I was thinking it would be a good Idea for the SG forum to have a Review section so Forum user could poest there reviews.
What do you guys think?

ya and have the titles of the threads are the games and we all say how we feel about the game

that's a really great idea!

I could review a few of my games.

Would there be a standard review format? For example, rating Graphics, Sound and Gameplay out of 100, then averaging for a score.

Yeah but then there would only be one thread, and after the first review people should be able to comment/ask questions and insert more reviews.

Would there be a standard review format? For example, rating Graphics, Sound and Gameplay out of 100, then averaging for a score.

all those plus the story and presentation... well maybe the presentation but definetly story

That would be awesome.

If you guys wanted to write reviews for games/hardware, that'd be great. If enough of them trickled in, we could certainly have an official reviews forum where only review threads were located but until we reached critical mass and had enough reviews to warrant a dedicated section, it'd probably be best to keep them in their appropriate forums as they are.

That said, the best way to change my mind is to write and submit quality reviews. And... you'll get paid exactly what the staff's currently getting paid for your time and effort! For those that just got excited, that means you'll get paid exactly "nothing".

While people are free to write whatever they want, I would suggest covering the "usual" aspects of reviews and as for a rating system, it's probably "safest" to keep the ratings fairly general and open to (blatant) interpretation. I would suggest ratings such as:

Avoid - I would recommend avoiding this.
Rent - I would recommend renting or borrowing this from a friend.
Buy - I would recommend buying this.

The reason I would suggest this is you'll still get the underlying feeling of the reviewer's feelings of the product, but you avoid the whole "Super Mario Galaxy is better than Crysis? You gave Crysis a 4.5/5.0 but SMG got a 5.0/5.0! You're insane!!!"

Nobody wants that. And frankly, who are any of us to place our arbitrary specific rating on a game. A general impression is usually plenty...

I'm open to suggestions and/or people wanting to help.

That would be cool. Have a section for each console. Then have a poll up top on a scale of 1 to 5.
1 - Game sucks. Avoid at all costs.
2 - Did not like the game.
3 - It's okay. Not good, not bad. You should rent it first.
4 - Liked the game.
5 - Great game. Worth every penny.

Each poll should be public as well so that fanboys can't flame a game they've never played.

Then users could post their reviews below.

I like the idea of having a hardware section and movies section as well.

A resounding yes! This would be great, I'd definitely write more than a few :)

Without a doubt. I've been looking for a place to not only voice my opinion on a game so other's have can find out some of the ups and downs, but also have a place where if I'm looking at renting a game or buying a game I can go for good solid feedback, that I know isn't tainted by the corporate $.

A resounding yes! This would be great, I'd definitely write more than a few :)

Why aren't you guys writing reviews now? I mean is there something more compelling about an empty set of review forums than there is posting your review to an active set of platform-specific general purpose forums?

I only ask because I've seen this happen before. A lot of good intentions, a lot of elaborate forums organized, and then they sit stagnant and barely used until someone comes along and consolidates them. The last thing I want as a moderator is to have a ton of separate forums with no activity. Activity spurs more activity.

I tell you guys what, you write your reviews and we'll post the threads as "stickies" in each appropriate platform's forum for a while and we'll go from there. If a lot more reviews start pouring in, we'll look into creating a dedicated review forum. I can't see creating one without say at least a dozen solid reviews to seed it with.

I'll happily help out with the forum if one was created.

What should we do with a review when it is wrote now? Send it to you Rothbart?

I think it's a great idea. It would be nice to read other gamers' impression of games, instead of from websites that get paid to review games like gamespot and ign.

Best way to do it (If it hopefully happens) would be for when a review is made for the title of the thread to be the name of the game, Then all reviews for THAT game being put into that thread, (With what was previously with a poll with a rating of 1-5)

I'll happily help out with the forum if one was created.

What should we do with a review when it is wrote now? Send it to you Rothbart?

If it's a review for an Xbox 360 game, post it in the 360 forum with a thread title such as "REVIEW: Halo 3 for the Xbox 360" Yes, yes, it's clear that Halo 3 would be for the 360 but that's not always the case and it'll be crystal clear if we eventually do move the reviews to a dedicated review forum.

