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We'd like to say Star Wars thrives due to its developed characters and provoking science fiction storytelling, but the real answer is a lot simpler: lightsabers.

Star Wars may not have invented the laser sword, but Lucas took the idea and owned it. Now it's the generic term the entire globe uses to describe an energy blade of any type. Like Coke is all cola and Kleenex is all tissue, lightsabers are all melee beam weapons. They're

How do you convince a room full of journos that your games are awesome? Well, you could put in the effort and make damn fine games that even the Pope would like - or you can ply them with booze.

Here, EA does go the extra mile, creating themed cocktails for the headliner games shown at last night’s press event. A few of the games didn’t get their own drinks (and they misspelled Battlefield Heroes), but we always

Rejoice! For many years the zany Nintendo peripheral was a diminishing phenomenon. But no longer. Thanks to the Wii, all manner of weird and wonderful accessories are being released again, while the Virtual Console continues to churn up deep feelings of nostalgia for the games and peripherals of ages past.

You know that heartwarming sensation you get while remembering games of yesteryear? The one that makes you ponder, "Why aren't games this good nowadays?" It's a lie. It's a childhood veil that, once lifted, exposes how shitty some of your favorite games were all along. They didn't just sour with age - they were never that fun, you just put up with them because there was no better alternative.

Metroid, for example, is fairly crap by

Writers write stuff. TV presenters present stuff. That’s the way it is and that’s the way it should be. But as the internet grows, writers, particularly in the games industry, are called upon to exchange their keyboard for a microphone and their crafted turns of phrase for a forced smile and freeform, top-of-the-head chatter.

Whether it’s down to cost cutting, a scrabbling for advertising revenue or delusions of

Somewhere deep in your home is a writhing kraken composed of aged controllers and miles of unused cords. It's silently taunting you, daring you to assault its unchecked growth. You keep away for months, even years, scared to plunge into the brambles of ancient AV cables just for the sake of organization. Earlier this week, I dared to venture close and emerged victorious. Treasures were found, objects once

If you’ve ever opened a text book (those things people try to push on you when you’re not playing games), you know that they’re full of words – often large ones. Why can’t someone just condense everything you need to know into a series of bite-sized, uber-convenient nuggets of colorful joy? Well suck this into your eyeball holes, friends, we’ve got GRAPHS AND CHARTS. (See Figure 0-1 for clarification.)

If you’ve ever stood on top of something tall, you’ve thought about jumping off it. Luckily, games let us live our fantasies and do the impossible, without suffering any messy consequences. We hope you’ll enjoy our montage of precipitous plunges and terrifying tumbles from throughout gaming history. It’s as close as you can get to skydiving or base jumping without risking life and limb.

Like a piece of gum that’s lost its flavor and causes your jaw to ache more with every labored chew, Super Smash Bros. Brawl fever has cooled. Gamers have moved on to bigger, better things and are eagerly anticipating other Nintendo ventures (Mario Kart Wii, anyone?). But before you shelve Brawl for good, be sure to squeeze the last ounce of fun from this shiny game disc - savor every moment, every movement and every loading