ON Games Magazine Volume Two - Magazine Review

After a barnstorming debut, ON Games Magazine has something of a reputation to live up to. Can the second volume achieve the high standards of the first? 

As before, this copy was sent for me to review. What follows are my own thoughts and opinions, and ON Games Magazine has had neither input in to this appraisal, nor foreknowledge of its contents.

I received the rather fetching Pikachu cover, and since the volume itself is of the same high quality as the first, let's get straight into the features. 

Keith Stuart starts proceedings with a highly readable retrospection on 1990's horror games and how a maturing gaming audience was well placed to enjoy the benefits of 3D graphics, CD-ROM storage, and developer inspiration from other mediums. Cinema, literature and television had, over the previous couple of decades, redefined the concepts of what "horror" was, and the 90's saw a perfect mix of cultural awareness and technological advancement deliver genre-defining gaming experiences. This is something that is still happening to this day and one can't help but wonder if someone could grab the rights to BBC's Ghostwatch and make a VR title out of it. There again, the original broadcast scared the hell out of me so for the sake of my heart, maybe not... 

Path-making in games fall under Christian Donlan's gaze, inspired by a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Wait, just hold on, there are pertinent points being to be made and the author picks up the baton with aplomb. The reader is taken on an at times personal journey as to how in-game pathways reflect both real-world conditions as well as defining how players interact with the virtual world. This is especially important in open-world titles, and the article got me thinking about two "go anywhere" games that I still drop into every now and again: Saints Row IV and Halo Infinite. Yes, I am one of those. I feel no personal shame. The text is accompanied by some lovely map-work - and as a map-nerd, this made me very happy.

Following that is a funky vignette comparing the mission The Target from Driver: San Francisco with Christopher Nolan's films. All I'll say is yes, I get it. 

The once hugely popular rhythm game genre is picked apart by Jen Simpkins, and this one had me reaching for the library and online searches. Many will have heard of Beatmania, Vib Ribbon, and Rez. But Sayonara Wild Hearts (not those Wildhearts, Eddie. Leave Ginger out of this!) and Rhythm Heaven were new ones for me. Aside from Rez which I played on my Dreamcast back in the day, most of these games are not my Vib(e), but learning about them means that maybe one day, I might be tempted to seek one or two out. Knowledge is a powerful thing, after all. 

Ah, now here's one for the tin foil hatters out there: Pokemon myths. Chris Tapsell's deep dive into the urban legends, half truths and outright lies that have surrounded the Pokemon games since their arrival is a fun and ever so slightly absurd voyage of amateur detective work and extremely niche online communities. Don't take that as a sneering comment though. These are passionate people finding connections to people across the globe within a shared love of a decades-long franchise (feel old yet?). As someone who was slightly too aged to be truly beaten by the Pokemon bug in the closing months of the last century (seriously, how old do you feel now?), this very much a thirty-something's tale. The interviewees are an interesting bunch, and the subject has been approached with respect and much affection. Detours to Xevious and data-mining, as well as the reticence of developers in letting things slip, add to the air of mystery.

The article should also make the reader very much aware that since video games have been a cultural touch point for some fifty plus years now, there are many valid personal histories relating to gaming experiences and such tales should never be disparaged simply because they are not "your" memories. 

Speaking of which, Caelyn Ellis has the article that resonated with me the most - the brilliance of the original PlayStation and the author's personal gaming (and employment history). As a declaration of love for the little grey box, I have not read better, and being (almost) part of the same generation, their enthusiasm for the machine is palpable. It helps that arguably there had never been to that point, and never has been since, such a leap in gaming technical capabilities. The walkthrough of classic games that defined the console could literally define the term "Greatest Hits", and it would be a lie to say I didn't feel all nostalgic with the memories of buying my first PlayStation using my WH Smith staff discount. Now that was a Christmas temp job!

The take wouldn't be complete without the prevalence of copied games and the chipping that enabled them, and the addition of the author's PlayStation 2 experience is a cherry on top of the article. 

Andrew P Hind offers a brief interlude on the design concepts behind the magazine, before Jeremy Peel takes an off-kilter view of the history of video games as defined by the Wolfenstein series. Beginning with the Apple II's Castle Wolfenstein, and finishing with 2019's Youngblood, the links to the changing nature of the industry are put forward succinctly and eruditely. Of note is the way the author adds depth to the subject in how the series and its developers have affected, and been emblematic of, gaming in general. 

