From its inception, the idea behind Week of Geek has been “as niche as possible.” To some, an article about videogame music is obscure enough, but as an ardent fan of all things VGM, I wanted to truly geek out and talk about game music that references other game music. ...

“We find ourselves in a bewildering world. We want to make sense of what we see around us and to ask: What is the nature of the universe? What is our place in it and where did it and we come from? Why is it the way it is? When will we get to the cowboy level?”

– Professor Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time

Time travel and videogames are a perfect fit. ...

You know that friend nobody likes? The one that keeps showing up because no one’s told him to buzz off? That’s what water levels are to videogames. Upon arrival, they kill the mood and alienate anyone who was on the fence about staying or leaving. In short, they tend to ruin the entire flow of a game that’s otherwise just fine, and very few titles have been able to do liquid environments right. ...

When talking about the idea of videogames as art, it’s become increasingly popular to lament that the medium doesn’t yet have its “Citizen Kane.” Seemingly everyone, from industry luminary Ian Bogost to film director Guillermo del Toro, has sounded off about how games either need, don’t need, or will soon receive the masterpiece that will force the medium to “grow up” and be accepted as an art form by the mainstream. ...

Let’s point fingers! Ever wonder why games are still treated like a child’s medium? Well, part of that responsibility rests on the shoulders of Nintendo of America and the censorship they exhibited during the dominant period of the NES, Game Boy and SNES.

From the medium’s inception, Japan seemed to have no qualms in dealing with themes no heavier than those found in movies and TV, such violence and sexuality. ...

Distilled gameplay, old-school values and why you need never load another disc into your console again. We take a look at how new-gen technology has revitalised old-gen gaming and even sparked a new wave of superb retro-style games. ...