He who controls the Spice, controls the universe!

Sadly, the only spice that Richie Shoemaker has any influence over are the chilli flakes that make it onto his Lidl pizza. Not enough to control much of anything really, but just enough to be able to summon Rhianna Pratchett, Mark Hill, Martin Korda and Keith Pullin (PC Zone’s one time staff writer, news editor, section editor and Dear Keith respectively) to talk about their contributions to PC Zone circa June 2001.

As well as cover game Emperor: Battle for Dune, the team talk about the games they reviewed but can’t remember playing, dealing with reader’s dirty phone calls and dressing up for issue 103’s iconic stealth game Supertest.

You can access issue 103 of PC Zone at archive.org or download the full set of PC Zone issues and supplements from pixsoriginadventures.co.uk.

More stories from beyond the games at pczonelives.co.uk

A more traditional podcast format for the sixth episode of PC Zone Lives, where instead of trying – and often failing – to get a virtual room full of people to remember a very specific time in PC Zone history, your amiable host goes through one person’s entire Zone-infused CV. For this first audio Oi!, Richie chats with Vici MacDonald, a freelance designer who worked on the very first issues of PC Zone and who later oversaw the extensive 1998 redesign that saw PC Zone reclaim its rightful spot at the top of the UK PC games mag hit parade.

As well as her time as a globetrotting music journalist on Smash Hits, Vici remembers the life of her celebrated brother Duncan MacDonald - PC Zone’s immortal Mr. Cursor and legend of both Your Sinclair and Zero. Duncan sadly died in 2017, but not before writing South Coast Diaries, which Vici helped publish and you should absolutely read if you were ever a fan of Duncan’s work.

Note: If you’re yet to read South Coast Diaries, you may experience one or two minor spoilers during the episode, but none that should diminish your enjoyment of the book when you inevitably get around to reading it. Which you will, won’t you!

More stories from beyond the games at pczonelives.co.uk

PC Zone was the UK’s first games-only PC magazine. You know this because, (a) we don’t shut up about it, and, (b) it was plastered above the masthead when the first issue was delivered way back in March 1993 (so it must be true).

But, did you also know that PC Zone was conceived as early as 1991? You’ll know this because Your Sinclair and Zero legend Teresa Maughan talks about the difficult gestation and much more besides in this episode of PC Zone Lives.Also joining Richie Shoemaker to remember PC Zone in utero are launch editor Paul Lakin and art editor Duncan Hemphill, both veterans of PCZ precursor Game Zone magazine.

Completing the line-up is PC Zone’s long-serving publisher Tim Ponting, who after being lured away from Zero to work on a “proper magazine”, took over from the Mother of PC Zone when she snuck off to have real babies soon after the magazine had its arse smacked.

If you need to remind of yourself of just what a beautiful baby the launch issue of PC Zone turned out to be, check out archive.org.

More stories from beyond the games at pczonelives.co.uk

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!

Masterminding the scoop of the century were PC Zone's then-editor Dave Woods, his “associate” and successor Jamie Sefton, and senior reviews editor Martin Korda (who became the first journalist in the world to play the greatest PC game sequel of all time). Entirely oblivious to the plans were host Richie Shoemaker and fellow freelancer Steve Hill - who at least has a vague memory of reviewing the original game to justify his inclusion in the Episode 3 line-up.

As well as the origins of Half-Life 2 and Steam, the team recalls an intense period of magazine rivalry, falling asleep in E3 meetings, and the perils of being a homeowner in a virtual online world.

PC Zone Issue 129 (June 2003) is available to read and download from archive.org.

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.

Joining host Richie Shoemaker are Paul Lakin, Laurence Scotford, John Davison, Jeremy Wells, Chris Anderson, Dave Woods, Jamie Sefton and Will Porter, who between them edited more than 200 issues of PC Zone from 1993 until 2008, championing the most memorable games while overseeing the finest back pages ever to close a games mag.

• 0:00:38 Paul Lakin and Laurence Scotford, 1993-1994
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• 0:23:03 John Davison and Jeremy Wells, 1995-1998
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• 0:49:09 Chris Anderson and Dave Woods, 1998-2005
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• 1:12:18 Jamie Sefton and Will Porter, 2005-2008
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Thank you for listening and see you next issue!