Electronic Gaming Monthly

_____Game industry news: EGM has the latest printed info on news related to game companies, both software and hardware. They cover everything from electronics shows to release parties to mergers/buyouts. Some of these details may only interest more mature readers, but it is still excellent info, professionally researched and written.

_____Rumor mills: The mag has a small section on the latest gaming rumors, like what a particular software manufacturer might be working on, or what franchises are being revisited, etc.

_____Upcoming previews: From games about to be released to ones that are months down the line, EGM has the scoop on every game announced for all platforms. Highlights include storylines, gameplay, and music, everything that is important to gamers.

_____Reviews: Released games are thoroughly hammered through by EGM's crack team of reviewers. The reviews are not single-number reviews as some have stated before. There are actually several ratings that come into play. First, the game is rated by three reviewers, and the average of those three becomes the overall score. Second, the game is also given average ratings on Gameplay, Sound, Music, and Replay value. So you get several opinions on a game in review. And that's what they are, anyway - opinions. They are sometimes unanimous (i.e. giving Halo for the Xbox all tens), or they can vary wildly (two reviewers can give a game high marks, while the third scores it low). Ratings on four categoies, plus the educated opinions of three reviewers, all averaged out, give readers some good heads-up info on a game that he may intend to rent/buy.

_____Import gaming news: A little bit of information is given on gaming news happenning in Japan. This usually includes the top ten selling games in Japan, some rumors, and some release dates. There are usually only a few pages of import news, not a lot as some have said, but just enough to keep the import gamer informed.

_____Interesting and funny articles: I can only highlight a few of the many excellent articles written by EGM staffers in the world of gaming. These include "The top 100 games ever," "the top 20 ... games ever," an article on the new style of arcades, a piece on university programs for game developers, the list can go on forever. The magazine doesn't just stick to "here are the games, and what we think about them," it covers EVERYTHING you could possibly imagine that has to do with gaming.

_____Codes and secrets: There is a section on cheat codes for those who are into that kind of stuff, for recent games. Sometimes they go more in-depth and walk you through some difficult points in certain games.

_____Little tidbits: Almost every square inch of this magazine has something, some little secret or bit of info, some related to the main article on the page, and others just there for fun. Reading an article about Final Fantasy X? Look to the bottom of the page and see s small strip on the history of Final Fantasy games. Got an article about Super Mario 64, the first 3D Mario game? Check out a sidebar depicting all of Mario's previous incarnations.

_____One thing I have to add is that this magazine is FUNNY. The writers and editorial staff have raised the bar on the hilarity of their articles, covering things from Solid Snake's mullet to Lara Croft's *assets*. Read the "Letters to EGM" section and prepare to laugh uncontrollably.

_____The platform gaming industry is huge, but EGM manages to cram a ton of useful info into every issue. Of course, PC gaming is not covered in the mag, but you can get that kind of stuff in a magazine dedicated to PC gaming anyway, so what's the problem? As far as "giving the magazine away for free," I have never seen it given away for free. I pay for a subscription and I've seen "first issue free" promotions, but doesn't every magazine do that? This is a magazine you pay for, and you get more than your money's worth.