The centrepiece to the issue is our run-down of the best (and worst) in gaming from 2000 to 2009. The decade which finally broke up Nintendo and Sega's domination of the console world and sealed and then stalled Sony's leadership over it. The decade which introduced a newcomer, Microsoft, to the console market, which would go on to define online gaming for millions of players. The decade in which games as diverse as World Of WarCraft, Pet Society and Wii Fit would profoundly extend videogames' reach in society, welcoming new – and lapsed - players in droves.
We give credit to the games, the companies, the people and the hardware that made the decade what it was, and showcase what made the decade for Edge readers and various leading developers.
Elsewhere in the issue, we look at the cutting edge of motion capture – the technology which breathed new life into Nathan Drake – meet the head of one of the most powerful and newly dynamic publishers in the world, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada, and visit the Moscow underground to see 4A Games' atmospheric shooter Metro 2033.
Among many other features, we also look at Blizzard's extensive re-launch of Battle.net to understand what it takes to develop an online gaming infrastructure which will both satisfy millions of players and point to multiplayer's future, and meet the developer creating an action MMOG for Home which could point to new ways Sony's 3D social gaming platform can continue to evolve.
Previewed Star Wars: The Old Republic, Mass Effect 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Skate 3, EA Sports MMA, Dementium II, Dante's Inferno, Napoleon: Total War, Lost In Shadow, Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, Hokuto Musou and Espgaluda II Black Label
Reviewed James Cameron's Avatar: The Videogame, The Saboteur, Tony Hawk: Ride, Wheelspin, F1 2009, Blue Toad Murder Files, LittleBigPlanet PSP, PixelJunk Shooter, Gravity Crash, Forever Blue: Umi No Yobigoe, Maestro: Jump In Music, Invizimals, Astro Boy, Gyromancer and Pokemon Rumble
Time Extend Fahrenheit
The Making Of Diablo