MONTHLY 5 - January 2026

2026 is here! And other than a nasty virus that kept me in bed for a week, it also brings the first batch of games escaping from the Collection Chamber. To keep the mood light mid-winter, the theme is music and pick of the month is a Myst-style adventure game revolving a prog-rock band called Queensrÿche's Promised Land (1996 EMI Records). There's even a bonus disc that's your more traditional interactive encyclopedia. Despite its subtitle, that's all we get for out next game, Tommy: An Interactive Adventure - Then & Now (1996 Eel Pie Publishing Ltd & Backstage Productions Aps) take's us behind the scenes of The Who's rock-opera, from album to stage musical to feature film.

If classical music is more your style, try and identify the re-jigged compositions of the classic works of Bach, Mozart and more through the iconography of Lewis Carrol's Wonderland in Alice in Music Land (1996 DS Multimedia Productions Ltd). To make your own music with the help of creepy crawlies, give SimTunes (1996 Electronic Arts & Maxis Inc) a go. Lastly, Coktel's last ever game was a mid-2000s rhythm-based mini-game collection called Kooka Bong: Crazy Monkey Party (2006 2006 Mindscape Northern Europe B.V.) is worthy of a look.

Alas, I haven't had time to return to some updates, and it looks like Top 10 Games will be a little late too (thought my mammoth Top 10 Movies rundown is up). It's just me that works on this site, but my aim is to give you as many working old classics and oddities as I can. I'll be back at the end of February to do just that!

Until then, enjoy these musical ditties by clicking on the links after the jump.

TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2025

 

 

2025 seems to be a transitional year in movies. Pundits have long-since predicted the death of the superhero genre, and while I still enjoy many of them you cannot deny their appeal is waning. In its wake are a bunch of truly interesting movies that are increasingly gaining traction with the moviegoing public. Movies like Bugonia, One Battle After Another, Marty Supreme and Sinners beat out any marvel movie if not financially, than certainly critically. It feels like the aftermath of the death of the Western in the late 60s where auteur-lead features like Bonnie and Clyde and The Godfather began to dominate. For all the doom and gloom in the real world, as well as the viability of cinemas in the age of streaming, I'm actually optimistic for the future of films. But for now, let's look back on the past as I dissect all the films I saw in 2025...

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - FULL RUNDOWN 2025

As we edge into 2026, I though I'd remind you of all of the games released during this year's epic Christmas Countdown. From a cyberpunk adventure to a spy-themed shoot, snowy mountain peaks to dreamlike hills, SkyRoads to Yellow Brick Roads, there's a breadth of games to rediscover. Enjoy!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - THE FESTIVE FINALE

It's Christmas!!!! And also the last day of the Collection Chamber Christmas Countdown 2025. It is also the last time I could possibly mark the event with a Lemmings game. I've brought together the three iterations that came out in 2006 to give you what I call Lemmings: A New Collection (2006 Team 17 & Sony Computer Entertainment Europe). It has the PSP original, the upscaled PS2 port (complete with early EyeToy emulation) and the digitally released PS3 game which, despite often being lumped together, is a completely different game.

And with that, the festive season is over. I hope you found something over the last twelve days to get excited about, even if it's Christmas itself. I'll be back in the new year with my annual list of my fave games and movies that came out over the last twelve months. Until then, get merry, be jolly and have a very Happy Christmas!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - Day 11

In the UK, it's become a long-standing tradition that The Great Escape movie would play on one of the TV channels Boxing Day. So, there's no better season to come back to The Great Escape (2003 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios & SCi Games Limited) the game than on Christmas Eve. It's your sworn duty!

Tomorrow is the big day itself! And our own tradition will be met, perhaps for the last time.

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - Day 10

Day 10, and on this eve of the eve of Christmas, we pay tribute to Wicked by travelling to the Land of Oz. The obscure Japanese adventure Yellow Brick Road (1995 Synergy, Inc.). This is the US release, but that uniquely Nippon charm is all over it!

It may be Christmas Eve tomorrow, but the next game has long been associated with Boxing Day, at least to us Brits.

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - Day 9

The days are counting down fast, and Day 9 of our epic Christmas Countdown give us a Disney Triple. First up is Disney's take on the digital game show You Don't Know Jack called The D Show (1998 Disney Interactive). Next is a traditional board game give some House of Mouse magic in Disney's Mahjongg (2003 Disney Interactive). Finally, we at long last complete the sub-list of educational mini-games in Disney's Tigger's Activity Centre (2001 Disney Interactive). 

Only three left to go, and who knows what strange Wicked-ness we'll see come tomorrow.