I'm never fully satisfied with my reviews, but I never want to write too much, so I've decided to re-work my written reviews. Here's the new layout, based loosely on Gametrailers' styIe:
Story/Premise
Not all games necessarily have a story, so I include premise here to explain why you're doing the gameplay. For games like Tetris, this probably won't have to be here, but it will be a vague description like this, "You are a person who really hates falling blocks, so you try to eliminate them by aligning them in complete horizontal rows.
Design
Technically part of the gameplay, but level design is actually very important to the overall structure of the game. The game could make use of innovative controls, but it might have some very derivative levels. This section covers level design and overall game design (options, layout, etc.)
Gameplay
Obviously one of, if not the most important parts of a game. This is where I explain how and if the game works, as you should already know.
Sound
This section covers music and sound effects. Sound effects will likely only be mentioned if they're really bad.
Value
This section covers how long the game lasts, if it has any sort of replay value, and whether or not the price is worth it.
Overall
This section is a basic summary of the entire review, pulling highlights from each section. At the end, a recommendation is given for specific audiences, and a final score out of 10 is given.
Also, at the end of each individual section, a whole number rating out of 10 is given for that section.
I think this new review styIe should work out well enough, and I'm definitely more comfortable with it than with my old, disorganized styIe.
As a final note, I don't have a review for Wario Land because I didn't finish it in the time allotted by my rental. I was on the second-to-last world, and I doubt I'll be able to rent it again for a while. I don't really have time, and I want to move on anyways. I gave the game an 8.5, though, since it really was great. If it was $30 instead of $50, I definitely would have bought it, but I think the $50 price tag is only worth it for players aiming for 100% completion. So there's my recommendation.
I just rented Wario Land: Shake it! about an hour ago, and I'm definitely liking what I'm seeing. I've only played the first world so far, but I am having a great time. The animations are awesome, and Wario's actions and expressions are hilarious and fun. The only complaint I have so far, and it's pretty minor, is that a couple songs felt really outdated, those being the first real level and the menu screen. The rest of the songs are pretty good, and a couple are really great, so I suppose the music selection sort of balances itself out.
I have it until Thursday, so expect a review by then.
After some nonstop playing yesterday and today, I finally finished nearly all of Kirby Super Star Ultra, and I've decided to review. I'm nowhere near 100%, but I have beaten nearly all of the modes. Glitchspot was killing my review, so I'm not even sure if this will show up:
My Ratings
