How to make the Perfect Review

[Egann]

A good reviewer needs to do three things:

1) NOT pay attention to media before the game's release or other reviews to keep an open mind
2) Play the game, then form a preliminary opinion
3) Read other reviews before posting, to see what criticisms or comments you agree with you missed.

A review also needs something better than a number at the end; it needs a RECOMMENDED ACTION. A game which is great for series fans might be terrible for mainstream players and vice versa. The best formula I've seen was done by the now defunct Blistered Thumbs, where they gave the game a numeric value of how the reviewer personally liked it embedded in one of four recommendation graphics; "Avoid," "For Fans Only," "Try it Out" and "Buy it Now!"

Each of these recommendations also had its own color, so you could tell at a glance a blue score meant "Try it Out" and it would be a great buy if you saw it in a bargain bin, even if the score was 2/ 10. It was a fantastic setup which let reviewers admit their own biases and make solid recommendations at the same time.

Shame BT folded back into TGWTG.