New EGM look.....good move or bad????

[swlovinist]

I am writing this pertaining to the new look of EGM Magazine for the past couple of months. I am still consuming the dramatic changes to the mag and I feel that I dont really like them. I have well over 100 issues of the magazine(2nd issue being my oldest) and I understand that a mag has to change with the times. I think that my biggest complaint is the "jumbled format" that does not impress me at all. I still think it is one of the better mags out there, but it saddens me that it has become "just another game mag". If you have thoughts on this, feel free to express yourself!!!

[kevincure]

I think my biggest complaint is that there's no damn content in the newest issue. No, really. There's previews, reviews and an article where some poor artists drew bad drawings of the next gen of consoles. Really. That's all.

Now, I know on some levels EGM has always been like that. I could look over it, though, because their reviews were awesome. Then they stopped reviewing every new game (mostly dropping the kiddie titles) and giving only 1-man reviews to a lot of games. Now they don't review a significant number of new games, including some that could very well be quite good (like Chessmaster in the new issue). Boo on that.

That said, the state of videogame magazines isn't so hot right now from any publisher, so I still pick up EGM every month. Please come back, beloved old Next Generation! Or bring Edge to the US!

[Sylentwulf]

I started this post last month when they changed it, I think it SUCKS.

[Oobgarm]

I'd suggest looking here:

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11874

[Nature Boy]

I started this post last month when they changed it, I think it SUCKS.

Yup. But like I said last time around, it was too early to say much of anything. I've got to give something a chance first.

After a couple of issues I'm considering not renewing my subscription. I preferred having the games together by console. And I still don't like the layout as much - seems like a lot of stuff is being thrown at you and it's hard to find what you're looking for. I've read all of the recent issue and I felt like I got nothing out of the thing.

[portnoyd]

It's horrid. You can't follow anything. It's like broken surround sound. Something is coming at you and popping up at you from every point in the page.

dave

[Atari7800]

I HATE IT! IT LOOKS LIKE SHIT! WHY MESS WITH A GOOD THING?


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[brandver3]

i like it....... :(

[Mr. NEStalgia]

I don't care for it as much as the old look, but I'm not as against it as many of you apparently are.

-=Mr. NEStalgia=-

[Sylentwulf]

I'm keeping my subscription, and I still like it, my only REAL problem, is the review section. I REALLY REALLY liked the old setup, and SERIOUSLY dislike the new one. I don't know where the hell to look.

[fcw3]

IMHO, EGM looks (and tries to act like) PSM.

The "personalities" of the mag don't have the goofiness that the PSM crew has. The EGM crew come off as needy.

Give me decent pictures, thoughtful reviews and in-depth articles.

FRED

[Charlie]

I got the newest issue and it's just mess... terrible issue. Terrible mag. I informed them that I do not wish to renew my subscription. The writing is terrible, most of the guys that review the games wouldn't know a good one if it bit them in the ass (Jennifer and C.J. in paticular I can't stand)...

Plus they try to be as saracastic as possible. I hate that. It wouldn't be bad if they were funny, but they're not. They're making the mistake that every other nickle and dime mag makes: They think people buy their magizine because of their personalities. Which is bullshit, of course: People buy a gaming mag to read about games.

The letters section is really pathetic. They act so fucking superior to the readers that I'm suprised they have any subscribers left. Every reply is done incredibly sarcastic and in a very snotty fasion.

Fuck them. I blame Dan "Shoe" Hsu. Since he's took over, the mag has slowly gone further down in quality. Now it's to the point of being unreadable.

[jaydubnb]

Fuck them. I blame Dan "Shoe" Hsu. Since he's took over, the mag has slowly gone further down in quality. Now it's to the point of being unreadable.

EXACTLY. A few months ago I wrote his ass because of some inane editorial of his in which he basically called a section of the populace stupid for no reason in a "FAQ" of his. Insulting the readership isnt cool and hip, it just reads as asses mouthing off. Screw him, screw him hard, and screw him without grease.

As for the new look, I WOULD like it if it wasnt drowning in red and the review section was color co-ordinated! The new review format is pretty cheap as well.

[Nature Boy]

I'm keeping my subscription, and I still like it, my only REAL problem, is the review section. I REALLY REALLY liked the old setup, and SERIOUSLY dislike the new one. I don't know where the hell to look.

Is it just me, or is every review now also an ongoing 'conversation' between the three reviewers? That really bothers me. What, do they discuss what they think ahead of time and make sure they agree?

[Gamereviewgod]

Is it just me, or is every review now also an ongoing 'conversation' between the three reviewers? That really bothers me. What, do they discuss what they think ahead of time and make sure they agree?