The final piece is once again left to Yussef Cole, this time centring his attention on the Stalker series, the second game in particular, and the connections between the origins of the series and the real-world location of its inspiration and development. It's a timely reminder that gaming does not exist in a vacuum, and that reality does take its toll on the medium. (cough, EA, cough) 

All told, this is a brilliant successor to the first volume, and reinforces my belief that longer-form content still has a physical place in the world of videogames. I have signed up for updates on volume three, and I shall be placing an order as soon as it's available.

You can pick up a copy of volume two direct from the ON Games Magazine website, and you can follow them on the following social media sites: 

Instagram: ongamesjournal Instagram

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ongamesjournal/videos

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/ongamesjournal.bsky.social

X: https://x.com/ongamesjournal

ON Games Magazine Volume One - Magazine Review

Video games print media isn't dead despite what a glance at the shelves of TG Jones (nee WH Smith - RIP) or your local supermarket might suggest. Instead, niche independent publishers have arisen to continue the heritage of magazines past. There are those that use the handy A5 format, others the more usual newsstand proportions, but some, such as [Lock-On] from Lost In Cult, take the journal approach - more book than magazine. Joining such illustrious company in 2025 is ON Games Magazine with a pair of volumes, the first of which I'm reviewing here.

Full disclosure: this copy was sent to me for review. What you are about to read are my own thoughts and opinions, and ON Games Magazine has had neither input in to this review, nor foreknowledge of its contents. 

Arriving in very secure packaging (approaching Bitmap Books levels of quality - both practical and classy), the first thing you notice as you hold the magazine/journal/book - let's settle for journal at this point - is that it's an absolute chonk. A smidge under A4 in footprint, 19mm in thickness, and 891g in weight, volume one has some heft to it. It feels solid, and the heavy duty paper cover bridges the gap between traditional magazines and the additional expense of a hardback book. Inside, the stock offers a high quality tactility to each page turn and the uncoated matt paper compliments the artwork greatly. There are eight cover designs to choose from, this one being the straight forward ON logo. 

Contents page

This volume comes in at just over 200 pages and comprises of seven long form articles, some from contributors you may be familiar with, others less so. The obvious advantage of a journal like this is that each author has the space and word count to properly convey their topic of choice.

From Keith Stuart's illuminating yet wistful retrospective on Sega's Model 1 arcade board (encompassing mentions of PLATO  - check out The Friendly Orange Glow, a fascinating read! - and name dropping Zarch, warming my RISC OS cockles), to Yussef Cole's thought provoking treatise on the subject of death in Cyberpunk 2077 and its parallels to the real world, there is much to engage the thinking part of your brain. 

Along the way, you will find Keza MacDonald's alternate take on the history and culture of Nintendo as defined by seven of Ninty's catalogue, a unique view on how the Japanese giant is still key to the industry today. Staying in Japan, Margaret Robertson's perusal of paper-based play is a fascinating insight into a cultural space that not only entertained, but informed as well, and has admittedly led me down a rabbit hole in online searches. What's one more hobby to add to the pile???

In pure gaming terms, Christian Donlan provides a round up of the best puzzles games that accompanied the launches of handheld consoles, and yes, whilst that game is mentioned, tis but a building block(!) to the fun that follows. Suffice to say, after reading this article, I fired up my import PSP (purchased from the long since departed Maughan Micros in the MetroCentre back in the day) and revisited both Lumines: Puzzle Fusion and Archer Maclean's Mercury - both still hold up wonderfully.

In similarly time-limited circumstances, run-based games fall under the gaze of Nathan Brown, and whilst not a genre I'm au fait with, I have dabbled in Hades a bit. I am in complete agreement that when free time is a scarce resource, such games are a perfect drop in/drop out opportunity.  

The last of the features details the little genre that could - dressing up games. With a keen insight and knowledge of the subject, Jen Simpkins delivers an exemplary essay on how games and gaming can challenge cultural norms, as well as help people define themselves in a kaleidoscope of different ways. Not saying Barbie Fashion Designer was released with any particular intent, but by popularising the genre, it has seen this subset of gaming become an outlet for people to explore concepts of gender identity and sexuality without fear or persecution. Interviews with several developers reinforce, with personal experiences, the key arguments of the article that even though effort is still required within this distinctive gaming space, there is much to be hopeful for.

There are also interludes that provide unique visual viewpoints of the work of FromSoftware, SNES classic RPG EarthBound, and the NES version of Tetris. Each proves a nice break from the features if you decide to power through the journal. Myself, I took a more leisurely pace. 

As you can see, text is well spaced and the layout is easy on the eyes. One criticism I have, and your mileage will vary on this one, is that I found that white text on black backgrounds was crushed to the point of being difficult to read. Not a common occurrence and my good lady did not agree, so my eyes then, but something to be aware of if you understand the concern. 

