PowerUser.TV - Episode 31

I think that CGW has been on a slow slide to crapulence for a LONG time, that's what I think. This is just further proof of that. The torch has DEFINITELY been passed to PC Gamer and Computer Games, they're far better PC gaming magazines all around.

Wow, if thats true about the rating stuff, I'm cancelling my subscription. PC Gamer is good you say?

Uhh, what's wrong with having no rating exactly? Ratings are a crappy way of determing how much you'll like a game. Halo 2 got 100%s from some reviewers, but I'm sure many people on this site would rather play Gal Civ 2 or a good PC FPS.

It would be fine if some of the reviews weren't a couple of paragraphs long. CGW has been getting tight with the space they give the reviews lately, and with the lack of the game of the year (which GCII can no longer put on the box when they win it) CGW is starting to sink faster. I for one read Play more often than CGW because they do games in all formats as well as anime reviews. There game reviews are way too generous, but it helps me figure out what I want to buy for my PS2 and PSP as well as computer games and what Anime to rent. The only 2 good things about CGW anymore is the Bruce vs Tom thing and the Coffey article at the back.

The idea behind eliminating the 'number', while it may seem defendable at first glance, but in the end it is pretty much a bone headed move.....and I didnt even realize CGW was owned by Sony


So now instead of telling me what a game is like to play, a reviewer is going to spend endless hours contemplating how to target his review if they want me to know how they really felt. There is just TOO MUCH WIGGLE ROOM between "OK, GOOD and VERY GOOD" Almost every review falls in the 3-4½ star range, and if your not going to quantify for me what games you think are better than others, you are not reviewing anything.

All they have done is taken what little relevence thay may have still had and thrown it away. I havnt read a print review magazine at all in over a year, and its been over 2 years since I did so with any regularity. They are just too far behind the curve. By the time they review a game theres a 50/50 chance Best buy doesnt even stock it anymore.

ON ANOTHER NOTE:
Ive been listening to PUP for a long time now (although I still can figure out why my RSS Feeds dont provide a .mp3 extention (have to edit it manually from bla bla_mp3 to bla bal.mp3 ) but I hightly reccoment it....its an entertaining podcast.

Good points, ALF. I also agree that the only enjoyable thing about the mag these days is the Tom vs Bruce thing. However I loathe the Robert Coffey editorials because he so obviously tries too hard to impress with his vocabulary. It's almost painful. The last time I read someone so pompous and pretentious it was Gary Gygax's column in Dragon (I know, it's sacreligious to say that about one of the founders of D&D but it's true, unfortunately.)

PC Gamer has always been a lot of fun, the writers for that magazine clearly love games and they're not afraid to dish out a bad review even on AAA titles like Quake IV, which they pegged perfectly in the low 70's, iirc. I also like the fact that they have a tight-knit TEAM of reviewers that clearly game and LAN together and I think that's cool, whereas you get the feeling that the CGW group barely does anything together.

If you are looking for a magazine with very solid writing that also focuses on EVERY game, not just the triple-A titles, then check out Computer Games, because they've always been very solid as well. The Tom Chick article at the end of that magazine is much preferable to the Robert Coffey one in CGW, that's for sure. (Though I reckon that's a matter of opinion, mainly...)

Okay, now I'm rambling or as Robert Coffey would say, "but I digress".

GalCiv 2 rules!