Thursday, September 30, 2010

An In-Depth Look at the 3DS




With all the hype surrounding the Q1 2011 release of Nintendo's new 3D handheld, the 3DS, I thought I'd take a quick look and compare its specs to the various current-gen DS models.

3DSDSi XLDSiDS LiteDS "Phat"
Weight8.1 oz11.1 oz7.5 oz7.7 oz11 oz
Dimensions5.3×2.9×0.83 in6.3×3.60×0.83 in5.4×2.95×0.74 in5.2×2.91×0.861 in5.85×3.33×1.14 in
Screen Size3.53 in top, 3.02 in bottom4.2 in3.3 in3.1 in3.0 in
Screen Resolution800x240 top, 320×240 bottom256×192256×192256×192256×192
Battery LifeTBA13 to 17 hours 9 to 14 hours15 to 19 hours10 to 14 hours
Card Slots3DS, DSi, DS, SDDSi, DS, SDDSi, DS, SDDS, GBADS, GBA
RAM64 MB16 MB16 MB4 MB4 MB
CPUTBA133 MHz ARM9 and 33 MHz ARM7133 MHz ARM9 and 33 MHz ARM767 MHz ARM and 33 MHz ARM767 MHz ARM9 and 33 MHz ARM7
Camera640x480 resolution640x480 resolution640×480 resolutionN/AN/A

In weight and dimensions, it is most similar to the DS Lite. However, the top screen is much bigger, and both screens have improved resolutions. The 800x240 top screen might seem a little bit crazy, but it is effectively 400x240 for each eye. Not too sure about how that works technically, but at any rate, it looks like a marginal improvement over its predecessors.

4x as much RAM as the DSi/DSi XL and 16x as much as the original DS Phat and DS Lite. Battery life is unknown, but said to be similar to the DSi. CPU model and speed is currently unknown. No backwards compatibility to anything older than the DS, sadly. Certain DSiWare can be transferred to the 3DS, which has 2GB of data storage. It now has WPA/WPA2 security support, in addition to WEP.

They threw in an analog stick, and the 3DS still supports touchscreen with a stylus. The new stylus folds in like a telescope. 

While the 3D feature and the specs are nice, I'm more excited about the games. Tons of big name titles from both Nintendo and third parties, but you have to wonder how many of them are going to be simple ports and remakes. Can't wait to see what Megaman Legends 3 looks like, Sony's response, and what the opening retail price will be.
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Yet Another Review: Alpha Protocol (PS3)

If you’re a longtime PC gamer, you’ve probably played a Black Isle Studios game. They were formerly the kings of the PC RPGs, creating classics like Fallout, Planescape: Torment and Baldur’s Gate. Despite much success, the company disbanded in 2003, with many of its employees going on to found Obsidian. So far they’ve made Knights of the Old Republic 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2, two great games that suffered from glitches. Their latest release, Alpha Protocol, is more of the same.

Instead of being a turn-based D&D RPG, AP is a third-person shooter with character customization elements and various styles of play. Sort of similar to Deus Ex (but not nearly as much freedom). You can either play stealthily or go Rambo, but it’s very important that your character has at least some competency in combat, because you will be forced to do plenty of fighting.

The shooting takes a while to get used to, and tends to be inaccurate until you’ve leveled up the corresponding weapon skill or purchased a better gun. Stealth, too, is inconsistent in the early stages, as enemies seem to have a very large sight radius and can easily track you down.

Perhaps the biggest problem is this artificial intelligence, which is similarly unpredictable in combat. Sometimes they’ll just stand far away, firing wildly, while at other times they’ll charge at you to engage in melee as another enemy moves to your back and blasts you with a shotgun.

 The AI prefers to get up close and personal.

Avoiding combat when possible and going stealth is definitely the way to play, though. Watching Michael karate chopping some poor guard’s neck never seems to get old. It’s no Metal Gear Solid, but the AI will react upon seeing a fallen comrade’s body, hunt for you and alert any other nearby guards.

Aside from shooting and stealth, you can use various gadgets to set up traps. These are fun to use, but only a limited amount of doodads can be carried into missions. There are also tons of locked doors, encrypted computers and secured keypads that can be defeated by winning a little mini-game. These little buggers are tough tests of eyesight and hand control. Certain skills and equipment make these much easier.

A big deal is made about the dialogue sequences in the tutorial. Basically, like in many RPGs, choices will come up during conversations, which allow Michael to respond neutrally, aggressively, or suavely. Each character responds differently to each type of attitude, and their disposition is changed accordingly. Enemies with a high disposition might eventually offer to join your side, while friends that hate you might turn against you. These relationships definitely affect the game and story, and these dialogue choices aren’t just illusions of freedom.

