There are only two things for certain in this world: death and taxes. And in the UK, the games industry is getting one of them cut after years of lobbying. Hint: it’s not death.

With exclusive titles like Heavy Rain and Yakuza 3 coming out for the PS3, its turning into the thinking gamer’s console. And that makes Chella really want one.

Movies like Avatar are bringing 3D movies to the mainstream, but the game industry is still limping along trying to make games work right. But it also has much more to gain.

It seems everyone wants a crack at the game industry these days, including a slew of British nannies who don’t think kids should be playing. So we put our own Brit gal on the case!

After spending some time in space, Chella finds that the new Mass Effect 2 is extremely scaled down in terms of the RPG interface. This will make some people happy, but not hardcore role-players who celebrated the original game.

The RPG of the century (possibly) is almost ready, but recent developer interviews say Mass Effect 2 is more focused on combat. Let’s hope that doesn’t come at the expense of the deeply satisfying role-playing of the first game.

Scared off by Modern Warfare 2, tons of great games were pushed back past the holiday season. Now that 2010 has begun in earnest, heavy hitters are coming down the mountain like an avalanche. Can gamers keep up?

Chella takes a moment away from her holiday cheer to take a look back at some of the successes and failures that made up a very tumultuous 2009.

After killing Star Wars Galaxies with player-hated changes, Sony Online is up to their old tricks again with PoxNora. Do they get paid more if their games lose money?

Chella takes issue with some mainstream reviews of Modern Warfare 2 performed by theatre critics with no inherent understanding of the game industry. Sigh. It’s what we’ve come to expect from the mainstream.