This is what irks me the most. If you read the prelude to the reviews, they state that the reviewers don't know the other opinions, yet they constantly refer to each other. I don't get it....

[Six Switch]

It is ok,I like the old desigin better but I will still subscribe to EGM. :/

[orrimarrko]

I've actually been receiving EGM since issue #6, and have seen many, many format changes over the years.

Unfortunately, I agree with many of the comments some of you have made. I agree that you should have fun with your job and especially with a gaming mag job, but the magazine certainly has let me down lately. Some of these guys think that they know WAY too much about the hobby, without a lot of detail to back up the smack they talk.

Not much content - way too much advertising, and the new format reminds me of that GMR magazine that EB Games sells. Not a good thing.

Sylentwulf is dead on about the Review section - it's total chaos.

I currently get 4 mags per month (EGM, GMR, Tips & Tricks and GameInformer) and while each have their pro's and cons, EGM is definitely getting crappier by the month.

All in all, there probably will be another format change in the next few years, but this one sucks indeed.

[Kid Fenris]

I got the newest issue and it's just mess... terrible issue. Terrible mag. I informed them that I do not wish to renew my subscription. The writing is terrible, most of the guys that review the games wouldn't know a good one if it bit them in the ass (Jennifer and C.J. in paticular I can't stand)...


While I agree that the reviews should be grouped and color-coded by console, I still find the writing to be accurate, competent, and occasionally clever. Would you mind explaining why the reviewers "wouldn't know a good one if it but them in the ass," or giving examples of inaccurate EGM opinions?

[Charlie]

"Would you mind explaining why the reviewers "wouldn't know a good one if it but them in the ass," or giving examples of inaccurate EGM opinions?"

The problem with that comment is there is no such thing as an 'innaccurate opinion.' I guess my problem is the people who contribute don't come across as very objective. And nobody seems to stick to the review criteria anymore. A person will slam a game relentlessly and give it a 6.0 (above average) or give a game a glowing review and give it a 5.0 or less (it's happened.)

Another thing... they have 15 regular contribtors to the review section and about 6-8 guest contributors each month... and yet they can only review 20 games? I mean, what a joke... every section of the book looks like crap now and with over 20 people doing the mag they can only review 20 games?

My biggest complaint though is how obnoxious EGM has gotten. Everyone is more concerned with being razor-tongued then with putting out a good product. No thanks... if I want saracasm I'll turn on Letterman. At least he's ocassionally funny and he doesn't cost me a damn thing.

And bringing in Seanbaby... all I have to say about that is: He isn't funny. He's sarcastic. His 'humor' is putting together an incohernt sentence ad-lib style and then adding swear words to it (to sound edgy). I fear for my generation if talentless pieces of shit like Seanbaby can pass as humorous.

[Kid Fenris]

The problem with that comment is there is no such thing as an 'innaccurate opinion.'

Actually, there are. One can have informed, reliable opinions, and then one can have uninformed, unreliable opinions that don't reflect reality. If I say "I think PoG is really a male communist spy who can start fires with his mind," that's an inaccurate opinion, isn't it? But we digress . . .


I guess my problem is the people who contribute don't come across as very objective. And nobody seems to stick to the review criteria anymore. A person will slam a game relentlessly and give it a 6.0 (above average) or give a game a glowing review and give it a 5.0 or less (it's happened.)

Another thing... they have 15 regular contribtors to the review section and about 6-8 guest contributors each month... and yet they can only review 20 games? I mean, what a joke... every section of the book looks like crap now and with over 20 people doing the mag they can only review 20 games?

It's probably due to constraints of space instead of staff. And a number of the reviewers aren't just EGM writers --they're from OPM, GMR, and freelance pursuits.


My biggest complaint though is how obnoxious EGM has gotten. Everyone is more concerned with being razor-tongued then with putting out a good product. No thanks... if I want saracasm I'll turn on Letterman. At least he's ocassionally funny and he doesn't cost me a damn thing.

And bringing in Seanbaby... all I have to say about that is: He isn't funny. He's sarcastic. His 'humor' is putting together an incohernt sentence ad-lib style and then adding swear words to it (to sound edgy). I fear for my generation if talentless pieces of shit like Seanbaby can pass as humorous.

I usually have a beef with excessively cynical critics, but I'm not sure that EGM has quite reached that point. They tend to praise high-ranking games as often as they deride low-scoring ones, so I don't think it's uneven.

And I don't mind some snarky asides in reviews, mostly because I remember when EGM was full of bland, tired, mediocre writing that wouldn't have impressed a fourth-grader. In fact, there's already too much forgettable and unexcited commentary in game reviews today. If the EGM gang can get past that, I welcome their opinions.

Their new design however, I dislike.

