Review Criteria

VISUAL PRESENTATION
  1. Describe how the game looks technically – textures, models, aliasing, resolution, etc.
  2. How does the game look from a creative standpoint? Does the visual style fit with the game, how is the color scheme, etc?
AUDIO PRESENTATION
  1. How does the game technically sound – is the mixing good, are there any distortions, are voices and sound effects clear, etc?
  2. How does the sound design help/hurt the game? Is the voice-acting good, does the music fit the game?

STORY
  1. Is the story itself good – characters, plot, etc?
  2. Is the story is something that works for this game. Consider the art design, sound design, genre, etc. It might be good on its own, but not fit for this genre.
  3. Does the story even matter – is the game hurt by a story or lack of one?
GAMEPLAY
  1. Who's the audience for this game – the genre fan or can anyone get into it?
  2. Is it a genre that you enjoy? If yes, will you recommend it to non-genre fans; if no, does it get you more/less interested in the genre, do you recommend it for genre fans?
  3. Is the game fun to play? Are you heavy absorbed in the game, do you take up a lot of time playing it, is playing the game more enjoyable than reviewing it?
  4. How are the game's controls?
  5. How do you feel about the game's singleplayer and/or multiplayer? This is a complex question and is the bulk of the Gameplay discussion.
  6. Is the game's difficulty right for this game, and what difficulties do you recommend for genre and non-genre fans play this game on?
  7. Is the game simple or complex, and is it's simplicity/complexity good/bad for it?

OTHER FACTORS
  1. Is there any replay value?
  2. How are the load times, menus, # of people/servers for multiplayer, etc?
  3. Is this game worth buying now, or wait for a price drop or an enhanced version?

FIVE STAR RATING
  1. Five stars: meets all of the criteria without any glaring flaws.
  2. Four stars: meets all or most of the criteria, but improvements can be made.
  3. Three stars: meets some of the criteria, but is still a playable experience.
  4. Two stars: meets the most basic criteria and is intended for hardcore fans of the genre.
  5. One star: Don't touch this game.
  6. What are your closing comments?
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