Video Game Review Preferences. What are your thoughts?

NJMane

NJMane

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I am in the process of building a review site, GamingSurvival.com, specifically for the Xbox 360 and PS3. I have a few reviews up right now and have been tinkering with the format that I want to use. I figured I would create a thread here and ask the CAG community what they like. So:

-What do you look for in a review?

-What format do you like? (i.e. long and in depth, short and to the point, quick synopsis at the end)

-Do you like to have a quick synopsis ala IGN or more of a "pros and cons" section?

-Or do you just watch video reviews only?

If you can think of anything that I did not ask please just let me know. Thanks for any input.

UPDATE: NEW QUESTIONS: Would you be interested in video of just pure gameplay? (As a way for you to judge how the game looks and plays). How long would you like these videos to be? Would you want commentary/narration or just game sound?

Thanks again for the responses.
 
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-What do you look for in a review?
Basically to the point, not too much off-topicness, explains the pros and cons throughout the video review. Doesn't spoil too much o the story.

-What format do you like? (i.e. long and in depth, short and to the point, quick synopsis at the end)
Kinda in-between about that. I don't mind long ones, but I don't like short ones sometimes.

-Do you like to have a quick synopsis ala IGN or more of a "pros and cons" section?
Kinda, I like their style. But I also like a number review at the end.

-Or do you just watch video reviews only?
Yeah, I just watch video reviews. Too lazy to read.
 
-What do you look for in a review?

Good, to the point details about what they liked and didn't like about the game. Has to cover all the important issues like control, graphics glitches, other glitches, how the story is (if it's an RPG etc.) and so on.

Also, to add an important one from the post below mine--it needs to be free of spoilers about the story, big events in the game etc.


-What format do you like? (i.e. long and in depth, short and to the point, quick synopsis at the end)

Short and to the point. I know what types of games I like, so I just need to know if there are any glaring flaws, or if any of my pet peeves are present etc. I don't spend all that much time playing games these days, and even less reading reviews and news about gaming (CAG is the only gaming site I visit regularly), so it has to be brief for me to read it at all.


-Do you like to have a quick synopsis ala IGN or more of a "pros and cons" section?

Either is fine as long as it gets the pros and cons across clearly. Format isn't so important vs. just quickly getting the positives and negatives across.


-Or do you just watch video reviews only?

No video reviews. I mainly look at the aggregate sites like Game Rankings, impressions in threads here, and skim the end section of IGNs reviews if I'm on the fence about something.
 
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Typically I just watch video reviews only. I do check out other scores on Game Rankings, but I like seeing the game in motion during the review.

Since you're starting up, maybe you could do this for the bigger name games?
 
-What format do you like? (i.e. long and in depth, short and to the point, quick synopsis at the end)

Long and in-depth but with a quick synopsis/pros cons section for the add crowd.

-Do you like to have a quick synopsis ala IGN or more of a "pros and cons" section?

Either way, or both preferably

-Or do you just watch video reviews only?

No video reviews. I personally hate watching videos on my PC. I will watch 30 seconds of someone getting kicked in the nuts, but I wont watch a 3+ minute game review.

If you can think of anything that I did not ask please just let me know. Thanks for any input.


If a game is out for multiple systems, I like to see a comparison of the different versions.

If the game has online multiplayer, I like to see that addressed in its own section. And if the multiplayer is way better or way worse than the rest of the game, enough to affect the review/score, that should be addressed.
 
-What do you look for in a review?

Good analysis of the pros and cons of a game that are written thoughtfully as opposed to just jotted into a bulleted list. The ability to actually be critical as opposed to overhyping and loving everything about every game.

-What format do you like? (i.e. long and in depth, short and to the point, quick synopsis at the end)

Medium length. If I was going to give an example, I would say to look at Eurogamer.net. Their reviews are the ones I usually find easiest to read and most well written in general.

-Do you like to have a quick synopsis ala IGN or more of a "pros and cons" section?

Not really.

-Or do you just watch video reviews only?

I never watch video reviews except for ZP.

P.S. Are you looking for review writers?
 
I mostly only watch video reviews or listen to audio reviews in the car because my time is limited. Good looking site by the way.
 
basically a game review shouldnt be that long that i grow tired of it, cause i dont like to read alot as it is :p and the most important thing it shouldnt contain any spoilers, or i get uber pissy
 
The problem I see is the disconnect between what a review says about a game in a written review and what they say about it on a podcast.

These days I am more inclined to take a recommendation about a game from a podcast discussion and read the review for more info or even after purchase.
 
Thanks for all the information. Keep it coming.

