The biggest problem with game reviews is that nobody has nailed down a good, or even satisfactory, method of critical analysis for modern games. We're still using the same criteria - gameplay, graphics, sound, blah blah blah - to review Braid and Wii Fit as we did to review Pac-Man and Donkey Kong.
Games have evolved beyond simply, "play these levels over and over to get the highest score," or even, "play these levels to get to the end in the fastest time/with the shortest loss of lives." The common methods of analysis, however, are still stuck in that rut.
What we really need is a reviewer - or perhaps even an entire website - run by people educated in critical analysis of other forms of media. Perhaps they could develop something better.
"'Casual games' are something the 'Game Industry' invented to explain away the Wii success instead of actually listening or looking at what Nintendo did. There is no 'casual strategy' from Nintendo. 'Accessible strategy', yes, but ‘casual gamers’ is just the 'Game Industry''s polite way of saying what they feel: 'retarded gamers'."
-Sean Malstrom
