DarkZero

Infobox Website
name=DarkZero
url=http://darkzero.co.uk/
type = Videogame Industry & Culture
registration = Optional (free)
owner = DarkZero
author = Ben Knowles
launch date=2003
current status = Active

DarkZero is a videogame news and reviews website based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2003 as an independent online videogame magazine, it has continued to grow and is one of the featured publications on Metacritic and Gamerankings.

Main site

DarkZero's [http://darkzero.co.uk/ main page] features the latest news and reviews from the videogame scene, covering all major systems, including Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, Wii and PC. Reviews are typically published to coincide with the launches of the game in PAL territories, however news coverage takes a worldwide approach, given the global nature of the industry.

The website design is currently version 5 beta, following a soft launch in March 2008 [ [http://darkzero.co.uk/blog/spring-updates/ DarkZero version 5 blog entry "Spring Updates"] ] .

Reviews

DarkZero is recognised as a major source for critical review by metascore sites Metacritic [ [http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/wii/mariokartwii Metacritic example entry for DarkZero] ] and Game Rankings [ [http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/sitedetails.asp?siteid=1500 DarkZero on Gamerankings] ] , with scores given by DarkZero being used to determine the average rating a game receives on both sites.

Reviewers score games on a 1 to 10 scale, but this was not always the case. Up until 2007 decimal scoring was used, as was a 1 to 10 score for graphics, gameplay, sound and lifespan.

Podcast

January 2007 saw the introduction of the first DarkZero [http://darkzero.co.uk/game-podcasts/ podcast] , which as of March 2008 has seen 5 episodes released in total. Multiple topics are covered in each episode and each starts with what the staff have been playing since the last podcast. The January 2008 podcast featured a special episode where staff discussed their favourite games from 2007, with Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy topping the list.

Forum

Upon foundation DarkZero began as a forum, with many of its members coming from N-Europe. At the start the forum was split into multiple boards to discuss such areas as Games, Film, TV and Music. However this setup has since been simplified into two areas - gaming and non-gaming. Members are free to discuss videogame subjects for any console, past and present, or to pursue discussion of an off-topic nature.

Notes and references

External links

* [http://darkzero.co.uk/ DarkZero]