Rules for Reviewing Games

[Ninmast]

This list is not the original rules, but a rewrite. If there is anything missing or someone feels something should be added, please post here and we can discuss the alteration.

Rules for Reviewing Games[/u]

1) All reviews must be posted completely and appropriately. Anyone who posts a review that is obviously not serious or appropriate (I gave this game a 0/10 because they only released it for PS3 and XBox 360 and I can only afford a Wii!) will have their review deleted immediately.

2) To ensure games are thoroughly covered, please refrain from posting one until you have completed the game!!![/u] It doesn't matter if you thought the beginning was so awful, you didn't even want to touch the rest. If you cut out, you can't say for certain what the rest of the game was like.

3) Only one thread per game, please. If a game has already been reviewed and you wish to post your own review, do so in the first thread, and only if it's definitively different from the original review. We don't need fifty identical review sheets. If it's just minor differences, just make a normal post in the thread explaining your difference of opinion.

4) Give the entire title of the game in the subject of your thread, as well as the system and ESRB rating in the proper format: Title (System) (Rating). The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Gamecube) (T) is an appropriate subject title. "That new Sonic game" is not.

5) Remember to post a brief summary of the plot of the game (try not to spoil any of it for us in the process) before you give the individual sections.

6) The individual sections are as follows, and should be rated on a scale of one to ten.

[b]Storyline:  X/10[/b]

How good was the story?  Was there much of a story at all?  Try not to give too many spoilers here if you can help it.

[b]Graphics:  X/10[/b]

This is how good the game looks.  If it's an older one, try to consider it for its time period.  Super Mario Bros. may not be so super today, so try comparing it to other NES games when determining how good it is.  For systems whose performance varies as time passes, such as the PSOne, try looking at other games from the same time.

[b]Sound:  X/10[/b]

This is how good the game sounds.  Again, remember the time the game came out when reviewing.  We don't expect Final Fantasy:  Mystic Quest to sound as good as The Legend of Zelda:  Twilight Princess.

[b]Control & Interface:  X/10[/b]

Control is the ease in which the controller setup works with the game, what kind of learning curve it required, etcetera.  Interface is the difficulty in accessing and traversing menus and interacting with the game.  Remember, easier isn't always better.  Some games need a control or interface that is at least somewhat challenging.

[b]Replay:  X/10[/b]

This is the replay value of the game, or how much it would be worth to go through again.  Is there unlockable secrets?  More storyline paths to pursue?  Perhaps some extra little conversations you probably could have gotten to?  Maybe you didn't get all the special artifacts?  Or maybe once is enough.  Perhaps the game really stunk, or it was self-inclusive enough that, while enjoyable, it just wasn't something you'd gain anything from playing through it again.

[b]Overall:  X/10[/b]

This is the overall rating of the game.  It may have scored low in some areas, but high in others.  This is where your final impression of the game is shared.

7) Remember to give a summary for each section of the review. Don't just tell us the game stunk. Tell us why it stunk.

[pgasniper]

For #2 do you have to 100% beat the game or just see the end credits.?

and can we have decimal points when scoring? So scores such as 8.9?

[Ninmast]

You have to have entirely played through the game. For Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, for instance, you'd be expected to have played it through from beginning to end, but we won't expect you to have gotten every tank, missile upgrade and scan. If you're reviewing Megaman ZX, however, since while the male/female gameplay is identical, the storylines are different enough to provide different information, you would be expected to play both sides all the way through to ensure you got all of the storyline, and while it's not necessary for you to complete the uber side quest for the Ox armor, it probably wouldn't hurt.

And there's no reason you can't use decimal points, it's probably not necessary. If you want to give an 8.7, for instance, it will probably get the idea just fine across by giving it a 9. Remember, your score doesn't have to be the final word on your opinion. That's what each paragraph in the scores is for. Instead of giving it an 8.5, you might give it an 8, then mention in the description, "I really wanted to give it a 9 here, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it when the menus took so much digging to get to anything, even if the control setup worked gloriously in-game."