PC Zone - gone but not forgotten

Although I didn’t realise it before the news broke, the closure of the most-grown-up-yet-most-childish gaming magazine has been inevitable for a while. With PC gamers tending to be web-savvy, sales of PC Zone have fallen dramatically in the last few years and the time has come that it is no longer profitable.

It may sound strange to be saddened by the closure of a PC games magazine, however PC Zone is one with a fan base who read the magazine for its wit and quality of writing as much as the games news.

The formula of brutally harsh reviews where other magazines were too gutless, excellent engagement with readers (more recently in the form of online gaming ‘Fight Clubs’), wonderfully inventive features and dark humour ensured it has been a cover-to-cover read of mine for about 12 years.

To put the ballsy humour into perspective, this is the magazine that helped launch the career of Charlie Brooker, whose comic strip Cruelty Zoo got it pulled off the shelves of W H Smith.

Other memories that spring to mind when reminiscing on the 17-year history of the magazine are the test in which staff played games whilst becoming increasingly drunk to see how it affected their performance, and the magazine carelessly failing to warn buyers that the cover disc was filled with super-gory demos before being slapped with an 18 rating and joking about it.

September’s issue will be the last; however mourning subscribers will be praying for an online edition of some kind. Stiff upper lip and all that – maybe this is the shock I need to get with times.

How to discover electronic music online and improve your collection

No matter how much time and effort you put into expanding your electronic music collection and making sure you don't miss out on any essential albums or tracks, there's always a feeling that attempting to do more than scrape the surface is futile.

Here are a few tips on keeping up to speed, completing artist discographies and discovering lesser known gems:

Electronic music forums such as WATMM and Xltronic have passionate communities with members who discuss new releases.

Discogs is one of the most invaluable resources the internet has to offer, the absolute ultimate in discographies.

Last.fm is a fantastic place to discover artists, either from your own recommendations page, similar artist lists or specific genre lists.

Allmusic is a good place to discover artists and educate yourself on genres.

Wikipedia is a good place to get an overview of the many different genres and the most high-profile artists operating within them. Check out this list.

Resident Advisor has a regularly updated album reviews section.

For me, online stores Boomkat and Bleep are the best way to keep track of new releases. Essential bookmarks.

And finally, who could forget Ishkur's legendary Guide to Electronic Music, which is now sadly quite dated.

If Valve made Modern Warfare 2 and the Bioshock pitch

Valve's continued support of their games and interaction with their fans is heart-warmingly wonderful, and in stark contrast to greedy and arrogant companies such as Infinity Ward and Activision. To highlight this, one gamer has imagined what the world would be like if Valve made Modern Warfare 2, bringing back memories of just how much the actual creators screwed us last year.

Elsewhere, Bioshock creators Irrational are drip-feeding their pitch document of the game to fascinated fans, calling it a "masterful fusion of design and marketing, selling [publishers] the idea of supporting our little odyssey beneath the waves."