Anyone get the new look EGM yet? [Mobile/Archive]

View Full Version : Anyone get the new look EGM yet?

GuilewasNK

11-12-2006, 05:47 PM

They redesigned the magazine and damn if it isn't ugly as hell. I normally give redesigns a chance but this looks like total shit now.

Reality's Fringe

11-12-2006, 06:32 PM

Scan, damn ye!

Graystone

11-12-2006, 06:34 PM

Have yet to see it. I say the worst layouts in gaming mags are Gamepro, Nintendo Power, and Hardcore gamer. Is it worse then those?

Chacrana

11-12-2006, 06:35 PM

It can't be worse than the "edgy" redesign that PSM got a few years back. The thing was already terrible, but the redesign made it completely unreadable.

Moxio

11-12-2006, 06:48 PM

Yes PSM is rather lame; too "techy".

GuilewasNK

11-12-2006, 06:50 PM

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/1516/newegm2nl5.th.jpg (http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newegm2nl5.jpg)

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/3166/pressstart2dc6.th.jpg (http://img224.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pressstart2dc6.jpg)

I think Game Informer and Play have the best looks.

Trakan

11-12-2006, 06:51 PM

Please scan Halo 3 info.

GuilewasNK

11-12-2006, 06:56 PM

Please scan Halo 3 info.

I can do it, but is that sort of thing cool here?

Trakan

11-12-2006, 07:10 PM

I can do it, but is that sort of thing cool here?

I don't see it as being a problem really. If you don't want to, that's cool though.

Scorch

11-12-2006, 07:17 PM

I used to cut out articles from the digital EGM and Cheapy got onto me because he thought Ziff Davis would get pissed.

Reality's Fringe

11-12-2006, 07:19 PM

"How can we make EGM look better?"
"I think it looks fine now."
"No, no goddamn it, we need something that screams 'WE'RE ORIGINAL NO.1!' "
"Hmmm.....how about a gigantic, blocky-ass typeface that looks like a generic Atari game? It's like 'Dude, we play games and we're NOT ashamed' ."
"Fucking GENIUS."

Trakan

11-12-2006, 07:21 PM

I used to cut out articles from the digital EGM and Cheapy got onto me because he thought Ziff Davis would get pissed.

Aight, if Cheapy himself said not to do it, we'd better not.

help1

11-12-2006, 07:27 PM

CAn you... like say whats new about the Halo 3 that wasnt said already? Would it be wrong to scan a picture?

hohez

11-12-2006, 07:33 PM

I still haven't gotten my issue, it's much later than usual.

captainfrizo

11-12-2006, 07:35 PM

That new design looks like shit. I wasn't a huge fan of their old design either, but I didn't think it was possible for it to become worse when they said they would have a new look. I guess I was wrong.

mrchainsaw

11-12-2006, 07:35 PM

I hated the new(now old) look of EGM when it first came out, mainly because of no previews section, however I've grown to like it. This new look appears to be total crap. Why do magazines/companies/etc. feel the new to get a new look every few years? I hate the new Doritos, Dr. Pepper, and Aquafina bottles to name a few.

Dante Devil

11-12-2006, 08:17 PM

I have to admit, I like the old format. The new format is, MEH.

GuilewasNK

11-12-2006, 08:25 PM

I have to admit, I like the old format. The new format is, MEH.

Trust me, the other sections look even worse. The previews aren't too bad, but the review section is ass.

Roufuss

11-12-2006, 08:28 PM

THE DARK KNIGHT

11-12-2006, 08:30 PM

It can't be worse than the "edgy" redesign that PSM got a few years back. The thing was already terrible, but the redesign made it completely unreadable.

My sentiments exactly. I will gladly welcome the new design over the all red and black color scheme. I like it much better.

Moxio

11-12-2006, 08:35 PM

Looks like they're taking out text content and filling up the spaces with shitty unwanted pictures.

SilverPaw750

11-12-2006, 09:36 PM

Can someone scan a review?

GuilewasNK

11-12-2006, 09:41 PM

Can someone scan a review?

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/6127/review2iv2.th.jpg (http://img237.imageshack.us/my.php?image=review2iv2.jpg)
That's the last one from me. Don't want to get in trouble.

Purple Flames

11-12-2006, 10:05 PM

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/6127/review2iv2.th.jpg (http://img237.imageshack.us/my.php?image=review2iv2.jpg)
That's the last one from me. Don't want to get in trouble.