Even if Obsidian is a shell of its former self, the writers still have talent with the pen. For the most part, the story keeps your interest and the dialogue is sharp and intelligent. There’s some cringing every now and then (a crazy Russian gangster yelling out a one-liner from Duke Nukem as you fight him on a disco dance floor with Turn Up the Radio blaring in the background), but the banter and voice acting are both top notch.

Those who enjoyed Mass Effect for its "waifus" will be
disappointed by the boring girls in Alpha Protocol.

The amount of detail they put into things is also impressive. For example, after beating the missions in Rome, I went to Moscow to see a weapons dealer. He not only noted the work I had done in Rome, but was also honored that the first thing I did when arriving in Moscow was to meet with him. It shows the insane amount of delicate care the writers poured into the dialogue.

If you’re obsessive about graphics, you will want to avoid this game. When moving around, textures look blurry for a few moments before suddenly popping into focus. Jagged lines are everywhere. There is a very limited selection of appearance options for Michael, and most look goofy and out of place (although snapping necks and seducing ladies while sporting obnoxious orange aviators, a backwards baseball cap and a lumberjack beard is kind of funny).

 Look out, ladies.

Alpha Protocol is not for everyone, but I was pleasantly surprised. Worth checking out as a rental, or buying when it hits the bargain bin. Sadly, due to limited success, they’re not making a sequel. Obsidian will instead focus on Fallout: New Vegas for the time being, along with Dungeon Siege III.
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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Reviewing the Reviewers, Part II: Average Review Scores for Reviewers in 2010

In Part I, I figured out the average score from all reviews in the GameRankings database. Now, I'm going to eliminate all the reviewers that haven't updated in 2010, and sort the table by the average score descending.


