Every once in a while here I like to offer my 2 cents on whether or not I think a game is worth your hard-earned dollars, and ever-valuable time. Now, its not like there’s a shortage of video game reviews out there, but I honestly feel there’s many that aren’t very good, and quite often I wish to yell many inventive and colourful expletives in the general direction of whomever authors these “reviews’ I read online. But I figure why complain about it, instead, try to do something to help the situation. So here I am, hopefully writing good, relatively well-written reviews to help the cause of educating gamers everywhere, in an intelligent, non-fan boy-ish manner, on how to better spend their gaming dollars.
Now I prefer a non-graded, non-rating type of review system. A well written review should speak for itself, and a simple number, or grade, can never encompass or convey the entirety of a review, if it’s thought-provoking, well written, or otherwise enlightening in some way. Far too many people gloss over the entire review, to get straight to its “score”, and base everything off that one number, or grade, or number of stars, or whatever. I also feel that many online don’t really understand the real reasons why a game gets the score that it does get, the rationale behind it, that is, and overreact when they see a game they were looking forward to get a 7 on some site, thinking that’s a bad score. Weren’t you happy when you got 70% on your Math test in school? Its well over passing, what makes it a bad score? Well, according to the internets anything less than 80% is a fail, apparently. Sure, I could blame certain sites, as others have, but its still a pretty widespread problem in the video game review industry (online, anyways) to throw around 80 & 90%’s pretty damn commonly.
So I’ve avoided them completely up until now. In an effort to enhance the visibility of my little blog here, and try to help even out crazy scores, I’ll be submitting my reviews to various review-gathering websites out there. The thing is, you’ve gotta have a Ratings system that they can use in their rankings of a game’s overall score. It makes sense, how else could they compile an average, right? It’s the whole point of those sites. I used the common 10-point scale, 10 being the highest, 1 the lowest, which is easily converted to % points if need be. What follows is an outline for how games will earn the score they’re given, which will be awarded at the end of each review. There will be a link to this post in each review as well.
Yet Another Site of Mine’s Game Scoring Guide
10: Much like how 100% on an essay does not imply perfection in the sense that it couldn’t have possibly been written any better, a game receiving a 10 is not necessarily perfect per-se, but is as close to it as possible in video gaming. A revolutionary title, that changes the way we play, or even how we look at video games. You will likely never see a game receive this score on this site, as its not a score to be tossed around lightly, but know that it is theoretically possible.
9 : An absolutely incredible gaming experience from beginning to end. The reason you started playing video games in the first place. Only incredibly teeny-tiny, nit-picking, minor, yet still noticeable, issues (slight slowdown or frame rate drops here or there, a camera system that occasionally suffers in rare situations, not a very original story, little stuff like that) prevent these titles from getting a 10, but only just barely. Should be considered “practically getting a 10”, that’s how good a game getting a 9 would be. Absolute ‘must-buy’ games, that any gamer should play, regardless of genre or preference. A score for Game of the Year candidates.
8: See the criteria for a 9, but with a just few more noticeable issues that can pull you out of the game from time to time, yet they don’t necessarily ruin an otherwise excellent gaming experience. Games that score an 8 should still be considered fantastic, top-tier games worthy of your time, that are largely worth overlooking whatever their problems may be. Perhaps it’s a simply glorious experience that’s over far too quickly with little replay value, or the multi-player aspect doesn’t work as well as the single player, or the camera system screws up a little more than rarely, but not enough to be broken and unplayable, merely just occasionally inconvenient, requiring a little work to get around. Issues like those. Games scoring an 8 would still absolutely be considered ‘must-buy” across the board, with possibly a few exceptions here and there that would depend more heavily on genre preference. Still a very high score, and a truly great video game.
7: Well produced, solidly crafted, and fun to play, but lacking a whole lot more beyond that. These games are like sequels that don’t ruin the experience, but don’t expand it either, they merely offer an extension of something that’s already proven to work, with a few new features or additions more akin to refinement. Still to be considered a high score for any game to receive, and should not be taken lightly by any means, but not the kind of game to set the industry, or even a particular genre, on fire with its ideas, concepts, or gameplay. A solid, well-made game that is definitely deserving of your time, but could use just a bit more polish in spots to take it from ‘really good“ to “great“.
6: A definite above-average game, that is still playable and fun, but may require you to look past a few more issues to find that enjoyment. Still good games, titles that score a 6 don’t look to offer new experiences to gamers, but rather rehash previous proven experiences in new packaging, or if they do attempt to offer something new, possibly one or two areas feel rather underdeveloped and hold it back. It may also be so genre-specific, or niche-marketed, that widespread must-buy enthusiasm may only apply to a select few, which could also apply to some games scoring 7‘s as well. These are still fun, good games, but often what you see is what you get, and not much else.
5: These games aren’t really trying, but just barely make a passing grade, due to graphical prowess that impresses in spite of lacklustre game play, inspired ideas lurking beneath an overall un-inspired design, or completely re-hashing or porting something already proven adequately enough, with little-to-no additions or enhancements at all, and sometimes even losing features along the way. If you’re bored with your current collection, or between big-releases and looking for something new, and find one of these in the bargain bin for cheap, give it shot and you’ll most likely enjoy it a wee bit, possibly an afternoon or three, but quickly forget about it . A rental, and that’s about it, unless it’s a series you follow, or are a fan of, and need everything that’s released in its franchise.
4: Definitely below-average. These games take proven ideas and genres and mangle them, offering uninspired, derivative gameplay that often feels more like work than having fun playing a game. These games feel like they needed a few more weeks in development or testing, and often have bugs that hamper gameplay and fun. Think most licensed shovel ware. There may be some fun to be had, but not much, and its usually quite shallow. Possibly a rental, and usually never any more than that.
3: These games may look good in spots, they may even feature big-name characters or franchises, or come from high-profile publishers, but are not any fun to play. These are the games with broken controls, that frustrate the hell out of you because you’re doing what you’re supposed to, but its not translating on the screen. A rushed, or very badly produced/poorly thought-out game is what you’ll find on the receiving end of this score. A game to avoid if you don’t want to throw your controller across the room in a fit of rage.
2: Absolute digital garbage, not worth any gamers time. The games that make you simply wonder why it was ever shipped. Any redeeming qualities these games may have is easily overshadowed by problem after problem, that render the final product, if not un-playable, completely un-enjoyable. Avoid at all costs if you enjoy video games. These games make Miyamoto cry.
1: Worst of the worst. Take a game that receives a 2, strip away whatever redeeming qualities it did have, leaving only an unplayable mess in its place, and you have the lowest of the low. Do not buy, even if you see it at a yard sale for a quarter, save it for a phone call.
0: A “Video Game” in name only, with no characteristics of actual ‘video gaming’ to be found. I hope to never have to ‘award’ this score to any game I play, it would shake my faith in the industry.
All games are scored against others in their genre, and consideration is of course given to which system they are published for, whenever applicable. Any score, other than 10 obviously, may have a .5 added onto it, as some games walk a fine line between a 7 and an 8, for example. I think its all rather obvious, and it’s really the internet standard system these days. But here it is, officially, so enjoy, and always feel free to comment.
-Kimo
I got a chuckle from the classic engrish on the packaging, and their interesting take on the spelling of “Wii” (how the hell are you suppose
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