With progressive hardware pushing out more stunning aesthetics then ever before surely there has never been a better time to be a gamer? All is not as it seems however, Stephen Pringle explains..

Love them or hate them, scores are a staple part of videogame reviews. But what do they do for us exactly? What do these numbers really mean and how do we arrive at them?

When it comes to the medium of videogames, play is the operative verb. Game and player co-exist together in a collaborative duopoly yet

The community of NTSC-uk discuss Xbox 360 achievements.

Following on from features 'There's Plenty Of Room At The Bottom', Redemption and Monkey And Maracas relating to life in Akihabara, Japan, Jason Newton tells of life working for electrical retailer La

The tragically hilarious, the hilariously tragic… there comes a point in a gamer’s life when the thrill of the new, the polished, the perfect, sours

Godzilla, spec sheets and sales figures. Stephen Pringle separates the fans from the boys.

Competition runner up, Sean Smith: Unsavoury looking gentlemen selling out of date sweets from a Bedford van. Boxes of crisps made by

How did Mario come about? Who thought of Pacman? This and many other videogaming questions answered in our feature on character references.

Robert Faulks takes a look at the motivation and effect that cheating has on videogames

“People still play Street Fighter?” It is a valid question. To the outsider, this wall of lingo and tactics seems about as solid

Jamie Davies takes a look into the lesser known world of (non) PC Fighters

Some time last month, the news broke on the UK:Resistance forum that there was going to be a new Druaga game, and it was going to be called "The Nightmare Of Druaga."

"Gaming's not what it used to be", or so it's said. But is this really the case, or do 'hardcore' gamers just need to lighten up?

From the simplistic through to the unfathomable, every genre has examples of these two extremes. Yet why is simplicity acceptable in one genre, and not in another?

In contrast to Stephen Pringles disillusionment, Jeremy Overton feels very positive about the state of the gaming industry. Find out the reasons why inside..

With game control methods becoming increasingly sophisticated we ask are we at the pinnacle of controller design and what does the future have in store for this vital area of gaming.

Competition winner, Richard Palmer (Link): Unless your parents had a stratospheric income and a general lack of interest for your academic

Which game rules are bendable? What makes it acceptable to use some glitches but not others?

As Valve deliver the definitive game of 2004, NTSC-uk takes an in-depth look at the creativity that helps make Half-Life 2 the game it is. WARNING: Feature contains MAJOR SPOILERS

"Oh, wow", she says, a slow smile spreading across a face that has registered nothing but confusion and frustration for the last

It is often rarity that makes something so precious. Ambergris, Diamonds and Gold are all coveted due to their scarcity and the time and

Elitism. The bane of communities and forums the world over. This article looks into the theories and motives behind this frustrating and at times, damaging, attitude harboured by a minority breed of g

Building new worlds... the universe inside the machine: some musings on the nature of video game 'reality'...

Picture the scene of modern domestic bliss. It’s TV prime time as Mum, Dad and their 2.4 children sit down to a night viewing

Living in Japan is very much different to what Allan Ang was expecting. Thoughts on Japanese society, culture and gaming industry explored within J-Pop Psychology.

Imagine if you could take a trip back to 1994 and then ask what gaming would be like in 2006 - you would be greeted with a barrage

Buying videogames in Aikhabara, Tokyo, can be a rewarding experience as Jason Newton finds out. Read his fascinating insight into videogame hunting in Japan.

Competition winner, Jamie Kenyon (tokyochojin): I guess I’ve been stood talking to Hattori-san for the past 5 minutes or so

A look at the current state of online gaming, and suggestion as to what the future may have in store in this vast and exciting area of gaming.

Videogames, computer games - "Space Invaders" being the generic term used by your parents and grandparents to

The vast spectrum of possibilities offered by todays technology should ensure that we are treated to many new and original game concepts. The value of originality explored.

It's the update gamers have been wanting for over a decade, but can Sega's OutRun 2 match up to the wild expectations? We take the arcade version out for a spin.

As an entertainment medium, one of the defining factors of gaming is physical interaction. It is what separates gamers from both

MSR, Outcast and Broken Sword. Just a few of the many games released to an unsuspecting public with bugs and flaws. Barry Ip takes a closer look at QA in the games industry

A far cry from the realistic images initially displayed when Nintendo announced a new Zelda, the new cell-shaded look displeased many. Surely its not too late to try to change Miyamoto's mind?

The rise and fall of the videogame arcades. Once a thriving, exciting haven for the latest cutting edge videogames, now an industry in decline. We discuss why.

“Sad girls in snow.” It's become something of a cliché over the past five years, primarily (in the case of popular internet culture) with the webcomic Megatokyo's obsession

The best places to look are often the least obvious of all when sourcing hidden gaming treasures in Japan. Read about Jason Newton's experiences in this, the first of three parts.

The best places to look are often the least obvious of all when sourcing hidden gaming treasures in Japan. Read about Jason Newton's experiences in this, the second of three parts.

The third and final part of Seeing The Invisible, an article by Jason Newton

Death is somewhat of an inevitability in videogames, but what happens after death? Press Start to continue...

It's deathly silent. Tendrils of fog seem to claw at your legs, the thick blanket obscuring your vision more than a few feet in front of you

Tired of dancing the same old dance? Tired of repeating the same old, tired moves? Well, fear not, because as this article explores, the end of predictability in gaming may be just around the corner.

If content actually were king then critical review would have no place in this world - Blair MacDonald examines the future of reviews

We would like to believe that developers strive to create that elusive 'perfect videogame', yet for some, this reasoning couldn't be further from the truth..

Too often a game falls into one of two distinct categories; either it's the best thing ever or its unfathomable rubbish. So then, what happens to titles between these extremes, aka "the middle ground"

Adam Richards discusses the broader gaming audience and interviews SingStar producer, Paulina Bozek

Ikaruga, Metal Gear Solid 2 and Super Mario Sunshine. All highly anticipated games that captured the imagination of gamers the world over long before they were ever released. The waiting game explored

Ever wondered what it would be like to take part in one of those video-game costume parades? Recently, Jason Newton was asked to write about one for a Japanese arts magazine. Read about his experience

...or, five reasons why Japan isn't experiencing the death of arcades as badly as the West is, despite the gimmick-game boom having

We highlight the limitations of standard gaming reviews and then look into the future.

Videogaming. For many the world over it's the perfect way to spend your leisure time. Yet is the videogame industry at threat from the much more traditional types of past-time. An experience shared..

Love at first sight is probably quite an exaggeration but there’s definitely been a strong attraction since she arrived

Back in the day, games didn’t end – they just got harder, and harder, and harder, until

Reading threads discussing EDGE review scores has been one of the most regular events in my life over the past six years. Seemingly,

Throughout history videogaming has been littered with notable failures, we detail some of the worst offenders inside.

Jason Newton serves up another slice of life in Japan while searching for N64 parts.

The pressure to play the latest big game at the same time as everyone else is nothing new but why, with so many releases crushed into such a small time-frame, do we still feel

My eyes blinked furiously, repelled back by the soul-piercing brightness of the overhead lights. It was then I realised where I was