Dear Future Gamer,

Although I'm a newcomer to your pages, and to the Web as a whole, I find myself interested in the thought of a free computer magazine delivered to my metaphorical doorstep.

However, being used to the somewhat more tried and tested format of a terrestrial tome, such as Edge, and the proliferation of PC titles dotted about the shelves, I find myself a little turned off by the colloquial way that you approach the previews. I'm all in favour of humour, but the 'banter' device used in issue 27 (my first contact with Future Gamer) to pad out a few pages seems too banal.

With regard to the Quake 2 preview for the N64, I am impressed that you managed to fit in a few details about the quality of the forthcoming game among the proliferation of wit distributed over three pages. Croc 2 was similarly hidden beneath an avalanche of untamed sarcasm, and although you give reason for your negative attitude toward Fox's latest (the frame rate for one), I think you could have stuck to the facts, rather than bask in your own glory.

However, I am impressed with the format. Not too many bells and whistles there. Quick to download, nicely unzipped, and concise headings. All in all nothing to complain about otherwise. If you do something about the above moans then I will be a pleasantly contented reader.

Good luck in the future

Anon

FG: Sorry to hear you don’t like our preview style. I happen to think the style lends itself perfectly to previewing a game. Remember, this is not a review - merely a taste of what the game promises. We do include details where appropriate but the whole slant on previews has been deliberately set to lean towards the light-hearted. We’re certainly not ‘padding’ out pages, merely giving our readers the chance to have an early look at some of the big-name games that are due without swamping them with too much nit-picking detail. Reviews are more serious because we assume people are using our judgement to make a buying decision. I’m afraid we’ll be continuing with the current preview style.