Random forums do everything a magazine could hope to do and better. Shit I get more info on gamefaqs boards than nearly every corner of gaming media combined.
I never understood the need to read reviews on games and movies. Unless you know that particular reviewer is pretty much always in agreement with you. In that case they all have social media or youtube channels these days, so no need to go to a "professional" publication.
But I also rented a lot of shitty games back in the day, so paying attention to reviews ahead of time might have helped.
I never understood the need to read reviews on games and movies
Back in the pre-Internet days, even up through the early '00s, that's about all we had. Unless one of your buddies bought the game or watched the flick before you did and could give you a first-hand review, the gaming press and review media (think EGM/PC Gamer for games and "Siskel and Ebert" for films) were our lifeline for whether something was going to be worth our time and money. There was always some suspicion of payola and collusion back in the day, but we tended to overlook it as the reviews from multiple magazines usually lined up - if a game was a shit-show then there would be at least one mag that would be honest about it.
Obviously, things shifted pretty quickly between 2000-10, when we started realizing how deep the rot and collusion - both between the games press outlets and the publishers, and among the games press outlets themselves - ran in the industry. We now know how full of shit they all are, so anyone who takes the hobby seriously knows to go to independent review sources for any info they need.
That's usually what I use aforementioned forums for. Just seeing topic titles often will give me all the info I'd need on a game. And keeping hype down for a game is always a good thing, and hype is literally half of what all these publications did.
Honestly, pick any independent reviewer on the Internet and research them well. The more corporate sponsors they have the more beholden they are to someone else's money, so just be aware of who's paying their bills.
Random forums do everything a magazine could hope to do and better. Shit I get more info on gamefaqs boards than nearly every corner of gaming media combined.
I never understood the need to read reviews on games and movies. Unless you know that particular reviewer is pretty much always in agreement with you. In that case they all have social media or youtube channels these days, so no need to go to a "professional" publication.
But I also rented a lot of shitty games back in the day, so paying attention to reviews ahead of time might have helped.
Back in the pre-Internet days, even up through the early '00s, that's about all we had. Unless one of your buddies bought the game or watched the flick before you did and could give you a first-hand review, the gaming press and review media (think EGM/PC Gamer for games and "Siskel and Ebert" for films) were our lifeline for whether something was going to be worth our time and money. There was always some suspicion of payola and collusion back in the day, but we tended to overlook it as the reviews from multiple magazines usually lined up - if a game was a shit-show then there would be at least one mag that would be honest about it.
Obviously, things shifted pretty quickly between 2000-10, when we started realizing how deep the rot and collusion - both between the games press outlets and the publishers, and among the games press outlets themselves - ran in the industry. We now know how full of shit they all are, so anyone who takes the hobby seriously knows to go to independent review sources for any info they need.
Well, being a PC gamer, it's nice to know ahead of time if something is a total dogshit port.
That's usually what I use aforementioned forums for. Just seeing topic titles often will give me all the info I'd need on a game. And keeping hype down for a game is always a good thing, and hype is literally half of what all these publications did.
RPGCodex for debates
ThePirateBay for free demos
Unfortunately no substitute for the beloved Woman's Weekly, just accept that you will not have great hair every day.
love me some free demos 😎🏴☠️
Thanks, Dauphong!
Honestly, pick any independent reviewer on the Internet and research them well. The more corporate sponsors they have the more beholden they are to someone else's money, so just be aware of who's paying their bills.