DS Features

January isn’t just a traditionally dry month for game releases – it’s also the month during which we, knowing relatively little about what’s to come in the new year, like to make arbitrary predictions and demands about/of the game industry. It’s not unreasonable; right now, the rest of 2011 looks like a vast field of possibility, so anything could happen. Assuming anything does, though, we have a few nagging questions we really hope will be answered in the next 12 months. For example…

It's new podcast time.. YEEHAW! Not sure why we threw some cowboy lingo in there at the start because this episode of your favourite gaming podcast has very little to do with the wild-west or indeed ranching. Hang on, we do have to lasso Dave H as he refuses to let other people talk at times. Yes, it all makes sense now.

There's a special guest on the show, in the form of chief tea-maker and Cundy foot massager, Darrell Skipper - GamesRadar UK's work experience man. 

Enough waffle, just click the image and prepare to forget about your crippling debts, incredible loneliness and your general mundane existence for a couple of hours. Enjoy! 

Ugly scribbles and meaningless drivel? Or prophecies that predicted the future of gaming?

So, MAGFest 9 happened earlier this month. Never heard of it? You’re probably from somewhere west of the Mississippi. MAGFest, a.k.a the Music and Gaming Festival, is one of the best places on Earth to get together with gamers from all over the East Coast (and beyond, sure) for 24-hour games, panels, and concerts. This year’s event was bigger and better-attended than ever - for the first time in the festival’s history, the organizers had to turn people away for fear of getting shut down by the fire marshal. Still, we managed to get in and take pictures of all things MAGFestical, including composers you really should listen to and all those amazing cosplayers we love so dear...

Videogames have been blamed for more and stupider things than witchcraft, without the incidental benefit of raising the average female "Hot or Not" value. Games have been found in the home of every recent violent lunatic in the same way you'd find oxygen or microwavable Sloppy Joe Hot Pockets, and the latter is much more likely to cause violent internal explosions. This doesn't stop people from dedicating their lives in a quest to blame games for everything up to and including being turned into a newt. Here are some of the lamest excuses...

Another week, another set of brand-new Pokemon from Black and White to discuss. This week we've got a lovely cactus to share with you, along with a duo of crabs reminiscent of an old friend from Red and Blue, plus a pants-wearing lizard with unique typing. Let's take a closer look...

We didn’t need to play UK Truck Simulator (totally real) or whatever before declaring our picks for the best games of 2010. We have common sense and expectations. We’re not robots. Well, maybe we are, but if we are then we’re really advanced robots - like Data’s brother in TNG.

This human (or evil android) common sense also gives us the power to make educated guesses as to which games of 2011 will get award-giving gamz jarnlists like ourselves all riled up...

2011 is going to be a pretty big year for gaming. The launch of the 3DS is looming large, Sony’s prepping a stable of high-profile sequels, and a bunch of games that were delayed out of their planned 2010 releases will finally arrive. That last item raises the question of which high-profile 2011 games will actually see release this year, and which ones will be shoved – either by longer-than-expected development cycles or market forces – into the uncertain void of 2012.

You know it’s going to happen. It always happens. It’s just a question of what it’ll happen to. In order to properly brace for unexpected disappointment, we’ve taken a look at some of 2011’s biggest releases and – based on what little we know now – made a few guesses as to what’s going to be pushed out to next year.

Scoff all you want, but remember: the last time we did this, our predictions were 100 percent accurate. Will we repeat that success? Let’s hope not...

It's a podcast 'twixt travels this week, as Nathan returns from seeing THQ in New York and Matt and Justin prepare to fly out to Amsterdam to see Nintendo's shiny new 3DS. Expect a rather graphic description of what happens to unsuspecting games journos in Amsterdam, along with an even more graphic description of a special technique that 'gets things moving along'. Eeew.

On the videogaming front (video whatnow?), Nathan's been playing Homefont, Cundy's been playing Brain Training on Kinect and Justin's picked number 12 in his list of 'best games ever' for the Appreciation section. Yes, he made a list especially. Expect gamz jarnalizum, Ali G jokes and already-outdated news from your favourite games podcast, TalkRadar UK.

Once upon a time, Sonic the Hedgehog was known for great platforming, a bitter rivalry with Mario, and gallons of '90s attitude. Nowadays, the blue blur is known more for providing sanctuary to dozens upon dozens of anthropomorphized woodland creatures, each more saccharin and repulsive than the last.

While Sonic got away with a few decent characters, the vast majority of his furry friends have been abominable and serve only to emphasize just how far the franchise has fallen. To celebrate this dismal truth, come with us on a tour of creative misery as we list the worst Sonic friends of all time...