That's right...another annoying question from this blue hedgehog that earlier in this year had all his issues/plans sorted out, before becoming a red-echidna klutz that can't even lace his slick kicks properly.   Time within this holiday covered season has been quickly dwindling away, so I've decided to come out of my shell and come here to hopefully find some resolve to my issue at hand.

For the past few days that I've had time to myself without issues popping up...I've been trying to work out a review for a game so different from any I've done so far or on that particular system. Due to this I've had severe difficulty finding ANY source of information online to help me get past crucial segments to a review, (talking about the sound/music, gameplay elements, difficulty, etc.) leaving me at a crutch and unable to make any real progress behind the review besides an introduction and beginning to the graphics department of said game. Leaving me as trapped as a beginning gamer in Labyrinth zone of my first adventure, and unable to reach the conclusion to the review and present you with something enjoyable to read over this snowy and festive holiday season. Wherein my question lies and leaves me to turn to you all, as I've already wasted at least 3-4 days trying my hardest to push past those roadblocks beforehand.

I've already started the main intro and the beginning to graphics; although, nothing more has come out of it since I've contemplated making this thread. The result I'm asking you all for is...whether or not I should continue my work; but, make it simplified like work you may have seen me do in late 2013/early 2014...(ex: ~Sound~ the sound of this game is bla bla bla one of my favorites being ___ which I recommend checking out bla bla leaving me with a 10/10 score moving onto the next section. ~Addictiveness~ bla bla) or if I should just not worry about it at all and just move onto/start my work on the 2nd review I had planned so I can at least get 1 review out to you all before this jolly season of December and special year of 2015 comes to a disheartening close?   I wanna give you all some insight into my work as well...since I wouldn't have any without you all in the first place...least I can do is allow some input and help from everyone here. (Hope this isn't too much of a bother for y'all )

Just didn't wanna make one decision and having the work not be on par with what I've been showing before, or ending it completely and never giving a chance to please/let anyone enjoy in their own way. Am perfectly fine with whatever feelings anyone may like to throw out, and will happily listen to everyone's outlook about it. Thanks!

Also...in case this is not in the correct forum for this type of question/response thread, I do apologize as I wanted to get this out ASAP so I could quickly make a decision and not possibly waste anymore time for myself and everyone on here. Any forum mods that may see this, thanks for your work in correcting any error this may have caused and sorry if it gets in your day-by-day tasks. Hope you'll have a nice day and lovely rest of this year


Bintsy :

Eniitan :

A user of this :

gamerforlifeforever2 :

Barathemos :

cnw64 :

ZeroTails :

NintendoFanKimmy :

Vanelan :

Try playing the game you are planning to review without focusing on the review part.
Addictiveness , sound, graphics, etc should come naturally as you are playing, not from someone else's review.
Write about how the game makes you feel.
How does the sound/music sound to you? Do you like the music? Does the sound remind you of nails on a chalkboard?
Do you find the game difficult? What parts?

If a short simple explanation is sufficient, then don't try to over-explain. Just write about what is there.

Anyone else have any advice?

Zlinqx : You've written a lot of reviews. Any pointers for sonic?

Vanelan : Yeah I usually go from what I feel when I'm playing or watching the game, and never really push myself to go on way or the other. If I feel it's varied and may need more explanation I go for it, if it seems simple and not necessary I leave it short and to the point. The only reason why I can't do the whole "play" part is that I can't play the game since I don't have a Wii U nor the game I'm planning on reviewing. I DID however watch a let's play which was more or less them just playing it like any normal person would (minus a guess here and there being soooo off base from this one player >.> dang Chuggaaconroy!)

It's not so much having a hard time writing the review, but more so if I SHOULD just keep it basic and short and finish the review since I started VS not completing it and just only doing the 1 review I KNOW I'll be able to complete after looking into and the fact that the game HAS info online for me to look at if need be. From your side it seems like you're saying I should just finish the review even if it is short? Or am I just overlooking what you've laid out for me?

If you haven't played the game, I would say not to review it...
Watching a let's play is NOT the same as actually playing.
You don't get a sense of gameplay by watching something being played...

