Astute observation of the site's left-side column may have tipped you off already: N-Sider is kicking off reviews today with the sizzlingly-anticipated critical going-over of Cooking Mama for the Nintendo DS.
Long time readers and site-followers might remember a halcyon and bygone age when we used to do game reviews. Their format changed often, with scores represented by a variety of digits, be they numerical or budding from gloved hands. Eventually we abandoned them all together, due to growing distaste within the staff body for their very concept.
How can a review present true opinion when convention demands coverage of stock areas, regardless of reviewer interest? How does one review a game based around ideals not easily represented by typical categorical scoring methods? How can readers even take a review seriously, when it's just "one man's opinion"?
Three years we went, without a single review! Vexed, we had resigned ourselves to a world devoid of evaluative opinion. We were fools to think we could keep it up. The desire to review had been sewn anew, and no manner of accidental rhyming could hold it at bay. This time, though, we would do it right.
Here's what we're doing, and why we're doing it.
Reviewing on a 5 point scale
But it's really a 10 point scale, how about that. The problem with conventional 10 point scales is that people have been conditioned to basically think that anything below a 7 is awful. It's a scale that's got a lot of mental baggage, and we don't want to wrestle with it. For some reason, 2.5 out of 5 just seems a lot more "average" than 5 out of 10. And we'll be treating it as such. 2.5 doesn't mean "awful" on our scale, it means exactly what it should mean: middle of the line.
Revamping the idea of review categories
Every review will come with a set of "key points". These serve the same general purpose as conventional review categories like "graphics" or "gameplay", but will differ wildly from review to review to best suit the game in question. A static set of categories is too limiting in the current gaming landscape, as it renders oddities like Brain Age and Electroplankton largely un-scorable. Having dynamic categories also allows the reviewer to truly focus on what they thought was most important, instead of feeling obligated to weigh in on items that didn't really impact them enough to warrant evaluation. We're also of the opinion that actual numerical scores for these key points is just a lot of extra detail with no point or actual backing, so they'll be presented with a simple plus or a minus.
Trimming the fat
We aren't writing novels. Reviews will be as short as possible, while still managing to express the reviewer's opinions. Exposition regarding basic game functionality or storyline will be relegated to the game's profile in our comprehensive database, and will be easily accessible from the tabs above the review. At least, that'll be the case once our final review template is in place.
Keeping ourselves honest
As mentioned above, we're not currently running the final template for our reviews. Once we've got it up, though, other staff members will be able to weigh in on the reviewer's evaluation. The basic response will be whether the staff member thinks the reviewer's score should be lower, higher, or the same. An overall staff opinion of the score will be formulated from the individual responses. They'll also be able to leave their own brief comments, along with their own set of key points. This way, if you're interested in aspects of the game that the review failed to mention, you'll be able to check the key points chosen by the rest of the staff to see if they've got something interesting to say.
Reviewing games from the swirling past
As time goes on, we'll start doing "retro reviews" of games from older Nintendo hardware. Due to the difference between reviewing games from the present and past, however, some formatting changes will be made. Our key point system works just as well for old games as it does for new games, but overall scores will be dropped altogether. You'll just have to actually READ if you want to know what we think!
And that's that! It is an exciting time for N-Sider, and reviews are merely the first of dozens of great things we have in the works.
Long time readers and site-followers might remember a halcyon and bygone age when we used to do game reviews. Their format changed often, with scores represented by a variety of digits, be they numerical or budding from gloved hands. Eventually we abandoned them all together, due to growing distaste within the staff body for their very concept.
How can a review present true opinion when convention demands coverage of stock areas, regardless of reviewer interest? How does one review a game based around ideals not easily represented by typical categorical scoring methods? How can readers even take a review seriously, when it's just "one man's opinion"?
Three years we went, without a single review! Vexed, we had resigned ourselves to a world devoid of evaluative opinion. We were fools to think we could keep it up. The desire to review had been sewn anew, and no manner of accidental rhyming could hold it at bay. This time, though, we would do it right.
Here's what we're doing, and why we're doing it.
Reviewing on a 5 point scale
But it's really a 10 point scale, how about that. The problem with conventional 10 point scales is that people have been conditioned to basically think that anything below a 7 is awful. It's a scale that's got a lot of mental baggage, and we don't want to wrestle with it. For some reason, 2.5 out of 5 just seems a lot more "average" than 5 out of 10. And we'll be treating it as such. 2.5 doesn't mean "awful" on our scale, it means exactly what it should mean: middle of the line.
Revamping the idea of review categories
Every review will come with a set of "key points". These serve the same general purpose as conventional review categories like "graphics" or "gameplay", but will differ wildly from review to review to best suit the game in question. A static set of categories is too limiting in the current gaming landscape, as it renders oddities like Brain Age and Electroplankton largely un-scorable. Having dynamic categories also allows the reviewer to truly focus on what they thought was most important, instead of feeling obligated to weigh in on items that didn't really impact them enough to warrant evaluation. We're also of the opinion that actual numerical scores for these key points is just a lot of extra detail with no point or actual backing, so they'll be presented with a simple plus or a minus.
Trimming the fat
We aren't writing novels. Reviews will be as short as possible, while still managing to express the reviewer's opinions. Exposition regarding basic game functionality or storyline will be relegated to the game's profile in our comprehensive database, and will be easily accessible from the tabs above the review. At least, that'll be the case once our final review template is in place.
Keeping ourselves honest
As mentioned above, we're not currently running the final template for our reviews. Once we've got it up, though, other staff members will be able to weigh in on the reviewer's evaluation. The basic response will be whether the staff member thinks the reviewer's score should be lower, higher, or the same. An overall staff opinion of the score will be formulated from the individual responses. They'll also be able to leave their own brief comments, along with their own set of key points. This way, if you're interested in aspects of the game that the review failed to mention, you'll be able to check the key points chosen by the rest of the staff to see if they've got something interesting to say.
Reviewing games from the swirling past
As time goes on, we'll start doing "retro reviews" of games from older Nintendo hardware. Due to the difference between reviewing games from the present and past, however, some formatting changes will be made. Our key point system works just as well for old games as it does for new games, but overall scores will be dropped altogether. You'll just have to actually READ if you want to know what we think!
And that's that! It is an exciting time for N-Sider, and reviews are merely the first of dozens of great things we have in the works.
Delicious. Simply... delicious.