Photo from Playbuzz.com, not actually me. But I'd play it.
It is often argued that the video game industry has both 'grown up' and yet still needs to do so. I'm not going to bring up any such topics specifically (as that would defeat the point I'm making) and I'm not implying some of these subjects aren't worth discussion and exploration. I will sadly say that when I read about our industry nowadays, much of the sense of awe, fun, and playfulness of just the very existence of video games genuinely feels thin or absent altogether.
I miss the reviews from older game magazines. Nintendo Power, EGM, Game Players, Game Pro, and their contemporaries oozed enthusiasm, passion, and a positive lightheartedness sorely missed in gaming today. I still rifle through our stacks of these on occasion and it really helps re-center my love of the hobby. There are stabs of appropriate criticism of course, but the tenor, the joy of video games bounces off the pages.
