Gamer by Chris Bradford (Virtual Kombat #1)

7/10

Virtual Kombat is the game most kids want to play, but not many get the chance to play it. Scott ends up being chosen and finds out how hard it is to defeat his in game enemies. This game might sound amazing, but the kids that want to play it have had an awful time as they are at the bottom socially - Scott is one of those kinds and after he lost his parents in 2030 to a killer virus, he has been surviving on the streets ever since. He knows it is hard to watch adverts that plug Synapse Drinks and Zing energy bars as he wants them but can't afford them - some days he is starving, others if he steals, he can eat and it's the only way he survives. He isn't a cruel kid though and he has one rule, he won't steal from those who are as less fortunate as him. He tries to survive the hell of living on the streets, and when one of the gaming trucks comes to their town, he can't wait to play.

There is a reason why he can't wait though, the kids who do get a chance to play Virtual Kombat get to eat well, three meals a day, which is more than he would get being a street kid. With enough food and drink and a place to stay to keep him happy, Scott feels there must be a catch to it even though they are living at The Vince Power City Orphans' Home. When asked to think of an avatar tag name, he can't think of one so he chooses his real name Scott instead and gets introduced to the other fighters he will soon be up against in the arena; Kat-Anna, Ginger Ninja and Vixen. He finds friendship in Kat-Anna or Kate as she is really known, and she gives him some help as to what the game is about, while Ginger Ninja tells him what the mods are for and how he can get them through acquiring points each time he has a training session or face-off session. All he knows is that a samurai sword doesn't come cheap!

Scott thinks his battle scores are going well until Kate mysteriously leaves without a trace, and he is told she might have gone onto Special Projects or gone for a face-off with another gamer, but no one ever sees her again and that gives him cause for alarm.

Gamer by Chris Bradford has the story, characters and the in-game feel that young readers have been waiting for. It is enjoyable, and the bad characters have three dimensions to them rather than the usual ones found in some novels. Scott is a kid who deserves to have a better life, and he gets one in this, but is it everything it's cracked up to be while he is playing Virtual Kombat? Only you will find out once you read it - enjoy!