[Charlie]

Kid, I didn't mean to imply that my opinion about them being too wise-assed was limited only to the review section: I think the entire tone of the magizine is sarcastic these days. Especially the letters section, where they pretty much act like obnoxious jerks to anyone dumb enough to write to them. They must have been picked on a lot in school.

[kevincure]

As an example of the wierd reviewing now, the 3rd review of Unlimited Saga slams the game (I think "This game sucks" was the first line), offers no redeeming qualities and gives the game a 4.0? If your magazine makes a big deal out of the fact that 5.0 is the average game, then games that "suck" shouldn't be getting a 4.0 (and they definitely didn't used to).

[NE146]

What I thought was funny was how they absolutely blasted the GBA game "Karnaaj Rally" and even made Seanbaby review it.. But little did they know the game is actually pretty damn good! So now, in this months issue (on page 26 in their "oops" section) They try to retract it and say that the game will get a proper review in a future issue. What a bunch of crap! LOL. They obviously just disregarded the game and then got pelted with letters & emails saying otherwise. And only then did they realize their goof.

They then try to say that seanbaby was reviewing only the box art (which in fact does suck amazingly), and that it shouldn't be taken seriously. But come on.. the title of the review is "Amazingly bad game with amazingly worse packaging". If you think that doesn't cast the game automatically in a bad light I don't know what will.. So they flubbed that one up big time :P If it was otherwise it would have said "surprisingly good game with amazingly bad packaging" etc. But it didn't.. Come on EGM.. not actually PLAYING the games your reviewing?? ;)

By the way, the game has been out forever. IGN reviewed it in January (with an 8.8) Usually once a game has been out.. if EGM passes on it, there's no way they'd go back and review it months later, especially a GBA game. So it's pretty funny that they'd say they'd give it a review in the future :P

[vincewy]

Are we seeing the downward trend of EGM just like the way we saw Next Generation? I used to like NG a lot until their reviews became biased and tainted, moments later NG pulled the plug, obviously most people working there treat this as a full-time job, rather than hobby.

I kind of missed the old days of Diehard Gamefan, all sections are printed of high-quality papers with top notch pics and reviews, the setup makes you want the games more.

[zmeston]

Are we seeing the downward trend of EGM just like the way we saw Next Generation? I used to like NG a lot until their reviews became biased and tainted, moments later NG pulled the plug, obviously most people working there treat this as a full-time job, rather than hobby.

NG's reviews were biased and tainted? How so? I don't recall any particular partisanship in the magazine during its End Times; I just remember the editorial quality plummeting after the departure of its original editors, and (especially) after it stopped regurgitating editorial from Edge and started relying on entirely original content.

Also, it kind of follows that anyone working full-time on a videogame magazine would treat it as a full-time job, rather than a hobby. I assure you I'm all too aware of the pitfalls of crossing the hobby/job line; I now consider classic gaming my hobby, and modern gaming my job, although that's probably a ridiculous distinction.


I kind of missed the old days of Diehard Gamefan, all sections are printed of high-quality papers with top notch pics and reviews, the setup makes you want the games more.

That is EXACTLY what videogame companies like to hear. Heh.

-- Z.

[Nature Boy]

NG's reviews were biased and tainted? How so? I don't recall any particular partisanship in the magazine during its End Times; I just remember the editorial quality plummeting after the departure of its original editors, and (especially) after it stopped regurgitating editorial from Edge and started relying on entirely original content.

It wasn't so much a partisanship. Just unnecessary sniping (anti-Nintendo mostly, from what I recall) within articles. I admit I'm a Nintendo fan, but I'm pretty open minded and I'm not a fan-boy. I could definitely see it.

[zmeston]

NG's reviews were biased and tainted? How so? I don't recall any particular partisanship in the magazine during its End Times; I just remember the editorial quality plummeting after the departure of its original editors, and (especially) after it stopped regurgitating editorial from Edge and started relying on entirely original content.

It wasn't so much a partisanship. Just unnecessary sniping (anti-Nintendo mostly, from what I recall) within articles. I admit I'm a Nintendo fan, but I'm pretty open minded and I'm not a fan-boy. I could definitely see it.

Hmmm... I always thought NG's snipes were fairly evenly distributed, but I'll admit I wasn't reading it cover-to-cover during its final sad incarnation, the one in which they eschewed actual content for big ol' screenshots.

-- Z.

[Nature Boy]

Hmmm... I always thought NG's snipes were fairly evenly distributed, but I'll admit I wasn't reading it cover-to-cover during its final sad incarnation, the one in which they eschewed actual content for big ol' screenshots.

I could be wrong (I admitted being a Nintendo fan, so maybe I was more sensitive to the big N snipes). But it was definitely enough for me to never buy the magazine again.