Feature Archives

Now Playing Stardew Valley: Farmageddon

by Ian Dransfield | Feb 25, 2022 | Feature, Gaming

Ian goes back to his roots (and tubers, and fruits) in the beloved farming sim

The old VHS and DVD releases that'll cost exorbitant amounts to buy now

by Lauren Miles | Feb 25, 2022 | Feature, News

After reporting that a VHS copy of The Terminator sold for over $30,000, we've dug into just how much rare and discontinued physical media is s...

Film Quiz Friday: Any Last Words?

by Mark Harrison | Feb 25, 2022 | Feature, News

Mother of mercy, is this the end of Film Quiz Friday? Nope, but this week’s film’s quiz does cover some movie characters' famous last words....

British movie podcast of the week: W-Rated

by Em McGowan | Feb 25, 2022 | Feature

Our movie podcast recommendation this week is looking at the films that don't, er, tend to rise to the top of the barrel: it's W-Rated....

CityCraft: ten tips for building better game cities

by Konstantinos Dimopoulos | Feb 24, 2022 | Feature, Gaming

Super-condensed city building advice for game designers and world-builders

The five-year mission to make a sequel to Star Trek Beyond

by Mark Harrison | Feb 24, 2022 | Feature, News

It’s been a while since 2016's Star Trek Beyond, but the Kelvin timeline cast will start shooting a new instalment later this year – so, what’s taken...

First Contact: designing video game aliens

by Chris Farnell | Feb 23, 2022 | Feature, Gaming

Far from the mindless invaders of gaming’s past, some aliens have been designed with an eye on scientific realism.

Mental health & wellbeing matters: the other side of the fence

by Simon Brew | Feb 23, 2022 | Feature

Just a few words on how things might not be quite as wonderful for others as they may appear, in our regular mental health and wellbeing column....

Slashers and gentrification: a genre in need of an update

by Lauren Miles | Feb 22, 2022 | Feature, News

The theme of gentrification has popped up in various modern slasher movies - could it reflect the subgenre's own need for an update?....

The 1970s films of Michael Caine: The Black Windmill

by John Upton | Feb 21, 2022 | Feature, News

We take a look back at the 1970s films of Michael Caine, this time focusing on 1974's The Black Windmill....

Studios: announce your films to fans first, not investors

by Simon Brew | Feb 18, 2022 | Feature, News

Major studios are missing a trick if they let fans find out about big new films via the age old method of the investor conference or call....

What have you been watching: mid-February 2022 edition (chat post)

by Simon Brew | Feb 18, 2022 | Feature, News

A place to chat about what you've been watching over the last week or two - please keep conversations civil and polite, thank you....

Film Quiz Friday: Bad Movie Bonanza

by Mark Harrison | Feb 18, 2022 | Feature, News

What makes a “bad” movie? That’s just one of the questions we’re tackling in this week’s film quiz: best of luck. OUR B...

Podcast of the week: a few words about Verbal Diorama

by Em McGowan | Feb 18, 2022 | Feature, News

Our podcast recommendation of the week is telling the stories of the movies - it's time for a bit of Verbal Diorama....

Classic film sequels: are they really that bad?

by Rob Daniel | Feb 17, 2022 | Feature, News

Many classic films have had critically maligned sequels that flopped at the box office - but were they really that bad? Good question. 2...

Don’t price people out of 4K discs

by Simon Brew | Feb 16, 2022 | Feature, News

More and more catalogue releases are coming to the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format - but some of them are coming with price tags that give pause for...

Mental health & wellbeing matters: feeling useless

by Simon Brew | Feb 16, 2022 | Feature

In our regular mental health and wellbeing piece, we're chatting this time about the times in life where we feel good for pretty much nothing....

The new normal: the indie developers changing our conceptions of difficulty

by Jon Bailes | Feb 15, 2022 | Feature, Gaming

Thanks to a new wave of game designers, difficulty's no longer a case of easy, normal, and hard

The film marketing campaign that endured for decades

by Alistair Ryder | Feb 15, 2022 | Feature, News

The promotional campaign for Cecil B De Mille's The Ten Commandments has endured even more than a London bus poster....

Old movies: an intro to Charlie Chaplin

by Sarah Cook | Feb 15, 2022 | Feature, News

Our old movies column returns with an introduction to one of the icons of silent cinema - the great Charlie Chaplin....

How to become a user researcher

by Steve Bromley | Feb 14, 2022 | Feature, Gaming

Start a career making games better with user research. Steve has all the details.

A Few Good Men, and the lost sex scene

by Simon Brew | Feb 14, 2022 | Feature

Aaron Sorkin's play of A Few Good Men quickly had its movie rights snapped up - but originally, Hollywood executives wanted to take the film in a...

Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, and the story of its extended cut

by Simon Brew | Feb 14, 2022 | Feature, News

The longer cut of Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves surfaced on DVD a while back - but it doesn't quite go in the way you may be expecting....

Film Quiz Friday: A Match Made... Somewhere!

by Mark Harrison | Feb 11, 2022 | Feature, News

As Valentine’s Day is coming up, our weekly film quiz matchmakers have had a go at inventing some new, more romantic versions of popular movies....

British movie podcast of the week: Mark and Me

by Em McGowan | Feb 11, 2022 | Feature

Some smashing film interviews await with our recommended UK independent movie podcast of the week: it's Mark and Me....

Examining Ghost of Tsushima's DLC masterclass

by Antony de Fault | Feb 10, 2022 | Feature, Gaming

Antony discovers that Sucker Punch’s biggest hit saves the best for last with its Iki Island expansion

Scarecrow Video: the world's largest remaining independent video rental store

by Sarah Philip | Feb 10, 2022 | Feature, News

Scarecrow Video is Seattle’s last video rental store, with over 138,000 titles ranging from new releases to extremely rare films that can only be f...