4. Game Informer: Definitely a contender for most improved, this Gamestop exclusive is a solid one. There's a great retro section in the back along with accurate trivia that certainly earns a point or two. The odd and obnoxious size makes it difficult to handle and hard to store. Writing is a bit above average, though a recent review of "Tiger Woods DS" was simple excruciating. The reviewer was too lazy to open the instruction book to learn how to perform a simple function (or maybe he didn't even play it that long). Ouch. Even still, it's a lot better then the junk they produced before the millennium. Grade: Buy it off the shelf
5. Nintendo Power: If you read this for your gaming information, it's time to move on. Seriously. This is almost without a doubt the most useless printed gaming journalism available, blatantly advertising all Nintendo made products and giving them ridiculously high praise. It offers little in the way of useful information. Grade: Leave it
6. PSM: If Game Informer is most improved, PSM takes home the award for biggest decline. Now stuffed with ridiculous graphics that make everything hard to read, it's obvious more time is spent is spent with the overloaded look than with anything resembling a game magazine. Immaturity reeks on every page, something that ironically, Game Informer could have been panned for all those years ago. This was a decent read back when their first issue launched with "Final Fantasy 7" on the cover. It's a shame they don't look back to those days. Grade: Leave it
7. Official Xbox Magazine: Ok, so the scores are bloated. Ignoring that, this is a solid 'zine with nice trivia or odd fact running along the bottom of each page. They have a decent crew with a solid sense of humor, but never get out of line when reporting the facts. Previews are well laid out and attractive. The demo disk is the obvious selling point. Even without it, it's still a solid mag, just one with a high cover price (again, the demo disk). Grade: Subscribe (only if the disc is worth it to you)
![Official Xbox Magazine [with DVD] (1-year)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61F34WZlp9L._SL120_.jpg)
Article comments
1 - Luke Ferguson
Nice, I've been looking for some sort of way to be able to tell what Magazine I should read.
I was told by a person in whom I trust told me something disturbing about Game Informer, a magazine that I currently subscribe to. He told me that this magazine puts a cap on their review scores, that the reviewers are only allowed to give their reviews a score withen a certain range, determined not by the reviewers themselves, but what they think the mass public will think.
I have no way of confirming if this is true or not, this is only what I've been told. The guy Im speaking of said that he was on the IGN boards, and that one of the members posted a link where one of the reviewers spilled the beans about it. The thread in which that took place was supposedly deleted.