It's 2 in the morning so I hope this makes sense.
Every two years or so the review scene seems to change. In 2000 (from what I hear) big paragraphs was what made one great. During the "golden age" in 2002 detailed writing and longer reviews was the way to go. This changed in 2004-2005 when short and to the point was the most effective. My peak was probably 2005 and 2006 because that's my style.
Here's something I realized while reading over some of the critiques thus far:
Now creativity/originality and personality seem what the judges are looking for the most. So far in the tourney I'm getting criticized for what I've been praised for in the past; I was praised for brevity and directness and now my reviews are being called too direct and dry. The reason my Call of Duty review one in round 2 was because it's my only review with personality besides CC, which was something that was great at the time because of the CC praise/bash that was going on and died shortly after. So my point is that times change, and I won't be able to pull the same shit for any longer.
What I'm getting from this is I need to write something new or else I'll lose next week, since my reviews are anything but creative and personal. Which means I need to start a review tomorrow and not the day before because it will never get done.


Suskie Aug 18, 2007
Halon Blogger Aug 19, 2007
Risk taking also seems to be paying off sometimes (as it always has), as you said.
espiga Aug 19, 2007
As for personality, I think that writing from your heart is always going to be more effective than writing with your mind. Call me weird, but if I'm really passionate about the game I'm reviewing, the words just kind of "flow" and the review pratically writes itself for me.