Today, we’re taking a timeout to break through the fourth wall of online features about games to highlight the seven worst games set in the worlds of great games. Why? Because these minigames are a special breed of boring. We’re tired of tacked-on gambling activities, awful fictional sports, and stale satires of classic arcade hits that dwell in the bowels of some of the best games ever.

Why does this happen? ...

When he started sharing his idea of an orchestra playing music from videogames, people thought the veteran composer Tommy Tallarico was off his rocker. It took him three years to convince publishers and developers that he was sane. “Imagine me making a call to Taito in Japan, asking them for the rights for the score of [1983 arcade hit] Elevator Action. “I’d like to play the theme tune to the game at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Hello... hello?’” ...

What do Gears of War 2, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Halo 3, Dead Space and Prey all have in common? Well, they were all innovative, highly praised and sold well at a time when - ok, let's drop the pretense. You’re here about the ass.

There are many examples of game level archetypes that designers go back to again and again. How many Sewers, Ice Worlds or Warehouse Maps have you experienced in your gaming life? ...

A few months back we featured the most bloodcurdling games to be unleashed this fall. We then graded each fright fest depending on what we assumed would be the scariest. The big surprise though is that half of the games featured - including FEAR 2 - either won’t be released by year’s end or - like in GhostBusters and Fatal Frame’s case - don’t even have release dates. ...

We literally think Dead Space is awesome. It's an interstellar scare-a-thon of the absolute highest order. And we guarantee that anyone who plays the game will wish they knew what all the alien scribblings plastered inside the Necromorph-infested Ishimura mining vessel mean. Well, we did at least. Which is why we made it our mission to crack the code. We're anal like that.

And crack it we did. The vast majority of it ties-in with ...

Rest up this weekend kiddies, cuz starting next week there’s a nonstop barrage of quality games coming out, right up until New Year’s Eve. This week we talk about the first games in that wave (Dead Space, Saints Row 2, Wii Music), plus the toughest opening levels of all time, then hit the forums for your answers to last week’s poll.

Be sure to listen for a special appearance by the Dark Lord of the Sith as well. ...

Art: there’s not that much to it. To prove it, we talked to Lead Art Director Ian Milham and Lead Creature Designer Ben Wanat about their sci-fi survival-horror game, Dead Space. Ian’s in charge of all the environments in the game; basically, he makes sure that nothing looks out of place while keeping the entire game terrifying and believable. ...

With Halloween around the corner, a handful of horrifying games are being prepped to leave their pants-wetting-induced mark on your couch this fall. Some of the titles listed don’t yet have US release dates (The Last Guy, Ghostbusters, Fatal Frame), but we’re confident they’ll be hitting our shores sooner rather than later. And like any great horror game, the ones listed below require you to rely on your noggin (and a small ...

Did you know that no one in space can hear you scream? What about the sound of gurgling as you slowly bleed out after being impaled by a multi-limbed tentacle monster? ...