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  • CLASSIC MAGAZINES
    • REVIEW CREW
      A show recapping what critics thought back
      when classic games first came out!
    • NEXT GENERATION'S BEST & WORST
      From the worst 1-star reviews to the best
      5-stars can offer, this is Next Generation!
    • NINTENDO POWER (ARCHIVE)
      Experience a variety of shows looking at the
      often baffling history of Nintendo Power!
      • NINTENDO POWER BEST & WORST
        We're counting down Nintendo Power's best
        and worst game reviews, from 1989 – 1995!
      • NINTENDO POWER UNCOVERED
        Cyril attempts to review the cover art for every
        issue of Nintendo Power (and fails miserably)!
    • MAGAZINE RETROSPECTIVE
      We're looking at the absolutely true history of
      some of the most iconic game magazines ever!
    • SUPER PLAY'S TOP 600
      The longest and most ambitious Super NES
      countdown on the internet!
    • THEY SAID WHAT?
      Debunking predictions and gossip found
      in classic video game magazines!
    • NEXT GENERATION UNCOVERED
      Cyril is back in this spin-off series, featuring the
      cover critic review the art of Next Generation!
    • HARDCORE GAMER MAGAZING (PDF ISSUES)
      Download all 36 issues of Hardcore Gamer
      Magazine and relive the fun in PDF form!
  • REVIEW ARCHIVE
    • SONY PLAYSTATION
      • SONY PLAYSTATION 5
      • SONY PLAYSTATION 4
      • SONY PLAYSTATION 3
      • SONY PLAYSTATION 2
      • SONY PLAYSTATION
    • SONY HANDHELDS
      • SONY PLAYSTATION VITA
      • SONY PLAYSTATION PORTABLE
    • NINTENDO CONSOLES
      • NINTENDO SWITCH
      • NINTENDO WII
      • NINTENDO GAMECUBE
      • NINTENDO 64DD
      • SUPER NINTENDO
      • NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
    • NINTENDO HANDHELDS
      • NINTENDO 3DO
      • NINTENDO DS
      • GAME BOY ADVANCE
      • VIRTUAL BOY
      • GAME BOY & GAME BOY COLOR
    • MICROSOFT XBOX
      • XBOX ONE
      • XBOX 360
      • XBOX
    • SEGA CONSOLES
      • SEGA DREAMCAST
      • SEGA SATURN
      • SEGA GENESIS
      • SEGA MASTER SYSTEM
    • SEGA HANDHELDS & ADD-ONS
      • SEGA 32X
      • SEGA CD
      • SEGA GAME GEAR
    • ATARI CONSOLES
      • ATARI JAGUAR
      • ATARI LYNX
      • ATARI 800
      • ATARI 2600
    • SNK CONSOLES
      • SNK NEO GEO
      • SNK NEO GEO POCKET
    • NEC/TTI CONSOLES
      • TURBOGRAFX-16 & TURBODUO
      • SUPERGRAFX
    • OTHER CONSOLES
      • 3DO MULTIPLAYER
      • PHILIPS CD-i
      • AMIGA CD32
    • COMPUTER (Reviews)
  • GAMESHARK & BOOK
    • INTRODUCING THE CHEAT CODE COMPENDIUM
      Todd Hays (GameShark) and Defunct Games are
      Writing a book. Check out the full details!
    • PRE-ORDER THE CHEAT CODE COMPENDIUM
      Now is your chance to back our brand
      new book and get your physical copy!
    • GAMESHARK PRINT ADVERTISING ARCHIVE
      A complete breakdown of GameShark's
      print advertising frmo 1996 - 2002!
  • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY
    • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY RANKS
      From Mario to Sonic to Street Fighter, EGM
      ranks classic game franchises and consoles!
    • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY BEST & WORST
      Counting down EGM’s best and worst reviews
      going year by year, from 1989 – 2009!
    • ELECTRONIC GAMING BEST & WORST AWARDS
      11-part video series chronicling the ups and
      downs of EGM’s Best & Worst Awards!
  • GAME HISTORY
    • GAME OVER: STORY BREAKDOWNS
      Long-running series breaking down game
      stories and analyzing their endings!
    • A BRIEF HISTORY OF GAMING w/ [NAME HERE]
      Real history presented in a fun and pithy
      format from a variety of game historians!
    • THE BLACK SHEEP
      A series looking back at the black sheep
      entries in popular game franchises!
    • INSTANT EXPERT
      Everything you could possibly want to know
      about a wide variety of gaming topics!
    • FREEZE FRAME
      When something familiar happens in the games
      industry, we're there to take a picture!