ON Games Magazine is a notable entrant into the video games print market. The array of content is diverse enough to avoid repetition, yet also of such high quality that I found that every article well worth reading - something that cannot be said for a typical magazine issue. Pleasing to read in a general sense, and thought provoking at its best, this first volume of ON Games Magazine is highly recommended.

You can pick up a copy of volume one direct from the ON Games Magazine website, and you can follow them on the following social media sites: 

Instagram: ongamesjournal Instagram

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ongamesjournal/videos

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/ongamesjournal.bsky.social

X: https://x.com/ongamesjournal

RPM - Issue One - Review

RPM: The Unofficial Retro PlayStation Magazine is the latest creation by Sandeep Rai, a name you might be familiar with if you're a fan of the PlayStation Vita or the PlayStation 3, as he has previously written tomes about those consoles. With RPM, however, Mr Rai has chosen to focus on the wider gaming catalogues of every Sony console from the original PlayStation to the PS3, as well as Sony's handhelds. Funded via Kickstarter, the well packaged first issue arrived in a timely manner, so let's have a look at what he's offering. 

The first feature is a round up of the launch titles for the PS1 for both North America and Europe. Each game is given space for a brief write up, a handful of screenshots, and a couple even get case art too. This is followed by a short history of Gran Turismo over the generations, with twelve pages dedicated to the racing sim. There are plenty of screenshots, and the text isn't just a puff piece - criticisms of the series are noted. 

Syphon Filter gets some time in the spotlight next with an eight page interview with lead designer Richard Ham, followed by a two page review of the first title in the series as it's available on the PS+ service. The interview is really interesting and provides some great insight into not only the trials of a games developer in the 1990's, but also the hazards of developing a title in a specific genre when a bigger name is also due out. It's a series worthy of a re-master/re-make, although to be fair, the controls would probably be an area requiring improvement. But I digress. 

There are four more PS+ reviews, covering The Legend of Dragoon, Killzone: Liberation, Rain, and God of War: Ascension. A good mix of genres and periods, each is scored out of ten. It's not all older titles though, as a Retro Revival piece brings Ratatan to the fore. A spiritual sequel to the Patapon series, this new release is due out in April 2025 following a very successful Kickstarter campaign. 

The Five Times Table feature covers the most notable games from five to twenty five years ago on the various Sony platforms. Great for those who wish to reminisce, less so for those who are reminded that Metal Gear Solid hit the PlayStation 25 years ago. Pass me the Seven Seas cod liver oil and Ibuprofen!

A second interview takes up six pages as Nagato, one of the developers for Sony's online community Home, details the origins of the project. This is also an extremely informative interview and more than justifies its inclusion in this issue. To finish off the magazine, we have two retrospectives: Ultimate Spider-Man and Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. 

As an extra, a Photo Mode booklet was also included, twenty eight pages of rather excellent captures from Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. It's a nice add-on.

The physical quality of the mag is faultless and the design is spot on too - not too busy yet not leaving massive amounts of blank space either - credit to Jason Maddison for that. As for the magazine as a whole, this is a cracking first issue - varied in topics and well written. 

Fans of the printed word should rejoice at RPM. I look forward to seeing what Sandeep and team have in store for future issues and I will be happily backing future Kickstarters. You can pick up your own copy of RPM from Sandeep's Etsy store here. 

Magazines of Yesteryear - Computer Shopper Issue 40 - June 1991

The summer of 1991 - what a time to be alive! If you were a kid, you had the joys of listening to "Do The Bartman" and "The Stonk" (Jesus F-ing wept), while adults got all concerned by Color Me Badd singing "I Want To Sex You Up' - truly a more innocent time. Cinema screens were playing the likes of Highlander II (yep, it really was that bad), Misery and the Alan Rickman classic, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. But you're not here for that malarkey. You're here to see what really cool stuff Computer Shopper 40 had in store. Well, like Color Me Badd, they had SX on the brain.

Like the computers of the time, even the magazine is beige.

386SX, but SX nonetheless (much cleaner than any 16/32-bit joke I could think of...), with thirteen of the chunky blighters lined up to demonstrate what super cool technological beasts they were. Being Computer Shopper though meant there was much, much more, with some Smalltalk before getting you SQL-ing. Oh-err missus! Maybe not so innocent a time...

Before we get to the contents, let us first consider the publication itself. It cost a measly 99p, which works out at around £2.15 today - for 400 (count 'em) pages! Okay, it's not all editorial content - this is Shopper after all, and there are adverts a plenty (the first 110 pages almost completely so), but a lot has changed in thirty years. Speaking of which...

