How to write a game review?

I was just wondering if there was any experienced reviewers on the site that could help out a newcomer. Perhaps like a structure or any tips for beginners, something like that. I'm planning to write a review on State Of Decay and maybe do a video commentary for it, any help is appreciated and I'm looking forward to some feedback.

In the words of the great Dean Koontz.

M - Make

E - Everything

A - (an) Acrosstic

T - Tom*

--

*Your name is Tom now.

be interesting.

The 5 paragraph treatment:

1. Opening thoughts
2. The pros
3. The pros
4. The cons
5. Closing thoughts

Pretty simple, huh?

The first rule I have is to set a word limit that is large enough to get your points across and small enough that people on the internet are actually going to read the whole thing. This helps make your arguments concise and to the point. Then I take jot notes of all my thoughts. Then reorganize the jot notes so that similar ideas are next to each other. For example, if I have a note about the soundtrack being great and another note about the voice acting sucking then I'll put those next to each other.

Then turn your notes into sentences and paragraphs. Edit. Cut out anything that isn't interesting to read. Add an introduction. Edit. Make sure the introduction and the paragraphs agree. Edit. Check for typos, punctuation, grammar and unnecessarily wordy sections. Add your final thoughts and do a final edit of the draft. Then go to the site you are going to post it on and do your layout. Depending on the site your layout might include a title, a deck, links and images & captions.

Two things I try to avoid when writing a review are comparisons to other games and talking about the developer. If you are comparing Uncharted to Gears and Tomb Raider then that is only helpful for people who know Gears and Tomb Raider. Some mom standing in the isle at Walmart looking at reviews on her phone might not have a clue. If the developers went through hell to finish the game or got fired as soon as it was done or their previous game was a huge hit, etc doesn't matter in regards to how good or bad the game is. The end consumer doen't see what the developers went through. They see the final product.

Thanks for the feedback, perhaps I'm just not a great writer, I just have a strong opinion that I would like to get across.

If you're writing reviews with hopes that a fair number of people will actually read them, then fuck all this structure and boring English class crap. The video game reviewers that stand out in my mind are the people who are unique. Alex uses biting sarcasm so frequently that it's become his identity. Yahtzee has his rant-esque style. This guy appears to be on something when he reviews things. There is that one guy on twitter who types in all caps, all the time. It's just way more interesting than your standard white bread crap.

I dont't know how much he's done lately, but you could check out the reviews by epicsteve on the site. he's said in the past that he wanted to get into game reviewing or similar. His reviews might give an idea of something to shoot for.

No! Don't follow these examples. There are a million ways that could go wrong. The Internet already has enough cynical dicks (not an insult to Alex (and maybe not ZODIAC MOTHERFUCKER or whatever his name is), but that's where these styles could easily lead). As for examples you should follow....I'm not entirely sure. I feel like I cobbled together my style primarily from Yahtzee and Seanbaby with a touch of awkwardness, but modelling yourself after "this game sucks" kind of guys isn't the best strategy.

Are you a writer? If you are, it should be pretty simple. Don't follow any "rules," the only rules you should be following are the basic laws of grammar. If you want to have any kind of voice as a writer you shouldn't care about that stuff. Just look at music reviewer Robert Christgau. I doubt he's ever followed a "reviewing rule"
in his life and he's one the most respected critics around.

Just have some vision with where you're going, that's all you need.

Keep it short and fluid if you want anyone to actually read it, unless you have some crazy in-depth knowledge of a game as well as numerous images. Short vs Long vs Really Long.

Tim Rogers Animal Crossing Vegan Sandwich.

Some of us honestly like that style.

This is how I try to set mine up. I'll write a quick layout on paper before I type anything though. Try to figure out what my main points will be and how they tie into each other. Can I combine things? How much can I really say about each point?

• Opening paragraph with info about the game (developer, publisher, history, etc) and the main points you'll be focusing on.
• Main Points. Try to keep each one in it's own paragraph.
• Closing paragraph summarizing it and whether you think the game is worth it, and why you think that.

Also, never forget that a review is your opinion. Write based on what you think, not what others will think. If you're going to be doing a lot of reviews, it would help to set up your own routine, so you don't have to think about it every time.

write in binary.

No other way.

Just tell me how many times the game gave you an erection. If it's more than 4 then that game is a game I want to play. That is all. Any other information is superfluous. I'm pretty sure that's how the Giantbomb scale works, once they hit five erections they stop playing the game and give it 5 stars.

Hopefully you've already taken some notes about the game you're playing. (Maybe you have a super awesome memory, but don't rely on that as much.) Those notes will be useful for later when you need to produce the content. They become ideas and bridge other notes together, but I can't really teach you how that works. You just kind of discover it on your own, really.

As for the structure, the opening and closing paragraphs should be broad and concise. These are the bits that should ultimately convince the reader to play it, so they should communicate your overall feelings about the game. Let the first paragraph open the reader to the idea of this game, and let the conclusion imprint that in their heads so they have something to say when their friends ask them how the game is. As for the stuff in between, write whatever you think is necessary to support the idea.

There should be a flow that exists between paragraphs. It's more like writing an essay, actually. If you write a review where "This paragraph is all about the graphics while the next paragraph will be about the gameplay," you aren't going to hold the interest of many. Also, get rid of that Gameplay, Graphics, Sound, and Story mentality. Each game is going to require its own critique, and many will not benefit from that style of review.

Most importantly, make sure that your spelling and grammar are in perfect shape. It really goes a long way between a review I can trust and one I can't.

I don't know how old you are, but if you're in high school or have just completed it, I suggest taking a lot of English courses in college. That will help you to write better about any subject, including video games.

@video_game_king: I agree, don't emulate the sarcastic/witty style. But setting yourself apart (even through mere formatting) is key. Really, even if it seems impossible, a writer dead set on setting themselves apart shouldn't follow *any* examples. But, this is probably not the type of conversation OP was wanting!

Stick to the pros and cons that will actually affect someone's purchasing decision, keep the petty shit out. Be able to summarize your entire opinion in two sentences or less. Then figure a way to detail that opinion in 500-800 words. If you're good, your reader should be able to summarize your opinion the same way you would.

TYPE WORDS

@razorzxz: I wouldn't start out with State of Decay as your first review as that game will have a lot of systems to explain. Find some straight forward game you played and try writing a simple review for that first.

You know - intro, plot, mechanics, closing thoughts.

Easiest thing in the world. First get a Twitter account. Then use one of five variances of the following sentence: [Game Title] is amazing/great/okay/bad/terrible. If you want to write a thorough review then do the same thing but include all the pillars of a video game.

"[Game Title] is amazing. The game play is great. The graphics are okay. The story is bad. Ze multiplayer is terrible."

Finally ignore every single piece of advice in this post. You're good to go.

@gruebacca: So far this is the best reply. It's pretty much all I've seen from google searches, but with more depth. Thanks man.

You just need to freeflow your thoughts onto the screen, then spend a couple hours meticulously editing your thoughts into something legible.

We could use a good review writer at MMOKnight.

I approach each review differently, but usually I start with a little exposition/back-story, then proceed into a general summary of mechanics and narrative. When I started out I felt the need to describe, in detail, every single mechanic in detail, right down to individual weapons and their pros/cons. I realized later that this probably bored a casual reader interested in the game, so I moved to a more general overview of the game.