Best game magazine/web site for adults? (1 Viewer)

[Jeffrey_Scotts]

Just wondering what others out there use/suggest as the best video game magazine and web site? The problem I see is that I'm an adult gamer from the time the Atari 2600 was new. Being the age I am, I find hardly no good sites for information/discussion because most of them you can tell are posted by teens or kids. Frankly, I don't care what system is the best because I have a real day job and can afford the games/systems without caring. Most of what I find is skewed because it's just junk people post about due to their age. You just can't seem to get a good conversation or know what you may like because of it.

So, are there any real good sites for video gaming if you are an ADULT? I currently use the most:

1. Gamespot
2. Planet - Xbox,PS2,Nintendo (no forums because of the posts).

What about magazines? Most of what I see is aimed mainly at the teen/kids again. Any suggestions on the best adult skewed ones?

Thanks,

Jeffrey

 

[RossTerry]

i like Link Removed

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Next Generation was a great adult-skewed magazine. Unforunately it, along with other adult oriented game mags have died a horrible death :frowning:

 

[Brad Grenz]

Yeah, Next Gen was the one, but it's dead and we are all lost. Their sister publication in the UK, the Edge, is supposed to be good too. But a subscription to an ovverseas magazine costs like a bazillion dollars.

 

[James Zos]

I think http://avault.com/ may be close to what you are looking for. At least they don't consistently insult my intelligence.
While we are on the subject, do you know what I hate? Game reviewers who have a "potty" fixation. In other words, reviewers who say stuff like "This game will make you crap your pants!" or "You'll need fresh underwear after you play this game!" I've lost track of how many times I've seen writing like that in game reviews.
Jesus Christ, give it a REST already. You don't see film reviewers or music reviewers or whatever consistently act like they're writing for a bunch of three-year-olds. I know a lot of kids/teenagers like video games - but aren't most of them potty-trained by the time they start playing them? What's the deal here?

 

[Andre F]

"You'll need fresh underwear after you play this game!"

Sorry I find that comment too funny...I guess I'm a little silly.
-Andre F

 

[Jeffrey_Scotts]

Thanks for the replies, I knew about avault.com but they don't seem to have the best amount of content like gamespot.com does. Also, IGN.com charges a fee to access a lot of their content ($5/mo) and I don't need another bill. These are good sites though, it's just tough to find ones out there which are not kid/teen type.

What about the magazines? I pick up Gamepro once and a while and it doesn't seem too bad. Electronic Gaming Monthly I used to read, but they lost me because of the review format. One short paragraph about the game from 3 people and I'm supposed to know if I may like it? Give me a break, I would rather see one person do an in-depth review than a short paragraph. Otherwise, I don't subscribe to the console specific ones because they are skewed to that market and cater more to the teen/kid market. In the end, I usually read better content on a web site, but I still like to get a magazine too.

Jeffrey

 

[Rob Lutter]

I read Electronic Gaming Monthly... and for the most part, I like their reviews (having 3 different perspectives). For bigger releases, they usually have a one or two page comprehensive review then the 3 small paragraph reviews at the end.

Anybody here subscribe to OXM (official XBOX magazine)... I was looking at the staff, and it seems like there are lots of people from PCXL (which was the best mag... ever.) over there (Mike Salmon is the editor).

 

[Jeffrey_Scotts]

RobLutter:

Well, I guess we see things a little different regarding the magazines because EGM just doesn't cut it. Their reviews lack any real depth and just seem lacking in general. Also, I wouldn't touch a platform based magazine, such as X-Box you mentioned, because of the inharent problems being skewed to that certain brand. I find they lack any real criticism and they never are going to say if something is wrong with a company that feeds them. That's why I usually do my reading on the web at gamespot.com or maybe one or two other sites depending.

Jeffrey

 

[Graeme Clark]

I am still mourning the death of Next Gen, and instead of just cutting out my magazine reading habits, I've been buying magazines that I stopped reading awhile ago (PC Gamer, CGW) and trying different ones to fill the void.

I can't find the perfect one, and probably never will.

However.... I have picked up a few issues of Play and find that it's probably the closest I'm gonna get, at least for Consoles (most PC mags are designed for a slightly older, if somewhat immature audience).

Play is headed up by Dave Haverson, the same editor as GameFan and (I think) Gamers Republic. The writing is pretty good, the layout is much cleaner and simplistic than most of the the other rags out there (and not nearly as crazy as GameFan's was).

The Reviews remind me of NG where they range from a 2 page spread to a short blurb with a 5 star rating system, and since they also cover GBA, there is a lot of them.

In addition to the normal games coverage, which is the bulk of the magazine, there is also pages devoted to the scene in Japan (which I enjoy quite a bit), anime, movies, dvd, tv, music, toys, and gadgets which could all be a plus or minus depending on how you look at it.

