The Review Plan

Yesterday I wrote about my plans to start reviewing things on here, in conjunction with the usual “whatever” I write about. Of course, before you go just reviewing whatever, you have to have some kind of standard for how you want to do things.

Finding reviews will be simple – in the header there will be a “reviews” section that will drop down to list all the categories for reviews. Clicking on one of those pages will reveal all the entries in that category, listed in the most logical way for that subject – generally alphabetically is the plan, but there may be some deviations from this idea.

On the individual reviews, I’ll simply give my honest thoughts with a general summary of the game, or the movie / show, depending on what the subject matter is. For games, I’ll probably give the traditional breakdown of the game via graphics, sound, gameplay, controls… the standard that has been around for the past 30+ years of gaming reviews. Movies, TV, and similar media will have a focus on the good and bad elements that make it what it is, since those media forms can vary widely.

Accompanying all reviews will be a simple, final rating on a scale of 1 to 5. No big there, but this is an issue of contention between reviewers: many refuse to give anything scores in the mid range. The mid range of ratings should be the absolute average – it isn’t good, it isn’t bad, it is just there, and if you like it or don’t like it, then whatever.

Here’s the breakdown:
1: Best to be avoided, generally unlikable unless it has a unique charm to it.
2: a sub-par, but possibly enjoyable product.
3: Absolutely average – some may like it, some may dislike it. A standard presentation.
4: Good, enjoyable for many, something worth experiencing or owning.
5: A must-experience product; something you need to see, play, or own.

Of course, if something falls within a range, I will go for the classic .5 addition, so it in a way is a 1-10 scale, but, keeping it 1-5 will make things more straightforward, as very few things will be worth the .5 variance.

The reviews themselves will be posted as normal articles so there is minimal chance of anyone missing anything if they follow the site and want to see it. For those hunting for reviews, for whatever reason, well, the pages will be there for them to scour and enjoy.

Now comes the annoying part – actually writing all the content, and saying what I need to say. It should be a fun time, and compliment my more modern commentary well.