For buying guides I go to gaming publications for part of the low down (nothing beats having tried for myself though) but for gaming journalism I'm somewhat limited in my options.

There's the small amount of gaming journalism from the BBC (which I often disagree with at any rate, but at least they take it somewhat seriously)  and then occasionally there's the odd article in Wired, but for the most part I'm limited to websites such as Penny Arcade (the light hearted side of gaming journalism. Even if it's entirely Op-Ed journalism) and yourself.

Of course there's the excellent Edge Magazine, but that's just about the only gaming publication I consider to be anything more than a buying guide.

And then there's Idle Thumbs (http://www.idlethumbs.net) of course, which really defies classification.

Yeah...Idle Thumbs is good.  It is a big step up from most of the online sites that just want to put up screen shots and rave about DOOM.

Well there was a magazine with a healthy dose of humour inside, PC Accelerator... but it went under. Shame, too. The first copy of their magazine I bought (when I found out about them) was their third to last issue....

just finished reading it ... once again Kieron wrote a great article.

I've been reading his work more-or-less since he joined PC GAMER UK, and he writes some great articles. They come off as fresh, unique and with his signature sense of humour. He also has this great skill where he opens the review with something completely irrelivant to the game, and your thinking "WTF?" but by the end of the review, you understand and see the relevance in that opening paragraph. The best one I've seen is in his Medival : Total War review.

In fact, the whole PCG-UK mag is great like that. So far, they're the only magazine who genuinely entertain/amuse me as well as give me the facts I need in a mature mannor. I do check out some gaming websites, but apart from Idle Thumbs, most come of as being VERY dry (see : Gamespot.com).

So for me, I'll be reading gaming magazines for many years to come.


SiN

Why, thanks Rodi!

I would like to use this opportunity to confirm that Rodi has nothing to do with the Idle Thumbs. Nothing at all. He gains nothing by being impartial and truthful. Come to think of it, he did submit a writer application...

Bow down to the Thumb!

Good read.  'Manifesto' is a term that needs to enter wider circulation.

It reminded me of insert credit's Journalism: the Videogame feature last year.  I seem to recall hearing some good commentary of a very similar sort, from folks like Tycho of Penny Arcade and Nich Maragos, formerly of the Gaming Intelligence Agency.

Might also be worth a read.

I've been reading his stuff since he was known as C-Monster, in Amiga Power.  God, that mag was great.  It folded along with the Amiga.  Some games got 3, some got 7, a few even got 10, but they were rated out of 100.

Nothing wrong with buying guides, especially ones that cater to a more varied audience than the hardcore. It doesn't hurt if they have a greater perspective than what is hot this year, ie. they point out recent classics and underdogs that are worth picking up on budget.

For example if the yearly roundup includes sections on:

Quick n easy Webgames
Games suitable for families and young children.
Budget games, Ie. made for budget games.
Discounted games- games which are worth buying at reduced prices if not at full price, ie. games which are too short to be worth full price.

All this talk of "mature commentary" and investigating the industry more or less misses the point, it is only the obsessives like us that are interested. And wouldn't you rather read a retrospective of games you might have missed rather than an interview with some corporate suit.

I'm going to disagree with you (to a point) on this.  I think the way the press dealt with the rock-and-roll stating in the 60's is a good example of how taking something seriously can effect it's status as art.  Once rock writers stopped doing "buying guides" and "P.R. pieces" for teenagers are started to see it really flourish.

>I think the way the press dealt with the rock-and-roll stating in the 60's >is a good example of how taking something seriously can effect it's >status as art.

I'm not quite sure what you mean, however if you mean that there should be more content like the U.K's Edge magazine then I agree, I find some of their features like interviews with game designers (rather than publishers) to be pretty good. And I like the Time Extend feature. Sadly it doesn't come with any sort of cover disk, even if it had one with video footage (of games? of behind the scenes interviews? of makings of?) that would be a bonus. I might renew my subscription? I don't know how much of a market there is for it yet.