1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF JANUARY 7 | ODDS 'N ENDS

Cover Story: Odds 'N Ends

This week, 1UP takes you to the island of forgotten stories.

Life has a tendency to sneak up on you. Nearly one year ago, we were discussing the ideas of cover stories and the Essential 100. Suddenly in the blink of an eye, 2012 was over, and it was time to start preparing for 2013. Over 30 cover stories are under our belt, and we've counted down the 100 games that define our medium. Seriously, where the hell did the last year go? Well, this week is all about trying to answer that question by picking through the relics of the past 52 weeks.

Here's the biggest non-secret you'll read all day -- things rarely go as planned. No matter how diligent a schedule you create, road blocks pop up without so any sign of an apology. Review copies arrive hours before an embargo lifts, new games are announced without any warning, and interview plans fall through. Like any job, working at 1UP requires us to always be on our toes and fluidly adapt to the changing tides of the industry. But while this means that some stories are left behind, they're certainly not forgotten. This week is all about revisiting those ideas that we wanted to write in 2012, but for one reason or another, just couldn't.

We're going to deliver reviews of games and DLC that came out in late 2012, interviews that remained untranscribed, and features that were half-written before we had to move on to something else. We'll have content centered around various cover stories of the past year, as well as ideas that we wanted to flesh out but just never had the time to. Honestly, some of these features are things that we've been talking about in the office for nearly a year, so the idea of finally seeing them come to fruition is exciting. -- Marty Sliva

MONDAY, JANUARY 7

The Deceptive Beauty of Atari Box Art

How a bit of creative marketing goes a long way.

The New Ice Age: A Lost Planet 3 Interview

The creative leads of Capcom's next ice planet adventure talk design, combat, and Dead Space.

Stranger's Wrath HD Review: The Good, the Better, and the Broken

The strongest entry in the Oddworld universe ages well, despite one major design flaw.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 8

Black Knight Sword Review: Ethereally Stylish

Suda51 delivers another bizarre experience that provides reckless panache, but little substance.

Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning Quarterly Performance Report

How does a new farmer fare in a season of Natsume's latest?

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9

Artorias of the Abyss and a Worthwhile Return to Lordran

From Software's DLC gives Dark Souls veterans a valid excuse to replay one of 2011's best RPGs.

Why StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm's Story Might Not Be Good, and Why It Probably Won't Matter

Can Blizzard still deliver a narrative that makes amends for the decade-long wait?

THURSDAY, JANUARY 10

Outside It's America: A BioShock Infinite Interview

We speak to lead writer Drew Holmes about Infinite's fascinating alternate reality.

A Lamentation on the De-Evolution of Video Game Localization

Video game localization took years to crawl away from "prooving the justice of our culture," only to slide back to where we began.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 11

Policenauts and Hideo Kojima's Adventure Game Roots

Why you should care about the non-Metal Gear side of Konami's biggest star.