Between the Covers: Edge Magazine

I bit the bullet and subscribed to a gaming magazine yesterday, something I have not done since the glory days of CGW and PC Gamer when they had just started packing in demo disc with each issue... a 3 1/2 inch floppy disc, that is.

But this post is not to prove just how old I am. No, I wanted to talk about my new, year-long subscription to Edge magazine, a publication that I have casually picked up at the news stands these past several months and one that I have thoroughly fallen in love with.

If you needed any proof of the vitality of print media in games journalism, you needn't look much further than Edge. Standing tall with authority on the store shelves, the magazine dwarfs all other gaming zines in both size, writing quality, scope of coverage and design aesthetics. Holding a weighty issue in hand, you'd wonder if you've picked up the video game industry's answer to Wallpaper. Edge publishes very large issues packed with articles, printed on very high quality stock. The sheer glossiness of it is almost off-putting were it not for the many nuggets of gaming goodness hidden within.

The articles themselves cover the usual gamut of interviews, developer spotlights, previews, reviews and news bites. They also have regular features dedicated to careers in the games industry, typically spearheaded by a lengthy examination of a current or burgeoning games development hotspot (eg. Singapore) as well as pages upon pages of local developer spotlights. This focus on the games workforce is a big indication of Edge's more holistic approach to the industry and makes the reader feel like an insider rather than an outside consumer constantly looking in. To wit, the overriding raison d'etre of Edge seems to stem from a real passion for the industry as opposed to a desire to push products and justify advertising dollars.

One needs only to flip to any Edge reviews section and find a palpable sense of restraint compared to the rest of the magazine. A few high profile reviews may dominate some full pages but the majority of reviews are packed together in tight columns. They are written with a amazing economy of words yet never wanting in insight. Unlike other video publications which showcase their review scores with splashy fonts and graphics, the Edge staff almost seems embarrassed to score games, relegating the numbers (they use a 10-point scale) at the conclusion of each review with zero fanfare.

Above all else, it is the style of the writing that has won my heart and made me a believer in magazines once again. The text can be impenetrable at times and annoy those who are not used to creative sentence structure. But let it be said that they don't treat their audience like idiots. They have the most unusual previews in that they actually include pointed, sometimes very critical observations of games still in development. Gushing first-looks are rare and if done, you still feel like their enthusiasm is well justified. It's not a style that would sit well with someone like Denis Dyack, but we the readers benefit immensely. We get our lovely screenshots, some hard facts and juicy promises, but the sobering reservations help us manage our expectations accordingly.

If you have any love for the printed word and video games, you owe it to yourself to sample an issue off the news stand. As a high-quality import, Edge doesn't come cheap ($15 Cdn) and they are usually only found in specialty magazine stores and book stores. To save some money, you can subscribe and save an impressive 30% off the cover price.