THE GOAL: To provide short reviews, that are (hopefully) not biased by any previously published scores or impressions.
The scoring system is borrowed from what I consider the best video game magazine that was ever published, Next Generation. It is a simple 5-star system, but because of the simplicity, the entire scale will be used. This is in contrast to a 1-10 scale, where most games place between 7-9, with anything below not being worth playing, and anything above being considered great (really what is the difference between 8.5 and 9, or even 8 and 9 for that matter?)
THE SYSTEM:
★ Bad Game. Not redeemable.
★★ Average Game. In the same way that a “C” in school is supposed to be average, but no one ever wants to get one. Leaves little or no reason to play it.
★★★ Above-Average Game. They’re good but you can’t put your finger on what’s hollow about the experience. Many big-budget sequels would fall into this category.
★★★★ Great Game. An undeniably positive experience. It falls short of being a masterpiece, but it’s well worth your time.
★★★★★ One of the best of a generation. Succeeds in both execution and originality. The kind of game you still think about years later.
CATALOG OF REVIEWS:
- Armored Core | Alright, let’s talk about Mechs ★★★
- Armored Core: Project Phantasma | General Improvements ★★★
- Banner Saga | A Display Piece ★★
- Bloodborne | Making it to Morning ★★★★
- Crimson Shroud | The best thing I ever read in middle school ★★★★
- Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Review | The gift that kept giving ★★★
- Dandy Dungeon | My Unlearned Lessons with F2P ★★★★
- Dead Cells | Symphony Souls: Return of Samus ★★★★
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution | Visceral Yellow Polygons ★★★★
- Dishonored | Probably not the most over-rated game ever ★★
- Dragon’s Crown | Enjoyable Bursts of Style Over Substance ★★★
- Dragon’s Dogma | Why I’m Returning My First Game ★★
- Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon Review | Neon Snake ★★★
- Gargoyle’s Quest | AKA, the “Nonexistent Difficulty Curve” ★★★
- Grand Kingdom Review | For People Who Eat at Denny’s ★★
- Infinity Blade 2 | Faded in the Rinse and Repeat ★★
- Joe Danger Touch | …Wait, what am I supposed to do again? ★★
- Jikandia: The Timeless Land | T-Minus 2-hours and counting ★
- Killzone 2 | If you love Bus Simulators, you’re going to love Killzone 2 ★★
- Kingdom Rush Frontiers | Probably What Freemium Should Be ★★★
- The Last of Us | Better than Cormac McCarthy ★★★★★
- Lords of the Fallen Review | Today’s Bubsy ★
- Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer | Go Rogue ★★★★
- Not a Hero | A Clockwork Orange Rubik’s Cube ★★★
- Peggle | A name that’s the equivalent of not brushing your teeth ★
- Punch Quest | The best five minutes of your lunch break ★★★★
- Puzzle Quest 2 | Will make you question your choices in life ★
- Ridiculous Fishing | Duck, Weave, and Reverse ★★★★
- Robot Unicorn Attack 2 | Everything Crystal ★★★
- Slayin’ | How many slimes can you kill? ★★
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 | It’s No Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (aka, The Longest Review Title Ever) ★★
- Shin Megami Tensei 4 | A Pretty Veneer for Nonexistent Changes ★★★
- Singularity | So close, but so far… ★★
- Spec Ops: The Line | Embrace the Rifle Butt ★★★★
- Super Mario Run | Not that Easy to Hate ★★★★
- Thomas Was Alone | Feeling it for Quadrilaterals ★★★
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End | The Lovable Kind of Sociopathy ★★★★
- Valiant Hearts Review | Let’s Play WWI ★★★
- The Wolf Among Us | Much More than the Sum of its Parts ★★★★★