AGS Reviews Blog

[Find Therma]

Hey guys and gals.

Have been lurking on these forums for a few years although have posted very little. To cut a long story short...I've started up an adventure game reviews blog, which will mainly (if not completely) consist of me reviewing AGS games.

Plan is to only review the games which I really enjoy playing - I really don't want to play any part in demoralising any AGS game developers out there by posting negative reviews of there games...not that I'm assuming people are going to be terribly interested in my ramblings but better to be safe and all that. Am also sure there will be games I do enjoy but don't review for whatever reason...and well, you get the idea.

Anyway, the first review went up last week and I posted a further review today, so if anyone's interested then head on over to
http://jd-adventuregamereviews.blogspot.com.

Hopefully some people will find the blog either interesting or informative - perhaps even both.

Cheers,

JD

PS. Thanks SSH for giving me coverage on the AGS blog - was extremely surprised when I saw a link to my blog on there!

[poc301]

I like it, and not just because my game got a favorable review!

I think the hardest part for you will be keeping on top of games and finding time to play them all.  But then again, the price one must pay.. 

-Bill

[m0ds]

Nice idea, but surely if you're only going to review the games you really like then the obvious out-come for every review is you like it. Ergo surely that makes it pointless to read. I can understand it's nice for the developers because they can be gauranteed a good review, but hey, I generally read reviews to get an honest opinion about good AND bad games...

[Find Therma]

Bill - Thanks very much for the comment! Playing through every game would indeed be tough. My target isn't quite so high as that - plan is to just play and review if and when I feel like it. Which admittedly is probably going to end up being far more often than I should!

Mods - You make a good point. My thinking though is that if I play a freeware game I don't like, then I'd rather not review it than give the developer a hard time. I'm more interested in helping people to choose what they should play, rather than what they shouldn't. Hopefully that makes sense?? And if you look on the big adventure game sites, e.g. Just Adventure, Adventure Gamers, you see a rating before you read the review anyway so you know whether it's going to be favourable or not.

Having said that there's no point in me writing reviews if they're neither informative enough nor interesting to read so perhaps it is something I need to consider.

It would be interesting to know what other people think as well. Should I just go ahead and review a game even if I can't find much (or anything) nice to say about it?

The reviews I've written thus far are completely honest, and of course I'm going to keep it that way - I just worry slightly that negative reviews of AGS games from within the AGS community are maybe counter productive. Is just my current outlook though and I'm open to being persuaded otherwise...  8)

[bicilotti]

Nice idea, but surely if you're only going to review the games you really like then the obvious out-come for every review is you like it. Ergo surely that makes it pointless to read. I can understand it's nice for the developers because they can be gauranteed a good review, but hey, I generally read reviews to get an honest opinion about good AND bad games...

Even though you're right, there is a way to review only games you like and still be informative. Try to look a this.
It's a furry fellow making short video reviews of boardgames he likes. I always appreciated the fact that, despite being always positive reviews, Scott manages to give you hints and explanation on why the game may or may not be for you.

Good luck with your blog!

[Stupot]

It's possible to write reviews about games you like and still be critical.  Come to think about it, the few times I've reviewed a game have been when I've enjoyed it, but I've never been afraid to say 'this puzzle was a bit sucky' or 'it was far to long/short' or the graphics could have been better. etc etc.

More often than not, if I don't enjoy a game then I won't complete it, and I feel cheeky reviewing games I haven't bothered to see through til the end.

[Hudders]

I think you ought to review the games you didn't like, or at least give an indication that you did play them. Otherwise any recommendations you make are meaningless. For example, although you've reviewed The Murran Chronicles 2, you haven't posted a review of Murran Chronicles 1 - does this mean you've not played it, or that you've played it but you hated it?

[Find Therma]

Hmm...perhaps I will have to change my philosophy slightly. Maybe it is best to review every AGS game I play - as long as  I can make at least some positive comments about it and be able to recommend it to at least a certain type of player. So not just me reviewing my faves.

More often than not, if I don't enjoy a game then I won't complete it, and I feel cheeky reviewing games I haven't bothered to see through til the end.

I'm the same, so anything I review I will have finished, and having stuck it out until the end of the game I guess I will most likely be able to provide at least some positive comments about it - even if the review isn't a glowing one. Or like Bicilotti eluded to, give the reader an idea whether that particular game is for them or not, even if I wasn't so keen on it. And I guess if I go down the constructive criticism route rather than the dry sarcasm one it will be a lot less disheartening for people anyway.

