R.A.W Team/Reviews

Review by Glenn Lunder
A hallmark in the jagged history of R.A.W was the release of this issue, which meant several big changes. It was the first ever issue to be released without Lord Helmet as main editor, and it was also the first ever issue not to feature any graphics from Fairfax. Fresh blood brought fresh ideas, though, and Astro's articles are written like he'd have been doing this all his life. History would later show that the choice of Astro for a new editor would not be the best decision, but the things he does for this issue is very good. Even though this issue is released just three months after the last one (another small revolution! :-), the contents seem polished and well thought-out. It's especially nice to see Facet doing graphics reviews again, just as he did in the old days for Stolen Data. This is also the first issue where the home page is announced - what would later become a much larger part of RAW.

There is apparently also an intro by Virtual Dreams for this issue, but it was not included in my distribution, and I have consequently not seen it. Some clipart in the 'group review' section is misplaced, occasionally ending up on top of text. To sum up: Very good, but then it always is. :)

Tested A500 /000-7 /½mb chip, ½mb fast /2.04. A1200/030-50/2mb chip, 16mb fast/3.0.

Review by Glenn Lunder
Looking back on RAW now (this review was done in january 2003), it's quite amazing how accomplished an effort it is. It stands proudly alongside current and past diskmags, as one of the best diskmags ever. It does not NEED to live on its reputation, it has so much support from so many important sceners, and so much quality reading, that it stands TALL on its own merits. Just looking at the roster of writers, should give you an indication... And the code is exceptional. Fast, compatible, smooth, intuitive. Editorially, the mag is again excellent, with a broad range of scene-related articles, from general pondering to in-depth interviews and an extensive party section. This is one of a few classic mags that everyone should read.

Running RAW really couldn't possibly be a smoother experience. No fuss, just two files, and a superbly hardware compatible code makes running this from floppy, harddisk or ram - a doodle. The release date is a little uncertain; likely sometime around September is our best guess.

Tested A1200/030-50/2mb chip, 16mb fast/3.1.