EDGE March 2004

For those of you with the time (or the money -£4? ) check out this months edge magazine.
Has a very interesting article on the principles of the next generation consoles (PS3/N5/Xbox2).

(I've learned not to trust anything on the internet wrt next gen consoles until the thing is released but the article isn't really specific about specs anyway)

 

I've never figured out why EDGE is so expensive?

The last time I read it, they were heralding the imminence of the Sega Dreamcast and it's inevitable success

Haven't touched it since! Same issue as it previewed the "imminent" release on the DC (launch title) of D2!!

 

Edge is still about the only console mag worth buying. The rest are so purile and not even worth buying for the freebies they inevitably carry each month.
OXM's demo discs are pathetic and green is not a good colour to base a mag round.

The next gen article was quite interesting and the concept atrwork was astonishing. Here's hoping that level of detail really is available. Funnily enough a lot of the graphics techniques mentioned in the article are already starting to appear in the more advanced Xbox games.

As for Edge's stance on the DC, can you blame them? With hindsight it's still hard to see how the DC failed with such a great line up of games and a low price of admission.

 

Edge is too far up its own backside most of the time.

Games TM is a much more readable, down to earth magazine IMHO.

I do still buy edge occasionally, but thats more a reflection on the lack of decent multi-format mags. Mind you, I do agree that the article on next gen consoles made for very interesting reading.

 

I agree, Edge can be really up itself. Still some good articles etc though.

My fav is GamesTM. Reviews are reasonable, no or little hype. Interesting articles etc. Bit more fun than Edge.

 

Personally I don't see the point of games magazines. The official ones are so partisan that you can't read their reviews and believe them. The rest are probably sponsored by some distributor to say their games are the best.

You can get (mostly) unbiased games reviews on compiling sites such as gamesrankings.com

And guess what, you don't have to pay!

 

Exactly.
gamespot.com has good reviews and previews its an ace site.

 

First time i've bought edge (and probably the last judging by the ridiculous price, I read the whole thing cover to cover on a 50 min train ride )

 

Got to agree with Squiffy and Jus myself, GamesTM is a better balanced mag writen in an informative yet enjoyable style, I sometimes wonder if the writers of Edge actually enjoy playing games as opposed to analyzing them.

 

Last time I read edge I needed a thesaurus, if the reviewers stopped trying to be big and clever it would be easier and more enjoyable to read.

 

Gamesguru,

What do you read on the toilet then? Wife doesn't allow me to keep porn in there

Jus.

 

I like Edge. GamesTM comes across as a wannabe, with too many pictures and shallow editorial.

I agree about the DC. Basically it lost because Sony promised to blow it away with the PS2, so consumers waited for it. Then when the PS2 appeared with only lacklustre games, people bought it anyway, on the promise of whats to come.

(take heed Microsoft if you are planning to launch Xbox2 early. Its still Sony's war to lose, not yours to win yet)

Edge is expensive because its printed on expensive paper and doesn't have many adverts.

 

I have to agree that edge is going downhill and they are up themselves, but it is still the best read out there, depending on what you want from a magazine.

Having said that I have just sold all my early ones, £55 for issue 1, £40 issue 2, £30 for issue 3, 4 and 5, then £50 for the next 10, I like it but not that much

Expensive ?? how much is it anyway ?? (I subscribe, thats why I don't know BTW)

 

It's not about wanting to look clever; it's about believing that gaming is a worthy pastime that deserves some intelligent critical analysis. I happen to agree with them, and actually think they're helping to take gaming in the direction it needs to go. For that I think the magazine deserves praise, yet all it ever seems to get is criticism for being willing to write about games in a grown up manner.

Sorry to pick up on one quote when it's the whole argument that I disagree with.

GamesTM is fine at what it does, and fair enough if you like that sort of thing, but the comparison is getting a bit long in the tooth now. They cater for entirely different audiences.

For the record I thought Edge's next-gen article was pretty disappointing. I felt the technology stuff was rather unintelligible for a technophobe such as myself.