Chella Ramanan, European Correspondent

Chella hails from the UK and joined Gameindustry.com around the year 2000. It was so many moons ago, she can't quite remember. Back then, the only women you saw in the games industry were in bikinis and vertiginous heels at trade shows - oh how times have changed, kind of. Chella started as a humble reviewer, but soon became our European Correspondent and keeps us on top of industry happenings across the Pond. She tends to like the weird Japanese games we've never heard of, so that's good for making us look all-encompassing and stuff. Chella does like games, so don't be fooled by the copious amount of columns devoted to bemoaning the lack of variety in the industry. When she's not surfing (the sea, not the internet) or camping up mountains, Chella likes a good action RPG (especially if it's sci-fi), anything with a good narrative and like we said, the weirder the better. She's also a regular in the GiN Lounge, but that's just because we like her accent.

Recent Posts

World Cup Time

The world's gone mad and predictions say it should last at least a month. Gamers the world over are sliding their consoles back under the TV and hanging up their control pads. There's a more important game to be played at the moment and that's the beautiful game of football (or soccer to all those Stateside). Yes folks, it's the World Cup. There is of course the small matter of the United States of the Blissfully Unaware. Er"hello, America! For once your team doesn't totally suck. It's very uncharacteristic for you to miss such a prime flag-waving opportunity. Are you … Continue reading World Cup Time

Hitting the right notes

We've all heard of the Miyamotos and Kojimas of this world, but when it comes to the music for games, it's blank faces all round. Imagine Final Fantasy without the plaintive keyboard theme or Silent Hill if the guys at Hanna Barbera had handled the score – scary. So I think it's about time we talked about the people that enhance the drama and atmosphere of our gaming experiences. I had the opportunity to interview Richard Jacques (that's Jakes, so no crappy French accents), the man behind the critically acclaimed music of Headhunter. Richard is a freelance composer of videogame … Continue reading Hitting the right notes

Games Imitate Art (or vice, verca)

Are games imitating art or is art imitating games? Are video games art or are they merely childish, mindless fun with a tendency towards hyper-violence? Once again these old questions are being bandied about. May 16 saw the launch of Game On, the biggest computer game exhibition, since, well"ever. And I went along to see what it's all about. Imagine a world where arcades don't smell of BO, aren't situated in run-down coastal towns that are well and truly past their glory days and feature all your favourite games from the past 20 years and beyond. And the best thing … Continue reading Games Imitate Art (or vice, verca)

Packing The Schedule

So many games, so little time. Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it Ferris Bueller. Technology has brought us many things; email, supersonic flight, laser surgery and all Kevin Costner's movies on DVD. Well, it can't all be good. It seems the more labor-saving devices we get, the more stuff we expect to able to fit into these busy modern lives of ours. As a gamer there's just never enough time to play and conduct a healthy social life – remember that? You know, friends and stuff. When I … Continue reading Packing The Schedule

More, more, more…

From one fading star, to two revamps and one new kid on the block, the UK (and Europe) is gaining more video game shows and exhibitions than you can shake a stick at. In its 14 year history, ECTS has become the highlight of Europe's gaming calendar, drawing industry bods from around the world. However, last year's shambolic effort caused more than a few grumbles of complaint. The gaming grapevine is working well and there's talk of a pretender to the crown" Early April sees a meeting of minds in Brussels to discuss the creation of a brand spanking new … Continue reading More, more, more…

Burnout is One Wild Ride

I don’t know about State side, but on UK shores Burnout was supported by a massive marketing campaign and fortunately for you, I’m here to see if it lives up to the hype. Heralded as the driving game to rival all driving games, Burnout promised to bring us state-of-the-art physics and simply the best crashes in the world ever, infinity, turn around, touch the ground" Er"anyway, Burnout allows the player to race along highways and through city streets. And here’s the best part, you get to race through traffic. As you can imagine this leads to high crash potential. There … Continue reading Burnout is One Wild Ride

X Marks The Spot

HO, HO, HO, MERRY XMAS Now, I'm slightly hung-over after an enjoyable evening in the pub with friends, so don't give me any grief because I'm not in the mood. It's all been happening over here in the UK. March has been a busy month so far in gaming terms and it's just going to get better. All I have to say is move over Solid Snake because X marks the spot! March 8th saw the long awaited arrival of Metal Gear Solid 2 to Europe and what a fuss everybody made. Maybe this is the time to say that … Continue reading X Marks The Spot

Games As The Enemy

Gamers give the games industry a bad name! It's official! Videogames are the work of Beelzebub and will no doubt lead to the hasty demise of Western civilization as we know it. Our beautiful, cosmopolitan cities will be reduced to sprawling slums, housing game-crazed youths intent only on viewing their flickering screens. They will be filled with the promise of power-ups and bonus levels, with no regard for the society around them. Governments must crackdown before it's too late! Or so the media and powers that be would have us believe. Recently the UK media has been littered with stories … Continue reading Games As The Enemy

Chella Enters The Mix!

Hi. I’m Chella, the GiN Playmate. Welcome to my playpen people, but watch out for the console and Category 5 wires. Yes, that’s right, I’m a girl and a gamer. Tricky concept I know, but one I’m sure you can get used to. As we say a fond farewell to Ken and wonder how Mrs. Ken will cope with all that quality Ken-time, it’s time to dry our tears, stop snivelling and get on with the important business of playing, discussing and generally digging games. I’ve been reviewing games for GiN from over here in the United Kingdom for sometime … Continue reading Chella Enters The Mix!

Spyro is Icy Hot

That little purple dragon, Spyro comes winging his way onto the Game Boy Advance in his latest adventure: Spyro: Season of Ice. This is a brand new title and exclusive to our favourite handheld so I put the jump from console to palmtop to the test. There’s trouble in downtown fairy land. All the fairies have been trapped in blocks of ice and it’s up to Spyro and company to sort it out. Unless our intrepid hero can use his fire breath to save the day, the evil Grendoc will be using 100 fairy wings to cure his migraine. Now … Continue reading Spyro is Icy Hot