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User Help > User Reviews

Registered HG users are allowed to submit user reviews, which may or may not be posted depending on whether or not they meet the site's quality standards. Below, some common questions. Click the hyperlinked question to skip directly to the answer on this page, or scroll down and read as you go.

How do I submit a review?
What are the review guidelines?
Can I post someone else's review for them?
Who holds the rights to a review I submit?
What are featured reviews?
What are exclusive reviews?
How do I view or leave feedback on reviews?

If you have a question that is not addressed on the page below, you should feel free to contact site staff or post about it on the forums. The latter option is preferred, since other users may be able to point you to an answer more quickly in some cases.

How do I submit a review?

There are two ways to submit a review. One method is to click "Submit" along the top bar of the site. Then you can choose a system and a game. Next a form will appear, which you should fill out completely and submit. The other method is to browse the site until you find the game you are interested in reviewing. Next, click the link near the bottom of the game profile page and you'll find yourself on the review submission form. Fill it out completely and submit. Regardless of the method you use, your review will be read by a staff member before it is posted, to make sure that it meets the site's guidelines.

What are the review guidelines?

Reviews can be rejected for any number of reasons, and there's no set formula that defines what we look for in a user review. However, keep in mind that we do expect decent grammar and spelling (so your review is readable), and we do ask that you write your review in English. Our audience is primarily English-speaking, so we hope you can understand why we ask that your writing match. In general, your word count should be somewhere between 400 and 1600 words. Go any shorter and you risk not really writing much of a review at all. Go any longer and your audience is probably going to get bored. There are always exceptions, of course, particularly if you're one of those people that loves to write massive reviews. Occasional profanity is permitted throughout your review, but in general you are encouraged to avoid using it unless absolutely necessary. We're not here to censor your creative process, but please keep in mind that younger people may be reading your review. Along similar lines, don't include hateful commentary toward anyone based on race, sexual orientation, religion or any other number of factors. It's uncommon that such things have anything to do with the game you're reviewing, anyway. Above all, exercise common sense. If the words you write aren't fit for consumption as a result of failure to follow the above guidelines, we will reject your review.

Can I post someone else's review for them?

We require that your review be your original content. If a friend has written a review and would like to see it posted on the site, encourage him or her to sign up for a user account (they're free, after all) and get busy. We take intellectual property very seriously, and we want only the finest writing on our site. That's why our policy is to require the original author to submit his or her material except through (infrequent) special arrangement. This ensures that we really do have permission to post the content, and it ensures that the people who wrote said content care enough about what they wrote to submit it themselves.

Who holds the rights to a review I submit?

You retain all rights to any reviews that are submitted as user reviews, unless you later agree that said reviews should be promoted to a different level (this happens by special arrangement only). Unless your content is posted as a freelance staff review (again, through special arrangement only), you are able to delete it whenever you like. Once submitted, a review will remain in the site database forever, barring database disaster. However, you can always stop your review from being displayed throughout the site by deleting it while logged into your account.

What are featured reviews?

Featured reviews are those reviews that are some of the very finest users have submitted to the site. Each week, staff members compile a list of their favorite three user reviews from the previous week. The top pick is given 'featured' status and will be displayed on the site as such for all time unless removed. Featured reviews are given special designation when linked from game profile pages, plus they'll receive special promotion on many pages throughout the site in the weeks following their selection. Any user reviews submitted during a given week are eligible and will be considered for 'review of the week' designation.

What are exclusive reviews?

Exclusive reviews are submissions that you mark 'exclusive' when you contribute them. This means that they do not appear on numerous other sites that are in direct competition with HonestGamers, including the likes of GameSpot, IGN, 1up, Neoseeker and so forth. We don't require that your reviews be exclusive to HonestGamers, but we do appreciate it when they are. Therefore, exclusive reviews will be featured more prominently on game profile pages, plus they will be promoted more heavily after they are posted. This system is intended to reward those users who support the site most aggresively.

How do I view or leave feedback on reviews?

Once a review is posted on the site, other users are permitted to click a link from the top of the review page to leave feedback on it. If they are logged into their account, a box will appear to notify them of this option. If you have written a review, just view it on the site. If someone has left feedback, you'll see the option to review the resulting thread on the forums. You can even respond to the feedback others have left and engage in (hopefully) meaningful discussion. It's also possible to head on over to the forums and browse the newest threads to see what people are saying, since feedback threads will be archived.

We hope that the information on this page was helpful and answered your questions. If it did not, or if you'd like to explore the site or "Help" section further, please use one of the links below to proceed accordingly.

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