Contents page including the oh-so handy format specific list.

1991 was the year the 386 processor really hit the mainstream as the older 286 became pretty much the "budget" processor option and the rise of Windows 3.0 (priced at £80 by some PC manufacturers because not everyone supplied their machines with Windows as standard. Not yet anyway.) demanded a 386 for a truly (then modern) GUI (Graphical User Interface) experience - fans of the Mac, ST, Amiga and Archimedes can rightly laugh until it hurts at this point. Incidentally, those systems were catered for with specific columns for their machines and, in this particular issue, a piece on expanding the Amiga. In a nice touch, there's a reference guide so you can see which articles may relate to your format of choice. 

My, how newsagents have changed...

Starting with the news (page 112 onwards), the first big piece is about Psion's upmarket handheld, the HC. These were a return to speciality market's rather than the consumer one, and they did pretty well as you'd expect from Psion of the time. Amstrad's decision to cease manufacturing of the by then venerable PC1512 and 1640 models, as well as discount the backside of the ill-fated 2000-series meant there were many a bargain available for canny shoppers. Dell offering of a compact 486 raised some eyebrows, as did the price (£2,799 ex VAT), although they had discounted the existing 486-based 425TE from £8,099 to £5,549 ex. so that's alright then... Mannesmann Tally announced cheaper colour printing, with a Thermal Transfer Printer for under £2k!!! I'll have two, thank you, whilst IBM UK were upset at profits warnings after the sales failure of the PS/1 and 2 ranges. Shame. 

Oh, and before I forget, the subscription card is distinctly of its time...

Sandwiched between the news and the notebook group test is a page on Hewlett Packard's latest portable handheld computer, the 95LX. With built in Lotus 1-2-3 and an almost CGA compatible screen, this pint-sized pocket wonder could last for up to 60 hours, which was handy, as by the time you'd bought the device (£449) and the additional extras, (another £350 or so), you'd have precious little cash left for batteries. Still, it was a fantastic little gizmo. 

Good old specification table.

The big group test covers the 386SX portable market, with thirteen machines come under the microscope. Remember Arche? ITS? Ness? Reeves? Nope. Nor should you, as these companies are long gone. Back in '91, they would sell you a variation on the laptop theme with piss-poor ergonomics and shite battery lives, but they were reasonably powerful and they could be moved around without inducing a hernia. Honestly, if you've never lugged an Amstrad PPC, you've never lived! The cheapest rocked up at £1,499, the most expensive at £3,395. Weight for most hovered around the 6-7lbs mark, screens reaching 8 inches in the diagonal and with resolutions set firmly at 640x480. Claimed battery lives were between two and six hours. DOS 3.3 or 4.01 was the standard OS, while some also included Windows - and remember, this is Windows at VGA resolution on an 8 inch passive matrix screen. What a time to have shares in an opticians!

When an 8086 could (just) about see you through the day.

Speaking of which, here is a feature on Virtuality, a British-designed VR system that found brief success both in arcades and on TV (Cyberzone, hosted by Craig Charles - and yes, it's as period as you can guess), before disappearing into the mists of time, leaving only vague recollections and a generation of people with permanent eye strain - more so than the laptop users.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try (and 30 plus years later), keep trying again!

The rest of the mag is a mix of articles and adverts (see the contents page above), so lets see what the latter have to offer. 

1991 was still the time of dealers and resellers, and 'Puters was having a great time flogging Amstrads and Olivettis to one and all. As you can see, the venerable 8086 was still an option, with a single drive mono display model coming in at £365 ex VAT. The "portable" (cough!) PPC ranges were still around, as were clearance PC1640's, although the price on application notice seems more of a warning sign than anything else. Noticeably, an equivalent Olivetti machine, the PCS 86, was about a hundred quid more, and thus the appeal of Alan's kit can be surmised - unless it was the much-maligned 2000 series, whose special offer prices here are rather tasty (and yes, by this point, they had sorted the reliability issues out... mostly). Of course, whether you wanted an 8086 machine in 1991 was a different question - Windows 3 was a thing and 3.1 was just round the corner. Also of note is the price of printers - your basic 9-pin dot matrix item could be had for just over a ton, but if you wanted a laser printer, well, they cost more than the computer you'd be using it with! Base models around £700, but after that, a grand plus was the minimum. 

Don't laugh! In 1991, a 16MHz 286 would see you right. Not sure about the  £2k plus 486 mentioned on the right mind...