But I want to be clear, I'm not creating dedicated review forums before there is a need for them. And a "need" isn't "motivation to write reviews" it's closer to "we've got so many reviews they need to be rounded up into a single place".

Write quality reviews, accumulate enough, and we'll see about a dedicated review area. And if you guys are interested and the quality/timeliness warrants it, there's always the possibility the review could go out on the news feed. We love original content and we love to share it with the world.

Sarcastic Reviews (remember, "sarcastic" doesn't mean "be an ass") would probably have a much more likely chance of getting this treatment.

I know you guys can do this, just show me you are doing it! ;)

I love this idea :) I'll start writing some reviews; I hope this can become its own forum!

I love this idea :) I'll start writing some reviews; I hope this can become its own forum!

Hell yes!

COD4 PC review in the works.

I'll start one for Mass Effect. We should keep it standardized and use Rothbart's Rent/Avoid/Buy system. Seems pretty logical.

Yeah that would probably be smart. keep it standardized.

Alright, I'm going to move this to the proper forum. :p

No offense Rothbart but the one problem I see with that is games like Bioshock. Alot of people will say rent because it is a single player game only. I'd rather know if someone hated, loved , or like/disliked a game. So that's what I've done in my reviews. But to each their own.

No offense Rothbart but the one problem I see with that is games like Bioshock. Alot of people will say rent because it is a single player game only. I'd rather know if someone hated, loved , or like/disliked a game. So that's what I've done in my reviews. But to each their own.

Why is that a problem? If someone felt strongly enough about Bioshock to rate it a "rent" then I'd hope their review text somehow describes their unhappiness with replayability or single-player only, etc.

You get into trouble really easily by using numberically ranked review scores especially when you've got a lot of different people with different tastes writing the reviews. If people are doing their job writing their review, the end result should just be a sum of the parts.

I was the first person to actually vote "no" in the poll.

Why? Just because during the last 24 hours, the majority of newly created threads were the review ones, and people don't stop creating them - the forums will eventually become a place to show off your writing skills.

If you guys seriously CAN write and LIKE writing reviews, why didn't you email them to Lono? He could judge them and maybe post them on the main site. As so many of them are getting published on the forums, most of them will probably remain unnoticed by the staff.
And they make me throw up when I click "new posts" and see "review" everywhere.

I was the first person to actually vote "no" in the poll.

Why? Just because during the last 24 hours, the majority of newly created threads were the review ones, and people don't stop creating them - the forums will eventually become a place to show off your writing skills.

If you guys seriously CAN write and LIKE writing reviews, why didn't you email them to Lono? He could judge them and maybe post them on the main site. As so many of them are getting published on the forums, most of them will probably remain unnoticed by the staff.
And they make me throw up when I click "new posts" and see "review" everywhere.

Thats why we need a reviews thread!

Thats why we need a reviews thread!

Maybe I wasn't clear enough. I'll be clearer now... No "reviews thread" until people actually submit some reviews... let's call it "at least ten reviews" for clarity's sake.

As a parent (of a son that makes plenty of stipulations like this that aren't followed through on) and long-time moderator on forums where people have the best of intentions, I don't buy the "If you make it, they will come" attitude to the review forum and reviews. You guys write them, and we'll see about the forum. Put your (typing) fingers where your mouths are.

Sorry to be so blunt, but making more forums (that in all reality would likely stay fairly unused or used for off-topic purposes) isn't how I want to make changes to the forum structure.

i'm fine with the reviews staying in the lobby

Here's a review scoring card I made up, for anyone who wants to score out 100. Or you could modify for out of 10 or whatever. It's not stunning, but then again, what is?

Enjoy.


http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh73/ShockwaveLover/Scoring.png

Here's a review scoring card I made up, for anyone who wants to score out 100. Or you could modify for out of 10 or whatever. It's not stunning, but then again, what is?

