Edge is one of the few gaming publications that I have a lot of respect for. They can be pretentious but their features are consistently interesting even when they’re not about things that are necessarily popular, they’re insightful, and their reviews with their strict adherence to the idea that 5 = average and 10 = revolutionary are great.

They seem to be one of the few who realise that when they recommend a game people are going to spend £40 on it, which is a lot of money for what can be less than ten hours of entertainment. Dishing out 9s and 10s might get people through the door to see what the fuss is about, but they’re not going to stay if they don’t trust your judgement on what’s worth their money. That is, after all, what they’re paying you for.

Brown nosing aside, since Edge’s recent redesign I think I’ve fallen in love with their retrospectives on overlooked classics. They are, without a doubt, my favourite articles in any current publication and are well worth dropping the £4 to own the latest issue. Opening this month’s and finding six pages on Skies of Arcadia comes second only to opening the issue two months ago to find six pages on Shenmue in the greatest things ever to happen chart. I enjoyed GTA San Andreas as much as the next guy but it’s refreshing to read about a genuinely classic game that perhaps didn’t get the recognition it deserved instead. Even the fact that it’s a “warts and all” look doesn’t matter, because these are games that I’d play over and over again given the chance and will jump at the opportunity to read about them again. Too bad not many others would.

Since two of these retrospectives (my favourite ones so far, I have to admit) have been on Dreamcast games maybe the console itself could qualify as an overlooked classic. That’s certainly what I consider it: second only to the SNES.

Keep it up, Edge.