Eurogamer review

Damien McFerran

We review Eurogamer, an app that lets you get the respected gaming site's content on your iPhone

Published on Nov 18, 2009

When it comes to video game-related sites they don’t really come much bigger than Eurogamer.

With over a decade of providing the latest reviews, news and previews to the insatiable gaming masses, this highly-regarded portal is, for many people, the only site worth bothering with when it comes to getting the scoop on the world of interactive entertainment.

To capitalise on the incredible popularity of Apple’s iPhone platform, the team behind Eurogamer has released a dedicated app which allows you to download all that lovely gaming content direct to your phone.

Naturally, it’s not a straight copy of the web-based site; the crucial information is neatly condensed to ensure it’s easy to read and loads quickly – two things that are of vital importance when browsing on a mobile device.

The app is divided into three main sections. The main “Eurogamer” feed showcases all of the content currently doing the rounds on the main site, so here you will see news, reviews and previews.

This flood of information can be a little overwhelming at first, so you’ll be happy to learn that it’s possible to apply a filter to ensure you only clap eyes on the stuff you’re genuinely interested in.

Elsewhere, there’s an entire section devoted to Eurogamer TV, which contains exclusive videos recorded by the site’s own team as well as all the latest trailers and insider clips. All of the videos shown are of a high quality, although as always you’ll need a Wi-Fi connection to really get the most out of them.

The third and final piece of the puzzle is the Community section, which is essentially your route into the hustle and bustle of the incredibly popular Eurogamer forum. While it’s advised you wear flame-retardant clothing before logging on (debates can get quite heated, you see) there can be no complaints with how the app performs in this regard; once you’ve logged in you can effortlessly indulge in a spot of banter with your fellow gamers.

On the whole, the Eurogamer app works wonderfully. The single biggest issue with it is the asking price. Considering this same content is available online for free, it seems a little cheeky to charge people to use it.

There are perks to this system though, which the creators of the app are quick to point out. You don’t have to put up with any distracting adverts and it also runs much quicker than viewing the site through your iPhone’s Safari browser. The video content is also only accessible on your phone via this app.

When you consider how easy this app makes it to surf the Eurogamer site and the high quality of the content on show – both in terms of text, screenshots and moving images – then it’s hard to grumble at the cost. Regular users are obviously going to get more value out of it than casual fans, but if you take your gaming seriously then it’s certainly worth downloading.