Game Informer

The staff is not small, so you often will get multiple opinions and the rankings are surprisingly even handed, normally running between 6 and 9.5 on a 10 point scale. Descriptive analysis is consistently good. The magazines primary affiliations are with distributors, not publishers, and they pay more attention to helping you make the right decision for yourself.

Reviews are kept separate from previews, which I like. There are usually about three feature length stories in each issue. They keep charts of available releases, and often provide some minor cheats. This is really what I think a game magazine should be, rather than the pure hype and excessive advertising that often haunts 'house' publications. As I've already said - if you only want to pay for one, this would be it.


Outstanding!!!   September 13, 2006
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I just wrote a review for OPM, and had forgotten about this magazine. I also used to subscribe, and had recently let my subscription run out. I will not say it is not because I do not like this magazine, but because I am trying to save some money. But the fact is, that this is probably the best multiplatform gaming magazine on the market.

The reviews are smart and fresh, never hackneyed, or cliched, the way a lot of other magazines are (and some of my reviews, sorry guys!). But the introductory article in each and every magazine, by the Chief editor, always sounds like it has been written by a Harvard Grad, with a Layman's ability to make everything easy to understand. He has a way of making every article within the magazine all come together. Never biased, they are not afraid of telling it like it is in their reviews.

I would highly recommend subscribing to this magazine, and like somebody else mentioned, better to go directly to the store, and get the discount card. After $150 - $200 in used game purchases, it pays for itself.

Highly recommend!

MC White said: If you're a gamer, than you gotta have this magazine!

EDIT: Believe it or not, when I got home, yesterday, just after writing this review, I had a copy of the September issue in my mailbox. I had forgotten, I had called Customer Service about a missed issue. They were nice enough to extend me a two issue subscription free of charge, to cover my missed issue. I was quite impressed, and tickled pink, when I got my newest copy in the mail, when I arrived at my posh homestead.

Thank you Game Informer for continued excellent service and a wonderful magazine.



The gaming mag that pays for itself.   August 14, 2006
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I have been subscribing to this mag for a couple years, and think it's one of the best gaming mags available. I have several different consoles, and appreciate that they review games for all platforms. I like the rating system (1-10) instead of the too-hard-to-pin-down 1-5, and find the reviews well written and objective. While I have been gaming for years, I am not necessarily versed in computer lingo, but I never feel like an idiot after reading this mag; the writing is erudite but very easy to understand. I read several different gaming magazines each month, and feel this magazine strikes exactly the right balance between the more serious and more frivolous gaming magazines in the industry.

One suggestion: if you have a GameStop or affiliated store in your neighborhood, get your subscription through them. For about $15 you receive a 12-year subscription, and a card that gives you 10% off used games at these stores, as well as an extra 10% trade-in value on your used games (sometimes there will be a coupon in that month's mag to upgrade to 20% for both!).




Rock on, GameInformer   February 14, 2006
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

In the world of gaming, there are specialized magazines for each system (PlayStation Magazine, Xbox Mag, etc.), most of which suck because they only report on (duh) games on their respective systems. Others, like Electronic Gaming Monthly, encompass most systems but only do it half-assed, not really giving you anything to make you think highly of it. Then, there's GameInformer. There are many things that set GameInformer apart from many other "gaming" magazines:

1) They have completely unbiased opinions about the games they play. If the game sucks, they say so; if it's an awesome game, they'll tell you about it.

2) Matt Helgeson (Senior Gaming Editor) and the other editors actually inform you about the game's most necessary attributes: its ESRB rating (E to M), their rating for the game (from 1 to 10), and a brief introduction to the game's faults and successes. Best of all, however, they include screenshots from the game- and most screenshots rock.

These are just some of the reasons that GameInformer magazine is the absolute best gaming magazine on the market. I have a subscription to this magazine and this magazine only, and I hope my review has explained why.


forget egm or gamepro...this is " the one "   September 20, 2005
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

well written articles...accurate reviews...excellent screen footages...decent cover price........simply put, GI is the greatest video game magazine to go on sale since the golden days of nintendo power.