Why EVO 2010 will be the biggest ever (Street Fighter IV)

Caesar’s Palace has been home to some of the most legendary fights in history, champions like Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield and Sugar Ray Leonard have all graced the famed outdoor arena. But a fight of a totally different kind takes over the strip this year, attracting thousands of hungry competitors to the Palace. Enter the EVO fighting game World Championships, the video game version of the WBA Heavyweight title fight, which brings together the world’s top players with one common goal—to find out which player reigns supreme. ...

Smurfageddon! (Left 4 Dead 2)

Didja know The Smurfs invented the Zombie?! TalkRadar found out and immediately brought the little blue bastards back to their horrifying roots... ...

The celebrity lookalike generator used on videogame characters (Half-Life 2)

You've read this sort of feature before. Website X points out that Character Y looks a whole lot like Celebrity Z. Readers agree or disagree. Publish and repeat. The articles are always fun, but eventually, the same obvious choices show up again and again.

So what makes mine any different? I didn't decide these matches an all-knowing, face-recognizing, database-searching, algorithm-crunching computer did!

The results were… unexpected. ...

9 half-assed game character designs (PC)

Sometimes, it's just easier to take the half-assed approach in life. Why tidy all of that crap clogging up your room when you can just stuff it under the bed? Why bother putting yourself through six years of baffling questions and migraines on Lost when you can just read a synopsis of the ending on the nets? And why go to the effort of designing an original, inventive game character when you can just borrow ideas from other developers or stick a shiny pair of shades on your protagonist?

Inside, you'll find some of the worst offenders of this noble, half-assed philosophy ...

iPhone game of the day: Babylonian Twins (PC)

This sort of thing doesn't come along very often. A game developed in Iraq for a dying platform (the Amiga), rediscovered by the Amiga-loving community, before being ported to iPhone and iPad by the original coding team. It's a fairy-tale with a happy ending, especially the game's now doing very nicely indeed. And, to celebrate, it's absolutely free for a limited time on iPhone and iTouch!

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iPhone game of the day: Archetype (PC)

There's a very simple reason you don't see many first-person shooters on iPhone: it's almost impossible to make one that controls well. Sure, you can draw two analog sticks on the screen and fine-tune them until they actually control well - but where to you put the fire button? Archetype has a unique, yet brilliant solution to this dilemna: auto-fire. Sure, you can tap the screen to fire, buy why take your thumb off the stick? If the enemy is within your crosshairs, the game pulls the trigger for you. This keeps the 5-on-5 multiplayer action fast, frenzied, and remarkably good... ...

Battlefield Bad Company 2 Onslaught DLC review (Battlefield: Bad Company 2)

With its Spec Ops mode, MW2 managed to integrate a fully fleshed out mode for two players that required real teamwork and upped the intensity of regular multiplayer. Between Spec-Ops and Nazi Zombies, it seems like a solid co-op mode will be a requirement of all future FPSes, which is where BFBC2’s Onslaught mode DLC comes in... ...

Flash game freebie: Action Turnip (PC)

We’re not sure exactly what it is a turnip would be running madly away from except possibly a hungry, knife-wielding chef in search of a perfect summer salad topping but the little veggie protagonist in Action Turnip has a lot of spunk. Part Canabalt, part action shooter, and part random bizarreness, this twitchy and crazy web browser game is utterly charming and a hell of a lot of fun... ...

Five truly horrendous TV shows based upon videogames (PC)

Standards for game movies are pretty low. The "meh...it's ok...I guess" response that Prince of Persia managed to garner was considered an unmitigated success by the standards that previous films have set. We're looking at you, Street Fighter: The Movie.

Amazingly, as bad as game movies are, the television programs based upon them are even worse. It doesn't matter who was involved or what the game was, the TV shows downright sucked... ...

GamesRadar's Trailer Trash Theatre - Episode 3 (Halo)

Nobody likes a bad videogame trailer. Hey, we sure don't. But why scowl at them when you can laugh at them? At GamesRadar Trailer Trash Theatre, that's just what we do, and we invite you to laugh along with us. We bring you the worst videogame trailers of the week, but make them just a little bit more watchable.

