurley" Reyes 

The lumbering Hurley is my favourite character of the show by far. How can you not get a kick out of that absurd haircut and chubby face? This guy supplies most of the comic relief in the season (I know - stereotype the fat guy) but his resigned looks and his exchanges with Leslie Arzt up at the black rock are classic, TV gold.

Michael Dawson  and Walt Lloyd
Michael and Walt are father and son but their relationship is under strain due to bonding issues as a result of being separated for some nine years. It's hard to sympathise with Michael at times because he treats his son harshly and is a bit dictatorial. Malcolm David Kelley does a sound job as the pushed-around kid.  

Boone Carlyle and Shannon Rutherford
With major issues, this brother and sister partnership is not what it seems on the surface. Boone is a bit too belligerent for my taste and a tad too model-like and posy but I like his loyalty to Locke while the very plain looking Shannon has to be the most loathsome individual on the island. Totally unlikeable.

Jin-Soo Kwon and Sun-Hwa Kwon
This husband and wife couple are vaguely interesting but the lingering scenes they're involved in don't really do them any favours in making the audience warm to them in my opinion. Jin develops well as a character and starts to smile more as the season unfolds but Sun always seems to have a blank, serious expression making her a bit dull.

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As it stands, with its twists, turns and cliffhanger moments, I'll be looking forward to firing up Season #2 of Lost. However, I'll be hoping for less soap-opera type confrontations and less of the long and lingering sections that are filler and slow the pace down.

16
20      (VERY GOOD)

Top 30 (Indie) Games On Steam - 5 Tower Defense Games

Tower Defense

The premise behind TD games is simple: you have a battleground or map and place a variety of towers at strategic points. You then watch, while you collect more resources and build more towers, as waves of creeps slowly follow a path to your base and get satisfyingly crushed, fried and obliterated by your arsenal. Kill them off before they get to your base and it's happy days; fail and your base is toast.

A lot of people hate tower defense games because they feel it is a passive form of gaming. "You just place things down and sit back" they might say or "You don't even get to move and control the firing". This is true, in a sense, but - if it's done well - there is great pleasure to be had in deducing which area is the best to place towers or which variety should be used to get the job done most efficiently.

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Defense Grid is the tower defense game that all others are measured by or, if not, certainly should be. If you only get one TD game ever, then make sure it's this one. Starting with very basic and simple maps, along with straightforward first tier towers, you get to play about 16 levels as part of the main game which is great fun in itself. What adds to the more-ishness of it all, is the experimental nature of re-doing the levels in an effort to win higher medals - where you learn the mechanics of the game at a deeper level. With smooth controls, decent user-interface and a superb zoom-in feature, frying creeps in a TD game gets no more fun and absorbing as this!

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Fieldrunners (with its cartoon-like presentation and humourous character animations) along with iBomber Defense, is a very simple tower defense game that quickly becomes super-addictive once you start exploring its layers and completing levels. It presents you with just 8 fairly open maps but these are different and dynamic enough to offer a good set of varying challenges. With each having three levels of difficulty, along with each consisting of 100 waves of creeps, there is plenty of stats to view and improvements to make to keep you busy. Like all good TD games, it has you learning, experimenting and then progressing through the game as you find more efficient ways of clearing the maps.

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iBomber Defense is another very simple and straightforward TD game that is highly addictive once it draws you in. It comes loaded with a campaign of about 20 maps - plus the option of completing each one in an effort to win 3 different medals for three different reasons. The World War II theme is the order of the day and the creeps, that come in the form of infantry, armoured cars, tanks and planes, will have you building machine guns at first followed by heavy anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft missile towers. The creeps come at you in a more path-driven manner than Fieldrunners but the slow obliteration of your enemies is equally satisfying. Its sequel iBomber Pacific is also recommended.

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Orcs Must Die is a TD game, set in a dungeon, for those who prefer their action a bit more mad and frantic. In fact, with the player commanding a character in 3rd person view who can run around the map clobbering and destroying the creeps himself, this is closer to a third-person shoot 'em up than a TD game. It means your character has to be at the location where you want the traps and gadgets to go rather than you being given the freedom to place the towers wherever you want while looking at an overview or plan view of the entire map. Different gameplay, therefore (along the lines of Sanctum, Dungeon Defenders and Iron Brigade) but a blast nonetheless.

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Plants Vs Zombies is your first step into the world of tower defense games; your starter pack, as it were. Its cartoon-like graphics and child-like themes may make you hesitate but it is a very popular critically acclaimed little number that shines clear and bright - and for very good reason. Your battleground is your front lawn, your "towers" are pretty little flowers and your enemies are zombies that are trying to break into your house! You simply line up your plants along the left hand side of the screen (or lawn) as the zombies of varying kinds enter slowly and approach from the right. It may be a tad on the easy side but as an introduction to tower defense games it's fun fun fun all the way!

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Honourable Mentions:

To a lot of gamers, tower defense games are ten-a-penny these days and hardly worth bothering with; of those that do play them, they might be played with for a short while, as a small diversion, but will be soon rejected in favour of something more "exciting." However, a few of us love 'em and can't get enough of 'em. For those who might like to explore further, here are a few recommendations:

Anomaly Warzone Earth is a TD game in reverse where you control the creeps and destroy the buildings and towers. Very good, up to a point (level 14 of 16) when it becomes too heavy going.

Atom Zombie Smasher - Played on a very basic map of the streets where you rescue yellow dots form the pink dots.

Dungeon Defenders - A very popular TD game much like Orcs Must Die but deeper gameplay with RPG elements.

iBomber Defense Pacific - The sequel to iBomber Defense. A must have if you liked the first game.

Orc Must Die 2 - The sequel to Orcs Must Die. A must have if you liked the first game.

Sanctum - Less a personal recommendation (you join the battleground as a character in first-person mode and this makes me queasy) but recommended based on its popularity with the Steam community.

Shad'O - A bizarre but very enjoyable TD game revolving around the theme of dreams and memories. Unfortunately crashes and freezes my computer at Level 10 :-(

Sol Survivor - An inferior but playable alternative to Defense Grid.

Unstoppable Gorg - Defend your base in outer space by moving towers around on concentric circles; all to a theme of bad 1950s "B" movies.

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