COLUMN: 'Game Mag Weaseling': Mag Roundup 2/7/08
February 8, 2009 8:00 AM |
['Game Mag Weaseling' is a weekly column by Kevin Gifford which documents the history of video game magazines, from their birth in the early '80s to the current day.]
I'm back from vacation and my mind is frazzled!
A copy of The 25 Most Influential Games of All Time arrived in the mail earlier this week, something I've been looking forward to for a while since it's done by the GamePro gentlemen and I was expecting something like Edge's Top 100 Videogames special from two years ago -- still among my most favorite specials.
This book isn't quite so ambitious as Edge's massive piece, however. It's actually a pretty small tome, and there's little more than a robust paragraph about each of the 25 games it covers, along with a few "sequels and competitors to this game" sidebars. It's very well-designed and fun to thumb through while it lasts, but the lack of content makes the book seem a little...I dunno, puny for the coffee-table-style prices being asked for.
But, then again, this might just be my foul mood talking. Newsstand distribution of most Future UK and Imagine titles (including Retro Gamer) seems to have stopped in my local area entirely, which makes me extremely despondent -- and soon poor, too, since I'm probably gonna shell out for a sub to RG. Ah, well, that's the peril of being a degenerate game-mag aficionado -- and on that note, click on to read all about the new game mags of the past fortnight.
Edge February 2008
Cover: AionGuard
AionGuard is an unsigned game from Avalanche Studios, which makes you think that the coverage is going to be spotty, concept-laden and filled with descriptions of movie cutscenes and grandiose quotes from the developers. And hey, you'd be right, because the feature article inside has all of that, although there are some neat tidbits on the technology driving the title and the issues Avalanche have had seeing eye-to-eye with publishers about where it's headed.
It's a very feature-laden ish, overall. There's also a feature on Section 8, a title near 'n dear to my heart because I was going to do a long dev-diary tie-up with them for PiQ before our magazine sadly folded. I still have all the TimeGate Studios' staff business cards bouncing around my decrepit minivan. Ahh, memories. Sorry it didn't work out, gentlemen. Following soon after are looks at Sony's music studio, 3D gaming, and even the suddenly-rebounding (again) Atari, complete with quotes from the ever-engaging Phil Harrison.
PlayStation: The Official Magazine March 2009
Cover: Resident Evil 5
PTOM has the world exclusive review on RE5 -- well, the PS3 version thereof, 'cos OXM next door is also reviewing the 360 RE5 this month. As you'd expect, the review is about 11 pages long and quite opulent.
Both mags are also doing preview pieces on the new Dead to Rights, a game I didn't know existed until now but I like dogs so I'm all for it. Other neat features: recession-bustin' gaming tips, how to be a bastard in Fallout 3, and Teresa Dun trying to make it in PS Home. Scary!
Official Xbox Magazine March 2009 (Podcast)
Cover: RE5
See above, except OXM's neato features include a look at the business of XBLA, an examination of gray-area choices in story-driven games and their consequences, a fun (and amusingly illustrated) piece on people who try to find funny glitches in games, and a 4-page expose of the new Jasper 360. I'd say OXM has a slight edge feature-wise over PTOM this month. There's also a review of Halo Wars, if you're following the game that intently.
Play February 2009
Cover: Afro Samurai
Play is certainly cementing its position as the 'commentary' mag this month, what with 12 pages on Afro Samurai (a lot of interview content, as Play's fond of doing) followed by nearly 40 pages of editor discussion of the past year's games. That's a lot of text to wade through, it is, and while I can't lie and say I'm interested in reading every word, I laud the editors for doing something different with their publication, at the least.
Girls of Gaming Volume 6
For the first time since EGM 3-D, a game mag is bad enough to pack some 3D glasses in with the issue -- in this case, letting you see some of the girls in three XXX-citing dimensions. It works pretty well, actually, a lot better than EGM 3-D ever did. (The Tomb Raider page is particularly nice.) One disadvantage: The 3D glasses dilute all the colors on the target image, which sorta ruins the "looking at pretty girls" effect.
[Kevin Gifford breeds ferrets and runs Magweasel, a site for collectors and fans of old video-game and computer magazines. In his spare time he does writing and translation for lots and lots of publishers and game companies.]
Categories: Column: Game Mag Weaseling
5 Comments
Didn't GameNOW's final issue include 3D glasses? Or was that just an unhappy fever dream I had?
parish | February 8, 2009 12:21 PM
Given the collapse of Sterling, I thought you'd have already gobbled up one or two UK subs by now.
hahnchen | February 8, 2009 12:29 PM
I bought Play after being stunned by the 40 pages of 2008 retrospective coverage. I'd never tried the magazine before and I will most likely never try it again.
It was filled with big huge glaring typos and nonsensical sentences, not to mention the fact that it seemed as if it was written by a bunch of people that hate the game industry.
Most of the retrospective commentaries were simply explaining why 2008 was the Worst. Year. Ever. for gaming.
I simply couldn't believe that at a time when gaming is coming into its' own as an art form and game journalists are becoming more and more respected as true critics, we had a magazine full of people who couldn't get over themselves long enough to really appreciate it.
Am I taking crazy pills? Did anyone else get fed up reading this magazine?
Rich Clark | February 8, 2009 4:20 PM
It's Dave Halverson, this is a guy who falls over himself for mascot 3D platformers regardless of quality.
It's a guy who lauds Golden Axe: Beast Rider because the protagonist has a pair of breasts, and then slags off the every other single publication when they disagree with his analysis.
I haven't however, read a recent copy of Play. Don't really see the point, nice pictures though.
hahnchen | February 9, 2009 5:04 AM
yeah, i cannot BELIEVE that the editorial in that issue of play, where halvy goes off the rails about how the industry SUX THE MOST these days, was not worthy of comment.
you know, the one in which he compares himself to barack obama!
ferricide | February 9, 2009 4:48 PM