Edge Issue 254

This magazine is dated June 2013 and priced at £5.00.

Knowledge
How can Nintendo turn Wii U around? - 4 pages (10-13)
 * Facing poor sales, flagging thirdparty support and few games on the way, only Nintendo can alter the fate of its struggling console.

Videogaming's changing faces - 2 pages (14-15)
 * Activision and Nvidia show off photoreal tech demos that aim to do more than just wow.

Pay-as-you-go Tetris - 2 pages (16-17)
 * Can EA Salt Lake successfully refashion Alexey Pajitnov's 29-year-old puzzle classic for the time-poor player? (Tetris Blitz)

Gamed Center - 3 pages (18-20)
 * Those ridiculous hacked scores at the top of iOS leaderboards: who's responsible, and why?

Soundbytes; Arcade Watch: SciShooter - 1 page (22) My favourite game: Thom Green - 2 pages (24-25)
 * The drummer of Mercury Prize-winning dub-folk quartet Alt-J on Pokemon obsession, tour bus golf and being terrible at Alex Kidd.

This Month on Edge - 1 page (26)

Dispatches
Dialogue - 2 pages (29-30)

Trigger Happy - Steven Poole - 1 page (32)
 * Apple rejects the notion that games are the place for comment, but it's built right into the medium.

Level Head - Leigh Alexander - 1 page (34)
 * Scenes from an emotional GDC demonstrate why diversity and experience are key to this industry.

You're Playing It Wrong - Brian Howe - 1 page (36)
 * A curious email chain emphasises the danger of writers reading too much into the wrong game.

Hype
Grand Theft Auto V (360,PS3) - 8 pages (42-49)

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (360,PS3) - 6 pages (52-57)

Transistor - 4 pages (58-61)

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (iOS,Mac,PC) - 4 pages (62-65)

Super Time Force (360) - 2 pages (66-67)

Diablo III (PS3,PS4) - 2 pages (68-69)

Survarium (PC) - 2 pages (70-71)

Round-Up - 2 pages (72-73)

Features
The real thing - 8 pages (74-81)
 * Oculus Rift is a bold bid to bring back VR. If it succeeds, gaming will never be the same again.

Open World - 6 pages (82-87)
 * Charting the new wave of international games fostered by the democratisation of development

Block Party - 6 pages (88-93)
 * Indies love them, an big studios host their own in a bid to kickstart fresh projects. How did game jams become such a valuable part of modern game making?

Reviews
Post Script

Metro: Last Light - 1 page (99)


 * Interview: Andrew Prokhorov, creative director

Defiance - 1 page (102)


 * Trion's lacklustre MMOG isn't just disappointing, it's damaging.

Create
People: Neil Druckman - 2 pages (118-119)
 * Meet Naughty Dog's Renaissance man

Places: Fire Levels - 2 pages (120-121)
 * From hot stuff, to pure hell, we explore one of gaming's burning passions.

Things: Claptrap - 2 pages (122-123)
 * The irritating yet endearing companion at the heart of Borderlands.

Studio Profile: Klei Entertainment - 4 pages (124-127)
 * How a critical darling avoided buckling under commercial pressures and stayed true to its storytelling ideals

The Making of... Cart Life - 4 pages (128-131)
 * How a monochrome, retro-fashioned game about street vendors came to win the Grand Prize at IGF 2013.

The Art of... Zeno Clash - 4 pages (132-135)
 * Nothing is simple when you're making a surreal firstperson brawler.

What Games Are - Tadhg Kelly - 1 page (136)
 * Why games are not a storytelling medium.

In The Click Of It - Clint Hocking - 1 page (138)
 * Death be not proud.

The Possibility Space - Randy Smith - 1 page (140)
 * Pictures of success.

Word Play - James Leach - 1 page (140)
 * The art of communication.

Other Credits
Online Editor
 * Neil Long

Senior Art Editor
 * Mark Wynne

Games Editor
 * Nathan Brown

News Editor
 * Michael Gapper

Features Editor
 * Jason Killingsworth

Writer
 * Ben Maxwell

Production Editor
 * Matt Clapham

Art Editor
 * Andrew Hind

Deputy Art Editor
 * Phil Haycraft

iPad Assistant
 * Helen Wilson

Editorial Contributors
 * Leigh Alexander, Richard Cobbett, Nathan Ditum, Duncan Fyfe, Andrew Groen, Duncan Harris, Clint Hocking, Brian Howe, Tadhg Kelly, Brendan Keogh, James Leach, Craig Owens, Simon Parkin, Steven Poole, Chris Schilling, Randy Smith

Art Contributors
 * Dave Coudery, Oli Mcdermid-Smith, Alvin Weetman