I just put up a review for Dark Void. Click Here. I made some adjustments and included a pros and cons area. Let me know if you like the tweaks and if you think I should adjust or change something let me know.
 
In no particular order...

1. No spoilers! And I don't just mean plot details there, either. Granted, not giving away anything is nigh impossible, but keep that shit limited as you can.

2. No numbers at the end. fuck all that noise.

3. Bugger to most video reviews. See: my worries about spoilers.

4. Comparisons for multiple versions of the same game.

5. Games reviewed by people who like the genre. I should never review a non-Mutant League-based football game. My roommate should never review a game that moves slower than a coked-up hummingbird. Etc. At the same time, having multiple viewpoints on the same game can also be nice (see: EGM).

6. I rather like how some reviewers around here (Shipwreck) put a "recommended buy price" at the end of their reviews. Things like that, or "not recommended for people who aren't fans of the genre/series" or "warrants a rental first" or whatever are nice to include.
 
[quote name='The Crotch']In no particular order...

1. No spoilers! And I don't just mean plot details there, either. Granted, not giving away anything is nigh impossible, but keep that shit limited as you can.

2. No numbers at the end. fuck all that noise.

3. Bugger to most video reviews. See: my worries about spoilers.

4. Comparisons for multiple versions of the same game.

5. Games reviewed by people who like the genre. I should never review a non-Mutant League-based football game. My roommate should never review a game that moves slower than a coked-up hummingbird. Etc. At the same time, having multiple viewpoints on the same game can also be nice (see: EGM).

6. I rather like how some reviewers around here (Shipwreck) put a "recommended buy price" at the end of their reviews. Things like that, or "not recommended for people who aren't fans of the genre/series" or "warrants a rental first" or whatever are nice to include.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for putting alot of thought (and emotion) into your reply. I wanted to respond to a few things you said.

I try to not give anything away about the story and generally describe some of the beginning of the game to help set things up and peak your interest. Its hard to not say anything but still write an informative review. We are currently small so in some cases I can only write a review for the game in general and dont have the ability to tryout both versions for comparison. I personally will not be reviewing any genre that I would not play in my freetime.

Thanks again for everyone who has responded. Please keep it coming.
 
Avoiding big spoilers is pretty important for me. Smaller ones that can't be avoided is understandable, though.

Long and in depth definitely preferred.

What Crotch said about the reviewer being familiar and at least somewhat fond of a game's respective genre is important. If I were reviewing an amazingly polished and well made racing game, I still wouldn't sound that enthusiastic because the genre simply has never clicked with me.

Both video and text reviews are fine by me. Video reviews are neat because I can get a glimpse of what the gameplay and visual style is like.

For a while now, the whole idea of having a score for a video game review has felt very antiquated to me. It's meaningless in my opinion. I'd much rather get a general sense of whether the reviewer enjoyed it, or whether he didn't. I could not care less about whether the game is worthy of an 8 or an 8.5.

Pros and cons are kind of a nice idea but, similar to my philosophy on scoring games, I'm more interested in the general sense of enjoyment the reviewer felt. I've played very polished games that probably wouldn't really have any major cons to list, yet the fun factor was sorely lacking. On the other side of the spectrum, I've played games that clearly had some cons and lacked polish here and there, but I still had an absolute blast playing them.
 
I neglected to mention the "pros and cons" thing. Ironically, there are a lot of pros and cons about putting something like that in.

On the one hand, it's a pretty damn easy way to sum up the key points of a game. It also lets the reader quickly see key turn-ons/offs.

But it can create an unrealistic picture of a game. I love the absolute tits off of Planescape Torment, but I could make a "cons" list longer than a Chris Avellone dialogue tree for that game, giving the false impression that I think less of the game than I really do.

[quote name='NJMane']Thank you for putting alot of thought (and emotion) into your reply.[/QUOTE]
I HAVE COMPLEX EMOTIONS! RAAAAAAAAAR!
 
[quote name='The Crotch']Eh... not really. I'm generally not a video... kinda guy.[/QUOTE]

I probably would have guessed that from your other responses :). Thanks for keeping up with the thread. I appreciate your continuous input.
 
I agree with the video reviews idea. The written reviews don't do much for me, but I usually prefer video reviews to get a sense of the gameplay, graphics, problems, etc.
 
[quote name='animeomega']I agree with the video reviews idea. The written reviews don't do much for me, but I usually prefer video reviews to get a sense of the gameplay, graphics, problems, etc.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the input. Still looking for a good (and reasonably priced) capture device. Leaning towards the Hauppauge 1212 if I can find it on any kind of sale.
 
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