{{Infobox_Magazine| title = PC PowerPlay | image = Image:PCPP_cover.jpg 2005 ]] | editor = Timothy_C._Best| frequency = Monthly | category = Computer and video games| company = Next_Media_Pty_Ltd | firstdate = April, 1996 | finaldate = - | finalnumber = - | country = Australia | language = English | website = PCPP | }} '''PC PowerPlay''' (abbreviated as '''PCPP''') is one of Australia's best-selling PC games Magazines. Also available in New_Zealand, ''PC PowerPlay'' focuses on news and reviews for upcoming and newly released games on the Microsoft_Windows platform. The magazine also reviews computer hardware for use on gaming computers. The magazine is published by Next_Media_Pty_Limited. The magazine comes with a DVD which includes Game_demos, freeware games, Anime episodes, Teaser_trailers, patches, mods, maps, utilities, Computer_wallpapers, and the bunker, a section maintained by ROM (a long standing member of the forum community). A CD version was also available until September 2005 where it was replaced by a cheaper no DVD or CD version. ==Main Sections== The main sections, most of which are included in each months magazine, include: *Inbox. Letters to the editor; also contains Snippets, a small section where a sentence of a writers letter is used in a comical fashion. *INSIGHT. Usually opened by a two-page screenshot of a game with bits of text scattered around the page pointing out interesting things. Also includes State of Play, a series of columns discussing current developments in the broad genre fields of Strategy, Action, Simulation and RPG/Adventure. *Out To Play. General discussion of game related topics. Author changes on an issue to issue basis. *Modlife. A writer, James McHugh, discusses a mod (game modification) of his choosing. The discussed mod is sometimes included on the DVD at a later date. *Guerrilla Gamer. A Fictional writer, Guerrilla Gamer, discusses a topic to which he usually has dislike towards. *INCOMING. A countdown of soon to be released games. *PLAYTEST. A section where games are reviewed and given a rating out of 10. *Replay. An older game is reviewed for its impact on the gaming industry. *TECH. The tech section includes reviews on new hardware products such as videos cards, motherboards, and monitors. An interesting section included in Tech is MyPC, where a reader has submitted a photo of their workstation and 10 funny things are pointed out by the magazine. *Hotware. Includes commercial products, some computer related, others not, which a gamer may find interesting. Usually, there is at least one product that costs a substantial amount of money. *Briefing. An article which explains the history or use of a specific computer part. *Reshuffle. A review of several products, usually video cards, where the Frames_per_second and 3DMark points are stated along with a rating out of 10. *POWERTEST. Powertest is where several hardware items are reviewed for their pros and cons and given a rating out of 10. *Tutorials. A lengthy article describing in relatively simple terms how something can be done. Usually starts with a paragraph or two why the change is good. *The ISP Directory. A list of Australian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with their fees per month, their limits, penalties, and their URL. A good value ISP is chosen from the list and given a small article. *The Beast. All the components need to make a super commercial computer for crazy amounts of money. There is also "The Beastie". The Beastie is the cheaper version of the Beast using low grade parts. *The Vault. An older game, greater than 10 years, is reviewed. Sometimes, a key programmer is interviewed and their thoughts are included on how the design process and the time after the game's release went. Examples include the original Doom, the original Ultima, and Commander Keen. *On the Discs. Usually a two-page description of the software on the DVD. A short summary is given for each demo included. *Yellow Boots. An amusing last page where a non-computer related topic is discussed, from the point of view of a crazy man with a pair of apparently sentient yellow boots, with these tales often involving the author's "Crazy Ex-third flatmate". ==Score System== Each review of a game or product is given a score out of ten. As stated in ''PCPP'', a score above 5 is considered good and is very much worth your consideration. The scores are as follows, from best to worst: *10 Masterpiece *9 Superb *8 Excellent *7 Very Good *6 Good *5 Average *4 Poor *3 Bad *2 Awful *1 Stinker PCPowerPlay gave its first ever 10/10 to the game ''Psychonauts''. The second 10/10 was awarded to ''Civilization_IV''. The third was awarded to Half-Life_2:_Episode_One. People to this day debate about how the 10/10 system is flawed, while PCPP thought it is a well established and informative system. The 10/10 system is a system which replaced the old system of percentages, which were a much more arbitrary system. PCPP states "what was the difference between a game which gets 95% and a game that gets 96%? Yet this was precisely what people argued about". Under the previous percentage system, only ''Wolfenstein_3D'' ever received 100%, while the next closest, 98%, were given to ''Deus_Ex'', ''Falcon_4.0'', ''Half-Life'', ''System_Shock_2'', ''Total_Annihilation'', and ''Unreal''. ==Associated media== In addition to the magazine itself there are several websites that are closely related with it. The official PC Powerplay website was re-launched in July 2006 (after being offline for a number of years). The site is augmented by the PC Powerplay forums which are actually older then the official website, the forums were launched in 2002. An interesting and widely commented on fact within the forums is the incorrect statement that the "Most users ever online was 85 on Sat Dec 14, 1901 6:45 am". In addition to the PC Powerplay website and forums a new site PCPowerplaying was launched to coincide with the official website launch. This site is designed to allow the organisation of multiplayer games amongst the PCPP readers and forum members. It also features a section where ROM gives brief overviews of selected games. ==Forums== A large forum filled with somewhat interesting people, from glam fans such as the well known Microphone Joe, to rude girlish looking cacophony, and you wouldn't forget good ol' Catweazle, one of the popular admins. All of these people help give PCPP forums (or forams to some) a life of its own. The forums is a big community with a lot of well known members, and events such as the PCPP social events where the PCPP members contend over various online games, such as counter strike source, dawn of war, and various other games. One note, if you're joining the forums, don't take them seriously in the rhubarb section. ==See also== *Next Media *''Hyper'' ==External links== *Official Website *PCPP's online forum {{Computer Magazines}} Category:Australian_magazines Category:Computer_and_video_game_magazines