SiteLatestReviewsAverageTotal Pts Awarded
AtomicGamer9/22/201063082.94%52252.2
RPGFan9/29/201072781.37%59155.99
ImpulseGamer9/29/201037980.88%30653.52
Game Vortex9/29/2010445380.53%358600.09
Computer Games RO9/26/201047880.22%38345.16
Game Industry News9/29/2010107980.18%86514.22
XboxAddict9/24/201060979.69%48531.21
GamingTrend9/27/2010129179.57%102724.87
2404 - PC Gaming9/13/201025579.56%20287.8
Games Xtreme9/20/201053579.31%42430.85
WonderwallWeb2/23/201073378.54%57569.82
Futuregamez9/20/201078578.05%61269.25
Xbox World Australia9/29/201038477.68%29829.12
ZTGameDomain9/29/2010142577.68%110694
NZGamer9/28/2010112577.64%87345
Lawrence4/5/2010120477.54%93358.16
Gaming Target9/29/2010193877.44%150078.72
XboxZone3/5/201017777.39%13698.03
Da GameBoyz7/29/201099077.15%76378.5
Playstation Universe9/24/201028576.95%21930.75
GamePlasma3/11/201056676.89%43519.74
Planet Xbox 3609/29/201048176.85%36964.85
VGChartz9/28/201061676.81%47314.96
Hooked Gamers9/29/201053076.74%40672.2
GamePro9/29/2010440976.70%338170.3
Game Over Online9/29/2010255076.38%194769
UltraNinjas6/7/201039176.32%29841.12
GameFocus9/28/201067376.25%51316.25
Kikizo9/26/201060876.24%46353.92
Game Chronicles9/29/2010298676.06%227115.16
Armchair Empire9/27/2010194576.04%147897.8
Gameplanet9/24/2010137776.01%104665.77
Extreme Gamer9/29/201090675.98%68837.88
Fragland9/24/2010143975.94%109277.66
ActionTrip9/27/201082775.90%62769.3
Gametrailers9/29/2010133375.84%101094.72
Gamer Limit9/27/201060075.74%45444
MS Xbox World9/29/201087775.67%66362.59
GamersHell9/13/2010104175.64%78741.24
411mania9/28/201044175.52%33304.32
TotalPlaystation9/29/201078275.44%58994.08
Kombo9/22/2010157975.32%118930.28
GameZone9/28/2010654275.13%491500.46
PSX Extreme9/27/2010127375.06%95551.38
GamerNode9/28/201086975.00%65175
TeamXbox9/27/2010141374.90%105833.7
DarkStation9/8/2010111974.49%83354.31
Digital Chumps10/1/201056174.35%41710.35
Gamers Daily News9/29/201038074.07%28146.6
N-Europe9/22/201046273.98%34178.76
Gamervision9/23/201086973.92%64236.48
play.tm9/28/2010102773.87%75864.49
Xbox Evolved7/22/201054773.85%40395.95
Console Obsession9/29/201071173.66%52372.26
Console Monster9/29/201072873.62%53595.36
GamingExcellence9/28/2010111973.33%82056.27
Nintendojo6/8/2010102773.28%75258.56
The Gamers Temple9/29/2010155973.26%114212.34
Game Informer10/1/2010521373.06%380861.78
AceGamez9/28/2010322672.84%234981.84
DarkZero9/19/2010105172.65%76355.15
Playstation Official Magazine AU8/1/201019872.63%14380.74
Play UK10/1/2010172172.49%124755.29
Games Master UK10/1/2010388772.42%281496.54
Worth Playing9/29/2010362772.32%262304.64
Mygamer9/29/2010125372.29%90579.37
Cubed39/29/201080372.28%58040.84
PlayStation LifeStyle9/29/201031072.16%22369.6
Gamecell 9/10/2010106672.10%76858.6
Zentendo4/28/201023872.02%17140.76
TotallyGN9/27/201041672.02%29960.32
Cheat Code Central9/27/2010397871.56%284665.68
Hardcore Gamer Magazine9/27/201095571.46%68244.3
Adventure Classic Gaming9/27/201037071.19%26340.3
RealGamer9/29/201056971.04%40421.76
Official Xbox Magazine11/1/2010167770.55%118312.35
Giant Bomb9/23/201043070.51%30319.3
PC Power Play10/1/201021070.24%14750.4
Thunderbolt9/29/2010176270.23%123745.26
Boomtown5/17/2010126870.21%89026.28
GameSpy9/22/2010482969.92%337643.68
VideoGamer9/29/2010209369.91%146321.63
D+PAD Magazine9/29/201042869.81%29878.68
Official Nintendo Magazine UK10/1/201093169.81%64993.11
NintendoWorldReport9/22/2010119369.65%83092.45
Playstation Official Magazine US10/1/201045669.43%31660.08
The Entertainment Depot9/27/201064169.20%44357.2
PALGN9/28/2010191069.18%132133.8
Total PC Gaming5/1/201020368.67%13940.01
Official Xbox Magazine UK10/1/2010137668.53%94297.28
PSM3 Magazine UK10/1/2010181968.45%124510.55
IGN9/29/20101202568.41%822630.25
PC Format UK9/1/2010109768.20%74815.4
PC Gamer11/1/2010181968.16%123983.04
Nintendo Power10/1/2010334268.01%227289.42
HonestGamers9/23/2010162068.00%110160
Computer & Video Games UK9/29/2010104767.78%70965.66
PC Zone UK10/1/2010239467.68%162025.92
DS-x29/26/201066467.57%44866.48
GameCritics9/29/2010133667.48%90153.28
GameSpot9/28/20101142467.40%769977.6
RPGamer9/27/201049367.25%33154.25
PC Gamer UK10/1/2010181067.18%121595.8
NTSC uk5/18/201086266.83%57607.46
Video Game Talk1/11/201085266.73%56853.96
Eurogamer9/29/2010352366.02%232588.46
gamesTM10/1/2010163565.87%107697.45
Adventure Gamers9/20/201048265.85%31739.7
Gamestyle9/29/201065065.77%42750.5
Playstation Official Magazine UK10/1/201078265.28%51048.96
Nintendo Life9/26/201082365.17%53634.91
X360 Magazine UK10/1/201077264.14%49516.08
Sega-169/27/201060363.96%38567.88
Edge Magazine UK10/1/2010146763.76%93535.92
Xbox World 360 Magazine UK11/1/201061162.75%38340.25
NGamer UK8/1/2010109660.87%66713.52
Sum16998112238398.39
Average72.74%71.99862567
Standard Deviation4.6111682

The average individual review score, with just sites that updated in 2010, is 72.00. The average site's average score is 72.74, with a standard deviation of 4.61 (two-thirds of all review sites have an average score around 68.13 to 77.35).

The publication with the highest average score is AtomicGamer, at a whopping 82.94/100, 2.21 standard deviations above the average. On the other end, the lowest average score is awarded by NGamer (UK) at 60.87/100, 2.57 standard deviations below the average. Both of these sites use a scoring system which ranges from 1 to 100, and these scores are not converted or changed by GameRankings.

Not a single reviewer gives an average of less than 60/100. Isn't that something? Ideally, you would think the average would be at the midpoint.

Looking at this table, we can see an interesting pattern at the bottom. Here are the 30 lowest averages and the region from which they are based.


