Video Game Reviews

I finished up Mirror's Edge last week, so I think I'm going to make that my first VG review.  To start thinking about how I wanted to write a review, I looked over a few different review sites and decided that sites that gave ratings in individual categories were the most useful.  It's tough to split things out though because games come in such completely different types/styles.  How do you compare mario to Starcraft?  Halo to Warioware?  In many cases, the only thing two video games will have in common is that it shows up on your TV.

In thinking through what was important, I decided to split my rating into 6 categories, so when I review a game I'll give an overall rating, along with a rating in each of the 6.  Also, since numeric ratings of subjective things are entirely too misleading, I'll be using an A through F scale (with no E).  Haven't decided on whether I'll use +/-s to go with them.  My 6 categories are -

Gameplay
Graphics
Story
Music/Sound
Replay
Multiplayer

The overall score will be independent of any of the category scores as opposed to an average or anything like that, since there can be great games that get bad scores in individual categories.  In addition, depending on the game, I will have a few other things that I won't rate A-F, but will have a quick summary of, such as depth, play time, or unlockables.  These are things that a grade doesn't make sense for but are things to knowing what type of game it is.

Here's what each category will rate -

Gameplay: Gameplay covers things like controls, game mechanics, game speed, and difficulty/learning curve.  In my opinion, by far the most important category.  A game with poor gameplay is not likely to score high, even with A's in every other category.  Gameplay is what makes games fun.

Graphics: Pretty obvious here.  Realistic graphics are usually a plus, but games with artistic styles (even if 2d) can score well too.  Detail is very important here, and it will depend a lot on what works best with the game/what the designers were going for.  Graphics are what make a game engrossing and help you forget that you're not in whatever world you're playing in.

Story: A good video game story has a lot of the same qualities as a good book or movie.  The story rating will cover the plot, character development, originality, and engagment.  The story is what pulls you in and keeps you playing until the end.

Music/Sound: The games with the best music/sound are games where you don't even notice it.  But terrible voice acting or poorly placed music can really detract from a game.  While probably the least important category, music and sound can be what make a good game great.  Music is what builds the atmosphere and pulls in your emotion. 

Replay: As someone who still has every game I've ever owned (less some of what's been stolen/destroyed, and I've even recovered many of those), it's important to me for a game to be worth playing twice.  Or three times.  Or hundreds of times.  I think it's also telling if by the end of a game you never want to play it again.  Replay value is what keeps you coming back again and again.

Multiplayer: Here I'm just rating a game based on its overall multiplayer experience, including things like competition level, speed/lag, and ease of getting in/out of games.  Some games are made for multiplayer, others just tack it on.  Games that are single player will get an N/A here, and that's not a bad thing either.  A good multiplayer is what keeps a game fresh.