Original Gamer: "Think you have what it takes to review video games? Our editor, Eduardo 'Randomizer9' Soliz, shares some points on what you should be aware of when reviewing games."
A hidden mechanic determines which planets you can attack. This article explains what Supply Lines are in Helldivers 2.
"The Novosibirsk-based (Russia) indie games publisher and developer Alawar today announced with great delight and thrill tthat their necromancer sim "Necrosmith 2" is now available for PC via Steam for only $7.99 USD. Furthermore, you can also currently enjoy a 15% launch discount until April 9th." - Jona Ek, TGG.
Diablo 4 seemingly lacks Xbox achievements support on Game Pass. It will also require you to install Battle.net to play.
Lacks Xbox Achievement support? If I played on Xbox this would infuriate me. Surely it's just an error and will be rectified shortly? If they only allow Battle.net's own crappy achievements then Xbox fans need to kick up a fuss about this. I mean Microsoft own the developer.
I think describing the game is actually quite important in a review. If I read a review and someone tells me a bunch of things that are good and bad about a game, yet doesn't tell me what the experience of playing the game is actually like, then how do I know if I'm gonna like it? Compare it to things. I've picked up a few games that sound good on paper but just didn't play the way I thought it would and ended up not being my style of game.
That's why the review has to take into account the person who the game is aimed at. Is it aimed at hack and slash people or your turn-based RPG players? Describe in detail what you do in the game. That's something I see reviewers failing to do all the time and it's frustrating.
By the way, I'm not a reviewer and don't really want to be but this was a good read, nonetheless.
IMO, a review needs to be structured coherently. Too many a time I would have to scroll through lines of text just to squeeze out the information where it states how long the game takes to play.
Well, that was a giant load of common sense.
More to that, you're simply not giving a game's graphics enough credit for its overall quality. VIDEOgames are a very VISUAL medium (hint: it's in the name) and as such its visuals are quite important. Choosing and crafting the right look for your game is probably the second most important thing you can do besides the actual gameplay.
Music and sound can also still be a very defining trait for a game, dismissing their contribution to a game's overall quality based on a sweeping generalization is simply an asinine recommendation. Most games may take the simplistic approach to audio design, sure, but there are some games where these aspects clearly separate it from it's peers and serve to elevate the experience not only noticeably, but substantially.
It is somewhat funny that you mention that aspiring reviewers should be wary of their biases, while simultaneously indulging in your own biased opinion of the importance of graphics in gaming.