Other than the lack of decimals, I think EGM generally does that well. There's bios for each reviewer, with a list of the genre's they like and they're current favorite games. And the reviews are short and to the point and generally make the case for what they did and/or didn't like. Of course there are exceptions where a review is pretty pointless, but with 3 reviewers on each game,there's usually at least one good opinion.

They've been my favorite review source for years for those reason, and that like me they are extremely critical of games.

speaking on short games, I like them, i think they might be a better rental but if its good its a solid buy. I hate games that are overdrawn, i hate 40+ hour games. I dont have the time to play a 50 hour game. 10-15 hours is a perfect length for a game. I mean a 1 hour and a half movie is 20 bucks 10 hours for 50 bucks isnt too bad

As for the short games, I'll buy them with GameRush credit and trade them in when I'm done. I usually wait for GOOD trade-in deals and I think they'll give you $40 (credit) for a 360 game.

I cannot believe the NBA Live score on IGN...a 5.x...I guess NBA 2K6 for me.

Updated with all of last night's scores.

In terms of reviews, I really like the way EGM does theirs. I think that the reviews are short but contain a lot of information and are descriptive enough to get the point across. I hate the magazines that just fill their reviews with jokes and other crap. If it makes a point then that is fine but if not just leave that out of it.

I like EGM's reviews too, although I wish they were a little longer. I like how sometimes each reviewer will interact with the previous writer. However, the one thing I rarely see is one of the three completely going against the other two. It happens on occasion, but all too often they all feel exactly the same way, which renders three reviewers saying the same things somewhat redundant.

EGMs reviews are mostly garbage. They have very little real descriptive content about the game (forcing you to have read every preview or feature), and the reviewers spend more time trying to be witty (and failing) than actually explaining how they came up with their review score (which is great when one guy gives it a 5 and another gives it a 9). The fact that EGM is one of the best american print magazines is more a comment on the sad state of the industry than anything else.

IMO Edge is by far the best print mag going around, quality writing, descriptive reviews, and they mark tough.

Had a quick skim through the gamespot 360 reviews, looks fairly promising so far. Already the best launch line up of any console so far with still a few reviews to come in.

got my 360 today from everytenminutes.com

It is awesome. Have it at 1080i and its so sharp and crisp. Condemned looks and sounds amazing. One of the creepest games I have ever played. Kameos pretty cool didnt get any further then what the demo offers. PGR3 is awesome. The graphics and handling are perfect. The loading on all the games are all really quick.

No reviews for Ridge Racer yet? Is it still supposed to make it out for launch?

I haven't seen it out at the stores yet.

I saw it at EB Games on Friday when I was there they were just putting it up on the shelf.

My wife is interested in this game and after looking around it is supposed to street a day or two AFTER the system launches. I'm borrowing a copy of NFS:MW from my buddy to hold her over.

Now that Gun was placed in my bundle after the fact, I have to figure out how to get rid of it.

My two cents: It doesn't make sense to me how some people here are discounting graphics, especially when discussing Xbox. Graphics is what got the Xbox where it is today. Do any of you really believe the Xbox would be where it is had it been a lesser system than the PS2?

As far as saying graphics don't matter, if you ask me, right now that's all it's about. If you buy Gun or 2k6 on 360 instead of Xbox it's because of the graphics... cause the gameplay is the same on both, DUH! Graphics are a HUGE part of gaming, and let me try to explain.

Games are a visual experience. You can't read a game or simply hear a game. How much fun would Halo 2 be if you were shooting at nothing but stick figures and the bases looked like paper cut outs? Any of you remember the first polygonal games? How would you like your new 360 to be pushing those graphics??? Reviewers must take hdtv into consideration seeing as how MS is pushing it so much as a selling point.

Just my two cents...

I think we've been down the "graphics versus gameplay" road many, many times before. No need to revisit it in this thread.

So where are the PD0 reviews?

You missed the point. There is no graphics versus gameplay here. Graphics complement gameplay, they go hand in hand. I would never play a game with shitty gameplay because the graphics rock.

Not really, because I forget about graphics after about 10 minutes of gameplay. I'll play a shitty looking game with great gameplay, over a great looking game with lousy gameplay.

It's all about gameplay. Without that, nothing else matters, including graphics.

I have been playing PGR3 and it rocks on a 110" diagonal!!
I am loving the driving physics in this game

My opinion on the 2 games I bought.

NHL2K6 is NOT worth it. Even on HDTV it looks no better than Xbox could look... you're paying a lot more than the Xbox version for the same game but paying 40$ more, my first mistake with the 360.

Call of Duty 2... I would definitely recommend it if you are on Live. The game looks AMAZING on HDTV, there is no noticeable frame rate problem in game (some fmvs might have a bit, but it doesn't affect the game). My big problem, no bots in split screen, you can play 2-4 which is annoying since the levels are so large. I hope they add bots but if they have no plans, I would say to get Perfect Dark and play coop with your friends. Of course if you have Xbox live, get it.

1st Perfect Dark review is up at gameranking.com...

The good news...
97% !!!

But, this score is from TalkXbox.com. I've never heard of them, either. And, as of right now, they have no other 360 games reviewed, so that is odd. Gonna have to wait for some more trusted sites to review this.

Thanks for the NHL opinion. I'm on the fence about this. I thought the XBOX version was just average also. The menus just seem clunky with 2K6.

I know EA is supposed to release NHL 06 for 360, right? I may just wait until next year, we'll see. I keep saying that with all the sports games, but I already have MAdden and Tiger Woods ordered. I'll probably get NBA 2K6 for X-mas also.

EA's hockey game is not slated to appear on the 360 this go around.

Oh, ok....I thought I read it on IGN.com. My mistake...or their mistake.

Total agreement.

Updated w/ IGN's Ridge Racer review. Looks like a pass/rental.