Vanelan : Alright, so that's 1 1/2 marks that I shouldn't do this review (you and NintendoFan) I agree with you completely that you do kind of need to play the game to understand the gameplay and exactly how it'd feel.

Sadly though, I just can't play most games I would enjoy/know the gameplay is good (at least in my eyes) since I don't have the hardware or money to purchase said game. Point and case: "Apollo Justice, Xenoblade Chronicles, Kirby's Epic Yarn/Wooly World, etc. Though I know from hearing the soundtrack, looking at the game and playing predecessors or just enjoying it greatly from other facts alone. Which is why I did reviews amongst the game above even though I didn't exactly play them. (Apollo justice = had played phoenix wright, Xenoblade = very rare minus 3DS re-release). But yes I definitely do see your point though and thanks for the reply/feedback anyway

I'll wait till the end of today to see if I get any other responses and make my judgement from there, I'm a strange person and writer like I tell many people. Not sure how you may feel about my reviews knowing that I don't exactly play each game I do, but I do know I have played the predecessor and reviewed it on here about the other game I had planned for this month. (only real difference is one gameplay change, but fighting and what not is all the same) Again thanks for your reply at least and for moving my thread to the correct place ( knew that would happen)

Xenoblade Chronicles isn't that hard to find...perhaps new in box with the controller might, but I have seen a few used copies in GameStop.

Either way...I would strongly suggest you do not review games you haven't played...

Vanelan : Hm? that's strange...can't find it anywhere nearby used or new or at least not one that's under 40$. I can understand your point of view, the only reasons I've done that is cause A. I know I'd enjoy it from playing prequels or what not, or know I'd buy it cause I've enjoying looking over it. and B. If I wanted to keep the reviewing position I'd have to review 12 games I've played before..and not all of the games I've played and/or own...I can do a review on since I just feel nothing when I try to write about it. (since if I don't feel connected or get anything from the game when trying to review it, I drop it since even if I know how it is/play wise still I don't do it cause I'll hate the review after it's done)

I don't wanna keep piling this thread up with replies that distract from the main topic but, if there are other points I'd gladly continue them in a PM or what not.

So how do you feel a connection to games you haven't played?
There are plenty of games on the RGR that don't have reviews...there has to be something that you like on there that you can review...

This does pertain to the topic. You simply can't judge how addictive or difficult a game is by watching it. That's why you are having trouble writing this review.

Vanelan : The things that make me connect to a game I haven't played are 3 major things: The story, the gameplay, and the soundtrack. Even if I can only see a trailer to a game and I like 2 of those things, I can get interested. And if I see the game in a let's play that covers mostly all of the game. I feel a connection as If I was actually playing through the game with that person. (or it's like watching a movie and experiencing the story for yourself by getting immersed with its characters) There could be but there are just far too many games and systems to scout through just to find one that may interest me enough to do and even then I don't know if a review could work out.

Alright, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't running this thread off its course in anyway or extending it out far more than needed (know it can be tough/tasking to look over at times for locals/globals/forum mods.) Well honestly the addictive part isn't what's killing me most, it's the soundtrack part since I've tried looking up for the music for this game online and...haven't found anything? Maybe cause it's just straight ripped from the TV show that they felt it didn't matter/wasn't needed to include the soundtrack in anyway. The addictive/story/difficulty  I can do easily, the graphics are middle of the road to me, and it's the depth and sound that are killing me. The depth being the whole Mini-game and toss-ups that are within the game. Since I don't know the rules of said events...it would be unfair for me to talk about them then end up being incorrect.

Trust me I'd love to be able to play these games I get interested in/take a look at...but something those resources just aren't available. It just feels crummy to be into something and not be able to talk about it due to the fact that it's not in your possession/playing memory or along those lines. Maybe I should just stick to the game testing/review managing, since I've kind of played almost all the games I own/would even be interested in doing a review on. (and I won't force a review out, if it won't work or isn't hitting home hard enough for me to finish it...cause then I dislike the review and just don't like that I myself put it out that way...kind of like a rushed/super delayed game)

Vanelan :  I haven't been reviewing games for as long as him but I'll suppose I try.

sonicthehedgehog57 : As Vanelan said you shouldn't think about the review much when actually playing just make sure that you finish the game before anything else that's typically how I do it anyway, once you have you shouldn't worry too much about the length of the individual categories jor the entire review ust focus on getting your thoughts out, something like difficulty typically won't be as long addictiveness, that's why I got rid of the standard categories (though that's also a preference thing). 

