I miss the comics they used to have in Nintendo Power. My brother had a subscription when we were young, and I used to be SO impatient to see what would happen with Link and Samus next! Overall, though, I think the keys to making an engaging magazine are fairly simple.
One, yes it has to have the reviews that they all do (although they need to be less biased- maybe referencing a user vote on the magazine's website or something for perspective.) Two, it needs to have extra information relevant to the industry that you couldn't find by hitting up google- by this I mean interviews or exclusive artwork (like posters, which have already been suggested.) Three, it would be nice to get demo-discs or demo codes when possible. They make it seem more valuable and interesting than a book, because for some reason a massive portion of the population is now opposed to books and the idea of reading instead of using visual media.
The last part is exactly what Jessica said. The magazines need to appeal to gamer guys, and gamer -girls-. There are a lot of us, thanks, and we would rather see a picture of the latest hero shirtless than a girl with "assets" bigger than her head. Either opt for cover graphics that appeal to both sexes, or market your magazine exclusively to one gender if you expect to get a lot of people.