Enjoy.


http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh73/ShockwaveLover/Scoring.png

That is possibly one of the BEST pictures I've ever seen. :D

You my friend, is a legend.

Thanks Viatrophy, though I'm not sure n00bhunter would agree...

Gotta love in jokes.

By 'submit', what do you mean? Is there somewhere to submit it to?

By 'submit', what do you mean? Is there somewhere to submit it to?

For now just do what Rothbart said. :)

Post it in the forum it applies to
example - Halo 3, < This would go in the 360 forum.


Use the rating scale above! :)

Here's a review scoring card I made up, for anyone who wants to score out 100. Or you could modify for out of 10 or whatever. It's not stunning, but then again, what is?

Enjoy.


http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh73/ShockwaveLover/Scoring.png


Haha, so what you're saying is that I'm the "worst of the best" posters on the forums? Not sure what to feel about that, but hey I'll take a 70-79!...same grades I hoped for in college:p

Haha, so what you're saying is that I'm the "worst of the best" posters on the forums? Not sure what to feel about that, but hey I'll take a 70-79!...same grades I hoped for in college:p

Not your posts per se, but the number of posts. You are the lowest on the top posters pile.

cool pic. but I want a review section cuz I trust alot of the opinions here and then I don't have to go google it and sort through all the game spot websites.

cool pic. but I want a review section cuz I trust alot of the opinions here and then I don't have to go google it and sort through all the game spot websites.

Here's an opinion. Most of the people that say they'd write reviews won't.

Here's a fact. If they did, in quantity, and they were decent, we'd have a review section. ;)

I've said it before...

I'm going to, but all the games I've got have already been reviewed....


sorry:o

I'm going to, but all the games I've got have already been reviewed....

Don't let that stop you. If you feel you can do a good job, review them anyway.

2 review threads for the same game is pretty useless seeing as I could just comment on the first thread.

2 review threads for the same game is pretty useless seeing as I could just comment on the first thread.

So you only have games that've already been reviewed on SarcasticGamer.com? How many existing reviews are out there on our site? I only ask because nobody mentioned them earlier... :rolleyes:

go rent games and review them like any good revier, maybe rothbart will even mail you money to rent games, or not, but still, a little money plus some typing = a review section.

With that review format, you should also add some Reviewer Notes and say stuff specifically about the game that you liked/disliked and maybe as a recap for what you put in the text itself.

I made a review which can be found here. (http://www.sarcasticgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2950)

I`d like to see a review forum, because most likely all these reviews will be buried by topics about other stuff and the people who would be interested in them won`t see them. I understand where Rothbart is coming from though.

I made a review which can be found here. (http://www.sarcasticgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2950)

I`d like to see a review forum, because most likely all these reviews will be buried by topics about other stuff and the people who would be interested in them won`t see them. I understand where Rothbart is coming from though.

Thanks for the notice. Just so you know, I (slightly) reformatted your thread title and "Stickied" the thread so it will not get lost, it'll be at the top of that forum for (at least) a while. I rearranged the thread title so if more reviews appear, they'll look nice and uniform listed together. If you have any questions/concerns, just PM me.

BTW, thank you for writing/submitting a review!

I like the idea of having a review section but I think it would be good to make the review a poll so that everyone else can give their opinion, That way you will have a detailed written review and a good idea if everyone else on SG agrees.

There's quite a few reviews up and running now, i just posted one in the PC gaming section. Im sure if there was a dedicated section for reviews it would only help encourage people to write one of there own.

I agree having a review section would be great. I would love to see what people have to say about some games.

I'm going to, but all the games I've got have already been reviewed....


sorry:o

I think you should post your review in an existing forum thread. I'd pefer everyone one put a review in one Bioshock thread than having 6 different threads for the same game.

A review section would be pretty cool. I think there should be a standard formula that everyone should try to stick to and, to avoid clutter, give each site member who wants to make a review one thread only.

A review section would be pretty cool. I think there should be a standard formula that everyone should try to stick to and, to avoid clutter, give each site member who wants to make a review one thread only.

