Re-designed Game Informer

[BHvrd]

Gotta admit I really like the new look. Reminds me of NextGen (my last favorite gaming mag) and the older days of gaming mags with streamlined pages, focused previews and not an overload of ads every page.

The reason I cancelled my sub to EGM years ago was the stupid marketing and over abundance of crap, nice to finally see a gaming mag streamline their layout.....finally.

[Dangerboy]

I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but apparently logging the Edge card # into the web-site allows for extra content and stuff. But I agree, I love the new look.

[YoshiM]

Just got my copy in the mail today. The artwork for that new Mickey Mouse game looked wicked. I haven't had a chance to read it yet but after a quick thumb through it looks pretty good.

[Neil Koch]

I like the new design. Seems like they are trying to look more like a "serious" publication - at least they finally got rid of the stupid nicknames for the editors.

[Gentlegamer]

I'm looking to subscribe to a game mag, and right now I'm eyeing the new EGM when it comes out and GamePro since John Davison has joined them. Should Game Informer be considered, too?

[Snapple]

I would consider Game Informer if you want an Edge card for discounts on used games. I like the magazine personally. Always have. Game Pro lost their way years ago, and EGM went under. So, not like there are a lot of quality choices left.

[otaku]

this is the only mag I read besides retro gamer but I really only read it because it came with my edge card.

[Gentlegamer]

I would consider Game Informer if you want an Edge card for discounts on used games. I like the magazine personally. Always have. Game Pro lost their way years ago, and EGM went under. So, not like there are a lot of quality choices left.EGM is coming back, Steve Harris bought the rights from Ziff Davis. www.egmnow.com

John Davison, former chief of EGM (when it was good) is going to GamePro. He founded the What They Play website (recently purchased by IGN).

I guess I'll continue to weigh my options.

[heybtbm]

I subscribe to Game Informer without bothering with the Gamestop/Edge card bullshit. It's cheaper without the card (which I never used anyway). Game Informer is a quality mag. Reminds me of the good old days of Gamefan.

[Robocop2]

I'm still adjusting to the new format. I always kind of liked the "don't take ourselves too seriously" format of the mag and some of that seems to be gone. I need my random silly "charts" comments damn it

[swlovinist]

I have liked the mag for some time(since the downfall of EGM of the mid 00s) and am adjusting to the new format as well. I have thought for some time that Game Informer has had some great articles. Their reviews are always the LAST thing I read, as some are great, and some are just plain off.

[Porksta]

I miss the Classic GI reviews, as well as the joke glossary term they would always include.

[WCP]

I recently got an issue in the mail, it has Crackdown 2 on the front. Is this the redesigned GI ? It doesn't seem much different.

[Oobgarm]

The first redesigned issue has Epic Mickey on the cover. I think yours is the issue before it.

New logo looks like this:

http://media1.gameinformer.com/images/site/site-logo_beta.png

[jonnyutah]

cover reminds me of gamers republic. ahh.... I remember sitting in barnes%noble reading the latest next gen and gamers republic.. i would always have a copy of a outdoor photography when women walked by to make me look "cultured" :)

Btw, what year was the last published gamefan?

[mnbren05]

I am not a fan of the new design. They cut out classic GI, the quizzes, and more. I felt like I was actually getting less with the magazine overall and the new design had me put off. Still same quality one can expect but the new design seems odd. Oh well.

[RPG_Fanatic]

They cut out classic GI.

It's still there, it's on page 118. They talk about Mickey Mouse games.

[OMF2097]

at least they finally got rid of the stupid nicknames for the editors.

Good Lord Jeebus Christmas...it's about time.


"The Gamer Hombre"....seriously..

[NayusDante]

Overall, I'm calling it a miss. The page layouts would be very nice on a website, as they look like a super-slick theme for WordPress or any other CMS, but it feels flat in print. I was having trouble understanding just where one column ended and another began. There's certainly less variation in section layout than before, so it feels more like a catalog than a magazine. I say keep the art direction but go back to the old layouts.

The old GI was certainly unprofessional, and the reviews are generally just a way for GameStop to say "buy this, it's 75% good!" Still, that made it feel campy enough to remind you that it was coming from GameStop. I expect that kind of tone from them.

[BydoEmpire]

I miss the Classic GI reviews...You mean the reviews where they'd assign random scores to games unless it was a big-name title, in which case it got 9.5/10 or 10/10? And then they'd have a second opinion which was almost always exactly the same (+/- 0.25 points) as the first? I always hated GI's reviews. I liked their occasional interview and previews, and I always thought GI was a good-looking magazine, but they had the worst reviews of anyone.

[Zap!]

I'll dissent, I don't like the new look and feel at all.

Also, what is the last issue you subscribers received? Mine was issue 199, nearly 6 weeks ago.

[NayusDante]

I got 200 last week. I think they shifted things two or so weeks off, because it felt like 6 weeks to get that Epic Mickey cover from when I got the previous issue.

[Bojay1997]

The Epic Mickey issue didn't seem that different. The following issue was a huge disappointment, however. Lots of very outdated reviews and what seemed like very superficial feature writing. In fact, I can't recall a single interesting article and they reviewed many of the same games that Edge did a month before, but it takes me a month after release to get Edge usually, so that tells me the reviews were really, really late. I think the truth is that the only really good game magazines left are Edge and Retrogamer, both UK based.

[Zap!]

I got 200 last week. I think they shifted things two or so weeks off, because it felt like 6 weeks to get that Epic Mickey cover from when I got the previous issue.


The Epic Mickey issue didn't seem that different. The following issue was a huge disappointment, however. Lots of very outdated reviews and what seemed like very superficial feature writing. In fact, I can't recall a single interesting article and they reviewed many of the same games that Edge did a month before, but it takes me a month after release to get Edge usually, so that tells me the reviews were really, really late. I think the truth is that the only really good game magazines left are Edge and Retrogamer, both UK based.

What's on the cover of the latest issue? On their online site, they still list Epic Mickey as the latest issue. If I don't get it by Monday, I'll have to call them.

[NayusDante]

There's a bunch of different covers for issue 200, celebrating their list of 200 games they think are the best yet. No, I don't think there's 200 different covers. I saw an FF6 one at GameStop, but the clerk promptly blurted out "that one's MINE!" I ended up with Gordon Freeman.

Speaking of that "top 200 list," it's abysmal. How the hell do you put together a Top 200 list where a good percentage of the titles have ZERO description or justification. There's tons of entries where all they have is a title. No description of the game, no publisher info, not even a developer credit. Example:


140 Diablo
PC - 1996

From that blurb, do they expect me to think that Diablo is the 140th best game ever made? NFL2K5 is #183 and gets a paragraph. From 121 to 200, only 33 have anything beyond a title.

GI was a joke. Now, it's not even funny.