They are not even through their so far flawless first year and The Escapist has already decided to fill a week with a "Best Of" issue. I don't know about you, but every time I saw one of these best of clip-jobs show up in my favorite sitcom I knew the show had inched one step closer to the reruns grave.

From issue 14, columnist Allen Varney, with the help of Richard Garriott, Warren Spector, and others, shows how EA's acquisition of Origin led to the destruction of one of gaming's most beloved studios in "The Conquest of Origin." Hailing from our premier issue, Kieron Gillen discusses the cultural significance of games in "Culture Wargames." From issue 17, we bring back "OMG Girlz Don't Exist on the Intarweb !!!!1," from Whitney Butts' personal encounters on the internet. We revisit Joe Blancato's "The Left Behind," from issue three. From issue seven, Pat Miller looks at Marathon, a classic trilogy ahead of its time in "From '94 to Infinity: Before Halo." From issue four, Max Steele shares his adventures in player-created content in "Don't Roleplay the Bugs." In issue 23's "Obscurity Below the Radar," John Szczepaniak shares months of research into the underworld of high-priced, one-of-a-kind gaming collectibles.

I hope this was more of an issue of E3 tapping out all of their writers and less of an issue of the constant stream of quality stories tapping out the magazine's innovation. —Brian Crecente

The Escapist