The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Fact: every hero needs a good rival. So what could possibly make better rivals than the heroes themselves? With that in mind, here’s a look at some of gaming’s most memorable doppelgangers and opposite numbers…

There are some undeniable badasses in the world, kicking butt in the baddest and assest of ways. Take Final Fantasy X's Auron, for example: a smooth-talking, shades-wearing, longcoat-rocking snarker who can wield a huge sword with his one good arm. He is a badass, and nobody can deny it. With that perfect storm of cool, he has nothing to worry about. Other characters aren't quite so fortunate. They might not have the stylish clothes, the husky voice or tough, asskicking grit of a badass, lacking even the basic swagger found in an Auron, a Master Chief or even a Kratos. With poor dress sense, bad attitudes and physical imperfections, these characters are doomed to a life without badassery ... or are they?

Perhaps not. There are some characters who struggle through their myriad flaws to become something more, something better. Something truly badass. They don't look like they should be, but they most certainly are...

We talk Zelda, childhood shenanigans, and more Zelda...

This time next week we’ll be buried under an avalanche of E3 news. Every outlet (including GR) will be tripping over itself to get news posted first, to be a part of the biggest announcements of the world’s premier videogame show. But in just a few weeks, all that hustle and bustle will fade away, and all that breaking news will be replaced by even newer headlines. The cutting edge reports, the reveal trailers, all of it will be commonplace and old.

With that in mind, we thought it’d be (moderately) entertaining to look back five years and recall those moments from E3 2006. Back then, these stories lit up the internet and fueled speculation for months – today, they’re ancient relics most of us barely remember...

As you're likely already aware, last week we posted our 100 best games of all time list. Judging by the response from you and other readers around the internets, we ruffled a few feathers and "left out" some key games. We assumed this would happen (of course it would, there's no way we'll include every game everyone ever loved) and spent a big chunk of our latest podcast defending and expanding on said list.

This discussion was part of TalkRadar 145, but if you'd prefer to hear it in isolation (and not part of a two-hour podcast), we're presenting it to you now for easy access.

As Nintendo continues to get us excited for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, I've sensed that fan reaction has been more tepid than it usually is. Part of that is the fact that the game has gotten lost in a shuffle of surprisingly amazing Nintendo announcements, but another part is simple franchise fatigue. More and more I am seeing Nintendo fans lament that every Zelda is the same, and they're tired of it...

Fourscore and loads of years ago, when many of us were but an aroused twinkle in our parents’ eyes, a certain legend was born. Yup, that’s right, 25 years to this very day, Link and The Legend of Zelda were shoved into the ports of our Famicon Disk Systems. Recently, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has discussed the possibility of releasing a special 25th anniversary collector’s compilation, similar to what was done with Super Mario All Stars last year. While you probably shouldn’t stave off oxygen waiting for that, you’re more than free to accompany us down Recollection Alley, as we look back at a quarter of a century of incredible Zelda games.

Sasquatch. Bigfoot. The Abominable Snowman. There are many names associated with the elusive, (definitely not fake) ape-men... eh, thingies. Contrary to what Harry and the Hendersons would have you believe, though, most would rather chow down on your colon than forge an interspecies friendship. In video games especially, your average mythical ape would like nothing more than introduce you to that big game over screen in the sky. So pack some animal tranquilisers and a hacksaw, as we take you on a tour of some of gaming’s greatest yetis and sasquatch. Oh, and watch out for that bastard who makes the soup.

Many videogames are designed with conflict in mind, and thus revolve around intimidating, sometimes even frightening, the player. The survival horror genre has been crammed full of horrific monstrosities designed entirely to terrify their audience. Developers are so good at creating scary monsters and super freaks, however, that it seems they can't help themselves. In short, even when games try to be cute or otherwise non-threatening, they often end up even spookier.

In this column, we take a look at some of the scariest videogames characters that were never designed to be scary. Their creators wanted something adorable, or amiable, or at least vaguely likable, but instead gave birth to hideous, misshapen, nightmarish beasts that will break your spirit and claim your dreams. Read on only if you have nothing left to fear...

In less than 48 hours, Microsoft's E3 2010 press conference will kick off four days of non-stop videogame insanity. We'll be there for the duration, reporting on all the latest news and announcements as fast as our withered fingers will allow, but before we fully dive into that madness, let's take a couple of minutes to look back five years at E3 2005.

Why? Because we still have the pictures. And because it's always fun to go "zomg I remember when that game came out."