Feature Archives

Altered Beast | Sega's unlikely cult hit is 35 years old

by Ryan Lambie | Jun 14, 2023 | Feature, Gaming

Sega's beat-'em-up Altered Beast is 35 years old today. It remains a cult favourite - even if its designer didn't particularly like it...

Gord hands-on preview: a grimdark slice of unremitting nastiness

by Lewis Packwood | Jun 14, 2023 | Feature, Gaming, Previews

If you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise. And it might ask you to feed it a child. Lewis goes hands-on with Gord......

Mental Health & Wellbeing Matters: something to look forward to

by Simon Brew | Jun 14, 2023 | Feature

In our regular spot where we chat about mental health and wellbeing, just a word or two about having something in the calendar....

You really, really need to play Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

by Lewis Packwood | Jun 13, 2023 | Feature, Gaming, Previews

Capcom’s best game that nobody played is making a long-awaited comeback. Don’t miss out on Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective......

EA's Nike NFT partnership: what does it mean for gamers?

by Vikki Blake | Jun 13, 2023 | Feature, Gaming, Opinions

Is EA Sports' deal to bring Nike .Swoosh NFTs to its games an exciting step to empower user-generated content or a cynical move to exploit gamers further? You decide, Vikki Blake writes...

The Directors Company that gave free reign to Friedkin, Coppola and Bogdanovich

by Tom Baker (not that one) | Jun 13, 2023 | Feature

The story of when Paramount let Friedkin, Bogdanovich and Coppola make whatever they wanted - and why it was short-lived......

Carol Lombard and Lionel Barrymore in Twentieth Century, directed by Howard Hawks.

Celebrating Howard Hawks' Twentieth Century

by Sarah Cook | Jun 13, 2023 | Feature

Howard Hawks was an astoundingly talented director who worked across various genres - we celebrate one of his early films, Twentieth Century....

Leaving Albion: the epic making of Fable

by Jack Yarwood | Jun 12, 2023 | Feature, Gaming

Fable co-creator Dene Carter and ex-Lionhead staff reveal how the series came to be, and their thoughts on a new entry in the much-loved RPG franchise.

Beyond Zelda, gaming in May was about hope for a better future

by Jon Bailes | Jun 12, 2023 | Feature, Gaming, Opinions

Darkest Dungeon II, Humanity and After Us all dared to emerge in Tears of the Kingdom's shadow last month. All offer a sense of hope in an uncertain world.

Turning back time: Jordan Mechner on Prince of Persia's legacy

by David Crookes | Jun 09, 2023 | Feature, Gaming

Designer Jordan Mechner pioneered motion capture with Karateka and Prince of Persia. He reflects on his games' making, legacy, and what came afterwards.

2023, and the strange neglect of family blockbuster movies

by Simon Brew | Jun 09, 2023 | Feature

The lack of family movies in cinemas has lightened a little, but it's still a problem: a few thoughts on cinema missing a trick....

Film Quiz Friday: From The Mind Of Stephen King

by Mark Harrison | Jun 09, 2023 | Feature

With The Boogeyman still in cinemas, this week’s film quiz peeks through its fingers at the many movies based on Stephen King stories....

Watch Dogs: Legion | The best Doctor Who game never licensed?

by Chris Farnell | Jun 08, 2023 | Feature, Gaming, Opinions

Ubisoft’s open-world action-adventure Watch: Dogs Legion isn’t an official Doctor Who game, but as Chris argues, it sure feels like one…

The 1950s movie that became the most expensive comedy ever

by Mark Harrison | Jun 08, 2023 | Feature, News

Back in the 1950s, Danny Kaye’s The Court Jester was the most expensive comedy ever made - here’s the story behind a swashbuckling spoof....

Synapse preview | Hands on with an Inception-like PSVR2 exclusive

by Alan Wen | Jun 07, 2023 | Feature, Gaming, Previews

Synapse sees you wield guns and telekinesis inside someone’s mind. We go hands-on with a highly promising action game…

Apple Vision Pro | Huge price tag aside, what does it offer gamers?

by Alan Wen | Jun 07, 2023 | Feature, Gaming, Opinions

Apple Vision Pro offers a bold take on augmented reality, but for Alan Wen it leaves a lot to be desired compared to fully-immersive VR gaming.

Syndicate | Bullfrog’s dystopian classic at 30

by Ryan Lambie | Jun 06, 2023 | Feature, Gaming

Bullfrog’s dystopian classic Syndicate was released 30 years ago today. We look back at the making of an era-defining classic....

RoboCop: Rogue City preview | We’d buy this one for a dollar

by Carlton Hill | Jun 06, 2023 | Feature, Gaming

RoboCop: Rogue City, the latest retro movie tie-in from the makers of Terminator: Resistance, is a likeably gory shooter-RPG hybrid. Our hands-on preview:

Streaming services are not archivists, and Disney+ has proven that

by Simon Brew | Jun 06, 2023 | Feature

With Disney set to remove another bunch of its own shows from its Disney+ service to save costs, a few words about where streaming services now sit....

Joan Crawford as Mildred Pierce (right) in Mildred Pierce.

The classic films you should watch at the BFI Film On Film Festival

by Sarah Cook | Jun 06, 2023 | Feature

This week, the BFI is showing a selection of films on celluloid - here are the classical movies we recommend you see, and when they're screening....

BD-1 | Is the plucky droid Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s true star?

by Sarah Louise Dean | Jun 05, 2023 | Feature, Gaming, Opinions

BD-1 makes a great companion, but does their expanded role in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor signify that the SWU has started to take droids seriously? Sarah Louise investigates...

Independence Day UK: the audio film that tied in with the US blockbuster

by John Abbitt | Jun 05, 2023 | Feature

Ahead of the release of Roland Emmerich's Independence Day, an audio film was commissioned, made and broadcast in the UK......

Hey, Activision: stop talking and start listening

by Vikki Blake | Jun 02, 2023 | Feature, Gaming, Opinions

As CEO Bobby Kotick defends sexism accusations as "mischaracterisations" in a new interview with Variety, Vikki Blake wonders: what's next for Activision Blizzard?

Film Quiz Friday: Does Whatever A Spider Can

by Mark Harrison | Jun 02, 2023 | Feature

We're going into, across, and beyond the Spider-Verse in this week's film quiz, with 30 questions on Spider-Man and all things movie-related....

Why the demise of Network Distributing is a hammer blow for niche DVD and Blu-ray releases

by Jake Godfrey | Jun 01, 2023 | Feature

As the wonderful physical media distribution company Network reportedly goes into liquidation, a few words on the work that's rightly given it such a...