    • I'VE GOT YOUR NUMBER
      Learn real video game history through a series
      of number-themed episodes, starting at zero!
    • GREAT MOMENTS IN BAD ACTING
      A joyous celebration of some of gaming's
      absolute worst voice acting!
  • POPULAR SERIES
    • DG NEWS w/ LORNE RISELEY
      Newsman Lorne Riseley hosts a regular
      series looking at the hottest gaming news!
    • REVIEW REWIND
      Cyril replays a game he reviewed 10+ years
      ago to see if he got it right or wrong!
    • ON-RUNNING FEUDS
      Defunct Games' longest-running show, with
      editorials, observations and other fun oddities!
    • DEFUNCT GAMES QUIZ (ARCHIVE)
      From online quizzes to game shows, we're
      putting your video game knowledge to the test!
      • QUIZ: ONLINE PASS
        Take a weekly quiz to see how well you know
        the news and current gaming events!
      • QUIZ: KNOW THE GAME
        One-on-one quiz show where contestants
        find out if they actually know classic games!
      • QUIZ: THE LEADERBOARD
        Can you guess the game based on the classic
        review? Find out with The Leaderboard!
    • DEFUNCT GAMES VS.
      Cyril and the Defunct Games staff isn't afraid
      to choose their favorite games and more!
    • CYRIL READS WORLDS OF POWER
      Defunct Games recreates classic game
      novelizations through the audio book format!
  • COMEDY
    • GAME EXPECTANCY
      How long will your favorite hero live? We crunch
      the numbers in this series about dying!
    • VIDEO GAME ADVICE
      Famous game characters answer real personal
      advice questions with a humorous slant!
    • FAKE GAMES: GUERILLA SCRAPBOOK
      A long-running series about fake games and
      the people who love them (covers included)!
    • WORST GAME EVER
      A contest that attempts to create the worst
      video game ever made, complete with covers!
    • LEVEL 1 STORIES
      Literature based on the first stages of some
      of your favorite classic video games!
    • THE COVER CRITIC
      One of Defunct Games' earliest shows, Cover
      Critic digs up some of the worst box art ever!
    • COMMERCIAL BREAK
      Take a trip through some of the best and
      worst video game advertisements of all time!
    • COMIC BOOK MODS
      You've never seen comics like this before.
      A curious mix of rewritten video game comics!
  • FULL ARCHIVE
Ep. 85: DOOM: The Best & Worst Magazine Covers
Ep. 84: The Best & Worst Magazine Covers from April 1990
Ep. 83: Cover Critic: Anthem, Resident Evil 2, Rage 2 & Crackdown 3
Ep. 82: Cover Critic: Doom, Far Cry Primal, Street Fighter V & Road Raider
Ep. 81: Were Classic Mega Man Covers Better in the U.S. or Europe?
Ep. 80: The Cover Critic Can Breathe In Space
Ep. 79: The Cover Critic Goes Hunting
Ep. 78: Cover Critic Battles January 2012 Games
Ep. 77: The Cover Critic Beheads Mortal Kombat
Ep. 76: The Cover Critic, 3DS and the Headache
Ep. 75: The Cover Critic Can't Even Spell VG&CE
Ep. 74: The Cover Critic Gets Stuck in Heavy Rain
Ep. 73: The Cover Critic Collects Old EGM Issues
Ep. 72: The Cover Critic Hates Your First Issue
Ep. 71: The Cover Critic Collects GamePro
Ep. 70: The Cover Critic Hates the Wii
Ep. 69: The Cover Critic Comes Down
Ep. 68: The Cover Critic Meets His Maker
Ep. 67: The Cover Critic's New Look
Ep. 66: The Cover Critic Falls in Love
Ep. 65: The Cover Critic Comes Clean
Ep. 64: The Cover Critic Misses the Point
Ep. 63: The Cover Critic Rides Again
Ep. 62: The Colossal Failure of the Cover Critic
Ep. 61: Learn to Read with The Cover Critic
Ep. 60: The Cover Critic's Religious Awakening
Ep. 59: The Under Cover Critic
Ep. 58: Confessions of a Danish Cover Critic
Ep. 57: The Cover Critic Delves Into Obscurity
Ep. 56: The Cover Critic Is 8-Bit
Ep. 55: Stupid Sports and the Cover Critic
Ep. 54: The Cover Critic and the Cop
Ep. 53: Covering the PSP's First Birthday
Ep. 52: Covering the Xbox 360's Second Wave
Ep. 51: The Early 2006 Cover Up
Ep. 50: Covering the Xbox 360!