Ah, Reeves, selling direct to the customer, and with non too shabby prices either. Your base machine was a 286 running at 12MHz, although that really was the bottom end of the market by then, and if you wanted Super VGA colour graphics (1024x768 tech fans), it could be yours for £799 ex VAT. Being a PC, if you wanted the monitor to actually support that resolution and not bugger your eyes up, that added two hundred quid to the total. 386's in SX flavours could be had for just under a grand, but after that, the sky was the limit. A CD equipped 386SX 20MHz creeps in at £1,699 - and no, I don't see why you'd buy it with a mono monitor either. 

Here's Viglen, who became a prominent manufacturer until purchased by Amstrad much later on in the decade. Their prices weren't too daft, although they really did fancy those tiny desktop cases on the lower end machines. 

Watford Electronics, familiar to many for their general range of computing goodies, were prolific with their Aries range of machines - and again, although the prices are not silly, offering an EGA option in 1991 was stupid, especially when the difference in price between that and VGA was only £50.

I miss the green adverts of Watford Electronics. 

Computers By Post was another dealer, also selling software too, and it's here you'll see a big change compared to the way things are (mostly) done today. Every piece of software cost money back then (unless if was public domain or the introductory shareware version) and prices are... eye-opening. You'd like Word for Windows? £254 please. The latest version of Lotus 1-2-3 (a spreadsheet for those too young to remember)? £298. However, it is their cataloguing of software that really makes me shake my head. There is no way Autoroute (map and direction software) should be in the leisure category. No way at all!!! Still, you had the comfort that none of the packages sold here were those filthy grey imports from overseas...

Local software for local people, there'll be no trouble here!

This was very much a transitional period in the PC world. The older 8086 machines were on their way out as the 286 careened through the sweet spot of affordability (£500-£1,000) before its inevitable demise. A new processor generation, the shiny 386 was about to hold sway, albeit for barely two years, before the 486 stomped itself on the market. Similarly, the alternative formats were slowly fading, as both Atari and Commodore struggled to get their next generation machines to market - the Falcon was a 68030 beast but priced accordingly even as the parent company fizzled back into the console market before carking it, whereas Commodore finally boosted the Amiga with the A1200/A4000 and the AGA chipset, arguably two years too late and anyway, the corporate behaviour of the exec team was going to catch up with the once global behemoth eventually. The Mac, well, Apple were about to pull a Classic (see what I did there?), rehashing eight year old tech into budget machines, although their long term prospects were hampered by the end of the roadmap for the 680x0 processor architecture (which they neatly avoided), and an increasingly stale operating system (which they didn't, at least not until far worse events were to hammer the company). Acorn? Well, they had the new ARM 3 chip, the forthcoming ARM250 (a system on a chip design long before the concept became popular) and would, by some magic of accounting, stay with the computing world until 1998. 

Fin

I leave you then with the final page of Shopper 40. Naturally, this is Zygote and the sublime "Great Moments in Computing" by Croucher and Evans. There has never been a better way to close an issue of any computing magazine. 

Next time: Shopper 80 and October 1994!

Why have you bought that tat? - Computing magazines, purpose and posts

As someone with an interest in history, the importance of primary sources, contemporary to the events of which they describe, cannot be overstated. The same can, should and will be said (by me) for the history of computing.

MacUser(s) always wanted to show off!

I have an interest in the topic, one that stretches from the earliest years to about the beginning of the 2010's. Over the last few years, I've managed to acquire a selection of pdf's for magazines such as Acorn User, Amiga Format, The One, a decent range of Computer and Video Games, and so forth. However, an area that remains somewhat incomplete is the UK general computing genre. 

You can, for instance, collect quite a few Personal Computer World pdf's from Archive.org, and many an enterprising eBayer will sell you DVD's with these collated for a few quid. The pdf collection of Personal Computer News, a fortnightly mag from the early to mid 1980's is a treasure trove of machines, news and reviews. The thing is, that without access to these long out of print titles, much of that history would be lost. The problem is actually worse for the period that most fascinates me, the mid 80's to mid-90's.

Over this ten year period, the 16, 26 (good old Archie) and 32-bit machines arrived and, in the end, became dominant in the form of the Windows PC and Mac (albeit with the latter having a torrid time). Yet whilst there are any number of format specific mags available in pdf collections, the likes of Computer Shopper are almost totally missing, and neither love, money or entreaties of personal fealty will get you an early PC Pro. And as for 1990's PC Format, jog on, bonny people. 

You DO NOT want to know the postage on these two batches!

Still, through the joys of eBay, I have managed to create a collection of What Micro and Which Computer from the 80-90's period, as well as a smattering of PCW's that aren't around as pdf's. As much as I would love a full collection of period PCW or PC Pro's, the Holy Grail remains Computer Shopper. I have issue 4, covered here, and recently picked up issues 40 (June 1991) and 80 (October 1994).

