Deconstructing Game Review Structure 47
Recently there has been a lot of division on the topic of game review structure. Kotaku has an interesting summary of recent commentary, including a piece by GameSetWatch's Simon Parkin and the Taipei Gamer blog. "Except, of course, video games don't work in the same way as toasters or digital cameras. Sure, they have mathematical elements and measurable mechanics and it's possible to compare the number of polygons between this one and that and spin out ten thousand graphs detailing how two specimens compare. But, unlike with the Canon EOS400D, I would have no idea at the end of those 25 pages which game was better or where they would sit on the 'true' scale of quality."
You can't quantify "Fun" (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Disparity between Reviewers and Users (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Disparity between Reviewers and Users (Score:3, Insightful)
Description (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm sick of seeing perfect 10 after perfect 10 review. Not only do I know these are absolutely worthless in regards to objectivity, but very few reviews explain what gameplay is like on a very specific scale.
A good description allows me to decide how much I might enjoy that game. After all, we all enjoy different things.
Re:Differences (Score:4, Insightful)
The defining characteristic in the accuracy of a review is point of view intersection between the reviewer and the reader. That's it. That's all that matters. Take the time to know your reviewer and you will never go wrong. I read just about every review I can find for every game I have, and I write lots of reviews (unpublished save for 1 or 2 at gamefaqs) as a writing exercise and because I'm an opinionated SOB (one of these days I'll get around to starting my own review site, or try to get some part time work at an established one). Lots of times I have to wonder whether I am playing the same game as some of these people. I'm sure I am, but it really boils down to the fact that people look for different things in games, and everyone has their red lines, and they're all different to one degree or another.
Re:Description (Score:3, Insightful)
There are a few factors at work in a game review - and I speak as someone who wrote dozens of them for a now defunct website
I have given up on game reviews for PC games. There are very few sources for good review information these days, almost everyone is biased in some way or another and few articles focus on providing facts concerning the game and focus on hype or the author's opinion as fact, rather than opinion.
Re:Differences (Score:3, Insightful)
Not so! It's very tempting to be dismissive of MK Wii because you have been blue shelled out of first so often. But Mario Kart operates on exactly the same principle that all luck moderated games do - they're very accessible, precisely because a new player always has a chance to beat a pro in a single race. In the long run however, every player has the exact same chance of mishap as every other player, and so as the number of games played gets closer to infinity, the relative skill of each player get easier and easier to measure. This is how tournament players will be picked when the game hopefully gets picked up by the pro circuit.
I know that sounds strange, but some of the worlds best games have operated same principle since games began. Check out how many players are regulars at the World Series of Poker, then sit down and play one hand against any regular player :).
"But anyone can see that Final Fantasy whatever is a better game than Super Barbie Movie License Cash-In 93 on the Game Boy. The huge, huge difference makes it plain."
Ahh, I used to think like you. The difference to you and me seems obvious, but will seem less and less obvious the more gamers you meet, and the less notice you take of reviews. Ask 10 5-year old girls to rate each game after half an hours play, and I guarantee that Barbie Horse Adventures will come up trumps.
Obviously, 5-year old girls often don't know much about games, so you could argue they're doing the review using the wrong principles and values. But actually the game is designed for 5-year old girls to enjoy, so I could just as easily say that you're the one writing the 'wrong' review.