Ep. 49: The Holiday Cover Up! (Xbox Edition)
Ep. 48: The Holiday Cover Up! (PS2 Edition)
Ep. 47: A Good Cover Goes a Long Way
Ep. 46: The Return of a Familiar Face
Ep. 45: It's a Very Scary Week to be Mario!!
Ep. 44: As Sega AGES they have a tendency to borrow ...
Ep. 43: Dear GameBoy Advance, Wish You Were Here!
Ep. 42: Around this next bend will be something worth ...
Ep. 41: The Cover Critic and New Years
Ep. 40: Some Pretty Good Looking Games, With Good ...
Ep. 39: Cover This
Ep. 38: A Look at a few Recent Games!!
Ep. 37: Today We're Far Too Generous!!
Ep. 36: All Relaxed, but Still a Little Bitter!!
Ep. 35: Back from E3 with a Smile and a little Bitterness!!
Ep. 34: Only Zombies Life Forever
Ep. 33: Sometimes it Doesn't Pay to Wake Up!!
Ep. 32: Difference Between Greatness and Blandess
Ep. 31: The Seven Best Covers Covered Yet!!
Ep. 30: Newest Bond Girls? Mary Kate and Ashley!!
Ep. 29: Yet Another Japanese Addition!!
Ep. 28: Another Crappy Update for the Never Believers!!
Ep. 27: The Next Great Episode!!
Ep. 26: Five Things I Hate About Valentine's Day!!
Ep. 24: I promise you NO MORE 'NSYNC!!
Ep. 23: 'NSync, 'NSync, Get em While They're Hot?!
Ep. 22: More Metal Gear Than You Can Stand?!
Ep. 21: Small Brawl Rules the Planet!!
Ep. 20: Something about Harvest Moon?!
Ep. 19: Metal Gear What?!
Ep. 18: For Every Jackie Chan Fan!!
Ep. 17: What?!? Another Tony Hawk Box Cover?!
Ep. 16: An Extremely Spooky Cover Critic!
Ep. 15: Surfing into Grand Theft Auto!!
Ep. 14: The Devil Won't Cry for This Castlevania
Ep. 13: Silent Hill or Ico?!?
Ep. 12: Stretching With Barbie!
Ep. 11: The Dullest Cover Critic Yet!
Ep. 10: The Fortress of Jurassic Park!
Ep. 9: Bomberman schooled by Rayman??
Ep. 7: A Very Special Capcom vs. SNK Cover Critic
Ep. 6: Metal Slug slugs it out with a REAL Crisis!
Ep. 5: Gran Turismo vs. Nascar ... Not a Hard Choice!
Ep. 4: Escape From Who Wants to be a Millionaire!
Ep. 3: Hey, Don't Forget About Hot Potato
Ep. 2: Remixing Worms and Bloody Roar!!
Ep. 1: Mario, Sonic, and Afros ... Oh My!
Cover Critic
Cover Critic
May 14, 2025
DOOM: The Best & Worst Magazine Covers
DOOM: The Best & Worst Magazine Covers
This week brings action fans Doom: The Dark Ages, the newest first-person shooter in a series that dates all the way back to 1993. In that time, we’ve seen good, bad and absolutely wild magazine [...]
[full description]
Cover Critic
April 30, 2025
The Best & Worst Magazine Covers from April 1990
The Best & Worst Magazine Covers from April 1990
April 1990 was the month when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles dominated at the box office, Sinead O’Connor went straight to number 1 with a cover of Nothing Compares 2 U, David Lynch changed [...]
[full description]
Cover Critic
July 19, 2019
Cover Critic: Anthem, Resident Evil 2, Rage 2 & Crackdown 3
Cover Critic: Anthem, Resident Evil 2, Rage 2 & Crackdown 3
Join Cyril Lachel and Lorne Riseley (The Halcyon Show) as they dig through the biggest games from the first half of 2019 and review their box art. That's right, they're reviewing the covers and NOT [...]
[full description]
Cover Critic
February 08, 2016
Cover Critic: Doom, Far Cry Primal, Street Fighter V & Road Raider
Cover Critic: Doom, Far Cry Primal, Street Fighter V & Road Raider
They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. But since I've never heard that expression used against video games, I figure that it's open season on the box art you see every day. This week we're [...]
[full description]
Cover Critic
September 11, 2014
Were Classic Mega Man Covers Better in the U.S. or Europe?
Were Classic Mega Man Covers Better in the U.S. or Europe?
Although everybody agreed that Mega Man was a great game, nobody seemed sure how to draw the guy. This was true in both the United States and Europe, where Capcom tried a number of different art [...]
[full description]
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