Why, you may ask? Well, much like contemporary sources serve any historical wargamer well (hearing it in the words of those who were there gives, at the very least, flavour to the period, never mind facts, opinions and the like), for the history of computing in the UK, the equivalent of these primary sources are the magazines of the time. 

Let me demonstrate with a couple of photographs. Below you will see the three physical issues of Computer Shopper I own, as well as the eleven PCW's. Note how they change, oldest at the bottom of their respective piles - they get bigger, and in the case of Shopper, much bigger!

What a difference six years makes.

Are you surprised? It did advertise itself as a journal...

I'll cover these changes in greater details in future posts, but what I'd like to point out is that the computer scene back in the early 1990's was an absolute riot of manufacturers, suppliers and resellers. The sheer variety of kit and software available is mind boggling, especially when compared to the mature, staid and much changed, online dominated market now. 

Without physical copies of these magazines, there is little online evidence, aside from the odd image an wikipedia entry, that this even happened. Having written a piece that should be published later this year on Amstrad's attempts at gaming-focused PC's, it would have been extremely difficult to research such an article without having some of the paper issues of mags long past. Similarly, you get a feel for the period. Going back further than the 90's, you'd think the 8-bit UK computer market in the early 80's was a three way between Amstrad, Commodore and Sinclair (alphabetical order to annoy at least some of the fans) with a few failed formats like the Enterprise, Ace and Lynx. Except it wasn't - it was the Wild West, with scare stories of Japanese competitors (this being the time of the fear of Far Eastern superiority in high tech industries) driving editorials in Personal Computer News, alongside reports of Sinclair's prickly nature, the omnipotency of CP/M, and the constant news reports of computer companies being torn a new one by the Advertising Standards Agency. This is stuff is long forgotten yet is key to understanding why things happened the way they did - and how commentators back then failed to realise how much the US market would drive the home computer revolution in to the 90's - seriously, once the IBM Compatible ensconced itself as the defacto home computer in the States, everybody else's (excluding Apple, eventually), time would be limited. 

As a source of information, be it news, reviews or opinion pieces, or imagery (especially adverts - what have we lost with the decline of print ads - looking at you, Gateway 2000 and MJN - you'll see why when we get to the Shopper 80!), these are a goldmine and, in my humble opinion, should be preserved however possible. 

It's not just the general computing publications either. MacUser, of which I own three issues, is another, and there may be a piece about 1995 coming at some point, as that was the year that things started to fall apart for our fruity little tinkers in Cupertino - as far as hardware goes. The OS was looking very tired against the behemoth that would become Windows 95, and Apple were already half way up the creek when it came to sorting a replacement. 

Similarly, this wonderful screenshot from an Acorn User issue in 1992 and the last paragraph talking about the benefits of getting an A3010 over an Amiga A500 or A500 Plus... as a valid comment, not really, as flavour, hell yes!

The comment in column two: meow, pussycat, MEOW!

Anyway, long post short (too late!), there will be a new series of occasional posts looking at specific issues of computer magazines past, starting with Shopper 40. Much like "Was That Film Really That Bad', they'll happen as and when, but as you can see from the pictures above, there are a few editions to get through... and maybe more if eBay continues to be a friend...

If you're more into video games coverage, check out the Out of Print Archive here, who have a cracking (and growing collection) of high quality magazines scans. 

Debug magazine - Issue 1 Review

Whenever a new publication comes along in the computer/video games market, I like to give it the once over (click here to see past magazine posts). In another sign that the printed word is alive and well outside of the traditional newsagent market, Debug arrives with a laser-like focus on the world of Indie video games. 

An 80-page (including covers) high quality magazine, Debug is a timely reminder that over the last decade or so, the Indie developer scene has grown and matured into what is the most exciting and vibrant sector of the video games market. Not that I don't like big AAA titles, but the advent of the £70 RRP and, let's be honest, a very "corporate" approach to modern day blockbusters, has meant that I've found myself moving towards Indie and smaller scale developer titles for my gaming experiences. That, and I have neither time nor patience for anything like another generic Ubisoft-style collectathon. Or live service games for that matter. Hell, even Starfield, what should be another brilliant Bethesda RPG (and all that particular label entails) and due out later this year, is looking like a push simply because of the amount of spare time for gaming I don't have. Excuse me whilst I shake my fist at the sky and start shouting at the clouds, considering whether a future post about my thoughts on video games is in order, but I digress...

