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Our Ratings Guide
Last Updated July 1, 2008 Our ratings guide has been tuned over the years to provide a simple and easy-to-understand scoring breakdown for each review. We strive to maintain a streamlined scoring process, and each review is checked both for content and overall score by an Editor, to ensure it falls in line with our review standards. With that said, each member of our team is unique, each with a different background and opinions. We value this diversity, as it gives our reviews a fresh perspective. While the merits of a numerical based scoring system have been analyzed in depth, we believe that assigning a score to a game allows a buyer to quickly identify whether or not the game falls into a range they would typically enjoy. With that said, gaming is very much a personal taste and many gamers may enjoy titles that haven't received critical acclaim, but falls into a particular niche or genre. Don't buy a game entirely based on the score, read the review, and understand why the author enjoyed the game, and what they felt needed improvement. This is really the best way to decide whether or not it's for you. We score on a numerical range from 0 to 100, which translates from 0 to 10 in 0.1 point increments. Why? Because it gives us the freedom to demonstrate a good game that is "just shy of being great". I'm not going to debate the merits of an 8.8 verses an 8.9, in the end they are nearly identical. However, an 8.9 verses a 9.0 is a completely different ball game, an 8.9 indicates the game is very close to excellent, but just not quite there. As well, I also often get asked the question, why don't we round our scores to the nearest half-point increment (ie: a 9.3 becomes 9.5). The answer is simple - a game with a score of 8.7 isn't as good as a game scoring a 9.2, however if we rounded them to the nearest half point increment then both games would receive identical scores (9.0), which doesn't properly reflect our opinion of the game. While our scoring system isn't perfect, I hope I've justified enough it enough for the naysayers to understand our perspective on the topic. Now, on to the details. Our scoring system we use is broken down into a variety of different categories and ranges. These are described below. The Categories
This category reflects the overall look and feel of the product. It includes ease-of-installation (if applicable), manuals and other documentation, navigation, cutscenes, and overall polish. Visual The visual category reflects the overall quality of the graphics, shaders, lighting, modelling, textures, and performance. This also takes into account artistic design. Audio The quality of the musical score, background composition or compilation, sound effects, and overall ambience the game provides. Gameplay Gameplay is really the core of any title. This category reflects the overall entertainment value, learning curve, and fun factor of a game. As well, the physics engine, controls, and and player interaction are judged in this category. Replay Value The replay value denotes the overall play time of a game before you'll want to put it down. A high score in this category is reflective of the overall score. Scoring Ranges
Although not theoretically impossible, it's incredibly rare for a game to be practically perfect in every facet. 9.0 - 9.9 - Excellent A game receiving this score comes highly recommended, it really doesn't get much better then this. 8.0 - 8.9 - Great A score which falls in this range is recommended, especially for fans of the genre. They are well polished games offering good value and a high enjoyment factor. 7.0 - 7.9 - Good These titles are very solid and somewhat enjoyable. 6.0 - 6.9 - Decent A game into this range isn't necessarily for everyone, mainly those who enjoy the genre or series. They may contain some bugs, but none that impede the game making it unplayable. 5.0 - 5.9 - Mediocre Games which fall into this range are lacking in features and/or need definite improvement. They are playable, but may contain bugs which reduce the enjoyment factor of the game. Below 5.0 - Terrible Don't even think about it. Not recommended in any way, shape, or form. May contain crash bugs, or bugs that impede your ability to play the game. Avoid, even in the bargain bin. |
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