Ugh, they went back to thier old review format from 8+ years ago. Shit.

js1

11-12-2006, 10:41 PM

I still have not got a issue of egm yet or game informer yet for this month, I got tips and tricks though.

lokizz

11-12-2006, 11:02 PM

i got the recent one but i coudlnt tell any real difference in it. like always i just skim through it read the few interesting bits and then toss it on the pile. i miss the old egm id readd that thing over and over again till the new one game out and man i remember the old christmas editions that were always book thick ......awwww the memories.

btw what the hell happened to sushi X i used to love that gusy reviews now all the reviewers at egm are so bland and boring sushi x used to really make the reviews section a must read event.

captaincold

11-13-2006, 12:33 AM

Got it earlier this week and it SUCKS!!

The biggest problem that i thought needed to be fixed were the reviews.
They're too short & they still have those REALLY short "Review Wrap-up" reviews.

BTW,that "Star Wars Lethal Alliance" ad on pages 144 & 145 is the worst i've seen in years.

rodeojones903

11-13-2006, 12:38 AM

That is a complete rip off of Next Gen. I loved that magazine. :D

Mr. Anderson

11-13-2006, 12:44 AM

Moxio

11-13-2006, 01:10 AM

I was going to make a thread about this yesterday. EGM is now the ugliest magazine in publication. I'm not even excited about getting new issues; it's fucking unreadable. OPM also seemed to get a visual tweak, which is almost as bad. What the hell is going on at Ziff Davis?

I don't know, but this magazine just reminds me of 1UP (as well as OPM), and I'm fucking SICK of the Arial Round font now.

captainfrizo

11-13-2006, 01:36 AM

OPM also seemed to get a visual tweak, which is almost as bad. What the hell is going on at Ziff Davis?

The mentioning of the OPM tweak is interesting. This month marked the end of Computer Gaming World and the beginning of Games for Windows (same mag, same publisher in ZD, different title and slightly different look). I'm willing to bet ZD decided to re-design/modify all their magazines at once.

evophile

11-13-2006, 03:15 AM

I don't know, but this magazine just reminds me of 1UP (as well as OPM), and I'm fucking SICK of the Arial Round font now.

Yeah, thats actually what they were trying to do. Not saying I like it, but ziff davis is trying to get everything integrated to 1up, and with EGM being their flagship is adopted the design style of 1up.

OPM also is a little different this month, and CGW became a whole different magazine.

This is also why all mags and 1up adopted the EGM 1-10 scale and in terms of GFW(CGW) bringing back review scores in the first place.

Plac1d

11-13-2006, 03:22 AM

Hey, at least they got rid of that asshole who responded to the subscriber's letters.

Graystone

11-13-2006, 03:37 AM

I have no problem with the new look.

GuilewasNK

11-13-2006, 07:14 AM

I was going to make a thread about this yesterday. EGM is now the ugliest magazine in publication. I'm not even excited about getting new issues; it's fucking unreadable. OPM also seemed to get a visual tweak, which is almost as bad. What the hell is going on at Ziff Davis?

I think the worst looking one I ever saw was Gamer's Republic. Thy were printing shit sideways in that mag.

Shmitty

11-13-2006, 07:50 AM

well, i guess i'm glad i'm still getting this mag free, cause this looks horrendous. they were already one of the worst offenders in terms of wasted page space in their magazine (entire two page splashes with absolutely no real game related pictures, and maybe two lines of text) and they seem to just be amping that up.

Dead of Knight

11-14-2006, 03:38 PM

Got the digital issue today via email (I get it for free that way). Why the crap is the reviews section in pink?!

Skylander7

11-14-2006, 03:48 PM

It looks fine to me... as long as Quarterman and Seanbaby's articles are still in it, I could care less.

Then again.. thanks to CAG.. I've got 6 years worth of EGM for free :)

Also thanks to CAG.. numerous magazines I'll never read, and thus have to constantly check my mailbox to keep from pissing off the postman due to overflow.

jollydwarf

11-14-2006, 03:52 PM

Still haven't gotten mine. My subscription is up for renewal in February, I think, and I'll be interested to see just how this redesign plays out. If it's really bad, I might not re-up. I think Ziff-Davis is getting really desperate these days, as are most gaming mag publishers, I'd wager. The cutthroat nature of backroom dealings for 'exclusives' is probably driving ever upwards, and 95% of the gaming info you need hits online days if not weeks before the magazine goes to press.

EGM just isn't as good as it was even three or four years ago. This latest move may signal that they've officially "jumped the shark". It's probably going to be more of a 'companion piece' to 1up.com than ever before, and that really sucks. I blame it all on the 'MySpace culture' and aesthetic.

P.S. And while I'm all for tough reviews, they really have seemed extra-cranky for the last year or two. It seems like gaming in general is now a largely joyless exercise for the majority of their staff. Maybe they're onto something in terms of innovation stagnancy, maybe reading what the users on their site have to say has just placed a permanent scowl on their faces. Giving the peanut gallery a voice...usually not the best idea.

