"The Sniper Rifle is a powerful, if misunderstood beast. For the special breed of action junkie, who is blessed with enough patience to wield it, the weapon says the following: “Provided you sacrifice all of your peripheral vision, I solemnly swear to destroy – not wound or incapacitate, destroy – any son of a bitch you dislike from half a world away, using a bullet longer than most ballpoint pens. That is why they designed me. That is why this multiplayer map has a book depository building in..."

"Over the years, gamers have seen dozens of high-profile titles make their world debut by being featured on the cover of Game Informer. In fact, if you’re a regular shopper at GameStop, you’re probably one of the magazine’s more than two million readers.

But does a game getting on Game Informer’s cover signal it’s going to be great?

Can you be confident that these debuts will, one or two years later, become games you want to buy and play? Perhaps the magazine has a “Madden” curse (though..."