One of the recent discoveries I’ve made on the internet is the totally free online game magazine D+PAD. There have been some debates around the web on various message boards (including our own) about the necessity for game magazines in the digital age. Some of us would argue that there are still many benefits to getting a magazine as its nice to hold something tangible in your hands. Others make the argument that with all the video game news sites out there that a magazine is unnecessary since most of the news is readily available online long before the magazine reaches your mailbox.

D+PAD offers an interesting compromise between the two. You can download the magazine as a PDF and it includes embedded video that streams from their servers. One of the benefits of a PDF is that you get a nice layout which has the look of a traditional magazine, it can be printed (sans video, obviously) or read on screen.

The magazine has really well-written articles, previews and reviews. The quality of the layout design is top-notch and I really like the use of the embedded video in Acrobat. I went ahead and subscribed (for free, via email) because I think what these guys are doing is pretty cool. They have seven episodes up so far all of which are a good read. Its free so you really have nothing to lose by giving it a shot. Check out the site, http://dpad-magazine.com/, and download a few issues.