IGN hits a new low.

I don't really have a problem with that. What I DO have a problem with is the whole site in general since Insider. Especially since non-Insider people can't preview movies anymore, only screenshots.

I don't care what anyone says, though, I listen to their reviews the most.

And this doesn't even BEGIN to approach the awfulness of Halo Kitty.

Honestly, the only video game news and reviews I read show up in the mailbox every month in EGM. I get irritated really fast with pretty much every game website.

Dittos to that.

The only reason I use IGN is for the codes. Cause sometimes it's fun to drive that Porshce with monster truck wheels.

If it's codes or guides you want I suggest Gamefaqs. It's a hell of a lot easier than trudging around IGN.

My triumvirate of gaming news and reviews consists of:

gamespot.com
gamespy.com
gamerankings.com

Go outside and get some exercise? wink

We're trying to be serious here Bob.

The cool thing about gamespot is that with a basic membership (no payment) you get the equivalent of an IGN Insider subscription, which is quite cool. Plus if I want to see a video of a game, I go to <a href="http://www.gametrailers.com." target="_blank">www.gametrailers.com.</a>

I complained about this same problem about half a year ago so I definitely see where you're coming from on this. A few years ago, I used to be obsessed with videogames (despite my inability to play them well or even amass them) and I would make my first stops to videogames.com (now gamespot.com), The GIA, and ign.com. Now Gamespot and IGN are mostly pay sites with poor reviews and information which don't convince me to offer up cash for more access to their sites. As for the GIA, it's been dead for a little over a year now, which still saddens me to this day.

Unfortunately, I've never really found a good replacement site. I still drop by Gamespot every now and then, and I also hit gamers.com, which isn't a bad site, but it's nothing remarkable either.

Double Posting Madness

I have a site 20 times better than IGN and Gamespot for news. <a href="http://www.xengamers.com" target="_blank">www.xengamers.com</a> They have news almost 2 days before it hits gamespot or ign. They had news on the FFXI pricing and release date for the PC in the US two days before gamespot had an article on it. Plus they usually update in the morning, not at 7-8PM EST like gamespot or 10PM EST like IGN

I have had a subscription with Gamespot Complete for a year and I am very pleased with it. It's only $20 which is the pride of a magazine but it constantly updated and I really enjoy the video reviews, with video games, screens don't do them justice.

I think it's worth it, sure you can't sit on the crapper while reading the PR previews but does it have video? The answer is no.

BTW, I also subscribe to other game mags so it's all good.

I recommend games.slashdot.org. They have all the big news from around the net, plus a lot of stuff you wouldn't see otherwise.

I visit IGN daily due to my job, along with other sites, as it's needed to keep up with every bit of information around, especially since this industry is such a logistical nightmare. However, I've never been a huge fan of the site's content, but I've hung out with a couple of the IGN guys and they're pretty cool.

Wow. I didn't even bother to click on the link. I like American Pie but making Animal House boring? I don't think so.

My main problem with IGN isn't the Insider stuff, it's the quality of their reviews. They really don't know how the hell to criticize games anymore. I love Filmforce, but the rest of the site blows chunks. With their game reviews, they seem to overly praise everything.

Example: The reviewer who did Tron 2.0 said it was a trite, unimaginative and unfun game... but he gave it an 8.0. Correct me if I'm wrong, but 8 out of ten sounds pretty fucking good. It's very rare that they give anything a 5 or a 6, really. They either really hate a game or really love it and always do the other editors "run over to see what I'm playing." It really feels like they're kissing ass sometimes. I remember when Battle for Naboo came out on the N64 (or whatever the hell that games was... the Rouge Squadron wannabe) IGN praised it. I played it... and it was boring, outdated, and no fun to play. EGM, on the other had, disliked it, and felt the same way I did.

I love EGM. Those guys are ALWAYS spot on with their reviews, mainly because, like Slater said, EGM doesn't go to the depths of detail that IGN goes into. IGN cares more about the graphics and the artwork and sound than anything else. Most EGM reviews don't even fucking mention the graphics or sound, unless it's a camera issue or a framerate issue or if the graphics and sound are just really fucking awesome. EGM cares about the game and the gameplay and they know what's fun to play. IGN, doesn't.

And don't even get me started on IGN DVD. The place hasn't been the same since Nick left. The reviewers aren't very bright, their news is late constantly, they try oh so hard to make funny captions (to try and continue the legacy Nick left there), but they fail oh so hard.

The ads at IGN suck too. Just give me a pop-up, dammit... I hate having to click through these pieces of crap everytime... and they're random, so they can come anywhere. And why the hell are reviews pages, and pages long? You dumb bastards can't do anything right.

You can make a pretty good drinking game out of IGN's reviews and the phrase "mixed bag".

I don't know, they seemed to dislike Devil May Cry 2 the most out of all of the reviews I read. Then again, anyone else who thinks that game sucks tends to be okay in my mind. I mean no offense to anyone who actually liked it though.

IGN DVD used to be bareable, but a new editor took over and ever since it's been downright terrible. As said above, the reviews are poorly written, unfunny, fail miserably at being clever, and they shouldn't even bother doing screencaps.

yeah, they should've stopped with the screen caps once Nick left...

I think IGN hit a brand new low yesterday when the entire site was made to look like McDonalds.

Yeah, yeah...I read the <a href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3" target="_blank">Penny Arcade</a> comic too.

I'll agree on the DVD part - really, really unfunny when it comes to screen caps.

Right, but when I read that I just thought "oh, they have McDonalds advertising banners. Okay." Then I went to the site, and they had changed the color scheme and everything. It was so sad.

Do I just not get it, or is Penny Arcade just not very funny?

It's not very consistant, but I think Penny Arcade is often funny as hell.

You just don't get it.

Actually, I'll admit that Penny Arcade is probably far more humorous to those that dig videogames. But they also have great strips that don't talk about videogames at all (like this gem: <a href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2003-09-10&res=l" target="_blank">http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2003-09-10&res=l</a>

The comic itself is uneven and pretty insular; but Tycho's newsposts are friggin' awesome.

It's pretty unfunny. I've only ever read about two that made me laugh.

It's the "Family Circus" of internet comics.