I have chosen two magazines to review, Edge magazine and GamesMaster. First I will look at their appearance and what, if any, indication they give from the front cover. Secondly I will review how the magazines are written and also what target audience they are aimed at.
EDGE
The first magazine “Edge” is different even to look at. It’s smaller than a usual A4 which makes it stand out straight away. The cover on this edition came in two styles, but the one I have is grey with a transformer stood up on the front. The information on the front of the magazine tells you what games they will be reviewing. There is a little bit of text providing additional information of what the image is on the front cover and that it’s from the game studio ‘Jagex’ and also that they are testing the Wii U. The choice of language in the statement ‘Wii U on Test’ implies they are not just playing the Wii U for enjoyment purposes and relaying their findings, but they will put it through its paces, and make sure the hardware is capable of what the consumer would expect.
The game reviews in Edge go into much depth. So much so that they even talk about concept art, and the game trailers in some cases. The language choice in Edge seems a lot more mature then most, even a little explicit in some cases. “Young but immortal, and a bit of a prick, this is Fight Club’s Tyler Durden meets Highlander’s Conner MacLeod” and “everything since has been an escalating orgy of hack-and-slash violence, sex and drugs.” are some good examples. Also the reviews sometimes focus on certain gameplay aspects and then relate them to a game mechanic that may have been previously used in a game to give the reader some familiarity. Another aspect I favour with is Edge’s review style. They don’t have set criteria. So rather then an out of ten or a score at the end of the review, there are paragraphs that sum up the good and bad points.
The way the articles are set out on the pages is pleasant too. With the main body of text on the left along with the images, which consist of game screens and concept art, on the right. It all seems very structured. This layout is a consistent style through the magazine game reviews barring a few of the longer ones. Edge also has full articles on indie games that go into as much depth as they would on an AAA game. This gives the reader the indication that Edge is focussed on the gaming industry as a whole, rather than just trying to sell the latest game. Also the articles later on in the magazine help strengthen this.
**After the game reviews ‘Edge’ then leads onto some interesting articles about studios and certain gameplay aspects that were either revolutionary or original. This then leads on to articles focusing on game play aspects that are becoming either stale, or are turning up in most of the modern games. They don’t always focus on the good points either. In a review I was reading a few months back there was a discussion with a Japanese studio and rather than focusing on how successful they are, they discussed how hard the journey has been to get to where they are today. They discussed the problems they have had, and how they overcame them, also touching on the bad game releases they have done and why it wasn’t a success. This type of in depth critique of a game studio would rarely appear in any other gaming magazine. This alone would set Edge aside from most other gaming literature. Their choice of interviews and how they are written, you as the reader feel at no point any sense of biasedness towards a genre of game, game studio or even games themselves. They also, on occasion, talk about up and coming technology that will affect the gaming industry. Some other gaming magazines may touch on this, but Edge goes into greater detail usually. For example; they often talk to the creators of the devices and what inspired them to do it, rather than just talking about the product.
With all this in mind I feel the target audience for Edge isn’t just your average gamer. As they put much consideration and effort into reviewing not only games, but supplying information about the industry as a whole and what challenges it faces. Therefor I believe it is aimed at people that would like to be working in the industry but also people that are interested in the industry and people who are already working in the industry.
GamesMaster
GamesMaster is a well-respected game magazine. I remember it from my child hood as I was an avid gamer from a young age. First looking at the front cover it has a very bold statement that stands out as much as the title itself. “No.1 for” followed by each icon of the game consoles and even mobile gaming too. Other than that statement and the Title there is little other information on the cover. This particular issue has a lot of focus on the new Tomb Raider game; as such cover has a large image of the all too familiar Lara Croft. Although in this incarnation she is a bit different. There is a little text overlay on the image of Lara. “Exclusive First Play” to draw the reader in, particularly if you are a fan of the Tomb Raider series. The magazine does come in a cardboard sleeve which does make it stand out on the shelf in a newsagent. They also give you stickers and posters, which is great!
The first thing I notice when opening the magazine is the brightness of the pages. Every page seems to have lots of images with text overlays and it can look a little disorganised. That being said once you start to read through the magazine it is very much structured as you would expect. The game reviews in GamesMaster have set criteria. Graphics, Gameplay, Accessibility, Lifespan and Innovation are there choices. Underneath each of the criteria is a definition. Underneath Accessibility, for example, it says “How easy is it to get into the game, if you’re a noob? A game that requires a lot of effort to unlock its true potential would suffer in this category.” This description is great as it possibly indicates the magazines target audience. Using slang terms like “noob” are generally used by teenagers, although an avid online gamer would be all too familiar with this term. Each of the criteria then has a percentage, and then at the end of the article there is an overall ‘Judgement’ which is a mean average of the criteria percentages. Then there is a 5 other ratings that apply to the mean average which gives you some additional information. 80-89 per cent, for example, would be “Very enjoyable with some stand out moments.” I do like the criterion system GamesMaster use, I has a well-rounded criteria set and gives a good indication of how good a game is going to be.
GamesMaster also interview game developers. In this issue there is and Q&A with Shigeru Miyamoto. The questions are quite generic though, “As a creator, what excites you most about the Wii U?” This question being aimed at a man that helped create the console is, I think, is open to a bias opinion. This could contradict a small band of text at the bottom of the front cover claiming “Unbiased Reviews!” but perhaps the unbiased reviews only apply to the actual game reviews. The language in GamesMaster is just typical literature; there isn’t any language that makes it stands out. It’s clear, gets to the point and easy for everyone to understand.
There are some additional features I like within the pages of GamesMaster. In this issue they have a ‘Hall of Fame’ which lists the most popular games for each and every console. This is great as it set out in a very visual way; the game console at the top with a list of games below and there previous game review score. This is a great way to sell a game as you know that the majority of other people have enjoyed the experience, so perhaps you are more likely too.
The target audience for GamesMaster is more the teenager although as a young man I still find it appealing. As it covers every console it doesn’t alienate any specific gamer, Xbox Magazine, for example, would not be suitable to the ps3 gamer, whereas GamesMaster suits the needs for everyone. Suiting the needs for everyone, I feel, comes at a small price. You have aim the language of your magazine for children and adults alike, although this isn’t always a bad thing.
To sum up the above reviews: If you were wanting to read something more in depth about the games industry, that focus’s not only on the recent games that are release but also the industry as a whole, then Edge is for you. Whereas if you still want good game reviews, with a criteria based review system, and a less in depth view of the gaming industry, but not completely cut off from it GamesMaster is what I would recommend to you.
Laneyboom 