Whilst this means a greater pool of games are likely to be reviewed, as well as more differing reviews in terms of content, it does still leave those I don't like enough to finish. I don't see any way around this without being unfairly harsh on people so am still thinking it's best to not mention any games for which this is the case.

Thanks alot for the comments and advice by the way! 

[Renal Shutdown]

When I used to do reviews for games.nu or nugames or whatever they were called, I often reviewed the ones I disliked first, as it was usually more fun poking holes in them than it was actually playing them. 

When I did a stint on Vel's ezine jobbie, I ended up reviewing things I disliked and had the editor whine because I didn't give a game a high a rating as he did.  Comments to me personally, supported my ratings.

So, my advice of sorts, is review everything, good or bad, and don't listen to what other people tell you about the games.  Just be honest, and if you can, poke as much fun at things as possible.  People like humor, and fun-pokery is one of the few lowest common denominator types of humor.

If you can throw in a pun or a nob gag, you're on to a winner.

[Find Therma]

Poke fun at stuff...sounds like a plan! Tis one of my strong points as well! haha. I still think I'll try and offer constructive criticism as well though.

Thanks for the advice.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

I don't think you should feel compelled to review games you dislike just because some people in a forum told you that you should, nor should you feel compelled to be critical just because someone said 'hey, you need to be critical in your reviews'.  Reviews are a personal thing about your own experiences with a game.

At the end of the day it's your blog; review the games you want the way that you want.  Full stop.

[Find Therma]

Can't say fairer than that ProgZ. Funnily enough I'm actually halfway through a review of one of your games! 

I guess what I've got out of this small debate is that I should just make sure I enjoy the reviews I write. If this means I'm not going to be totally trashing anyones game (which it does) then so be it. If I can't be constructive then I see no point in bothering to a review at all. Having said that it doesn't mean I can't include some humour when pointing out a game's failings - it just needs to be done in the right way.

Anyway, one last thanks to everyone who's offered their thoughts on this.

And I hope you enjoy my future reviews - should you choose to read them...

Cheers,

JD

[Hudders]

I agree that you shouldn't feel compelled to review games you don't like, but at the same time you don't want to be known as that guy who only ever gives positive reviews, (even if it's for good reason). It would mean that your reviews have less clout than those of reviewers that did give bad reviews from time to time. By only giving positive reviews you come off as somewhat fake in my opinion.

Of course, if the blog is just meant as a way of amusing yourself and not as a serious source of information, that doesn't really matter. As Progz says, it's your blog and you can do what you want with it. Just don't be expecting a huge following of people who read and respect your views.

[Stupot]

On the other hand, don't turn into one of these reviewers that doesn't have a good word to say about anything.  Some people confuse cynical smarm with humourism.  They're not the same thing.

[Hudders]

On the other hand, don't turn into one of these reviewers that doesn't have a good word to say about anything.  Some people confuse cynical smarm with humourism.  They're not the same thing.

Oh of course. The way to be respected as a reviewer is to take a balanced view of everything and come to a logical conclusion based on your findings.

[Dualnames]

Like I said to the SSH blogpost about your blog, if comments aren't still added, add them..btw you did, now that's good.

[poc301]

I think it's a good thing, Therma.  Your comments on the sprite pixels and photorealistic backgrounds are one of the reasons I am completely redoing the backgrounds in my episode 3 to use all pixel art.  I thought the review was good, and offered true constructive criticism.

-Bill

[Find Therma]

Wasn't really planning on posting on this thread again at the risk of boring people but...

Bill - Is really nice to hear that my views have been of use. Really makes me feel that I'm doing things the right way. 

Dualnames - Yep, added comments after reading your comment on SSH's blog.

Will keep doing my best to be balanced and constructive.

Cheers guys,

JD

[magintz]

Nice, but I would like to see some scoring of some kind either a percentage or a number of thumbs etc... or at least a pros/cons list at the end within the summary to help, like mods suggested, make a balanced opinion.

The other thing I can suggest is maybe some factual information about the game, in a table would be nice. Maybe just a small factsheet.
Title: Game Name
Author: Me
Game Length: Medium
Year Made: 2009
Download Link: here

Just some thoughts, but good going; it was a pleasure to read