The Video Game Critic

Just got the latest issue of Game Informer and it's such a snooze-fest.  When I crack open an old magazine from the 90's (which I do on occasion), it typically contains hundreds of awesome games (reviews and previews).  Battletoads, Double Dragon, Contra, Sonic, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Super Mario World...  If you pick up one of these magazines you will be enthralled.  Hell, even the ads were amazing!

Let's see what the latest issue of Game Informer has.

Well, the cover is Assassin's Creed, and the mag dedicates about 20 pages to the TWO upcoming Assassin's Creed games!  With apologies to fans, who asked for ONE? 

The previews are pretty uninspired: Destiny (some kind of sci-fi shooter), another Dragon Age, two more Borderlands (one a PRE-sequel), another Skylander game, Madden 2015... my GOD this is boring!

The reviews are sparse: Sniper Elite, Transformers, Tales of Xillia 2, and a bunch of PC games.  Zzzzzz.

I know what you're thinking - it's a slow time of year for games.  But I've been noticing that magazines are boring all year around.  

Has anybody else noticed this??

That's why I never renewed my subscription! Gaming media has gotten to the point where it takes itself so seriously that it's boring!

As strange as it may sound, coming from a thirty-three year old man, I sometimes miss the era when games were largely targeted at children. Nintendo Power was a FUN magazine to read, and I still pull out many of my favorite issues from back when. They had a feel, an unmistakable quality, etc.

Game Informer, in a lot of ways, exemplifies the wrong in the industry. How many top 100 game lists do we need? Also, does the latest Call of Duty/Assassin's Creed really warrant a cover? How about an issue dedicated solely to the sleeper games, ala Shovel Knight, 1,001 Spikes, etc.?

What the hell is a "magazine"?

I think it's down to two things, your not that interested or up on new games. Destiny is a major release from Bungie and a lot of people are looking forward to it, so to dismiss it as 'some sci-fi shooter' shows your indifference to modern gaming. Not a criticism just saying if you were you would be aware of Destiny etc.

Also another problem as I too find newer magazines a bit dull is most games are multi-plats these days with little difference between the versions. Check the lets compare videos on YouTube for say, Double Dragon every version is different. You wouldn't be able to make one of those about modern games.

So I think it's a combination of the two above points.

I would agree. To say that the old guard of mainstream gaming is in a rut would be an understatement. They publicly say that their business strategy is to release the same games from the same franchises, year after year after year.

And worse than that, it is more or less the same few genres of games, and they all look and play the same, with that same antisocial vibe.

It's a different time.  Back in the 80s and 90s, when you saw a preview of a game with screenshots, that is all you had.  No previews on the internet, video or discussions on forums. 

The glory days of Nintendo Power, Gamepro and EGM are long gone.  The thrill you get from cracking open the newest issue of Nintendo Power is long gone. 

I think age is the major difference too.  When I was reading Gamepro, I was young with limited funds.  So, I would drool over all the reviews and hope that soon I MAY be able to buy one of the games. 

It's very different times now.  But, at least we can still read our old magazines with rose coloured glasses.....

It's because anyone is hired to write these days.

GameInformer is all about pushing B-Side articles on the net to some linear, sterilised physical format. It makes you stumble back onto Chrome and Facebook.

Some great points raised, are gaming magazines still relevant ?
As soon as I got the internet I stopped buying magazines, I used to love them but stopped buying them when we got to the PS2 era. I still have a load of Mega Drive and Saturn magazines stored away.