What you get for your £7.50 is a mix of previews, interviews, reviews and features, all aimed at informing you about the latest and greatest games from the Indie scene. Nothing upsetting the applecart as regards to games magazines content. There is, however, a definite style to the layout, which some might consider quite "busy", but actually makes great sense as articles have sections dedicated to a developer's previous releases, similar titles in a particular genre, fun facts, and second opinions where it comes to some of the reviews. I also like the footnote style presentation of specific screenshots. 

When it comes to the aforementioned reviews, sixteen games are covered, two of which I have reviewed in Fusion magazine - Lucy Dreaming and Atomic Heart, and I found the opinions expressed here to be fair and balanced. Having seen the score for Horace, I know what my next purchase is going to be. As for the previews and the developer interviews, many a promising title is coming up and it's great they get some coverage here. 

There is a nice balance between text and imagery, and the quality of the writing is as you'd expect considering the team behind issue one. In another word, excellent. Another nice touch is the inclusion of QR codes that will take readers to videos of many of the titles mentioned. 

Overall, I can find nothing to criticise about the first issue of Debug. It is about time the Indie scene had a dedicated outlet and an independent physical magazine feels a great fit. The back cover promises issue 2 on 07.07.23 and yep, I'll be there for that one. Hopefully for many more issues too, as I genuinely believe there is still a place in the world for the printed word, and this issue is an excellent start for the title. If you like the look or content of Debug, check out their website here, and you can follow them on Twitter here. 

Reload Magazine - Issue 1 review

Another new independent magazine arrives after a successful Kickstarter campaign last year, one that focuses on the genre of first person shooters, this time narrowing in on the indie developer scene. This 100 page (including covers) full cover magazine certainly looks the business and, given the pedigree of the writing team - some names will be familiar to readers of E1M1 magazine, Reload magazine promises much. Does it deliver?

As far as physical quality goes, yes. Yes, it does. The stock isn't glossy so there isn't the sheen that some people might like (although it made the pictures for this post so much easier to take!) but shiny isn't everything and the paper quality is more than good enough. It feels nice and doesn't smudge either. 

Of course, content is key and this is where the selection of writers shines through. The magazine is split into several sections: Previews, Reviews, Mods, Features, Retrospectives, Game Jams, How to Guides, Developer Zone and Early Access. Whether it be a first look at a forthcoming release, checking up the latest indie efforts or features on a particular studio, the love for the topic is evident, and it's clear that the people writing about these games are passionate about the genre. 

Indeed, it is this focus that makes Reload Magazine such a fantastic read and, after spending a couple of weeks working my way through it (I'll explain in a bit), the sheer number of titles in the indie first person shooter dev space is extraordinary. I know I shall be checking out more than a few of the 100 plus games mentioned in issue one as and when I have time, and I wouldn't have known about them without the benefit of reading this mag. 

This brings me to screenshots - there are tons of them! The screens show off the diversity of the genre and whilst some of the games look a little "rustic" (been watching too many old-school Bake Off episodes in my youth), they're just icing on the top of a huge FPS cake. And besides, every aesthetic has its charm and the likes of Operation Pinkeye nails it's particular look perfectly. Between the text and the imagery, there is little wasted space (always good to see) and the few adverts that are present don't affect the content balance at all. 

Reload Magazine is not perfect, though, but this is purely a personal thing and no reflection on the magazine or its team. However, if you are (unfortunately) like me, you need to know this. I said it took me a couple of weeks to get through this issue, a combination of savouring the writing but also dealing with a design choice which ended up being quite painful. White writing on a black background. This is purely a personal thing - my good lady had no problems at all - and although she liked the magazine, playing FPSs makes her go vom-vom. Nor did the couple of others who I showed my copy to. I found that reading three or four pages at a time was about the right pace. Would I still buy issue 2? Hell yes! 

Regular blog readers will know that I am a massive fan of small scale independent publications, titles that cater to an audience that would never warrant a newsagent mag. Reload Magazine is a new entry and one that, if you are a fan of first person shooters, you need to check out, not only for the in-depth articles and reviews, but also for the insight you'll get into the very healthy and active indie developer scene. I know I'll be back to support issue 2! As always with print magazines, if it's one you like, support it however you can. With the recent demise of the print versions of Wireframe and Custom PC, the emphasis falls further on the small scale publisher industry and their esoteric wares. 

You can also follow the magazine on Twitter here to keep up with all of their latest news and developments, and they have a website here as well. There should be news shortly about how non-Kickstarter backers can get hold of a copy as well as info on the next issue. I am sure they'll not be quiet about that!

