On the cutting Edge (Edge)

Member Name: puntomatt

Product:	Edge
Date:	25/01/09 (86 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great articles, high quality of content.

Disadvantages: Fairly expensive, can be a bit pompous.

I've been reading Edge Magazine since 1995, subscriber since 1996, aquired all issues from number 1 and I think it's time for an updated review.

As noted in the title description this magazine covers all current hardware which is handy for me as I tend to buy any and every console that comes out.

Like any gaming magazine, Edge presents us with previews of future releases, news, articles and a limited selection of reviews - too many games and not enough time I imagine. The difference between Edge and every other magazine is the high quality of content and the fact that they aren't fanboys, everything is equal in the eyes of Edge.

Now I admit that over the years the quality of the content of Edge has been up and down, round 2004 I was considering suspending my subsciption as I was only reading issues for 20 minutes, there was nothing really worth reading however just as I was at the end of the rope it pulled itself back.

Now we have new sections such as "Time Extended" which is an elongated, upto 6 page review of a game from days gone by - this month is Ridge Racer Revolution, one of my all time favourite games. Another section is a making of, again picking a game from the past and discussing, maybe with the creator, why and how this game was concieved and brought to us. Always full of valuable information and and snippets of interesting facts these make Edge a worthwhile read.

Edge also select an up and coming game which they believe is of significant importance, meet up with the development house and discuss how they are pushing the boundaries of home entertainment.

Almost every month the magazine picks a subject and does a massive, multipage debate about said subject, this could be advertising in games, violence, censorship...what ever they feel may be relevant. These articles usually make for interesting reading but can be a bit full on.

Along with the above, Edge have guest columnist writing about their current experiences and/or feelings of the market, I only read this occasionally since Mr Biffo (of Teletext's Digitiser fame) handed in his resignation in early 2008, his columns were always humourous. This is not to say the other guys aren't worth reading, it's just not my cup of tea.

As mentioned previously Edge has been notorious hard on scoring games with only 10 games scoring the maximum 10. I've noticed that recently maximum scores have been more frequent and maybe not be as deserving as they should be. Generally speaking however they are right as maximum scoring games tend to be revolutionary - Mario64, Gran Turismo, Little Big Planet.

In conclusion, if you love gaming and wish to be become more informed about the industry buy this magazine, there's nothing quite like it.

Summary: Very insightful gaming magazine.