This week, we decided to throw in one of the very first trailers for the first Halo game in honor of Bungie Day (July 7). We've also got trailers for 101 Shark Pets - a new DSiWare game that came out earlier this week - and, wait for it, Caesary! Not sure what that even is? Well, you'll have to check out the video... ...

Become a member of team GamesRadar in Football Superstars (Football SuperStars)

Football Superstars is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online game where you live the life of a footballer on and off the pitch. And now you can join team GamesRadar to help us achieve footie glory. Inside, you'll read about all the details, including how to get your free welcome pack. ...

Kane & Lynch 2: Stunning Shanghai shoot-out footage (Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days)

We'll admit, when we first heard that IO Interactive was taking a realistic documentary approach to Kane Lynch 2's visuals, we didn't expect too much. A bit of grain here, a bit of shakeycam there, and we figured that would be the lot. But if you've been playing the current exclusive demo of the game, as we have, you'll know that the reality is a whole lot more than that.

Having ogled it at length, we're blown away by how striking the effect is. It's the attention to detail that does it. Bright lights bleed out into the environment as if the camera white balance is all out of whack. The focus struggles to keep up as the camera shifts rapidly between near and far objects. Grain and blur vary depending on how well lit an area is. And those bits of pixelly artefacting and digital interference that kick up near heavy explosions are just brilliant. But don't take our word for it. Watch this video we've made and check out just how punishingly real it all looks. ...

Twisted Metal Japan (PC)

 

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Think the new Twisted Metal cars look pretty crazy? They’ve got nothing these ridiculous bosozoku-style cars and dekotora trucks that might be better off in a videogame… ...

World of Warcraft Cataclysm comparison screens (World of Warcraft: Cataclysm)

Azeroth, as we know it today, will be torn asunder once World of Warcraft: Cataclysm releases. Having sat dormant for decades, Deathwing is finally breaking his shackles, dipping his paintbrush in the inkwell of destruction and doing his best Bob Ross impression with both Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms acting as his canvases (no more happy, little trees, unfortunately).

Check out these comparison screens from the Cataclysm beta to see what the new WoW will look like once Deathwing arrives on the scene… ...

Podcast: TalkRadar UK #46 (Penumbra: Overture)

Hello there. Are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin. Feast your ears on this week's TalkRadar UK featuring Mr Cundy, Mr Houghton and Mr Irvine as they cover topics ranging from being more scared by a child leaping from behind a door than most 'scary' games and George appearing in listener's dreams. We've also got....

More after the jump or...

Listen now

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iPhone game of the day: Charadium Pro (PC)

Some games are just a perfect fit for iPhone/iTouch and this is one such game. Using the device's internet connectivity, you can play this drawing/word guessing game over the net with your friends and family. There are five colours to choose from as you draw your object and a huge catalogue of nouns to play with.

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Team Fortress 2’s greatest griefers (Team Fortress 2)

 

You’re not supposed to like griefers, not usually. But we love watching Team Fortress 2 griefing videos. That’s why we’re paying tribute to some of the community’s most ignoble members, the ones who have shown us how to have fun at everyone else’s expense… ...

Game music of the day: Transformers: War for Cybertron (Transformers: War for Cybertron)

With this song, we're ready to rock until all are one... ...

14 vintage games that deserve the 3D treatment (PC)

Above: The exact moment 3D gaming became unavoidable

While the debate as to the necessity of 3D in films shows no sign of ceasing (or becoming interesting), the gaming front is another matter. Depending on your level of optimism, we're either stepping into an age of unparalleled interactivity, or hurtling down a blind alley into yet another of the industry's lame-brained get-rich-quick schemes. Rather than trying to work out which is the case, a better question might be: How do we get the most gaming goodness out of this latest boom?

One E3 demo had the right idea: re-inventing classic Nintendo titles in 3D. We've already laid down wish-lists for 3D makeovers of N64 and contemporary titles but what other old-time games would benefit from a full-3D makeover, on the 3DS or elsewhere? If the industry wants to sell us on 3D, here are just some of the hundreds of titles we’d happily pay again to play again in 3D... ...

50 games to play at work (Quake Live)

We all know that games are the best way to dispel boredom and unwind from the looming existential horrors of modern life. Gaming at work shouldn’t just been seen as idling. You are exercising your mind, taking it to a mental gym. So PC Gamer has compiled a list of the 50 best games you can play at work.

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