There are several sure-fire ways to check for heroic DNA in a video game character. An addiction to wearing tank tops (the more torn the better). Crew cuts so kempt you could grate cheese on their craniums. But the one thing sewn into the heart of every true hero’s genetic makeup is an unwavering talent for saving the girl. Above: Not a hero (we’re assuming the racoon’s a chick)Sure, it might be a bit sexist, ... » Read More

Oct 29, 2009

Video game characters zombified

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

What better way to celebrate Halloweek than with a Photoshop frenzy of brains and bile as we zombify some of gaming's best loved characters. Be warned, however, some of these images are a tad graphic, full of weeping sores, rotting flesh and exposed rib cages, so don't go getting disturbed for life over these. Promise? Good. ... » Read More

Oct 1, 2009

The 12 most misunderstood videogame villains

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

One reason we like games is that the stakes are high. The good guys are really good, the bad guys are really bad, and the princesses are really doe-eyed. But sometimes, games manage to work in villains that operate in shades of gray… and other times, they accidentally make a villain out of the most sympathetic guy in the story. ... » Read More

Sep 2, 2009

The best randomly generated game names

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Fact: random things are funny. Without spontaneous bouts of unpredictability, we wouldn’t have treasure troves of humor like Family Guy (now entering its eighth season), Picture is Unrelated and, of specific interest to us, the Videogame Name Generator. ... » Read More

Aug 26, 2009

The 10 cheesiest songs about videogames

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

About a year ago we reveled in the dorky glory of gaming’s cheesiest music, a thorough collection of hopelessly goofy game songs that will inspire facepalms for years to come. This time we’re focusing on actual bands or contracted jingle-slingers who crafted tunes based on games that never needed a lyrical companion in the first place. ... » Read More

Jul 21, 2009

If game characters used Twitter

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

The secret lives of gaming's greats, in 140 characters or less. ... » Read More

Jul 10, 2009

TalkRadar 59 – The Pattercast

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Quote of the week: “Look at that treasure trail…" ... » Read More

Jul 9, 2009

Classic mistakes rookies always make

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Ah, noobs. With their awkward fingers and stupid questions, it's a wonder we ever let them near our joypads at all. It's nice to get someone started in gaming, but it's so hard to witness utter incompetence at your favourite games. But instead of yelling, snatching the pad and showing them how it should be done, why not sit back, make encouraging noises and tick off each entry in our list of classic rookie mistakes ... » Read More

Jul 3, 2009

If video game characters were Pokemon

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Ever wondered what it would be like to have video game characters in your Pokemon party? Why choose boring old Bulbasaur when you can choose a beautiful Kasumi? Or a level 50 Sackboy? We've given 21 game characters the Pokemon treatment, with four moves to choose from and some evolutionary states too. Who would you choose? ... » Read More

Jun 16, 2009

10 characters who know smoking is cool

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

For too long, political correctness has choked expression much like smoking might choke someone’s lungs. Back in the good old days, it was common for prominent pillars of society to be seen smoking: baseball players, gangsters, Popeye. Now it’s incredibly frowned upon, because “smoking may slowly kill you,” if you believe “proven medical facts.” ... » Read More

Jun 2, 2009

E3 09: Why Metal Gear Solid: Rising will make you...

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

So that’s what Konami’s mystery site has been teasing for weeks, then. A rainy field, the occasional lightning strike; it all alludes to a new MGS game, Metal Gear Solid: Rising. As many of us expected, it stars our favourite whiny bleach blonde, Raiden, in the lead role. While we’re still waiting for concrete details, below are the features we expect to see in Hideo Kojima’s latest entry in the much respected stealth ... » Read More

Jun 1, 2009

E3 2004: Five Years Later

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Before we dunk our collective heads into the salty man-pool that is E3 2009, let’s take a moment to reflect on the events and images of E3 2004. Just five years ago Nintendo was struggling, Sony was unquestionably on top and Microsoft only had Halo 2 to keep fans attentive. Today… well, it’s a little different, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves ... » Read More

May 15, 2009

Which number is the best number?

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Because we enjoy making graphs, looking at graphs, and talking about graphs so darn much, we decided to do a little research experiment. Our goal was to discover which numbered entry in a game series (not the number of games into the series, the actual number in the game’s title) is most often the best. Is it scientific? Not in the least, but it still might surprise you. ... » Read More

May 15, 2009

Videogame music makes Rocky II better

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

VIDEO: A soundtrack mash-up so epic it could put you in hospital. ... » Read More

May 12, 2009

33 iPhone games for REAL gamers

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

If you’re fortunate enough to own an iPhone or iPod Touch, you’re also unfortunate enough to have tried browsing the gadgets’ application store. With over 35,000 downloads currently available, finding the quality in all that quantity is growing increasingly difficult, frustrating and costly. ... » Read More

Apr 28, 2009

17 videogame soundtracks ahead of their time

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

There’s no shortage of people who think “videogames” and “music” are two impossibly distant mediums. One is something you do to kill time, the other is the ultimate expression of the human spirit and emotion yank yank blah blah blah. Game music is every bit as moving, long-lasting and inventive as the so-called real deal. It’s also such a relatively new form of music that its entire history has unfolded within our own lifetimes ... » Read More

Apr 21, 2009

Who was your first gaming crush?

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Deep down, you realize they’re not real. You understand that what you’re seeing on screen is only pixels and polygons, that what you’re talking to is only a voice actor and that what you’re supposedly interacting with is only a fancy collection of programming codes. Sometimes, however, you can’t help but be a little fooled. Especially when you’re a young, dumb, naïve and impressionable kid… ... » Read More

Apr 17, 2009

How Hollywood will ruin your favourite games

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

The news that Shadow of the Colossus is being turned into a movie – penned by the scribe behind Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li – has made us inconsolable. With the translation from hell about to mangle Sony’s ethereal adventure beyond recognition, all bets are off over what Hollywood’s going to do with videogame properties next. In fact, we’re completely convinced some cynical suits are about to turn our ... » Read More

Mar 31, 2009

Zero to 100: Videogames by the numbers

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Numbers. Man, there must be millions of ‘em. Seems like every other game on the shelf has a number in it. Boy, I bet you could count to a hundred using just videogame titles and related items. Let’s see if I’m right. ... » Read More

Feb 24, 2009

Gaming's most murdered characters

PS3 Feature | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Some characters are just doomed to die in games. It seems the Nazis were born to wear sharp uniforms and chow down on your bullets like a tasty bratwurst. Cops are always destined to get blown up by your rocket launcher a day before retirement. And the sole purpose of videogame zombies is to have Piñata-style heads that explode with the slightest contact – just replace the tasty treats with festering bits of frontal ... » Read More