Brief Review: Digital White Dwarf

Hello there everybody! Have you seen the new pics for Warriors of Chaos? Those models look really good. Now, I'll never play Warhammer Fantasy (unless I become a millionaire who never has to work again), but there's a lot of conversion potential in these models. I can't wait to see them in person.

Nevertheless, I've got a brief article here about the Digital White Dwarf. I received an iPad Mini this Christmas (I must have been a good boy, or I got it because of all the medical hell I went through this past year). I always thought that the iPad was always just a little too big and too heavy- I may as well cart around a small laptop. But the iPad mini is perfect- its light, easy to hold, easy to carry, and the screen is great. I love it. But of course, what was one of the first things I did with it? Why, I bought a subscription to White Dwarf, of course!!

So, what made me do that (besides the "Ohhh- shiny new iPad means new GW stuff" feeling)? Well, let's look at the facts: the White Dwarf is currently $10. I have to drive to a gaming store to get it (even if THAT is all I'm going for)- thus wasting gas. When I used to have a mail subscription, I used to get it like 2 weeks late (already on the Internet by then), so that is no longer an option.

So, when I looked up the Digital WD subscription, I saw that a 12 month subscription would be 70. So, factor it out- a year on newsstand price is 120. Digital is 70. Talk about saving money the Chaos way!! How could I say no to that?

So, is it any good? You bet it is. You get the whole magazine downloaded instantly to your iPad (don't even need to hook it up to your computer- just wireless Internet). It is the entire magazine- articles, model pics, battle reports, everything. It looks just like the magazine- just on the iPad screen. It is clear and crisp, and colorful. Plus, there are additional features. Some of the pics can be blown up to huge size (you can see the detail really close up). There are also pics that can be scaled 360 degrees (again, great for the iPad). They also have links to the GW site to make purchases (I wouldn't, but it is a nice option). They also have a video after the battle reports (they are players but not actors, damn it). Finally, they have clips/segments from their audio short stories- just press the icon and you hear the snippet.

While I do miss the "feel" of a magazine, I feel that the Digital WD is fantastic. It really is the magazine, but at less cost, you get it instantly, and it has a few extra features that range from great to pretty good. Add that all up and basically, what's not to like. It costs less, takes up little space (I have a ton of the mags, they do take up space after a while), and it is really convenient.

If you have the iPad, I strongly recommend this, especially if you're already buying the mag. If you stopped due to the high price, maybe this could change your stance, as it is cheaper. I give it 4 out of 4 Marks of Chaos. You can't go wrong with this folks!

I am planning to buy a Digital Codex too at some point. I don't want to by Chaos Marines, as I already have it. Perhaps Chaos Daemons will be the first? I already bought a book from Black Library (it is Betrayer and it is excellent). I'll review that and other things in the future. Until next time...