Lair

Videogame technology is evolving. Where animation for the Apple II’s Prince of Persia was achieved by the developer sticking a sheet of tracing paper over videos of his little brother performing acrobatics, we now have motion capture, destructible environments and specular reflection (whatever that means). Nevertheless, all the technological innovation in the world can’t save those games lacking that special something – good game design. Want a few examples? Read on...

Most games, contrary to what you might think, aren’t truly shit or amazingly awesome. No, usually most are just plain average. Lying in the gooey mediocre centre between brittle pieces of really rubbish titles and crunchy bits of rare 90%+ gaming gold, they’re rarely that offensive. Still, we thought it would be a good idea to produce a quick guide on how to pick out gaming’s most m’eh worthy titles, using

When you look back over the past ten years, what will you remember? The sparkly new consoles? The fantastic new franchises? The exciting, unforgettable moments that made you proud to be a gamer?

Yeah, we’ll certainly reminisce about those over the coming week of decade-themed features. We’ll pick the best characters, the sexiest stars, the most memorable moments and the important-est games.

Earlier this year we deduced that Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Beholder II – The Legend of Darkmoon is the longest game name out there. Reader comments quickly proved there were a few names out there just as long or even longer, but will you be able to find a name that’s shorter than those on this list?

Collected here are the simplest, monosyllabic game names we could dig up

Stripped down to the bone, most videogames are about running errands: go here, kill that thing over there, bake a cake. There’s almost always a clear justification for them – save the world, get revenge, etc. – but usually, the real reason you do these things is simply because the game told you to. But can the game be trusted? Are you fighting for the right side? How can you be sure?

In all honesty, some games would be better off left on the whiteboard at the design meeting. Whether they're too ambitious, too expensive or simply too good to be true, we're frequently led to imagine great things only to have our expectations dashed when the game finally arrives. How could these games be so good on paper yet underwhelm so spectacularly? Let's take a look...

Is it really worth the hassle just to play your old PSone discs on your PSP via your PS3? In some instances, yes. Find out how to get the best results with our guide.