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Review-me-do!
May 27, 2007

Since I am now reviewing for the site on a much more regular basis, I figure I should take some time to explain my policy on rating games. You know, let the readers know exactly what a 10 is.

When rating on a 10 point scale one should not be afraid to use the extremes. I have never seen a review in all the years I have been into games that gave it a 100%, but I have seen several 10's. EDGE magazine used to reserve 10 for games that were 'revolutionary'. Not sure Halo was revolutionary, but I happen to agree that Mario 64, Zelda OOT, and Gran Turismo all were. EDGE has since admitted that GoldenEye should have got a 10.

Others seem content to dish out 10s as if they were confetti. A quick check on any gamefaqs review page shows that almost every game ever released is worth 10 to somebody!

Me, I think a 10 is special, and a game really has to be exceptional to warrant it. I have given the score to 2 games so far. GTA : Vice City, and Wii Sports. Vice City got 10 because there is nothing to complain about in the game, Wii Sports got 10 because it is like nothing else you have ever played.

9 means 'excellent, but with something missing'. Recently, Earth Defense Force 2017 earned a 9. Forget about the poor graphics, forget about the repetitive gameplay, the thing that stopped EDF 2017 from getting a 10 was the lack of Live co-op play. Seriously, it is such a missed opportunity.

8 means 'you should play this'. This score goes to games that are enjoyable, but with control flaws, or annoyances that crop up. Gears of War would have got an 8, simply because of the way that sometimes you take cover when you don't want to, which causes you to die. You may think it is harsh, but any game that makes me angry at the game for something is an 8, no matter how good the rest of it is.

7, no matter what the rest of the world tells you, is NOT an average game. 7 is still above average. 7 is where all the games that are worth playing, but not owning, end up. I am currently working my way through Just Cause, and this is a perfect example of a 7. It starts off as fantastic, but quickly becomes annoying. Also, the difficulty curve is not so much a curve as a jagged scatter graph. One mission is over in seconds, the next takes 5 attempts.

6 is still above average. Games that are technically sound, but perhaps only for fans of the genre, will get a 6.

5 is average. Regardless of the quality of the presentation, a game that just ticks every box will get a 5. 99% of licensed generic crap is a 5. 99% of games released are probably 5's.

4 is poor. This game is not worth having, simple as that.

3? I doubt any game will ever rate this low. For a game to get a 3, something quite serious would have to have happened. A 3 is broken.

2 and 1 will probably never exist. These days, there is just too much quality control to allow it.

So, there you have it. People may well disagree, but at least now the whole world has a totally open and transparent view of my policy.

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