Topic: What Constitues A "Great Review"?

What constitutes a great review? Well, as long as it's indepth and thorough and acknowledges every aspect of a game, then the review is all set for me. I also like a little originalilty in a review, especially with RVGFanatic's SNES/SFC reviews, and bit of lightheatedness. I make reviews every once in a while, just not for any website. They are way too long and way too descriptive and way too praiseworthy, I'd be surprised if anyone pulled one of my reviews up. But regarding great reviews, they are great because critics give a reason for everything and either give certain obscure games the light of day. Of course, that's just me, and I hope I didn't sound negative here.

Great reviews don't have to be "technical writing." You can be creative in a review, but mostly people who say "great review" (aside from those who are just saying they like the review because it reaffirms their own opinions, which is very silly) are complimenting the thoroughness and insights of the review.

A bad review isn't one that differs from my opinion or has missing commas but leaves out considerable portions of the game that I want to know about or just does not address an issue clearly or coherently. Most of the reviews here are pretty thorough without being drawn out, though I do remember being disappointed in one review that did not mention multi-player at all; of course, the staff is very helpful and responded to my concern in the comments, so no complaints. People make mistakes.

About the "10," I know it's not the primary topic, but it's been brought up and it's worth addressing. Ratings are silly, but if there is "no such thing as a perfect 10," then the score of 10 is pointless, which makes the next highest rating essentially perfect since it is being awarded all of the possible points (10 no being possible since it doesn't exist). By this logic, you're placing yourself in an unnecessary logical paradox. Just let 10 be the best possible score. It makes no sense to quibble over this (not that anyone is quibbling, but it's such a fun word to say, and one must seize each and every opportunity he gets).

You have to understand that there is no quantitative measure of game quality to begin with, so ratings shouldn't be taken seriously. They are highly variable and dependent on innumerable factors, many of which the reviewer isn't even aware of -- we all have our own assumptions. Today's 9 could be tomorrow's 7. Who's to say if Super Mario Brothers deserves a better or worse rating than Street Fighter II? I'd take SMB any day of the week, but I bet Sean wouldn't. I might as well start a food rating site and give bananas a 10, ravioli a 9, and Mike and Ikes a 1. What could anyone possibly get from that, I don't know.

No rating score

http://www.spoonyexperiment.com/category/final-fantasy-viii/p...

Watch it from beginning to end. And if you don't see or get the writing, honesty, difference, acting, and jokes, you will never be able to understand what a great review is.
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...Talk about my inner fanboy!!! I didn't even notice what I said until I already posted the comment!

what constitutes a 'great' review? copious amounts of four-letter words. it's part of the reason I love the AVGN so much. :3

lol. seriously, though, i look for reviews that cover things i'm worried about with each individual game, which may be gameplay mechanics (as in 'did they fix blah-blah-blah from the last one?'), plot/story, length/complexity, or other things that may have piqued my interest from the trailer or the hype surrounding it. i never rely on one single review, though -- if something is actually a problem, it'll show up in more than one review; otherwise, it could be that the one dude that had a problem with blah-blah-blah was just having an off day, or they just hate games with whatever-it-was in it.

Absolutely don't let me review anything with the words "Super" and "Mario" in the title (well, unless Galaxy is also in there) -- unless we want some controversy (which is always fun!).

I only tell people they've written a "great review" to kiss ass and get a shot at reviewing something better next time ^_~.