How to write good game reviews

From Usa, 9 posts

Before I start let me tell you that this review was written by Danny2004, and i am just pasting it in becouse I think it will help.



In my review, i will tell you the top 10 points that you shouls make when writing a review on a game of any type. Follow my steps, and your reviews will be successful. My ten steps are listed below:



1) The number one thing that you must do is say what type of game it is. If the consumer knows the genre of the game, then this will let them know if they want to carry on reading or not. A good review, should start with saying whether it is an adventure game, action game, platform game etc at the BEGINNING of your review. This will imediatly let the consumer know whether he/she will like the game, or be interested in it at all.



2) One thing that the consumer would really want to know about a game is how you complete the game. Is it the sort of game with missions? Do you just free roam and do what you like? Do you win races, if so what types? Do you have to find things? If the key to completion is missions, then explain what type of missions there are. If you want to have a really good review, then you may as well spend an extra 10 minutes adding little bits of information in like this. You must let the consumer know what you do in the game, and how it is completed (if it even is 'completed', you may just free roam)!



3) The graphics are very important in games. Just imagine if you got what you thought to be an superb game, and then the graphics are so terrible you can't see! I am exagerating this slightly, but the consumer would be annoyed if he/she purschased a game, and the graphics were not up to its' expectations. Graphics is a key thing in a game, that should be judged well, and you should include whether the grahpics are good, bad, smooth, rough, or any other descriptive words.



4) The controls are important in any game. All different consoles have different controllers, and they were obviously made to suit most games well. You should mention whether the controller makes the game easy, and say if the controls fit well with the game. E.g. If you are playing a shooting game, and the fire button/trigger is at the top left of the controller, and the grenade button/trigger is at the bottom left, then you sould have to stretch to reach these common used buttons. You should therefore mention if the controls are simple or not, and if they are easy to use, and if they are in suitable plaecs for their actions. You could also say if there are different contls that you can make up. You may be able to customise the controls on certain games. If so, then you shoud mention this in your review.



5) A review is what the consumer will most probably read BEFORE buying a game. Therefore, you should always give all the information about the game. A consumer might be reading YOUR game review, and deciding on YOUR review whether he/she is going to buy the game or not. This is why you must include everything you can about the game in your review, so the consumer will be at a positive descision towards the end of your review.



6) Obviously the review should not brag on and be too log, and should not be too short. This may make the reader bored. However, you really should include some detail in the review on the game. As i said, every game is unique in many different games. This is why you should mention SOME ways in which the game is UNIQUE. You may mention that you can enter ceratinbuildings, drive certain cars, or you may mention that in the game you are reviewing, that you can fly a plane! The reader would like to know any different unique things that you can do in this game compared to others that makes it better/worse than others.



7) This isn't too important, but you really should give some information on the box of the game, and what you may get with it. E.g. with animal crossing on the Gamecube, you get a free memory card in the game box! Also, with Donkey Konga on the Gamecube, you get a free set of bongos with the game! With the playstation 2 eye toy, you can get a freecamera with it! ... There are many different things taht you could mention like this, and the consumer would love to know whether there are any extras like these that you may get with the game.



8 ) The consumer MUST know the price of the product. You do NOT want the consumer walking away with all the information in their mind considering buying the game, when they don't know how much it will cost them. The whole point of a review is that you give vital information on tne game, and sum it up with the price of what you have just described. This way, the consumer will take all of the information into consideration, and see if it is worth buying for how much it is.



9) This is very obvious too, but the consumer should really know what consoles the game is out on. It may sound obvious, but you don't want a customer going out there wanting to buy the game not knowing that it is only out on one of the consoles that they may not have! This is why you should always make it clear on what console the game is being sold for, and if so when it is being realesed on other consoles.



10) You should give the review scores for certain parts of the game. E.g. you may give it 10/10 for sound. 9/10 for gameplay, and 3/10 for graphics. This will let the consumer know what the games strong and weak points are. One final thing that you can include is a strong clear end and conclusion to your review stating your opinion on the game.



Thanks for reading, and i hope this helps!

From Columbia, SC USA, 20 posts

That was a very helpfull article. Thanks!!!