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Doom, Quake, Half-Life... PC Zone has championed some of the greatest FPS games ever released. It has also championed the most successful, such as the Far Cry series, which has outsold all Doom, Quake and Half-Life games combined. Revealing the story of how Far Cry became a signature PC Zone game are Far Cry advocate and one-time PC Zone editor Will Porter, Far Cry 2 reviewer Jon “Log” Blyth, Far Cry 4 champion Ed Zitron and the person responsible for Issue 195’s Far Cry 2 cover preview, Steve Hogarty. As well as arguing the case for Pagan Min to be recognised as Far Cry’s greatest villain, the assembled guests join host Richie Shoemaker to discuss the merits of Games For Windows Live, the lingering appeal of Mass Effect, free World of Warcraft mounts, Katie the monkey, whether Penny Arcade was ever funny, and how PC Zone might have covered Cyberpunk had the magazine survived to witness its release.  PC Zone Issue 195 (July 2008) is available to read and download from archive.org.

When PC Zone revealed Half-Life 2 to the world in its June 2003 issue, it was as much a surprise to its provincial rival as it was to the magazine's readers. Securing the exclusive and keeping it a secret was, of course, a delicate operation, never before told - until now!

PC Zone may have been resting during the second coming of virtual reality in 2016, but the magazine was awash with youth and vigour when the first VR headsets were previewed in the October 1994 issue. Your Sinclair veteran Phil South and CD-ROM Magazine’s Warren Chrismas were among those granted early access to the first consumer head-mounted displays, and remember what it was like to experience Doom in headache-inducing 3-D for the very first time. As well as PC Zone's earliest VR correspondents, host Richie Shoemaker is joined by the magazine's first disk editor, Dan Emery, as well as then-outgoing editor Laurence Scotford. In addition to reminiscing over VR and Doom, the guests remember the bad old good old days of CD-ROMs, multimedia PCs, PVC catsuits and avoiding scoring games. They also pay tribute to PC Zone legend Duncan MacDonald, one of gaming’s most creative and influential writers who died in 2017 - and to whom this episode is dedicated. Please check out South Coast Diaries if you were ever a fan of Duncan’s work. PC Zone Issue 19 (October 1994) is available to read and download from archive.org.

The reprobates of PC gaming™ are back, reliving their time on the UK's first and best PC games mag! For this introductory episode, eight former editors have been revived to tell their side of the PC Zone story - from before the days of Doom to when the magazine was being left for dead.