Dave Halverson
Dave Halverson is the founder of video game magazines GameFan, Gamer's Republic, Play and currently the new version of "Gamefan," which comes in digital PDF versions as well as print.
Although video games are always the prime focus, his magazines tend to feature a branching out to other related media, such as anime, comics, film, toys, music, etc. These publications are known for their unbridled enthusiasm for gaming (thus the "fan" in "GameFan"), their lack of negativity and criticism (except where directed toward corporate sponsers and money managers), a personal slant on reviews with less hang-ups on good taste and the status quo, frequently strewn with asides against politics and the outside culture, the latter of which is often led by Dave himself. Some praise him for his passionate take on media and games, and consistently well-written observations on the styles he loves, namely platformers, action-adventure, light RPG, and dirt-bike racing.
Bio from GameFan Magazine (2011)
"I love the integrity and solidity new technology has afforded today’s games, but over the 20 years I’ve been at this, never before have I longed as much for change. Too many sequels and too much realistic killing. Change has arrived via 3DS, the upcoming Wii-U, and the current Independent game scene but more needs to be done to get the game industry back on track starting with Publishers taking their companies back from agency control and respecting developers’ creative freedom. Specialty: Platformers, Adventure and ARPGs, Racing, Open Worlders, and all things Retro post NES.
Likes: Anime, Movies, Motocross, Canyon Carving, Music, and the US fighting Force.Dislikes: Unqualified online reviews, the corporate takeover of the internet, Twitter, Facebook, and fake friends in general, Ad Agencies choking the life out of print for their own gain at the expense of developers and publishers, religious nuts, the crap job the ESRB does keeping kids from playing M-rated games (and in-general), Kinect, and war."