I think the best advice could give you is not to worry too much about the length, since you seem to at least a little bit, some games there just isn't too much to say, and some categories are even non existent, that's okay, as long as you talk about the important parts, focus on what you think is actually interesting for a buyer to know, or a long time fan, what aspects are most important differ from game to game, the things they are most interested in basically. A short and concise to the point review is better than a long review if it becomes messy and you can't seem to organize your thoughts properly and the reader has a hard time getting through.

If you still want some inspiration what to write about, if you're just having problems thinking of anything to write at all...

Hm, when it comes to scoring individual categories such as Graphics and Sound, I tend to find fairly easy most of the time. For Graphics besides just focusing on things like the textures, Does the use of overall colors go well? Is the choice of environments interesting or do they seem uninspired (so is often the case with games like Call of Duty, where the graphics purely technically may be good but it feels somewhat uninspired and bland overall). Does it have any sort of lag, or graphical glitches or glitches in general? Is there a lot of enemy variety or not, or do they all just feel kind of the same? Does the world actually feel alive? 

For the gameplay, well it's obviously a broad category more or less entirely dependant on what type of game it is, obviously the main point should be is it fun. Look at things like level design, does the game vary things up a lot, or does it get repetetive monotnous or anything. To put more simply, do you find it fun or not and why. You can also talk about controls here.

For the soundtrack, you should obviously judge the overall soundtrack, in some games a soundtrack isn't very present so that could be a talking point as well if that's the case, voice acting can also be judged here, and sound effects (though sound effects are typically not something I go too in depth about unless they stand out in a good or a bad way) a thing to consider in games that depend a lot on your ability, to react  to things (FPS, Hack Slash, Adventure type games usually) is if the sound effects has an effect on the gameplay, same with the soundtrack and if they add to atmosphere, a soundtrack can be good, but that doesn't matter as much if it doesn't also fit the type of game it's part of. Obviously just talk about the sound or the lack thereof.

Difficulty, hm... Obviously besides just focusing purely on if it is hard enough you could also look at how well the game is balanced, is there some kind of unexplained difficulty spike? In an rpg for example, is grinding a requirment (that can kind of go over into gameplay as well, since that's something that could make the game repetetive), Is the enemy AI smart? Is the difficulty based on actual smart level design, by good game developers, or due to other factors like bad level design, lack of direction, poorly balanced challenges, good or bad sort of difficulty basicallyDoes it feel frustrating? Is it accessible to uninitiated players? 

I hope something of what I said helped you in some way, gave it a shot at least.

I don't think about reviews when I play the games I review. (I try to stick only to games I've actually played. Either normally or emulation). Don't make anything a worry aside from making the actual review. It will be as long as it comes out. There's no real set length standard you need to follow. Just make it at least more than a thousand words and I think you're golden. But elements like sound, addictiveness, and all that will come naturally as you continue on. And when you think back it will be easier to put a number on each element.

I guess I can put some input here. Van has already stated what I would have said. There's no sense in reviewing a game you haven't played. You gotta play the game before you review it as you should know. Then you'll get out more of the details you want from it. I know some people think about what to say. But what I do is go back and watch a video of it on youtube and I let the words flow than think of it. That way you get more what's the word...more description of explaining the game, and to convince people to play it.

You're not the only one struggling this month. I've also been having issues with getting my 2 reviews started despite having a good amount of time to get it done. I hope that both you and me can find a way to get our reviews done before the end of the month. Whether or not you shorten the length of your review(s) for the month, I'm confident they'll both be excellent regardless.

I guess the only advice I can give is not to stress out about it, remain calm, and do it at your own pace.

Local Mods : This can be closed now since I've made the decision I wanna go with.