Reviewing System
Page 1: Categories
Last Updated: Sept 12th 2003
Gameplay: A good game is usually taxing on the reflexes, or it challenges you to solve puzzles, or both. A good game maximizes the challenge of a game while minimizing the frustration. If Joe Gamer isn't being challenged, he will walk away because the game is boring. Gameplay is obviously an important component of a game and will heavily impact the overall experience.
Value: This generally says how long someone can play a game for without getting bored of it. There are two ways of doing this: make the game long without making it repititous (i.e. Zelda: Wind Waker), or make the game push the user to keep playing it (i.e. Ikaruga). A game can have a million levels, but if they're all the same, the game won't be getting a good value score.
Graphics: There are two types of graphics. Firstly, you've got practical graphics; a smooth framerate, no pop up (or fog), enemies you can tell apart, stuff like that. Then there's the nice eye candy like shiny objects, particle effects, bump-mapping, etc. Both are welcome, but the practical aspect is far more important in determining this score.
Sound: This covers anything that comes out of your speakers. A good game needs catchy music, sound-effects, and perhaps voices too. If a game can run on Dolby or whatnot, that's fine, but if the sound isn't good in the first place, it just doesn't matter.
Mutiplayer: This can have quite a bearing on the overall score. This generally registers how much fun you can have playing this game with other people. If a game doesn't have any multiplayer, it can still get a great score, and a poorly made multi-player mode thrown in wouldn't really help the overall score.
Misc: This covers the game's storyline, it's presentation, it's loading times, as well as the little things that aren't covered in any other category. This is not a Tilt of any kind, it's a category specifically dedicated to the extra stuff that isn't mentioned in the other categories.
Overall: Overall is the collection of the other six categories, determining whether this game is worth your time. In the text review, it's a summary of how good / decent / atrociously bad a game is. It is not an average. Some games have a great storyline and they'll get big credit for that, even if the gameplay itself is a little boring. You get the idea.
That's a lot of rambling, eh? Now, each game is scored according to it's time. For example, if I reviewed Super Mario Bros. for the NES, I'd probably give it a 9 if not a 9+. Let's say it came out for the GameCube. Gameplay: eh, it's a bit too simple, 7. value: You can beat in an hour and a half without warps, 5. Yada, yada, yada, and by the end it's in the sixes.