Official Xbox Magazine - What Would I Do Without It?

I have been intrigued by gaming magazines for a long time now, I remember the hours that I spent browsing over and reading articles in Electronic Gaming Monthly about games for all of the major consoles. But when I bought my Xbox, I wanted to read a magazine that focused on my console and after doing a little research, I quickly came to the conclusion that the Official Xbox Magazine is the perfect magazine for me.

At newsstand price, one issue of this magazine goes for $8.99, which is atrocious. There were a few packaged issues that I saw and desperately wanted to read, but throwing away nine bucks for a single magazine seemed like a rip-off. However, what caught my attention was the fact that you subscribe to this magazine, and for a mere $29.99, you get 12 issues. At that price, one issue only costs $2.50, which is far more acceptable. I also remember that when I bought my Xbox, there was a leaflet inside of the package, which advertised 12 issues of OXM (Official Xbox Magazine) for $24.99, which is $5 less than the standard price. So I subscribed by mail, and in about a month, I got my confirmation along with my first issue and soon began to receive issues of this magazine monthly. I've received five issues to date, and now wish to write about this magazine.

Now, onto the actual magazine itself. Each issue varies in page length – I’ve had an issue with 170 pages, yet another one barely exceeded 100 pages. Most issues are in the middle (about 130) and this may seem like a lot of news, articles, reviews and previews for gamers, however this is not always the case. Ads take up a lot of space, and I would say that roughly 40% of the magazine is pure ads. It is very common to find one pages of ads per one page of content. Also, the bottom of each non-ad page has a quick fact or something interesting related to the material on the page. This can get annoying. The magazine is broken up into a few sections.

Right after the Editor’s Letter, we come to the First Look section. In this extremely short section, you can read a little and look at screenshots of upcoming games, and these shots are the first of a kind. This is because OXM has the exclusive rights for getting coverage on games before anyone else, so it is always fun to know some information that other magazines can’t offer you for months to come. The next section is All Access. Here you get an interesting article about the Xbox, a reader poll, interviews with game developers, rumor moles, a few interesting hardware items that you might consider buying, as well as a calendar of the ensuing month. This calendar shows the releases of most of the games coming out that month, as well as their Pick of the Month. Surprisingly, their rumor mole is usually accurate, as they were even the first to discover about the whole “GTA coming to Xbox” story.

The next part is the features. Usually, each issue has two features stories, one about the game on the cover and another about another game. These games usually attract a lot of people, and many people like to read about them. Recently, one issue has features about Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and the GTA pack. These two stories would draw lots of readers alone. Each feature is packed with screenshots and interesting information. Sometimes features do not focus on games. For example, they run an annual Best Games of 200* (looking to the upcoming years), or another had a feature about what games you should considering buying during the holiday season.

The following section is the previews section. This takes up a large chunk of the magazine. The most awaited games get two whole pages chockfull of information and screenshots. However, most games get only a page with a few screenshots. The game potential (what looks good and what needs work) is discussed as well as the final thoughts about the game. The Previews also have a “Coming Soon” section, where game get between 1/3 – 1 page, with a few small screenshots. Each game is written about briefly, and how it plays, what really works and the potential pitfalls are talked about.

After the previews comes the section that I anticipate the most – the reviews. Reviews also take up a lot of the magazine, which is good and really helps me to choose games. Each game is talked about, all the really bad and good points are pointed out. To round up the review, the “Verdict” is printed, which briefly discusses the graphics, immersion, sound, design, as well as a few good, bad and perplexing points. Finally, a score is issued with 10 being the highest verdict possible. Some less popular and bad games only have a description and a verdict. The screenshots that are included are generally very nice. To round things up, OXM included a Review Roundup, which lists every single game that they have reviewed, the published and their score for it. If you look carefully, you will see that Splinter Cell has the highest score (9.6), followed closely by Halo and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Overall, I feel that their scores might be slightly biased; however they are mostly accurate and have helped me pick good games. If they give a game a score of 8 or higher, then it usually is pretty good.

The final section is the Extended Play. This section has walkthroughs, hints and cheats for various games that are handpicked by them. The Reader Interaction, with questions to the editors and cover captions can also be found here, and they are amusing. Finally, the Disc and Challenges section is here too. You can read about the demos that are included on the disc, and well as some challenges that you can try to complete and send in to the magazine in hopes of reaching the Challenge Leader Standings.

The best part about OXM is the demo disk that is included with every issue. Each demo disk comes with playable demos, the download center, features, a video showcase, video features and an occasional DVD sneak peek for some movie. The demos are obviously the highlight of the disc, as demos of top-notch games and to be released games are included. So far, each disc has had 4-10 action-packed demos. You can play a part of awesome games like Rainbow Six 3, Project Gotham Racing 2, Deus Ex: Invisible War and Prince of Persia a few weeks before the actual games come out. I love it when they include two or threes demos for games of a specific sport so that you can compare the demos and then pick the game that you like more. The demos are varied in genre, as most discs included a multitude of RPG, FPS, sports and even games like Grabbed by the Ghoulies. These discs have really helped me pick games that I like. For example, after playing the SSX3 demo, I rushed out to buy SSX Tricky because I became hooked on snowboarding games. The Features, Video Futures and Video Showcase usually have videos of various upcoming games, and you get to see trailers and/or a lot about that new game. There are usually a lot of videos (one had 14), and it is not uncommon for a game that was featured in a video to be featured in a demo the next disc. The Download Center has a handful of things for various titles: some of this is Xbox Live content for those without it or cheats to make the game easier. For example, the previous issue has a 100% complete game save for Simpsons: Hit and Run. Some discs even have trailers, TV spots and a few extras for upcoming DVD releases, and the X2 DVD Sneak Peek comes to mind. The only problem that I have with the demo disc is that when you leave the Xbox idle for a couple of minutes while playing a demo, when you come back, the disc will automatically return to the main menu and your game is lost, which can be a bit depressing at times. So if you are playing a demo, my advise is don’t leave it!

Overall, the Official Xbox Magazine is the best magazine devoted to the Xbox. The previews, reviews and features make this magazine worth reading, and the fact that it gains exclusive coverage is surely inviting. The demo disc makes this magazine perfect, and can help you find a game that you would have never thought about. At the subscription rate of $29.95, this is a bargain. I eagerly await each issue, and you should become part of the 400,000+ subscribers too!