Publisher: GamePro Media
Summary: Each issue of GamePro, a monthly release magazine, covers a specific gaming theme, from a preview guide of new games being released in the fall, to eleven reasons why personal computers (PCs) are still valid gaming consoles, and to themes such as suspense, covering games like Diablo 3, Dead Space 2 and an article on Dracula's Legacy in media. While covered in advertising like any other modern magazine, GamePro's are almost seamlessly integrated into the magazine's gaming theme, such as an internet security ad featuring Tron: Legacy. Each article goes in depth into a specific issue or game and ranges from a very detached writing style to one that directly addresses readers' responses. GamePro covers game and product reviews and polls from other online gaming sources, as well as articles covering other topics that also can relate to gaming. Also, the articles often dip into gaming history and compare how things have changed as well as honoring the origins of specific themes and styles of gameplay, such as the Nintendo 64's James Bond Goldeneye as the advent of third-person shooters on home consoles.
Critical Evaluation: Compared to other game reviews both online and in print, the reviews within GamePro lean more towards the side of an analytical essay versus a written blurb about the reviewer's experience with the game. The articles cover both pros and cons as well as comparisons between similar games with a complexity that belies its humble print format. The very layout of the magazine is also very clean cut and minimalist, blending clean screenshots and artwork with their lengthy articles. The writing styles within the articles is also varied enough to ensure that the readers do not become bored, by alternating between personalized reactions to games and clean-cut reviews. One article which caught my eye was a female editor responding to how much she disliked responding to her view on women in games, as she believes herself to be a gamer first and woman second, rather than a spokesperson for female gamers.
Reader's Annotation: GamePro is a professional magazine that delves into the complex world of the games that you love and the games that haven't been released yet.
Information About the Publisher: GamePro Media, along with its printed magazine, has a website that hosts the same reviews and articles alongside downloadable games and other content. GamePro Media's mission is to engage, entertain and inform gamers of all ages.
Check out the newest from the gaming world at their website!
Genre: Gaming; Reviews
Curriculum Ties: National Gaming Day
Booktalking Ideas:
- While many look down upon magazines as literature and gaming even more so, GamePro's articles discuss games in an analytical and engaging manner that could easily fit in an academic journal. The sheer coverage of all the games can draw in both new and old gamers, as well as gamers of all ages.
Reading Level: 16+
Challenge Issues:
- Some of the games and the articles could contain adult themes and graphic images that would be inappropriate for preteens. However, the target audience for the majority of the games is for teenagers, especially regarding the detailed nuances of each article that could bore younger readers who just want the basic facts on a game. Hopefully, the titles of the games on the cover of each issue as well as the cover themes (Diablo or a busty World of Warcraft Elf, for example) should give users a hint of the reading level.
Why This Magazine?: Staff recommendation
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