Still the best for rating PC games

I used to be a Computer Gaming World (CGW) reader but defected to this a few years back and have been pretty happy. The main reason for the switch is because, like the other reviewers have said, they provide good reviews that are simple to get to. If you just want to browse, you can quickly scan the ratings which include an overall "score" plus the major pros and cons. From there you can decide whether it's a game you are interested in and whether you want to read the review in-depth.

They're starting to review more hardware now (a feature both magazines were lacking in previous years). The reviews aren't exactly unbiased since one month Falcon may be the "ultimate gaming system", then the following month Alienware, and back and forth it goes. I've never actually seen them compare these systems head-to-head and come up with a winner. Not surprising as it so happens both companies are major advertisers in the magazine. Same thing with major components like video cards. They're good about giving a thumbs-up (Editor's Choice) and it's hilarious when they trash on a product, but they're not really good about specifying which product(s) are cream of the crop. I wish they'd be a little more like PC Magazine or even Consumer Reports when it came to reviewing gaming-related hardware.

In the past, the biggest sell with this magazine was the free CD they gave out each month containing demos of new games. It was great at first since they could pack it full of games. Nowadays, through no fault of their own, these demos are getting so big you can only get a few on one CD. Still, they do a pretty good job of getting the "big" releases on CD now that they have to be more selective on which ones to publish.

The number of reviews seems to be shrinking and the Vederman and Coconut Monkey jokes are getting really, really old, but it's still the magazine of choice when it comes to deciding on a PC game to waste my hard-earned money on.

Top Magazine for PC Games.

PC gamer is no ordinary vid-game rag. It consistently covers the newest, brightest, and buzzed games. PC Gamer covers the entire scope of gaming, from hardware issues and future projects to in depth interviews with developers.

Its real strength, however, lies in its editorial content. Games are reviewed on percantage scale basis, and only top notch games recieve their editor's choice award. PC gamer is usually very impartial, and they don't really pander to big advertisers like many gaming magazines.

If you are interested in PC gaming, this is the magazine for you.

it WAS good......

i used to love this magazine, but people are right. the magazine is half the size it was, and the 10 year anniversary issue was the smallest issue yet. it's also behind the times - an E3 wrap-up in the AUGUST issue? E3 WAS IN MAY! the demo disk is useless - one demo per disk - they need to switch to dvd's or why pay extra when i can download demos? i'm done when my subscription runs out.