Games have started to lose their luster for at least one crotchety 31-year-old. But Graeme Virtue has a plan - to evoke his most poignant gaming memories in reverse and (hopefully) arrive at the moment where it all began.

The halting gameplay of Mirror's Edge may have initially frustrated some players, but it could also be the game's chief pleasure. Robert Buerkle examines the first-person free-runner through the lens of another story about experiencing the same moments over and over again: Groundhog Day.

From the shifting day cycles of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest to the temporal loop of Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, developers continue to find creative ways to integrate the passage of time into their games. Dan Squire looks at the evolution of in-game time systems and how they help create a more immersive experience for players.

It's been over eight years since Max Payne hit store shelves, but game developers haven't stopped imitating Remedy's take on cinematic gunplay. What's so special about Bullet Time, anyway? Jordan Deam looks at Max Payne's oft-copied game mechanic and what made us fall in love with it in the first place.