E210: Gaming's Greatest Decade (inc. Awards!)

[JU!]

Not so interested in this issue. May save my 2,000 Japanese yen (about 10 quid) this month . Some bits look interesting. Some low scores this issue after massive ones last time. Best of 2000-2009 looks interesting. Not sure about some of their game of the decade stuff, is WoW really that good?!? I know it`s like an addictive drug, watchin my mates play but never looks like it`s pushin the envelope to me.

[Stoppy2000]

I don't get the Edge bashing, I get it and Retro Gamer every month and both provide a good read. I think Edge get their reviews pretty much right. And I was pleased that the EA MMA article this month wasnt written by somebody completely clueless about the sport (unless they just hid it well).

[zipper]

No, it was a typo. The review didn't "read like a 6" at all; it was generally positive, with a few reservations. The reason for the controversy was that Rockstar didn't provide Edge with review copy, with many seeing the score of 6 as an intentional way to get back at Rockstar.

Saying that, it did certainly have its thunder stolen by Halo. But then again Edge admitted as much in their reviews intro that issue.

I can see why there was controversy!

In this latest issue LBP got a positive review with reservations (imo. 6).
GTA 3 was given a single page. As I say, I don't remember anything to indicate it was a future GOTD. What text there was might read like an 8 to others, but they typed 6. I concede that the fact a 6 was typed may have helped me read the review like a 6.

As you imply, mistakes like this destroy developer / publisher / magazine reputations, whether intentional, or simply because they're busy with Halo!

[Brad]

In my time I have typed (may times) a ; instead of a '. I've also typed a , instead of a . and even a . instead of a / but I'm expected to believe someone missed a key by two keys? Was the reviewer drunk? Edgelol.

[_y_]

It was given a single page because that issue contained reviews of the Xbox launch games (Halo, PGR, Amped), Rez, Civ 4, Jak and Daxter, Shenmue II and other big title that I'm sure I've forgotten.

And it wasn't a case of missing by two keys. I believe that at that time the placeholder on the review template was "Six"; unfortunately somebody forgot to change the placeholder "Six" into the actual score, "Eight".

Also not reading anything in the text to indicate a future game of the decade is neither here nor there; these things are simply not predictable.

I actually agree that Edge probably overlooked the quality and significance of GTA III at the time; like I said they admitted in the reviews intro that month that all other games had their thunder stolen by Halo. I think it's one of the - relatively rare - instances when Edge quite significantly misjudged a game over the years. But nobody can get it right all of the time, and a good reputation is built on getting it right most of the time. I think that, over the years, Edge got their big reviews of big titles right more often than anyone else.

[Charlie]

I don't get the Edge bashing, I get it and Retro Gamer every month and both provide a good read. I think Edge get their reviews pretty much right.

I believe many do it simply because it's become quite a fashionable thing to do. I still believe Edge to be the best videogaming magazine around. Yeah, sometimes some of what they write is questionable and sometimes they get stuff wrong but, you know, it is written by human beings.

[Roddie]

People don't bash it because it's a fashionable thing to do, people bash it because it's a crock of ****.

[Charlie]

I don't doubt some genuinley believe it to be a crock of ****, but some people see something and follow it whether they believe in it or not. It's the nature of humans, always has been. Probably always will.

[_y_]

I think Edge is currently worse than I can remember it being at any point in the past. I also think it is still comfortably the best gaming magazine available.

[Eight Rooks]

Just to clarify, the LBP review sums up as - brilliant conversion, but level editing on the PSP is such a pain in the rear and the graphics suffer enough from being scaled down it's hard to see why anyone would bother with it. They allege that most of the user levels they downloaded were practically unplayable.

It's also unfortunate that Game of the Decade etc., etc. doesn't really convey what Edge want to say. I can't stand the very idea of World of Warcraft, I'll more than likely never play it and I find both Blizzard's story and the stories people tell about what went on in PvP etc. mediocre at best. But I totally see what they're getting at. On a culturally significant scale, nothing over the past ten years even comes close.

[Leon Retro]

People don't bash it because it's a fashionable thing to do, people bash it because it's a crock of ****.

I've bought every issue of Edge from issue 1 back in 1993. It's always been far from perfect, but I've continued to buy it because there is always some interesting stuff in it.

It's definitely gone down hill this decade. Well.. in my opinion, because I don't like how stuffy and serious it is. I often feel like robots are making it - instead of humans with feelings and hearts.

In many ways.. it feels like an industry catalogue, rather than a mag made by passionate, fun loving gamers. I know the people who write the reviews would really piss me off if I met them. The sort of people who try to be clever all the time, when it just comes across as tiresome and irritating.

I really should stop buying the magazine. It's like a Zombie magazine that won't die because its readers won't let it because they keep believing it will come back to life and be the magazine they remember from many moons ago.
After reading the latest issue - with all the stupid, senseless decade awards, that I didn't agree with at all, I really feel the magazine is at its lowest point ever. The awards sucked up to the industry in a very negative way - and praised games/systems/people that wouldn't get any adulation from me. The whole thing didn't gel with me. I didn't see anything that reflected what I've enjoyed about this decade of gaming.

I hope Edge finally ceases to be at some point soon. Either that.. or the publisher gets a whole new team of people who actually have some life in them.

[abigsmurf]

I miss mags like CVG when it had the yellow paged insert. People with a passion and a love for gaming that write to be entertaining whilst still being good for news and reviews.

[_y_]

I agree the writing in Edge is stale now. It used to be a common criticism of Edge that the writing was clinical and lifeless, which used to really rankle. When Joao, Mark, David and Ste were the core editorial team (I think this is around issue 90 to 130, off the top of my head) the magazine contained some of the most passionate, lively and - despite the lack of bylines - personal writing within any print videogame magazine.

I struggle to muster the enthusiasm for Edge anymore, but persist in reading it - probably for the reasons outlined above (hoping it might one day return to former standards and once again represent what I want from a magazine).

[JU!]

I agree maybe the passion can`t be felt within the pages so much at the mo. I used to love Mr Biffo for example. I still buy Edge because to me it`s enjoyable and has some interesting stuff the internet cannot offer. Lookin bck at older stuff, features about Japan or other aspects of gaming and the like I can`t read anywhere else and written in British English too. Which for me is sometimes important. This issue does seem a bit weird with the decade part but loved the last issue and one before. Even if just to read the thoughts on certain games, like Uncharted 2 or Bayonetta. I still believe getting a wide range of opinions is important, so don`t always take everything they say to heart. I still dont see any other mags even comin close although Games tm is really good.