AMIGA MAGAZINES REVIEW  by Tam Le  <> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <>  Everyone knows there are plenty of Amiga Magazines around, the only problem is deciding which one to get. A lot of them are imported from the UK, which is why they're expensive, so finding the magazine right for you is important. I'll review all of the ones I usually buy. AUSTRALIAN COMMODORE and AMIGA REVIEW  This one I buy every month. It is, as it suggests, an Australian publication so you can be sure that you will be helping the Australian Dollar. On the cover, you will find a nicely Ray-Traced image on a soft cover. The content is mainly for the "serious" Amiga user, who uses his Amiga with "serious" applications such as DTP, Programming, Graphics etc, although ACAR also caters for games players. Columns include AMOS, CanDo, Education, and more recently, Desktop Publishing. Other areas include "Letters to the Editor", Entertainment- Game reviews, Hints & Cheats, Adventure section, and even a Commodore 64 section (luckily this is only 2 pages). My favourite parts of the Magazine are the reviews. "Hot PD" is where the latest PD is put under the microscope by Daniel Rutter, also a writer here in Megadisc, which proves his obvious writing talent. The Hardware and Software reviews are equally strong and informative, giving fair reviews to all. My gradings are as follows: Presentation- Neatly set out, easily-ripped cover= 6.5/10 Content- Very good, carefully written= 9/10 Value- At $3.50, you get a neat "package"= 7/10 A recommended magazine! AMIGA FORMAT-  You can easily notice this one, mainly because of its size. It is imported from the UK.....only about 2 months late! This is nicely presented in a larger than average magazine, usually complete with two coverdisks, one of which contains a Demo of a game or serious program and a COMPLETE commercial utility (more on that later). Inside the impressive looking magazine, you will find around 250 very colourful pages which looks like a lot, but on average, you can't turn two pages without being spooked by a fairly useless advertisement (since most of them don't cater for overseas customers). There is quite a lot of content dispite the amount of advertisements, mainly reviews (hardware and software,including games), very well written although in the latest issue (December), a reviewer (for Opalvision) actually thought that Australia used the NTSC instead of PAL - more follow up research could have been used. Their strongest content section would have to be their news coverage, revealing what's new in the Amiga Scene, new Amiga Products and more. Perhaps the strongest selling point would have to be the coverdisk with the Complete free commercial utility. Dating back to their first giveaway in the "Amiga Format Collection" was Vista, the Fractual landscape creator, next was Pagesetter, the COMPLETE DeskTop Publisher(!!), which I bought as soon as I saw it. Next was SpectraColor Jr, CanDo, Animation Station, IntroCAD, DevPac 2, TV Text & CrossDOS (together), Scribble!, and next month, AMOS. As you can see, you can pick up some gems for not too much. One thing I must make clear, the games section is the worst, it's everywhere, interupted by ads. Pricey, but "you get what you pay for". My verdict: Presentation- Very good, glossy cover, too many ads= 9/10 Content- A lot of it!= 9/10 Value- At around $13.10, not cheap, taking disks into account= 7/10 One of my personal favourites, hopefully yours too! AMIGA COMPUTING-  Yet another import! this one is slightly cheaper than Amiga Format, but you don't get as many pages or coverdisks, but that doesn't mean that I don't recommend it. This mag is probably found on the rack like all the other magazines, with the exception of Amiga Format which is too thick to fit on the rack. This magazine relies on its content rather than its disk to sell. Yes, the content is quite good. This is the magazine that I first bought when I got my Amiga. I quite quickly got to grips with using my "Investment". In fact, I knew more things about the Amiga, in just 6 month's time, than a person who had owned an Amiga for 3 times as long as I did. Anyway, Amiga Computing has good Shareware on the coverdisks, a lot written by the readers, who get so and so pounds for their work. They even encourage overseas software writers to join in on the act. The "Amiga Almanac" is a very good section where fields such as Arexx, DTV, Music Programming, DTP, Communications, AMOS, DTP and Multimedia are compiled into one section for easy access. The games review section is excellent. All the games reviews are in the same section called "Gamer" which is almost like a separate magazine, where you will also find cheats, hints & tips.....Judgement Day: Presentation- Nice, set out well, everything is together= 9/10 Content- Surpringly fun to read= 8/10 Value- Around $10, not bad= 7/10 If you hate trying to find particular parts, get this! CU AMIGA-  From the UK (again), hails this mag. In dimensions, looks like Amiga Computing, with the added extra of another coverdisk. There's a lot of Games coverage (if you're into that stuff). The news is pretty good, the games reviews aren't. They always overate soccer games, always! Their PD coverage is pretty good, with pictures. Their best section has to be the "blue pages" which is the CU Amiga Equivalent of the "Almanac" of Amiga Computing, but the blue pages also has readers' letters. The readers' input is of high priority in CU Amiga and so it should be. They also have regular surveys in which you have your say, to produce a magazine that you want. Coverdisks are usually CRAMMED with all sorts of things, the tracker modules are very good, as well as the selection of PD. This is another magazine going towards the Amiga Format tradition by including a commercial utility. An interesting thing I'll mention is that this is the only UK magazine that I have come across that has ever had a competition dedicated to Australian readers, the prize was a CDTV, and the next ten drawn out were to win a Year's subscription to the mag....rating: Presentation- Pretty good, Ads are in relevant places= 7/10 Content- Reader input is excellent, game reviews not= 7/10 Value- $12, Think before you buy....=6/10 Check what's on the coverdisks, if you think it's worth it, buy it. AMIGA USER INTERNATIONAL-  You can guess where this comes from....yes, UK! Same size as CU & AC but thinner! Good "serious" stuff, very little game reviews which could be good or bad depending on your opinion, good in my case. One coverdisk, but it is crammed with great programs, and you can pick up occasional gems, such as Audio Master II! The disk is utilities based. This mag, as CU Amiga also has good reader input, with long explanations. Verdict: Presentation- Looks stingy, but the disk is great!= 8/10 Content- Not a lot, reader input good=6/10 Value- $11, Let the buyer beware...=4.5/10 If you wish to add to your P.D software collection with only the best, get this. AMIGA SHOPPER-  UK, Okay! This one has no coverdisk, surprise surprise, but it doesn't need one to boost sales, because it is so good. This has NO games coverage at all, pure serious users only. This magazine is from the makers of Amiga Format. It has the Professional Advice of Amiga Format, the setting out of Amiga Computing, the reader input of CU Amiga, and the 'value for money' of the Australian Commodore & Amiga Review. It is excellently set out and has neat boxes which contain and explain computer jargon. Check out the ratings: Presentation- Thick, beginners catered for= 9.5/10 Content- Combination of writers of different UK mags who have been specially selected.= 9.5/10 Value- Around $5, absolute bargain!= 10/10 Do ANYTHING you have to do to get this!!  <> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <%> 34 <>