Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Gamers not grabbed

Ghoulies no show shock as Rare's latest stiffs.

Microsoft suffered embarrassment this morning as Rare's first Xbox title Grabbed By The Ghoulies failed to dent even the Xbox Top 20 on its long-anticipated debut. The title was heavily promoted upon the run up to its release, and secured prime position in key retailers, including Game which racked it at No.1 in its in-store Xbox chart, rather amusingly.

The title has suffered a fair bit of critical indifference from the majority of the gaming press around the world, many failing to appreciate Microsoft's plan to attract a younger audience with the humorous beat 'em up.

Although the title is likely to perform better in the run up to Christmas, Microsoft needs a radical improvement lest the title gets washed up with the post Christmas-sale flotsam. Not what the company paid $375 million for 14 months ago.