Reviewed 2013-04-29 l Last update on 2020-09-27
Gay Engage is a network of sites that is varied, non-exclusive, fun and easy enough to get around. It does have some issues, which well talk about later, and it is a bit over-priced for non-exclusive content; but then again it does have over 2,200 videos covering everything from twink sex to big black bears, so it's a good place to check out if you like, raw, amateur, streaming video clips and a wide variety of photos and studio DVDs.
You sign up and log in and you will come to a general home page where all the content from each of the 16 advertised sites is collected together. You have a drop-down list of these sites and you can use this as a kind of filtering system to get to the various site headings. Having said that, I have seen a few of these sites recently and they don't always stay with their niche or target content. There are, for example, silver daddies and bears appearing in content listed under a Frat Boy site.
Still; it's simple to go through the collection. There are 15 sample shots per page and a total, at the moment, of 154 pages holding 2,298 clips. These clips run for various lengths of time, from around one minute to, sometimes, 20 or more. As you browse the pages you see the title of the site or collection from which each clip comes, there are runtimes shown and the number of views. You can take these view numbers with a pinch of salt though; the tour shows you that each pic or clip has been viewed thousands of times, but I only found a few views per clip; 50 was the highest number. But that's OK, sites put these kinds of figures on tours as one day soon they will be accurate. I initially thought that this was quite a new site/network so would take time to bed in. I was wrong, as you will see.
Each clip is shown in a stream, and that is your only choice: you can't download and you have to go with the rather low and basic resolution choice given to you. It will suit most connections though and I had no trouble running the clips, but full screen was very often not an option. To give you an idea of how long the site has been running I looked at some of the older clips and saw upload dates of 2006. You have to open a clips viewing page to see this basic information. Clicking on the first index page and assuming hat to be the most recent update, I found a posted date of 2010, which suggest to me that there have been no updates since. And that means that the update schedule across the top of the page is not worth paying attention to. It shows three updates per day through a week; but a week with not dates.
So, is this collection of sites dead in the water? Is it worth joining at all? Yes, if you like varied clips to view. These come from all over the place and occasionally you might see a watermark from a site or company (I saw clips here from AEBN for example). You have 16 sites here and you may have seen our reviews of some of them: There are bears in Bear BoyFriends, and lots of ethnic action with Latin guys and black dudes in Thug Boyfriends and others, there's Homos In The Hood and Homo Thugs Exposed for amateur ebony action, you've got College Boys and Hung Frat Boys, My Twink Bitch and a couple of Ripped sites for beach guys and college guys. And there is also one that shows you straight guys in gay sex and jerk off sessions. But not all of the sites stick to their niche.
You've also got photos to view and these you find from the top menu. Quality varies, as does subject matter, but there are lots of fisting and ass stretched and bottle insertion pics here mixed in with amateur guys showing their own self-submit photos. You can also find a self-submit link on the tour pages, at the bottom. You find the pics by clicking the Pictures tab in the main menu and then, to see more pics, you click the same link again. That's a tip for you and one that took me ten visits to the site to stumble upon.
And that is just one of the navigation functions that I thought needed a bit of work. There is nothing to help you browse through the images, and I really did fall on the method by accident. I thought there were only 50 pics per site until I clicked the Pictures link again; then the page changed and I had another 50 shots to see. These open one at a time and there are no slideshows or zip files.
There are very few, if any, interactive functions actually. Unlike many sites you don't have a favourites area in which to add your best clips or pics, and here are not rates or comments. You will see gold stars with sample pics on index pages but these don't actually do anything. And there is very little information either. There are runtimes and dates with clips, but you've got no idea where the clip came from, and you have only the one viewing option per clip; it is all very basic.
But what you do have are lot of advertisements for other sites, and these are a bit of a pain. I mean, when you have just paid nearly $40.00 to join a members' area do you really want to go and spend more to join another? Maybe you do. If you want to use the advertised chat, cam and dating sites you will find some free action, but will then have to sign up to pay more and go further.
But, in all of his, there is some good news. You have a bonus DVD theatre to view and there were a couple of hundred titles here with their scenes and various ways to view them. This really helps pull Gay Engage from the depths and give you at least some value for money.
It's easy enough to engage with Gay Engage but how long you will stay happily engaged is another matter. Non-exclusive clips, no updates since 2010 despite promises, only one viewing option per clip, varied quality, some navigation issues, poor design with lots of adverts, and yet a huge amount of clips, photos and a lot of variety. I guess it is one of those offers where you must expect the rough with the smooth. Check it out, but be aware of what you are getting.
