The Console Slayer 2/18/2014

   Gaming magazines. They're mainly a relic of the past now. All of us might not have grown up with them though so I thought I'd touch on them. Growing up, my first exposure to gaming magazines that I can remember was at a local Shopko. Unlike many who began with Nintendo Power, the magazine in question in my case was actually Electronic Gaming Monthly, AKA EGM. I got a subscription to it at some point of which I don't remember. My second foray into gaming mags was Tips & Tricks magazine. I loved both of these mags for different reasons. EGM was just fun and had cool features on upcoming games. Tips & Tricks was great for all of the codes & strategies it focused on. Imagine my surprise as an adult to learn it was published by Larry Flint Publications!

   I wrote in to Tips & Tricks but they sadly never published my letter.
It was advantageous to hang on to the various issues of Tips & Tricks because they alternated codes all the time. EGM was somewhat well known for their April Fools joke features such as the infamous 'Shen Long in Street Fighter II' prank. (On a side note, there is a reference to this character in the game however.)
I sadly traded my considerable collection of gaming mags to a friend in High School. At least it was for his Sega Genesis and all of his Genesis games.

   Now-a-days the point of gaming magazines like Tips & Tricks is practically moot with the advent of the internet. Same goes to a certain extent for mags like EGM when the gaming news industry is so prolific. Hardly anything is a surprise these days with leaks from online retailers and the like.

   So what memories and/or experiences do you all have with gaming magazines? Any at all? Which mags did you read/follow/subscribe to? What did you look forward to? Lets hear it.

   For today's tune I chose a cool soundtrack: Super Contra (Contra 2) on NES! I particularly recommend track 1 (Lightning and Grenades) and track 6 (Under the Feet).