Best way to get experience for reviewing?

[VariantDevil]

I want to become better at writing reviews for games, and I have been reading a lot of reviews lately and checking out how well grammar, exaggeration, and overall professionalism is implemented into them. I have been sketching out a few guidelines for myself on how to improve the quality of my own reviews, and what the people want to know when reading one.

Can any of you offer some great tips on reviewing? It would be much appreciated.

[HaWkAgE]

When i've read other reviews i notice a sense of differenciality. Most people who have reviewed a game i've looked at have almost always had a different perspective on how to tell you as the reader what he/she is saying. One thing i'm trying to do is finding myself an original way of writing. This is what magazine companies want, they want something new and fresh in what you say.

This is just what i think anyway

[dmcclure]

I would practice reviewing average games that you are indifferent about as it's probably more of a challenge than writing about something very good or very bad or a genre you have a great interest in.

[jeffopus]

Get practice by writing, start a blog and review games you have or volunteer for a website that is asking for volunteer writers. If they accept your samples and think you have potential your on your way.

[Zooch]

Usually people who write reviews are good at writing in general and can pick up on almost any form of writing. Write specific reviews on your own, but also write a blog and do some social networking. Writing reviews is the pen-and-paper version of a radio DJ, and radio DJ's get paid to go to clubs and parties and describe how great they are and how people should go spend money there.

Okay maybe clubbing isn't the best way to get a position reviewing games, but it's the idea of social networking and making yourself available for people to read your works that's important. Oh - your works obviously have to be good too.

My friend is a newscaster for his local news station. He's required by his employer to maintain Twitter updates about the stories that are running that night so people tune in and watch.

[Baross2025]

The first step you should take when reviewing a game is to give yourself an outline of what you think is most important to the review. This would catergories like gameplay, graphics, sound, originality, etc. This will help you get the ideas flowing in your in head and let you pin point the more interesting aspects of the game you loved or hated. Also avoid any kind of over the top ranting or esoteric comparisons, save that for blogs and such.

The best way however to improve your writing is to well write. The more experience you have the easier it will come to you.

[Ziriux]

Originally Posted by jeffopus

Get practice by writing, start a blog and review games you have or volunteer for a website that is asking for volunteer writers. If they accept your samples and think you have potential your on your way.

Great advice for a first step mate. Many sites will give a writer a chance that's wanting to improve. I personally love to help out new people interested in the industry, the more the better.

Also a lot of your average casual gamers when it comes to consoles, want to know:

Graphics
Gameplay
Story
Mechanic
Lastability

Some might be the same, but you get the general idea.

[Siberianhusky89]

You might want to go to Gamespot. Though I dislike their reviews, you can write your own on there that people may read and monitor you for. If you continue to make good reviews, you may have more people monitoring you. My Golden Rule for writing reviews is this, no matter how good or bad the game may be, try to keep an unbias opinion. I love Earthbound, however, unlike most people, I try to give the good and the bad. When you provide a personal opinion on the game, you should probably state so, or come up with your own system of writing that review such as.

My personal opinion - I like Earthbound alot, I think it's a very interesting game (etc...)

Some of the other posts are quite helpful as well, such as Ziriux's, try to organize the ideas of what people may like or dislike.

Graphics - The graphics for this are that and so and and so forth. It does/doesn't meet the highest expectations of [Insert console here] however, it still allows things to be perceived quite smoothly.

Gameplay - The game is very balanced, however, moving might be troublesome (So on and so forth). What you do in the game is this action and that action in order to accomplish this objective within the game.

Music - The music of the game isn't quite nostalgic or memorable, however, it suits the environment quite well.

Storyline - The storyline is very unique and is something that I haven't commonly heard amongst games, so on and so forth...

Anything that you find important in a game should be put down and told about, see? Also, you are correct about grammar. The better your grammar, the more seriously someone can take you. Anyhow, in the end it all comes down to what you want to be your style.

Example: My style is more direct, I try to keep an unbiased point of view, I attempt to make it feel as if I'm talking to the reader as well by making a few jokes or puns here and there, and I only make reviews for games I own or have beaten, with the exception of fighting games which I judge based on different variables.

Hope this helps.

[Ziriux]

Originally Posted by Siberianhusky89

You might want to go to Gamespot. Though I dislike their reviews, you can write your own on there that people may read and monitor you for. If you continue to make good reviews, you may have more people monitoring you. My Golden Rule for writing reviews is this, no matter how good or bad the game may be, try to keep an unbias opinion. I love Earthbound, however, unlike most people, I try to give the good and the bad. When you provide a personal opinion on the game, you should probably state so, or come up with your own system of writing that review such as.

My personal opinion - I like Earthbound alot, I think it's a very interesting game (etc...)

Some of the other posts are quite helpful as well, such as Ziriux's, try to organize the ideas of what people may like or dislike.

Graphics - The graphics for this are that and so and and so forth. It does/doesn't meet the highest expectations of [Insert console here] however, it still allows things to be perceived quite smoothly.

Gameplay - The game is very balanced, however, moving might be troublesome (So on and so forth). What you do in the game is this action and that action in order to accomplish this objective within the game.

Music - The music of the game isn't quite nostalgic or memorable, however, it suits the environment quite well.

Storyline - The storyline is very unique and is something that I haven't commonly heard amongst games, so on and so forth...

Anything that you find important in a game should be put down and told about, see? Also, you are correct about grammar. The better your grammar, the more seriously someone can take you. Anyhow, in the end it all comes down to what you want to be your style.

Example: My style is more direct, I try to keep an unbiased point of view, I attempt to make it feel as if I'm talking to the reader as well by making a few jokes or puns here and there, and I only make reviews for games I own or have beaten, with the exception of fighting games which I judge based on different variables.

Hope this helps.

Why waste his time doing that, while he could start writing freely for a start up site, where thousands of people can read it, instead of some forum peeps that have no idea about grammar.

[yaustar]

Originally Posted by Ziriux

Why waste his time doing that, while he could start writing freely for a start up site, where thousands of people can read it, instead of some forum peeps that have no idea about grammar.

Because they are a target audience and it is a site that pulls in much then 'thousands' of people.