Chocolate Tom (Robinson's)

Name: Chocolate Tom
Label: "A blend of Old Tom and the finest English chocolate - Strong Ale"
Brewery: Robinson's
ABV: 6.0%

Rating: "Developed by Robinson's with the renowned chocolatier, Simon Dunn".  As a migraine sufferer whose trigger is chocolate, this has the potential to be pure doom in a bottle. I've not had chocolate for about eighteen months now so this tasted great with really strong, but not overbearing, aromas of chocolate. The morning after brought no tell-tale signs of migrainicity either, so rather than liquid pain this was liquid awesome.

Game: According to Robin Kaminsky, Activision's former executive vice president of publishing, innovation in video games has stalled. I'd wholly disagree. Admittedly some developers choose to just reskin their games each year like *ahem* Activision's Call of Duty. However a lot of devs are making constant innovations in terms of tech, user interaction and approaches to storytelling e.g. Kinect, LA Noire, Deus Ex Human Revolution to name but three. And personally I don't think encouraging "alternative payment approaches" is going to help innovation. That's just another way of saying they are looking to get more cash out of gamers wallets.

Abbot Reserve (Greene King)

Name: Abbot Reserve
Label: "Brewed longer for Superior Quality - Brewed in limited quantities"
Brewery: Greene King
ABV: 6.5%

Rating: Tastes amazing, obviously. Abbots have something to do with religion I think, check this out for anyone who likes the Bible (and anyone who doesn't): http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/11566094

Game: An issue that's been bugging me a bit recently is whether or not to get Kinect.  I think I'll regret it if I do. But then if I don't, I might regret it more. One of the main issues is lack of gaming space. Apparently you need at least 6 foot between you and the sensor. I could do this but it would mean moving furniture everytime unless they start making some Kinect games where you can just sit down - these would be my favoured type of Kinect game obviously, preferably with as little physical movement as possible. Talking of Kinect, the "Michael Jackson Experience" has been released recently. In this case DLC may or may not stand for Downloadable Children.

Rhymney Bitter (Rhymney)

Name: Rhymney Bitter
Label: "Refreshing and full of flavour - Brewed to quench the fieriest of thirsts - Affordable indulgence"
Brewery: Rhymney Brewery
ABV: 4.5%

Rating: It says on the back label that this is a complicated beer using 4 types of Warminster Malt. This may sound slightly pretentious but is a surprisingly accurate description.

Game: No gaming recently because of the World Cup. Just received an email about the new Xbox 360. Spin sucks, so here are the new features as advised on the official email but with my comments tagged on the end:

Features:
Sleek New Design
A bold design and the glossy, black finish mean that the new Xbox 360 looks every bit as good as it performs. (So the Xbox 360 I have doesn't look every bit as good as it performs? The Elite console was black, does that also look shit now all of a sudden?)

Built-in Wi-Fi
Easily connect to Xbox LIVE, play with friends all over the world, and experience a world of entertainment. (Is it difficult to connect to Xbox LIVE now? No, but if so what makes this new one any easier? Just because the Wi-Fi is built in rather than something you stick in the back of the machine? Can't I play with friends all over the world now and also experience a world of entertainment? Yes I can, so WTF?)

250GB Hard Drive
The giant hard drive is perfect for downloading and storing HD films, games, game add-ons, music and more. (Is that really necessary? Films delete themselves after a few days or something so you ain't storing them long-term, and downloadable games and add-ons are such a stinking rip-off we should all be boycotting them anyway. And the DLC seems to be on the disc anyway - looking at you Bioshock 2.)

Whisper Quiet
The new Xbox 360 runs whisper quiet, allowing you to play games and watch films without interference. (I'm not interfered with at the moment when playing or watching films - chance would be a fine thing. And if I was being interfered with, how does a whispering Xbox solve this?)

Oh and Kinect my arse.