Our Standards

With all the crap flying around the internet about ratings, time spent in games, and ethics in general, I felt it was time we put our own practices in writing as well. There isn't much to say, as we are not and never claimed to be professionals, but an outline for you, the reader, so you would know if you wish to trust us and on what we say, would be most useful. So let me put this out there for you.

Reviews: As far as reviews go, we leave a lot loose and up to the writer. However, there are a few standards that we have to insist on before a review is written:

• Time put into the review: This is one of the big issues a lot of people have with reviewers. They want to be sure of how much time they put into the game before they say anything. Most in fact as a safety, INSIST on the game being completed. Personally, I do not, but there are certain measures we do insist on.
• If a game is given a good review on this site and is completable, it MUST be finished before doing so: I insist on this based on my own previous experiences with a few games that completely ruined themselves by being lazy and/or completely changing the game type for the last boss exclusively (I'm looking at you, Star Fox Adventure). If a game is good, it must be good as a whole, period, and without question. Please keep in mind, this does NOT mean getting every achievement or doing everything in the game. It means being able to complete the story, get an ending, and (possibly) roll the credits.
• If a game is given a good review on this site and is not completable, it must have been played at least 40 hours before reviewing: Let's face it, not all games have an ending or even a point where the credits roll and you can say "yeah, I beat this game." These are the kinds of games that need to be able to keep you coming back to be worth your time to begin with. It's why games like Pac-Man still get remixed today and why MMOs like World of Warcraft suck you in for hours and hours and hours. But do you enjoy it through all those hours? We figure if they have done so for 40 hours of game time or more, the game has proven it will last and not get boring shortly after you start playing.
• If a game is given a bad review on this site, it must have been played at least 8 hours: I do not expect someone to finish a game they hate, but I expect a detailed analysis as to what was wrong with the game. I also insist that the game be given a chance to ensure it is not just a slow or rough beginning to what might turn out to be a great game in the end. But if the game fails to be good for that long, I do not believe you can reasonably expect a player to have the patients to keep going no matter how good the rest of the game is. The exception to this, of course, is if they can finish the game in less then 8 hours. If the game is that short, you can expect it was finished. You can also expect if it isn't finished, we will say so.
• A broken game will be given a 0 score: I honestly don't care how good a game is up until that point. If the game is broken in a fundamental way that prevents you from completing it, it will get a 0 score, no matter what. This is pretty rare, since as I write this, I have had to give this score to exactly one game on this site. 

In addition to these standards of time spent on reviews, this seems like the perfect place to put our scoring system, so without further this is what the scores roughly means:



A 10 out of 10 as this shows, is for the games of the highest caliber. Literally, we reserve this for games so good, it would take one of the most OCDed perfectionists on the planet to not call it perfect. We do not gives these out lightly and if a game earns this, we do not care if you hate the type of game or not. You will like this. As I write this, I do not believe I have found a game yet that earns this level of respect.

A 9 out of 10 means you are about to play a game that is absolutely exceptional in every way. While not perfect, this game is so good that you have to look close to see any real flaws, and chances are even if you do not like the type of game it is, you will have fun with it.

An 8 out of 10 is a really good game. It may have a noticeable flaw here and there, but they are all minor and won’t effect your experience of the game. If you are a fan of the type of game or enjoy the occasional one, you will absolutely love it. If you could care less, you will still have fun, but if you do not like the game type, you will likely have no interest in playing.

A 7 out of 10 is a good game. It will likely have a few issues you will see and might even annoy you, but you will have a great time with the game over all. If you are a fan of the game type, this is still a game you should be considering. If not, you might want to pass this one up or wait for it to drop in price. You might still have fun, but it’s not really a sure thing. If don’t like this kind of game, you should probably avoid it, as those minor issues will probably bother you much more then other gamers.

A 6 out of 10 is a very average game. There is nothing exceptional about it to pull the gamer in and is likely just the standard fair of the genre. If you are a fan, you probably have better choices available, but you will still likely find something to enjoy in this title. If you are not, you are probably better looking elsewhere.

A 5 out of 10 is a game that has some major issues, preventing it from being at the standard level of the genre it’s a part of. Fans of the kind of game are likely to look at this game as very “meh” at best. It is probably not worth your money outside of the bargain bin. To anyone else, it is probably not worth your money at all.

A 4 out of 10 is a pretty flawed game and quickly reaching into the just plain bad category. For whatever reason, this game should be destined for the bargain bin if it’s to get any sales at all.

A 3 out of 10 is a bad game. Plain and simple. To get this low, the game has to be a terrible experience, be it because of bugs, controls, or just plain a bad idea that was never going to be good. If a game gets this score, it’s probably for the best to avoid it.

A 2 out of 10 is a REALLY bad game. This is where we begin to wonder how in god’s name the game was ever let out of beta or the design room. There is NOTHING redeeming about this game, and anything that stands out about it is in a bad way. Avoid this game at all costs.

A 1 out of 10 is about as bad as a game can get. Basically at this point, the only things we can say about the game positively are that it’s actually a game and it has no game-ending bugs that are assured to stop you from finishing. If you are buying this game, either may God have Mercy on your soul, or may this be a stunt for a charity like Extra Life where you are intentionally tormenting yourself on behalf of sick children. And then may God Bless you for your selflessness.

There is only one reason a game can ever get a 0 out of 10, and that is it doesn’t work. Be it the game never starts up, crashes way too often to play, or even has a game-ending bug that you can NOT avoid, even if you know about it, that is how a game gets this low.