my two cents: the reviews forum sucks ass (Moved to Ramble)

[A Black Falcon]

We're trying to set our own standards, that's why we've placed the rules. We're not going to start censoring the whole forum, just one little corner of the forum that can avoid the nonsense that is so prevalent and tolerated would be good.

Yes, we should set our own standards, but I'd say they're too weak right now... how much good is it when all of your reviewers are reviewing based on different systems? Sure, no one will ever agree compeltely on every aspect of what the perfect review system is, but I think some kind of agreement is better than nothing.

Now, as far as scoring my opinion is basically just that assigning a number is too arbitrary to be worthwhile. I would have if forced, though I may not put much thought into the numbers, which is what is important. Whatever I think of it, I would do it if I couldn't talk them out of it, and really that's as far as I was willing to go, making my side clear and seeing if they agreed or not.

However, scoring aside, the rest of their requirements are very logical. Needing a minimum length, requiring sections discussing specific game aspects like story (where applicable, I am of the understanding such a thing would not need be discussed in a game like Tetris, or maybe even Mario), gameplay, general art direction, controls, and so on.

The text of the review is definitely more important than the score. The goal of a review is to discuss the game and help the reader make the decision if they should play the game or not, I think. Yes, the reviewer's personal opinion will make an indelible impression on that score, but the good review also tries its best to be objective and not score it purely on their own biases but on their best effort to look at the game objectively.

But even so, numbers are an important aspect of that review. It adds simple clarity of, in general, what you think of the game and various aspects of the game (each site has its own subcategories... if we want a standard, we should discuss which ones we think we should use.) Now, there is the danger of people looking only at the numbers and not at the text, but still, I think it's an effective tool to sum up the review and should definitely be a part of the system.

I'd rather have a detailed, well-done review with no final number than a short one with scores in twenty categories, though. :)