To Review or Not to Review ...?

I keep trying to persuade readers to have a go at writing a review
even if they've never done one before. It can seem a daunting task
and I know it was a long time before I did my first one on
MicroNet. Later I went on to review ST software for Ceefax, mostly
serious software, spreadsheets and the like, but there were a few
arcade and adventure games in there too. The first one took ages
but after that it got easier and I really got to enjoy doing them.

Many of you send in reviews without being asked, and I'm very
grateful to you.  But no doubt there are others of you who would
like to do one but are wary of giving it a go. Fear not! Here is a
potted guide to reviewing!

First, reviews don't have to be that long, though they can be as
long as you'd like. The minimum should be two screens worth,
that's 40 lines of 66 characters per line.  That'd be
approximately 400 words. This may SOUND a lot but once you get
into your stride, it's amazing how quickly you'll get to, or even
pass, that figure. This article is about 550 words long.
Obviously it's ideal if you can finish the game (some games start
out great but 'fizzle' at the end - others start so-so but improve
as they go) but if you can't, don't worry.  Just make it clear
about how far you've got into the game; often the score, if there
is one, will give a rough guide.

What about the contents of the review? A brief outline of the
story is a good idea for starters and a brief look at the
packaging. Then you can talk about the design and layout of the
game. Did the author use a utility or program the adventure from
scratch (clever devil)? Is it text or graphics? What colours have
been used for the text? Are they clear and legible? Some colours
'bleed' on the screen (notably red and dark blue) and can be hard
to read especially on a TV rather than a monitor. Are the text
descriptions good? Long or short? What about spelling and grammar?
If the spelling is awful, did it put you off the game or was the
game so good you could ignore it? How logical are the inputs? Are
alternatives given or do you have to dig out a Thesaurus to find
the one obscure word that the author, in his wisdom, picked?

A few conclusions can then be drawn at the end. Was the game worth
the money?  Did it have you glued to the screen or wanting to
throw it out the window?  Would you look forward to a sequel or
emigrate?

As you can see, it's all pretty logical stuff. Above all, be
honest about what you thought. You may feel mean being critical of
someone's work but it's only fair to the readers to tell them
exactly what YOU thought. Of course, one person may love a game
and another hate it - hence the value of second and even third
opinions of games. It'd be a boring place if we all agreed.

Go on - give it a go! I'm waiting to hear from you ...

                                                  Sue