If you own an XBOX or are thinking of buying one, this should be required reading for you.


Great, But No Game Disc   December 1, 2001
 21 out of 24 found this review helpful

My 3 star rating has less to do with the magazine itself than the fact that I ordered this subscription after reading that the magazines would include the XBox game disc. I was excited that I had found such a great deal, mainly because the price is about half what I saw it going for everywhere else. But days after my order, I got an email saying that the descriptions were wrong, and there would be no game disc included. I cancelled my subscription and I'll probably just end up paying the extra money to get the subscription that includes the demos.


What You Get is What You Get   February 10, 2004
 20 out of 28 found this review helpful

The Xbox world continues to perplex me. While it is clearly the best game console from the viewpoint of its capabilities, only a small group of developers really push the envelope and produce truly memorable graphics. Several genre of games, such as RPGs, are rarities on this platform. Other genre, such as sports, are almost over represented. Part of this is due to the newness of the Xbox, which is only now entering into general acceptance. But most of the blame for this quirkiness is due to Microsoft's lack of a pervasive vision. Compare instead Sony's commitment to the PS2.

In a way the Official Xbox Magazine is representative of this confusion. While the coverage is good, writing tends to be lackluster. The layout is just busy enough to be distracting. And it's a tad on the thin side. Yet this is just about the only production Xbox magazine except for those that cover multiple platforms. One would think that the publishers would take advantage of this position, but they do not.

In direct contrast to this 'just enough' style of print publication, the accompanying DVD is the best I've seen. It has a few articles, downloads, saved games, trailers, and several playable demos on each DVD. This may sound trivial, but it is all so nicely packaged with a plastic case that was made for passing around or reuse. Unfortunately for magazine circulation, I can see a group of players getting together to buy the magazine and passing the DVD around. Hopefully, this is the intent. In any case, to get full value, you must by this with the demo disc. Anything else will be disappointing.

Frankly, you don't have much choice. As I've said, the effort is acceptable, just not brilliant. If you want a journal dedicated to developments for Xbox then this is what you get. If you are interested in a better grade of articles (and no DVD) then there are several multi-platform publications that I think you will find more useful.


make sure you get a subscription with a disc!   December 11, 2002
 16 out of 17 found this review helpful

If you've got a 'BOX (and why would you be subscribing to this mag if you didn't?) DON'T get the subscription without the disc. somebody got me the subscription from here as a gift, and i have to occaisionaly go out and buy a second copy of the mag just so i can get the disc! (hello, splinter cell demo!)

The magazine itself is a wicked great read; all of the editors have distinctly cool personalities and game preferences. In the year that i've been reading, i've gotten to know all of their gaming preferences and feel i can trust their reviews of the games i'm looking for advice on.

to sum up my feelings on the magazine: i'm always excited when i get a new one, i always read it from cover to cover, i'm always sad when i finish the last page, i'm always waiting for the next one, and i've never been disappointed.


NO DEMO DISC! Trust me, this is for the magazine only   June 24, 2007
 16 out of 18 found this review helpful

Here's the deal, I purchased this subscription thinking "[PRINT + DVD]" was actually TRUE. My first issue just came with NO DEMO DISC, and after calling Future (the subscription service provider) I was informed that the only way to get the Demo Disc is to either pay an extra dollar per issue over the phone, or have my amazon subscription canceled, and a new one started directly through them. Of course you have to pay again, and wait 4-6 weeks for a refund check for the original subscription.

In summary:

1 year subscription of magazine from Amazon = $24.95

1 year subscription of magazine AND DEMO DISC from Official Xbox Magizine website = $24.95

You fail Amazon