P.P.S. Maybe they just don't pay for s***, either. That wouldn't help the overall disposition.

hohez

11-14-2006, 03:56 PM

Well, I got mine in finally, and I don't think I've ever been this unhappy about something I get for free. The mag looks cheap now. At least it before it looked decent to compliment their openly negativity about everything, but now it even looks negative.

It's great when i'm paid up until 2010, and i'm thinking to myself, "I wonder if i can call them and have them just cancel it all and stop sending me any."

jalu6

11-14-2006, 04:06 PM

Got this and my new issue of CGW, or Games for Windows yesterday. They both got a big overhaul. The review scores seem lower overall, and CGW even did away with scores for a while, but I think they are trying to make it a 1-10 scale again as opposed to a 7-10.

jollydwarf

11-14-2006, 04:23 PM

Well, again, using the whole scale I'm majorly in favor of. What's happened for a long time with all gaming reviews, I think, is that the "7-9" scale became the de facto byproduct of trying to please the publishers (read: advertisers) and readers. The whole "5.0 is AVERAGE" line was always full of s***, as EGM has to know as well as anyone that once you put the score in the context of a 1-10 scale, gamers--who are very obsessed with high scores and getting every last point/advantage--reflexively associated it with the conventional school grade conversion chart. That is, 90-100 is some sort of "A", 80-89 some sort of "B", and so on. A "5" is seen by many as just outright 'flunking' and a "6" is barely passing.

It's funny, because I think a lot more gamers can tolerate a game getting three stars (out of five) than it getting a 6/10. Proportionally, the same thing. But it's about perception, not percentages. Granted, it wouldn't be a huge difference for many, because gamers just don't like to see games they (want to) like get anything less than stellar reviews (YOU CANNOT AND WILL NOT DISPUTE THIS, KIDS).

On this front, EGM will probably continue to lead the charge, if not fight the battle alone. By giving most games 6s and 7s instead of 8s and 9s, they're teetering on the precipice of foolish idealism. The readers are going to reject it indefinitely, probably forever. Coupled with the redesign and the multitude of sites/blogs providing gaming news constantly, it could be the beginning of the end for a once-respected publication.

rabbitt

11-14-2006, 04:29 PM

I got my EGM yesterday. I didn't really take note of the new layout. I think their primary problem is content. The staff really sucks at writing, I'm sick of being pushed into reading the second half of an article on 1up, and what professional uses l33t in a sentence?

richieyoo

11-14-2006, 04:45 PM

oh come on its not so bad. It'll grow on you.

Starky27

11-14-2006, 05:33 PM

The mentioning of the OPM tweak is interesting. This month marked the end of Computer Gaming World and the beginning of Games for Windows (same mag, same publisher in ZD, different title and slightly different look). I'm willing to bet ZD decided to re-design/modify all their magazines at once.

Well, Ziff Davis just canned OPM too...

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3155255

Jan. 2007 is the last issue...

JackFlash666

11-15-2006, 01:46 AM

Man I am so disappointed. EGM is a good magazine and I liked the format a lot, this is just weak.

PenguinMaster

11-15-2006, 01:59 AM

I got mine today and didn't even notice. Though I've always hated pretty much everything about EGM anyway (I'm not even sure why I signed up for a free year).

jollydwarf

11-15-2006, 02:00 AM

Glad to hear that OPM is soon to RIP. That magazine always read like a glossy, gaming-focused version of a high school newspaper. Terrible. As was their podcast, for what it's worth.

Again, I must ask; do they pay these gaming journalists jack-s***? Between their constant bemoaning of not being able to afford their hobby (or an HDTV to play their passion on) and the thought that many gamers just want the gig for the 'dream job' factor, I can't believe that they do.

GuilewasNK

11-15-2006, 09:21 PM

It looks fine to me... as long as Quarterman and Seanbaby's articles are still in it, I could care less.

Then again.. thanks to CAG.. I've got 6 years worth of EGM for free :)

Quartermann is cool. I can't stand Seanbaby though. I feel that way about a lot of these "Look at me! I'm super witty!" type of writers.

Damn, and I just recently got a free OPM sub too. Oh well.

mrchainsaw

11-15-2006, 09:50 PM

It seems EGM has managed to put less content into their mag. The reviews are 2/3 pictures and 1/3 writing, which is split into another third for each writer so they don't have much space to elaborate. Did anyone see the FULL PAGE picture for Splinter Cell? Seriously, WTF EGM? I'd understand if it was multiple screenshots with descriptions, but no, it's just one big picture of Sam Fisher's(I think, I've never played the series) face.