Gameswipe

Tonight's an exciting night to be a fan of videogames as, at long last, Charlie Brooker will be giving the Screenwipe treatment to the oft-maligned (yet incredibly lucrative) form of electronic entertainment in Gameswipe. This is especially exciting for gamers as, frankly, we don't get to see much serious coverage given to our hobby, with the odd exception: in recent years there was of course the excellent videoGaiden, which was only broadcast in Scotland (though thankfully also available online). In fact videoGaiden's Rab and Ryan will be two of the guests on Gameswipe, presumably returning the favour after Brooker appeared on their show to review some games they made (very badly). Joining them will be comedy writer and blogger extraordinaire Graham Linehan, Dara O'Briain, and Game People's 'audio reviewer' Rebecca Mayes who reviews games via the medium of song. Yes. Song. As well as this very funny line-up of guests, there's another reason to be excited about Gameswipe: when it comes to games, Brooker really knows his stuff. Although he's becoming an increasingly familiar face on TV (including last night's Would I Lie To You?) and is well known for his Guardian columns and TV Go Home, in a previous life he was a games journalist with a passionate cult following. His acerbic wit and creative use of language (swearing) were there right from the beginning, and so the thought of him turning his word-guns back on videogames - even for just one episode - is a prospect to relish. The Wikipedia article mentions some of the highlights of his career pre-TV. Have a read if you're not familiar with his antics, and don't forget to watch tonight.