News! Reviews! Features and STUFF!!

[dogen]

I've been using the internet for what feels like an eternity now, and for most of that time I've been totally aware of game sites. All pretty much based around the magazine formular of news, reviews etc. No suprise. But while I had favourite game magazines (Mean Machines <3) as a kid, there's no sites dedicated to those areas that I'm particularly loyal too, or use more than any other. Gamespot, IGN, whatever, it's all the same **** to me, and whether I am or not, I feel like I'm in a minority.

Anyway, point is, for you news and reviews, are there any sites you stand by and hold in high regard? What are they, and how have they changed over the years - for better or worse?

Me, I'm very lazy. Rather than scour the web or any particular site for info or latest news, I rather just sit back on a forum until someone creates a thread about it, because usually someone will. But that's just how I deal with it.

[DeathAdder]

They get a lot of criticism, but I find the Gamespot reviews very good. As well as the content, I find the layout very user-friendly - the summary paragraph before you open the review, scores, plusses and minusses to start with, then description of the gameplay, then graphics and sound.

The crappest I have seen are the 1up.com reviews.

[phorenzik]

http://www.insertcredit.com/ has a nice personal feel to it.

http://www.the-magicbox.com/ is also pretty good for new screenshots.

I too used to love Mean Machines/ Mean Machines sega. I loved Sega Power too. The internet has ruined magazines. Before the internet you used to rely on seeing the first ever screenshots of games in magazines. Now, by the time a mag comes out you have already seen movies/screens weeks earlier.

[MattyD]

www.escapistmagazine.com - one of the more 'serious' sites and it does tend to be biased towards MMO-type games, but I suppose that's the 'cutting edge' for academia right now. Having said that, it is VERY good indeed.

www.gamestyle.net
www.gamersquarter.com - these are both downloadable PDF mags and they're both enjoyable reads, especially Gamestyle, where a lot of professional industry types and journos write scathing and satyrical articles under the protection of pseudonyms.