Top Five Game Sounds #5

Game soundtracks get a fair bit of attention. Not as much attention as female samurais in bikinis, granted, but they get their fair share of the limelight. The humble sound effect, on the other hand, rarely gets a mention. Which is why I've decided to dedicate some of my blogging space to my top five game sounds - sounds that have stuck in my head for days, sounds that freak me out and iconic sounds that remind me how great gaming is. Here's number 5...

Game: Gears of War
Sound created by: The Ticker
Sound: More of a click, click, click, than a tick, tick, tick.

Whenever I hear that click, click, click, my anxiety levels go through the roof. In fact, just the thought of the sound of the click, click, click, makes me freak out substantially. Which is weird, because I actually find tickers quite cute. Right before they run at me with a ticking bomb.

So, what would you have in your top five game sounds? Feel free to comment... I'll be posting the rest of the countdown over the next few days...

What do you buy the gamer who has everything?

I stumbled across something amazing in GameStation the other day. And it wasn’t a game. Or another girl gamer. It was this…

A cartoonified figurine of 'Gears of War' Marcus. Amazing because most of the time the only game-related merchandise I’ve been able to find on the high street is a Sonic the Hedgehog soft toy or a Space Invaders t-shirt (size XXXL).

I have no idea why it’s so hard to find cool gaming memorabilia in shops. The rest of the retail world seems to have cottoned onto the fact that people will buy all kinds of tat related to their hobby/interest. I would buy a LOT of gaming-related bits and bobs if they were staring me in the face when I got to the checkout. Marcus (above) was staring at me very angrily, but I still bought him. Predictably, Marcus was the last of his kind at my local GameStation, and they didn't know if they were getting more in.

If game shops stocked more than just games, it would also make it so much easier to buy gifts for gamers. Especially for this poor woman I overheard in Game the other day as she desperately tried to buy a game for her son:

Shop Assistant: Are you looking for PS3 or 360 games?

Shopper: Erm... the ones with the green boxes. Yes, the ones for the xbox three hundred and sixty.

So, what do you buy the gamer who has everything? The answer should be - a representation of their favourite game character. If only game stores would start stocking them...