One thing I noticed, which is something that happened all the time in GameFan, was the tendancy to gush about games that most other magazines and websites label as mediocre or disapointments (case in point, their best game of 2001 was..... drumrolls please...... Jak and Daxter). I kinda like that they'll focus a bit more on games that others would not give as much attention to, but sometimes it's just bizzare (Skeleton Warriors anyone?).

The only thing I wish it has was PC coverage, but I know Dave is not a PC Gamer of any sort.

Anyway, I'd recommend taking a look and seeing if it might be what you're after. I hope it can stick around for awhile.

 

[KevinRB]

The death of NextGen was a dark day in the gaming world. It's hard to believe that they couldn't make it, but crap like the PSM can.
I've been searching for a new mag to subscribe to also, but haven't found one worthy yet. GamePro is probably the best I've seen. Someone mentioned "Play", which has a nice layout and written better then the average mag. However, it's about 65% games / 35% other stuff. I'd prefer something that's 100% games...
For websites, I really like www.gamerankings.com. Escpially if you are looking for reviews.

 

[Jeffrey_Scotts]

Graeme Clark, KenvinRB:

Thanks for the replies on this. I too liked NextGen, but failed to mention it because they aren't in print any more. It was a great magazine, but I guess kids/teens are the main target and they couldn't make a go of it due to catering more to the adults. Another reason may be due to the fact no one big was backing them.

I'm a HUGE PC game player, more so than consoles. Currently I get PC Gamer and they are indeed one of the best ones out there. The other being Computer Gaming World and that's it on the PC side. It would seem though we are limited to either none or perhaps Gamepro for consoles. The reason I like Gamepro is because they do every game platform out their and seem to have real good coverage and reviews. I just don't think EGM is good at all like I said above. Just not enough depth to anything they review.

Thanks for the link to gamerrankings.com site, it does seem good to look up reviews and such.

I just can't believe their not more out their for adult gamers. Surely there would be enough of us that grew up during the early days of gaming (i.e. Atari 2600 brand new) that still loves to play. Why their isn't a good magazine out there or such I just don't know. Don't even get me started on the whole retro gaming subject. I'll save that for another thread.

Jeffrey

 

[Anthony Thorne]

The Edge magazine is brilliant. Written for adults, very readable, indepth reviews and articles, and lots of professional, up-to-date coverage of topics that I'm interested in. It also has less advertisements than some of the American mags I've seen. If you find a local store that stocks import copies, give it a look and I think you'll be impressed.

There was another recent British magazine called ARCADE which lasted for a year or more, and it was perhaps just as good or better. I stopped seeing new issues of it though a while ago, and presume that it is no more.

 

[BrianB]

There was another recent British magazine called ARCADE which lasted for a year or more, and it was perhaps just as good or better. I stopped seeing new issues of it though a while ago, and presume that it is no more.

Arcade is dead. Didn't sell in the quantites Future needed.

 

[BrianB]

Why their isn't a good magazine out there or such I just don't know.

Because the existing ones didn't sell enough or attract the advertising needed. Edge, currently the best 'adult aimed' games mag sells incredibly low numbers compared to the other mainstream game mags in the UK. It only continues to exist because Future use it as a 'gold standard' that attracts a LOT of 'important' readers, ie industry people & industry wannabe people. If it wasn't for them & the prestige it gathers, it'd be dead.

GamePRO, for as crap as it is to us 'adults', sells an insane amount of copies each month. It's an easier market to sell to vs the adult market that's actually wanting /content/ out of their mags.

 

[Chad Ellinger]

Does Edge stick to the European game scene, or do they cover American releases as well? It's my understanding that it can sometimes take a few months for American releases to make their way over the Atlantic, so I'm wondering if Edge is a good resource for up-to-date reviews.

 

[BradZ]

I just picked up a copy of "XBN" (X-box nation). It's only their 3rd issue, but it seems pretty good. I know you said you stay away from console specific mags, but this one has the look and feel of NEXTGEN. It's really too bad NEXTGEN is gone, they had some of the best interviews and features about the gaming world.

 

[James Zos]

I agree, XBN is an impressive looking magazine.

 

[Bill Slack]

I read EGM since issue 1 when I was a kid. It's not really targeted towards adults IMO.

Nextgen was the best I've read for gaming mags, agreed.

I just bought the official Xbox mag. It seems a bit, umm... slanted (towards MS), but pretty good, overall. And most importantly it comes with the demo disc every month, which is fantastic.

And just to be a trouble-maker, the real answer is Playboy.

 

[Duane Robinson]

To be an even bigger trouble-maker, the real answer is Juggs.