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Game On

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

6 March - 13 July

Last night I dreamt I was trapped inside a computer game - I stole cars, brawled in the streets and raided tombs with my oldest buddies. Mario, Donkey Kong and Pac-Man, Sonic the Hedgehog and Tron were all there, along with hundreds upon hundreds of lemmings and alien invaders, hell bent on self-destruction or on my destruction. Before I knew it, I was on stage, dancing my heart out and playing guitar like a rock and roll hero! I was a city planner; a problem solver on an epic quest to rotate and build with coloured blocks that (no matter what I tried) just kept falling from the sky.

All the while, I was vaguely aware that I was running out of time and my energy levels were rapidly depleting. All of this was prompted by my visit to The Australian Centre for the Moving Image the day before.

ACMI, in conjunction with the Barbican Gallery, London, presents a history of the videogame, from its humble, pixelated beginnings in early 1960s - arcade classics such as Pong (1972) and Space Invaders (1978) through to the highly advanced digital imaging and virtual technologies of today. Relive that first (and no doubt best) Christmas morning when you woke to find that Santa had left you an Atari/Sega/Playstation/Wii (depending on your age). Video games never looked so good - and best of all, the show is fully interactive - so grab your geekiest friend and get gaming! But be prepared to lose a few hours at the very least and to wake up exhausted and with stiff thumbs the next morning.

Brooke Babington (March 6 viewing)