Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops

One in five Americans are born with some sort of personality disorder – something that makes them zag when everyone else zigs. It might be as subtle as a nervous tic, as confusing as Asperger's or as overt as psychopathy. But mentally unstable individuals are part of the real world – and part of the world of videogames as well. Sometimes their damage leads them to be horrible, monstrous villains, and other times it can make them loyal friends, or complex protagonists. No matter what it does to them, though, it's usually hard not to be sympathetic to their problems, and to, in a way, fall in love with them... even if they're murdering sociopaths...

Once a videogame hero has more than one or two adventures under his or her belt, it simply isn’t enough to just have an archenemy anymore. To keep things interesting, they need a foil, a rival, or some other angry opposite number obsessed with matching wits with them. Sometimes, those characters stick around long enough to make themselves an indelible part of the series, even going so far as to make friends with the protagonist – although more often than not, their friendships tend to be shaky at best, and even those involved might never fully admit to them. Relationships like that tend to make for gaming’s most enduring and interesting rivalries, and what follows are some of the most notable...

Week of Hate 2011 officially begins today, giving us yet another opportunity to spew venom and whine like babies about the industry that we love the remaining 51 weeks of the year. And in keeping with past tradition, we’re trotting out some of gaming’s most beloved, venerable franchises this week for the sole purpose of picking apart their flaws and upsetting their fans. We’ll start with Metal Gear, a series that has spent roughly the past 10 years turning itself into one of the weirdest, most divisive, love-it-or-hate-it propositions in modern gaming...

With a storyline so baffling even Kojima doesn’t understand it, it’s only prudent we set straight the events leading to Metal Gear Solid: Rising. Be prepared for detail so utter, it may cause brainlock. Here is the complete timeline, including events not occurring directly in any of the games...

Normally, we’ve got no problem with video game villians. Sure, they nick our bustiest wenches, salute digital democracy with a middle finger, and are inconsiderate enough to make us waste valuable bullets shooting them during a recession. Thing is, they’re always upfront about being assholes, which makes the shit they pull almost endearingly evil. What really gets on our teets, though, are those deceitful dastards who pretend to

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.

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…

As you’re probably aware, Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. To hell with that. Friday the 13th is today, and aside from developmentally disabled serial killers with machetes, that means one thing: bad luck.

Over the years, continually playing as the hero in videogames has taught us to have a generally optimistic outlook when faced with challenges, to believe deep down that, whatever happens, we can overcome any obstacle.

Hide and seek is one of the oldest playground games in existence. It only makes sense to translate the thrill of escaping your friends’ clutches into a digital form. After all, “don’t get caught” is a parameter gamers can instantly recognize.

It’s a simple premise that has expanded from outwitting a single enemy unit into outthinking collective AI.

What is the best Super Nintendo game ever made? Which Xbox 360 title is already the definitive classic? What Atari, Dreamcast and PlayStation experiences are most worth remembering? Growing tired of the internet’s countless, wishy-washy attempts to answer such questions, we decided to make the tough decisions ourselves. You’ll find no Top 5s, Top 7s, Top 15s or Top 100s here - just a single winner and runner up for each platform.