The multi-format games magazine Edge has clearly been designed for the older gaming generation, by which I mean those over twenty years of age.

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E d g e

The multi-format games magazine Edge has clearly been designed for the older gaming generation, by which I mean those over twenty years of age. This fact is distinguished as a result of the magazines subject content, but more importantly the relative complexity of its lexical usage. The magazine portrays a professional image through its neat graphological factors, in conjunction with a consistent sense of formality.

Lexis

Throughout the review Edge uses complex lexical items, such as ‘alleviates’, ‘proficiency’ among some very subject specific specialised language. The impact of this technique reflects the comparative formality of the magazine. However, an understanding of these words provides an explanatory view on the magazines ideology in relation to the subject, which is this case, the game Super Mario Sunshine. An example of this is the sentence ‘…that you’re only seriously aware of that ability when you lose it is testament to how well integrated into the mechanic it is, and gaining proficiency with it and the horizontal spraying is a joy’. This sentence additionally reinforces the point of Edge’s lexical complexity and intended audience. The language is very considerable to the requirements of an older audience and suggests the need for a degree of education, narrowing the potential audience range. The use of aforementioned ‘specialist lexis’ confirms this. The range of these words used in Edge supersedes those of the other three articles, both in complexity and number. ‘Death throes’, ‘skybox’, ‘clipping’ and ‘dual analogue’ are examples of computer jargon highlighted in the review.

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        The magazines lexical superiority is confirmed with the very effective use of lexical cohesion. In the opening paragraphs of the review, Edge repeats the phrase ‘six years’ five times. This phrase is also repeated twice during the conclusive paragraph of the review. The impact of this is to link the beginning and ending of the review in the readers mind in order to provide a relevant conclusion relating to the initial points made within the introduction. The reason for repetition will be handled appropriately in the Grammar section.

Grammar

Edge contains some very complex sentences, perfectly exemplified by ...

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