Over the past five years, I’ve rated games on a 100-point scale. However, starting with this blog, I’ll switch over to a ten-point scale with half point intervals. Many gaming websites, including IGN** and GameSpot, have switched to similar ten-point scales. It seems to me that most people who read video game reviews today are uninterested in scores reduced to the smallest decimal; rather they want to know if a game is good or great, worthy of a rental or a must-buy.
My Rating Scale
10 Masterful
Few games achieve such a high score. Reserved for perfect or near-perfect games that stand as the best of their generation, the best of their kind. The pinnacle of video gaming.
Example: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
9.5/9.0 Outstanding
Highly recommended games that represent the best a system has to offer. Expertly designed, executed, and presented. A game of the year candidate.
Example: Gears of War
8.5/8.0 Great
Serious video game players shouldn’t pass these games by. Although not as expertly crafted as games with higher scores, these games are easily worth the price of admission. Highly recommended to fans of the genre.
Example: Mega Man 2
7.5/7.0 Good
These games won’t win any awards, nor do they compare very well to the best the genre has to offer, but they’re undoubtedly fun to play. Minor technical and gameplay issues keep these games from achieving greatness.
Example: Pilotwings Resort
6.5/6.0 Fair
Don’t spend $40-$60 on these passable games. What might have been a good idea in theory never properly translated into a complete game. Recommended rental; there are better games out there.
Example: Two Worlds
5.5/5.0 Poor
Games in this category tend to have equal parts good and bad. They could easily be skipped over for similar yet more substantial games. Slightly below average.
Example: Clockwork Knight
4.5/4.0 Bad
Significant design, gameplay, and technical issues should prevent these games from reaching your computer, console, or handheld device. In these games there are brief glimpses of value, but ultimately there is little to recommend.
Example: Doom (SNES)
3.5/3.0 Awful
These games never had a chance to be good. Built poorly from the ground up, they are riddled with questionable design choices, cut corners, and obvious technical difficulties. Very little to be salvaged here.
Example: War Gods
2.5/2.0 Miserable
If thinking about a game makes you visibly furious, it probably belongs in this category. Unforgivably bad.
Example: Turok: Evolution
1.5/1.0 Abysmal
Each a candidate for worst game of all time, games that “earn” this ignominious rating should not be bought, rented, sold, or carried across state lines. They are the worst of the worst, and cause great physical and emotional anguish to those who experience them.
Example: Ultraman: Towards the Future
** For some reason, IGN has reverted back to its 100-point scale.
My Rating Scale
10 Masterful
Few games achieve such a high score. Reserved for perfect or near-perfect games that stand as the best of their generation, the best of their kind. The pinnacle of video gaming.
Example: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
9.5/9.0 Outstanding
Highly recommended games that represent the best a system has to offer. Expertly designed, executed, and presented. A game of the year candidate.
Example: Gears of War
8.5/8.0 Great
Serious video game players shouldn’t pass these games by. Although not as expertly crafted as games with higher scores, these games are easily worth the price of admission. Highly recommended to fans of the genre.
Example: Mega Man 2
7.5/7.0 Good
These games won’t win any awards, nor do they compare very well to the best the genre has to offer, but they’re undoubtedly fun to play. Minor technical and gameplay issues keep these games from achieving greatness.
Example: Pilotwings Resort
6.5/6.0 Fair
Don’t spend $40-$60 on these passable games. What might have been a good idea in theory never properly translated into a complete game. Recommended rental; there are better games out there.
Example: Two Worlds
5.5/5.0 Poor
Games in this category tend to have equal parts good and bad. They could easily be skipped over for similar yet more substantial games. Slightly below average.
Example: Clockwork Knight
4.5/4.0 Bad
Significant design, gameplay, and technical issues should prevent these games from reaching your computer, console, or handheld device. In these games there are brief glimpses of value, but ultimately there is little to recommend.
Example: Doom (SNES)
3.5/3.0 Awful
These games never had a chance to be good. Built poorly from the ground up, they are riddled with questionable design choices, cut corners, and obvious technical difficulties. Very little to be salvaged here.
Example: War Gods
2.5/2.0 Miserable
If thinking about a game makes you visibly furious, it probably belongs in this category. Unforgivably bad.
Example: Turok: Evolution
1.5/1.0 Abysmal
Each a candidate for worst game of all time, games that “earn” this ignominious rating should not be bought, rented, sold, or carried across state lines. They are the worst of the worst, and cause great physical and emotional anguish to those who experience them.
Example: Ultraman: Towards the Future
** For some reason, IGN has reverted back to its 100-point scale.
