Games: Joysticks at the ready for charity gaming marathon

Scotland’s biggest charity gaming marathon kicks off tomorrow, as reported by the Evening News this week.

More than 60 gamers have signed up for Sick Kids Save Point, and will be doing their 24 hour marathons over the course of the weekend. You can sponsor us at www.justgiving.com/sickkidssavepoint3, or head along to Twitch Gaming on Nicolson Street, where staff will be pulling an all-nighter. Part of your entrance fee will go toward the total raised for The Sick Kids Friends Foundation.

There will be a number of live streams and a twitter feed active on www.sickkidssavepoint.org if you want to check on the progress of the event over the weekend.

There are a couple of big new releases arriving tomorrow that will no doubt be getting some play over the weekend: Fable: The Journey (12+, Xbox360, £34.99) is the fifth game in the incredible popular Fable free-roaming fantasy series. It differs from previous titles though: the story lies outside the through line of Fables one to three, and is the first in the series to use a first person perspective. The whole adventure is controlled via the Kinect motion capture system, your horse will learn your voice commands and you can craft items and cast spells with your hands, so expect some tired arms and probably some frustrating controls at points.

A more original experience is expected from Bethesda’s Dishonoured (18+, PS3, Xbox360, PC, £39.99). The game is set in the fictional city of Dunwall, part seventeenth century London, part futuristic steampunk whaling city. You play Corvo, a supernatural assassin looking to clear his name. Providing the stealth action gameplay is solid enough, The deep, branching storyline and unique setting could make this game a surprise hit in an industry increasingly nervous of new original IPs. The cast will help: Susan Sarandon plays Granny Rags, a blind aristocrat-turned-beggar. She joins Brad Dourif, Michael Madsen, Mad Men’s John Slattery and Carrie Fisher, who provides the voice of government propaganda.

Another original title is Tilt & Sprout (N/A, iOS, £1.49) by Edinburgh company Twiddly. The player grows colourful flowers by tilting the iphone to steer the sprouts to the surface. Each new seed packet unlocks new gameplay mechanics. The fact that the gameplay uses the tilt mechanic on your phone the game is a welcome change from fiddly touchscreen controls. It is a much needed ray of sunshine when stood on a bus on a rainy day.