31 Days of Literature - Video Game Edition Day 5 Five on a Treasure Island on the Amiga (1990) A decent text adventure game based on the first book in the Famous Five series, written by Enid Blyton in 1942. As text adventures go, it’s a decent game, and fans of the series will enjoy it.

31 Days of Literature - Video Game Edition Day 4 Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None on PC (2005) Play through Agatha Christie’s masterpiece involving ten strangers on an island hotel who are being killed off one by one. This graphic adventure lets you play the original or a new story.

31 Days of Literature - Video Game Edition Day 3 Fahrenheit 451 on the Apple II (1984) A sequel to the original novel by Ray Bradbury, rather than an adaptation of the novel itself, it’s a text adventure that does a laudable job of presenting a good continuation of the original story.

31 Days of Literature - Video Game Edition Day 2 How To Be A Complete Bastard on the ZX Spectrum (1987) Back when being a dick was the height of comedy, came this Ade Edmondson penned book which sold well, but to modern eyes is crass and unfunny. The game was all this and boring as well

To mark the 30th anniversary of the release of the first book in George RR Martin’s famous series, this month is… 31 Days of Literature - Video Game Edition Day 1 Game of Thrones on the PS4 (2014) A Telltake Games game, this is a brand new story, set during the tv series.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 31 Match Day II on the ZX Spectrum (1987) A huge improvement on the original Match Day, with gameplay improvements, and improved graphics, Match Day II was the go to title for football fans until the 16 bit home computers came out.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 30 ‘88 Games in the Arcade (1988) The third in the Track & Field series is less well known, coming when the Olympic genre was beginning to feel a little old. For those who like these games though, this is still a worthy entry with 8 sports to play.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 29 Fight Night on the C64 (1985) A fun and enjoyable boxing game that plays the sport up for laughs with some fun characters to fight against, and some excellent cartoon sprite work on the boxers themselves. On older game, but no less fun for it.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 28 Winter Heat on the Sega Saturn (1997) A follow up to Sega’s DecAthlete, this is still an Olympic title, but one centred around winter sports. Various skating and skiing events are available, and the graphics, whilst rudimentary 3D, are still good

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 27 Wii Sports Resort on the Nintendo Wii (2009) Follow-up to the staggeringly popular Wii Sports, Resort expands on the gameplay from the first game with more sports and more ways to play. 12 sports, all motion controlled, makes for great party fun.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 26 Bobsleigh on the ZX Spectrum (1987) Probably the only game in history to be dedicated to this sport, this is both a management and a racing game, as you need to train your team and provide equipment whilst working in a budget, before racing.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 25 Summer Games on the C64 (1984) The first in Epyx’s Games series sees you trying your hand at nine different and varied events from across the Olympic spectrum. Skeet shooting, diving and gymnastics, alongside athletic events.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 24 Graham Gooch World Class Cricket on the Amiga (1993) The game that laid the groundwork for the more popular Brian Lara series in the 90s, this is a decent representation of the sport, that’s easily playable. If you love cricket, you’ll like this.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 23 Athens 2004 on the PS2 (2004) A nice Olympic title based on the 2004 Olympics brings some adjusted control methods that are a little less taxing, but some are more frustrating than fun. A nice effort, and visually impressive, but it falls short.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 22 Milk Race on the C64 (1987) Not some sordid teenage act simulator, this is a cycling game based on the Tour of Britain, which was known as The Milk Race because of sponsorship. It’s limited fun, but being a budget game, was decent enough.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 21 Olympic Gold: Barcelona ‘92 on the Megadrive (1992) A nice little Olympic game with seven different events to play either individually, or as part of Olympic mode where you play them one after another, scoring points for how you finish.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 20 3D Pool on the Amiga (1989) The game that made Jimmy White’s Snooker possible, but at least this one was the first to make a pool video game with a realistic, rather than an overhead viewpoint. Impressive, but lacks long term gameplay.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 19 Double Dribble in the Arcade (1986) Whilst not the first arcade basketball game, Double Dribble was the first to make a decent stab at realistically replicating the sport for gamers. Nice animations and sound were the icing on the cake.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 18 Ready 2 Rumble Boxing on the Dreamcast (1999) A fun cartoony boxing game with some enjoyable characters and some nice touches such as cuts and bruises appearing on fighters faces as the bout progresses. Whilst a touch easy, this is a great play.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 17 California Games on the C64 (1987) The most popular of the Epyx Games series that included Summer Games, Winter Games and World Games, is set on the American West Coast and includes sports like surfing, hacky sack and frisbee. A classic.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 16 Actua Golf on the PS1 (1996) A first tentative step into seeing what golf games could be on 32-bit machines, Actua Golf is a decent first try, with two courses, customisation of your character and voice commentary. Decent, but quickly bettered.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 15 Kick Off 2 on the Amiga (1990) The game that set the template for Sensible Soccer to come along a few years later and utterly eclipse it, is a nice game with some nice touches. Its worthy of note as the predecessor to Sensi, but its not as good

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 14 Side Pocket on the SNES (1993) A nifty little pool game that first saw release in the arcades in 1986, but got an updated graphics version for the SNES a few years later. Score points by potting balls in consecutive shots to progress.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 13 NBA 2K11 on the XBox 360 (2010) Despite its rather annoyingly kool and edgy title, the NBA 2K series is to basketball what FIFA is to football. 2K11 has a good Michael Jordan mode that allows you to replicate his achievements.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 12 10th Frame on the C64 (1986) An early ten pin bowling game that, first the first time, tried to represent the skill required in the sport. Direction, power and spin can all be applied, and the game was so well programmed it set the standard.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 11 Everybody’s Golf on the PSP (2004) Blame another sporting event for my lateness, but it’s worth the wait. Everybody’s Golf is not a game that strives for realism, but fun. Easy to grasp controls and a fun presentation make this a joy to play.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 10 Beach Volley on the Amiga (1989) A nice early beach volleyball game in which your travel to eight different countries to play a match. First team to seven points wins, but you need to do so within the time limit, or you’ll lose regardless.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 9 Pro Evolution Soccer 2 on the PS2 (2002) Despite the age and despite the lack of real player and team names, this was the era when Konami’s Pro Evo series was a FIFA beater, and, to my mind, this is the best in the series.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 8 10 Yard Fight in the Arcade (1983) A simplified version of American football that came in two flavours. The US version was a quick, but more accurate game. The Japanese version was even more simplified in that you only had to score a touchdown.

31 More Days of Sports - Video Game Edition Day 7 Derby Day on the ZX Spectrum (1983) Derby Day is a horse betting game where you have £100 to play with. Choose your stake, choose your horse and watch the race. Not particularly notable other than it’s the first ever game I played on the Speccy.