If it happens, reviews will be submitted to the site, they will be reviewed for grammar, punctuation, etc. and then a thread will be created for the review which allows replies only. That way we can ensure some level of quality control over the whole thing. My goal is that if folks are going to take the time to write reviews, maybe we can ensure the quality is a high enough level that the area will grow into a useful resource. And to be useful, there needs to be some baseline of quality and organization.

Ugh, control.

Oh well. That's good for the site, anyway. Will reviews of games that are kind of old by now (Halo 3, Guitar Hero II, Bioshock, ect.) be accepted or will there be a time limit?

Ugh, control.

Oh well. That's good for the site, anyway.

Improving the site is always priority one. I'm not imposing any kind of Draconian Law or anything... but trust me, if we created a Reviews Forum area without any formal structure, it'd get a decent initial rush of use, be diluted down my comment threads and drastic fluctuations of quality, then probably die down to very little use. But if enough people wish to prove me wrong and submit reviews, I'll be glad to create a review area.

Will reviews of games that are kind of old by now (Halo 3, Guitar Hero II, Bioshock, ect.) be accepted or will there be a time limit?

Absolutely. Quality reviews are timeless, especially when they contain insight from the reviewer. I read a review of Assassin's Creed just the other day and actually one for Warhawk as well (just out of curiosity since I already own and love the game).

As a matter of fact (and this is quite off-topic), "sarcastic" reviews of "classic" games could possibly be front page material. When I say "classic", I mean early arcades of early consoles. There's a lot of fun to be had there...

Hell yes! I love you Rothbart! Platonically of course...

The newest game in my entire game collection is Galactic Civilisations 2.

Stay tuned for reviews...

In my opinion the forums must have review section.

In my opinion the forums must have review section.

Noted. I've also noted the overwhelming response to my call for reviews (that's sarcasm there; very few people backed up their words with action). I'm not likely to greenlight a review forum if it's going to sit with 3-4 threads in it.

A review section would be great but as Rockbart said, at first there will be a lot of traffic; then it will slowly die down and the quality of posts will follow.(see Wii section) HA! J/k
Anyway, People will have to make quality reviews and Admins/ Mods will have to quality check. This new section will prove much more work for the Admins/ Mods but if they are willing to do it, so be it.

Personally I think it will be a lot of work for everyone involved. I, for one, am not writing any reviews nor reviewing those reviews; so have at it : )

I would love that.

Reviews would be awesome, plus with a sarcastic tone!

Reviews would be awesome, plus with a sarcastic tone!

Hey, now there's a post in this thread I can really agree with! "Reviews would be awesome". True, true. Most people seem to assume that creating a Reviews section in the forum would cause them to magically appear... :D

If there was a forum I would write a couple especially for Advance Wars: Days of Ruin and Medieval 2 Total War and its expansion (I spent a lot of time with both)

Why can't you do it now? Simply post a thread in the proper forum with a title like "GAMEHERE Review". As rothbart has said, until we see enough reviews to justify a new forum for reviews, there's no point in making one. ;)

Why can't you do it now? Simply post a thread in the proper forum with a title like "GAMEHERE Review". As rothbart has said, until we see enough reviews to justify a new forum for reviews, there's no point in making one. ;)

Yes, this seems to work fine actually. I posted my Phoenix Wright review in the handhelds section of the forum and it got quite a few responses.

Not to mention the handhelds forum is pretty slow compared to others, I'm sure everyone who checks there semi-regularly would see your review of Days of Ruin.

I was actually about to start a discussion for the same before I saw this thread.

After going through the thread, I agree with Rothbart on this, making them stickies for now seems like a pretty good idea instead of creating a separate forum. If we can maintain a continuous stream of new reviews (by new I don't necessarily mean new games) for say 2-3 months then it might not be such a bad idea.

As for my contribution, I did a couple of reviews recently for Crysis (http://sarcasticgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3749) and Devil May Cry 4 (http://sarcasticgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3768). I'll be working on TF2 and CoD4 (both for PC) soon, so if you like/liked these reviews lookout for them the PC forums. Don't forget to leave a comment and/or rating, even if you don't like them :).