“We don’t review every game, but the ones we do, we do so with a fanatical passion.”
It’s all fun and games right? Wrong! Reviews are serious business. The Game Fanatics never set out to be a video game review site, and in the first few years of our existence, we tried many different review styles – five star scales, ten star scales, letter grades, so on and so forth. We shied away from the “critic” aspect of our duty as a video game blog, and in doing so we turned a blind eye to the innate purpose of video game reviews. We’ve taken cues from a lot of other video game blogs and websites we admire, deliberated for days…literal days were spent discussing how we should go about reviewing video games…and settled on something we all felt pleased with. We did all this with transparency and honesty in mind, and while we’re by no means infallible, we will always strive to be those two things: transparent and honest.
We often get review copies of video games, sometimes they’re advanced copies but more often than not they’re release day copies. This affects the timeliness of our reviews, as we’ll never publish a review until we feel comfortable enough to write one.
Our Scale
At The Game Fanatics, we review our games on a 10-point scale, and this is for several reasons. We wanted a scale that was relatable and easy to conceptualize, while being critical. For these same reasons we have 5 criteria that are graded on a scale of 1 (fanatical garbage) – 10 (fanatically amazing), the average of which becomes the final Game Fanatics review score.
Criteria
Environment
More than just graphics, the environment includes the sound design, scores, and voice acting. All these elements should complement each other and provide for a remarkable gaming experience. This enables us to judge games with realistic graphics on the same scale as those with 2D graphics, for example.
Gameplay
How logical is the control scheme? Do the gameplay mechanics make sense? If it’s a shooter, how’s the aiming? If it’s a racing game, how do the cars handle? These are some of questions we ask ourselves, and answer for our readers.
Entertainment
F-U-N (spells fun, right?). At the end of the day, we believe games are meant to be fun. Is the game frustrating? Boring? Was it a chore to play? This criteria allows us to judge a game solely on its fun factor and nothing else. #FunFactor.
Originality
This is where we factor in story elements of the game. How is the lore? We’ve found that games with remarkable stories make for unforgettable, and for the most part original, experiences. We believe that the originality of a video game should hold great value, and there’s not much else to say about that. So there!
Replayability
Some of the best games are those we keep playing over, and over again. We feel this factor should definitely play into all of our reviews, because while one-off experiences are great, those that don’t end, or take longer to end, are that much greater. Even if it’s something as simple as great multiplayer mechanics or as complex as multiple endings, we appreciate game developers who aim to keep us playing after the credits roll.
Breakdown
Our review score breakdown is pretty self-explanatory, but we want to be completely transparent with our readers, and though we do not manipulate the final score of a game, we know that the final score lends itself to the following:
1-1.9: Fanatical Garbage – This game magnificently missed the mark, and is a fanatical disappointment.
2-2.9: Flop – A downright horrid game, almost akin to torture. Please don’t make us play this again.
3-3.9: Failed – Unsatisfactory, and simply lacking in multiple areas. Rent, buy, or pass? Burn.
4-4.9: Floundered – This game could have been so much more, if not for clear and obvious shortcomings.
5-5.9: Flawed – It’s an alright game, but its flaws cannot be overlooked.
6-6.9: Fulfilling– A tad better than average, and while having some flaws, the game is…sufficient.
7-7.9: Favorable – A good game with a gratifying experience.
8-8.9: Fabulous – A great game, able to stand on its own merit.
9-9.9: Fantastic– A game that offers an exceptional experience.
10: Fanatical Masterpiece – There are only so many synonyms for perfect, this is one of them.
Platform Transparency
All the games we review are categorized by the console they were reviewed on, and we do not duplicate reviews so as to have them in multiple console categories. We simply do not have the manpower to review a game on every console. The review console will be listed on the lower left, below the review score.
Review Copies
Some of the games we review are provided to us by the publisher, more often than not however, the reviewer purchases their own games. That being said we owe publishers/developers nothing more than what we owe our readers: a fair, balanced, bias-free review. We do not meddle with our review system, and we will strive to never let our reviews be swayed by perks, threats, or general douchebaggery.
If you have questions or concerns about our Review Policy here at The Game Fanatics, feel free to contact us.
Last updated: December 2017
We’re proud to have our video game reviews syndicated with Open Critic, an independent review aggregator. Their policy of transparency and putting gamers first resonates with everything we stand for.