Evercade Evolution Issue 5 review

The fifth issue of Evercade Evolution was released a few weeks ago and, after ordering the physical copy directly from Amazon, it turns out that the team have done it again - 64 pages (excluding covers) of handheld gaming goodness!

As per the previous issues, the magazine is well laid out and packed with both text and imagery. The star of this issue is the 50th anniversary of Atari. To cover that, the team have reviewed the Atari Collection 2 and Atari Arcade 1. Other features include a trip down memory lane for Vaughan Anscombe, a chat with YouTuber Thunderm00se, and a tremendously informative and fun interview with former Atari employee Scott Rhoades. The usual news and high score sections are also present. 

I may have said it before but I really like the way the reviews are laid out in the magazine. Each cartridge gets an overview review, with separate scores from some of the other team members too, then each title gets its own page, again with a second opinion to add context to the scores. It's a format that works well, especially considering the nature of the collections - there may be a dozen or so titles per cart but there will be some stinkers amongst the selection. 

For example, Atari Collection 2 contains decent titles such as Yars Revenge, Haunted House, Solaris and Asteroids (the 7800 version). It also has less... "good" entries like Air Sea Battle, Human Cannonball and Street Racer. As always, nostalgia will only get you so far, and it's good to see that the reviews do highlight this. The good thing with Evercade carts is that there is always enough wheat in the chaff to warrant a purchase.

The same goes for Atari Arcade 1, and the inclusion of Asteroids and Crystal Castles more than offsets the inclusion of the turd that is Canyon Bomber. 

Evercade Evolution issue 5 is another well written edition that is very much an essential purchase for fans of the Evercade family of devices (the original handheld, the VS home console and the recently released EXP handheld). The £7 physical copy is as good as you can get from Amazon publishing for the price and you don't even have to go physical if you don't want to - the Kindle version costs £2 and even then, there is also the free .pdf copy available directly from the Evercade Evolution website. Given the options available, there's no reason at all not to give it a read! 

System Gamer Magazine Level 1 - Review

Way back in August, when the sun shone and times seemed so much simpler, I looked at a couple of issues of Cool Sh#t magazine. I liked it a lot but had just caught the tail end of its run as the team behind that magazine had other plans for the future. Well, that future has now arrived and the first issue (sorry, Level) of System Gamer is now available to buy. 

The cover: it looks busy but sets out the mag's stall effectively. I have to say that I really like it. As for the A5 magazine itself, it's a fairly slim 50 pages but each page is packed with text and artwork. They really have crammed the content in here but it's not too small a layout to get tiring to read, at least for these jaded forty-something eyes. 

An introduction by the System Gamer themselves kicks off the overall theme, followed by a contents page that displays the five sections of the magazine. Each is fairly explanatory: Incoming Intel (news), Past Missions (retro reviews), Briefings (features), Future Missions (previews) and Current Missions (newer games reviews). 

Production values are incredibly good, that cannot be denied. Everything is is full colour, there is artwork and screenshots galore, and whilst yes, the layout mirrors the cover in that it's very busy, it's still an easy enough read. I believe the page count is about right and I don't think I could manage say 80 plus pages of this presentation but, for the format used here, it's works a treat. 

The titles covered in the various sections are a relatively broad mix, platforms, racing and fighting, and in that sense, it follows pretty much the early 1990's style of gaming - those being three very popular genres at the time. It's obvious they are still popular now given the range highlighted here. 

Previews are rated with an anticipation factor, which in this first issue seems stuck to 100%. Can't say I blame them for that, as why feature a forthcoming title that you're not excited about. Reviews are rated similarly out of 100% and again, the scores here are high. The intro does state that the aim is to bring news and reviews of all the greatest games for the greatest systems. 'Suppose that knackers the chance of any GX4000 or C64GS reviews, but one lives in hope.. As for the scores themselves, I have only played TMNT Shredders Revenge and I would agree with the score given here. The writing throughout is good, with style and clarity making this an easy read. 

I think my favourite piece in the whole magazine was the MegaDrive catalogue for 2022/23. This lists 16 games and an add-on that are on their way to this most evergreen of 16-bit formats. It really is heartwarming to see that level of support for Sega's second best machine (Dreamcast first, no apologies. And you can't burn me for this - I live in a rural area where The Wicker Man is a training video...).

System Gamer is a great looking follow up to Cool Sh#t magazine and I look forward to Level 2, previewed as it is on the inside back cover. For £5 excluding postage, this is a worthy read and you should check it out here. You can also follow them on Twitter (presuming that's still a thing when this post goes live!) here. It's always great to see new small-scale publications and System Gamer joins the ranks of those I'd be more that happy to keep reading.