Product Description

PC GAMER the #1 PC games magazine. The lastest game reviews, gaming news, tips, tricks and strategies to get the most out of your computer gaming experience.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #260 in Magazine Subscriptions
• Formats: Magazine Subscription, Print + CD

Customer Reviews

Very Good Magazine for Gamers
Once upon a time, PC Gamer was in a real dogfight with Computer Gaming World for the title of best gaming magazine. This battle ended when CGW basically self-destructed thanks to some massively poor decision-making by their editorial staff. CGW has since re-launched as Games for Windows: The Official Magazine but has not reclaimed their old glory.

PC Gamer provides both reviews and previews of games. They also have a small section covering hardware. One regular feature that is nice is that they give sample builds for three PCs each month, entry level, mid level, and high end. Most magazines just focus on the most expensive parts for their sex appeal but most gamers can't afford that gear. It's nice to see this magazine buck that trend.

Most computer magazines employ humor to keep things from getting too dry and this one is no exception. They do a very professional job of providing coverage but throw in just enough sarcasm to give you a grin or two in every article. They also do a good job of calling out games that have real issues and even in their previews I've seen them point out shortcomings. Overall, this is a very good magazine and well worth the subscription price.

Caters directly to the PC gamers out there
I really like this magazine and have subscribed for the past 3 years. PC GAMER caters directly to PC gamers, each month reviewing several games and previewing several others. Although you can get demos and such online, this magazine also bundles a dvd that contains demos and other things to preview. The articles are generally well written, and most of the ratings are reasonable, with one big exception (see below).

My only problem with PC GAMER is its "world exclusive reviews," where a company will allow the editors to be the first to review some highly anticipated game. The problem is whatever game is reviewed in this matter invariably gets a high score (85%+), almost regardless of quality. In its latest world exclusive, Hellgate: London received a score of 89%--a full 15 percentage points higher than the game's average review rating at Gamerankings[dot]com. I know that this arrangement is supposed to please everyone: PC GAMER gets the early scoop, readers buy the mazagine to read the early scoop, and the game developer sells more copies of the game thanks to PC GAMER's early endorsement. But in my opinion, this scheme compromises the integrity of an otherwise very good magazine.

Anyhow, I recommend PC GAMER to anyone who has at least a casual interest in PC gaming.

Have really fallen
I've been reading PC Gamer since 1999 and they have really fallen in terms of quality. The magazines are practically paper thin now. It has been awhile, but I believe my copy of the issue that previewed Duke Nukem Forever in 1999 may have been over 200 pages worth of content. Now? 80, 90, etc.

Instead of being the gritty, hard to please mag they used to be they are essentially ad-magnets now. I've seen multiple games that were widely frowned upon get high scores simply for one reason: they got the "exclusive". I can't help but think PC Gamer is in the back pockets of many companies now that they're the "top" PC gaming mag around.

R.L. Ermey once said on one of their discs that PCG had "its **** in the bag", and it once did. Once. The mag still has some wit and charm about it and the hardware section is still quite good... but that's about it.