Let's PLAY

To reiterate Bryant's point, Play is one of, if not the, best English language video game magazines out there. Most certainly the best offering from the States. Other noteworthy titles are Edge and Game (or is it Gamer? I always forget). Play is written by gamers for gamers. That is not a sales pitch. Unlike magazines like Game Informer (who is partnered with GameStop), Play's not trying to whore out anything or steer you to a certain video game retailer. These people know their stuff, and while they may not always break out exclusive news on Stateside releases, they have their fingers on the pulse of video game culture and delve more into the things gamers care about.

I read Play like I was taught to read poetry. The first read is the "lost read." I skim the magazine in its entirety, only stopping to study something if something captures my complete attention. Over the course of the following weeks between issues, my exploration of Play deepens. The dense, well researched articles are a welcome pleasure to the vapid skeletal reportings often riddled with generally unfunny snark to hide the fact that the writers really don't have much to say (EGM, Game Informer). Another welcome feature is the lack of numerical ratings. Play dropped those like a bad habit in the print version (new, original website to be launched soon). You get the fleshed out review that speaks for itself instead of a judgmental numeric score that rarely reflects on the game itself. For those wishing to quickly see the writer's thoughts before choosing to delve into the review, Play writers offer a "Parting Shot" to the larger reviews.

But the most important difference between Play and nearly every other gaming publication/site is that every writer answers the most important gaming question in their review: Is this game fun?

Sure, you may able to to dart across a beautifully rendered open world and shimmy down a pole to deliver a killing blow to an unsuspecting target or watch Kat Williams on TV (WTF?) , but is it worth it? Do/Should you give a rat's ass?

The crew at Play take this heavily into consideration. For example, the resurrection of arcade and Sega Genesis classic Golden Axe for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 was universally met with rolled eyes. But Play kind of threw their hands up and said "Fuck it, this is fun."

Actually, the exact words were: "If you know who Frank Frzetta, Simon Bisley or Tarna are, or read Heavy Metal magazine, you don't need a parting shot; you need $59.99 plus tax and a car. For everybody else, if you like unsullied action games, beautiful heroines, large pissed-off beasts, or laying waste to evil undead hordes and the earth-plundering demons they work for, you will love Golden Axe: Beast Rider."

Sounds like a great time to me.

Play has everything I want in a gaming magazine: excellent, well-thought out opinions by good humored writers, people who investigate games coming (or not coming) from the game mecca of Japan, discuss gaming culture, good interviews with game developers, updates on cool swag, tech talk and just about anything I could think of outside Kristen Stewart (she has absolutely nothing to do with video games but I sort of throw her into any "Things I Want" list).

If you love video games and are looking for the right magazine or would like a snapshot of gaming culture at a particular month, I urge you: Read Play.


*Drool*

Posted by Myles Griffin at 11:00 AM