TitleRegion
The Entertainment DepotOnline
PALGNOnline
Total PC GamingOffline-UK
Official Xbox Magazine UKOffline-UK
PSM3 Magazine UKOffline-UK
IGNOnline
PC Format UKOffline-UK
PC GamerOffline-NA
Nintendo PowerOffline-NA
HonestGamersOnline
Computer & Video Games UKOnline
PC Zone UKOffline-UK
DS-x2Online
GameCriticsOnline
GameSpotOnline
RPGamerOnline
PC Gamer UKOffline-UK
NTSC ukOnline
Video Game TalkOnline
EurogamerOnline
gamesTMOffline-UK
Adventure GamersOnline
GamestyleOnline
Playstation Official Magazine UKOffline-UK
Nintendo LifeOnline
X360 Magazine UKOffline-UK
Sega-16Online
Edge Magazine UKOffline-UK
Xbox World 360 Magazine UKOffline-UK
NGamer UKOffline-UK

Of the 30 lowest averages, 16 are from online websites and 14 are from offline publications. Of those 14, only 2 are from North American publications, while the other 12 are based in the UK. The UK version of PC Gamer gives lower scores than the NA PC Gamer. If you look at the online websites, several of those are Euro-centric.

You'd have to compare those facts with the rest of the data, but just from eyeballing it, the Brits clearly have the Americans beat when it comes to giving lower scores. But that's not the whole picture. If a site just gave a 50/100 to every single game, it would have an average score of 50/100, but that's still not very useful. Eventually, I'll be looking at the standard deviation of these publications to see how well they distribute their review scores. Generally, the closer the average is to the midpoint of the scale, the higher the deviation, but this is not always true. You have to look at it on a case-by-case basis. Stay tuned.
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Reviewing the Reviewers, Part I: Average Score

Opening up the latest issue of Game Informer, I head to the reviews section and am greeted by the following scores:

Transformers: War for Cybertron - 8.5
Toy Story 3 - 8
Singularity - 8.5
NCAA Football 11 - 9
LEGO Harry Potter - 7.25
Limbo - 9
Crackdown 2 - 7.25
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker - 8
Dragon Quest IX - 8
Puzzle Quest 2 - 7.75
Persona 3 Portable - 8.25
Disgaea Infinite - 6.5
Snoopy Flying Ace - 8.5
Naughty Bear - 6

The last five games being little one-paragraph blurbs at the end the of the section. Take those away, and the scores range from 7.25 to 9.

What does this mean? Is every single one of those games an above average title worth buying and playing? After all, 5/10 is average, right? (Actually, Game Informer has the courtesy to let us know that 7/10 is considered average to them, while 5/10 is flawed. But with this batch of reviews, the average is closer to 8.)

What is the point of using a 10 point scoring system if you're only going to utilize about half the points on the scale? This isn't just GameStop-owned Game Informer trying to hype up games and generate sales, it is a problem that affects the entire reviewing industry as a whole.

What I'm going to do for now is find out the true average score among all video game reviewers.

The Average Video Game Score
 
Summary: I'm going to gather all the useable scores from the GameRankings database, add up all the points awarded by the reviewers, and then divide by the total number of reviews to find the true average review score from across all the reviews in the database.

GameRankings is a site that gathers review scores from several web and magazine publications. You might have heard of/used Metacritic, which is very similar, but much less useful because it only covers recent consoles, doesn't provide us with the raw scores (instead using its own completely worthless and biased scoring system), and has been reported to take down reviews that the users complain about. GameRankings, while certainly not perfect itself, provides us with a very valuable resource for this experiment: a listing of all review sites in its database, the total number of reviews from each site and the average score that each site gives. You can find this listing here:

http://www.gamerankings.com/sites/index.html

Unfortunately, we can't just use this data: like MetaCritic, GameRankings tries and fails to convert non-standard scoring systems into a universal 1-100 rating. For example, if you click on the first item in the list, 1UP, you'll see that they actually use a letter grade to review games. GameRankings tries to change this into a number grade, where A = 90, B = 80, C = 65, D = 50 and F = 5. How do they come up with this? We don't know, so we can't use such scores. I'm going to go through each individual site and see what kind of scoring method they use, and then throw out the sites that use letter grades.

I don't really feel comfortable using scoring systems that range from a scale of 1 to 5, either. I'll include them in the average for now and might do a separate average later with such sites removed to see if there is a difference.

There is another small problem: some sites change their scoring methods over time. The previously mentioned 1UP formerly used a 1-10 scoring method before switching to a letter grade. I'm not going to look over every reviewer's history to see if they used weird scoring systems in the past. If they're using a standard system now, then all of their reviews are included. If they're using a letter grade now, all of their reviews are removed.

Sample Size: 251 sites, 257,065 total reviews, 18,576,521 total points given when converted to a 1-100 scale.

Here are the results:


SiteLatestReviewsAverageTotal Pts Awarded
2404 - PC Gaming9/13/201025579.56%20287.8
360 Gamer Magazine UK11/1/200714867.23%9950.04
3D Avenue2/14/200753978.78%42462.42
411mania9/28/201044175.52%33304.32
Absolute PlayStation5/21/200474981.40%60968.6
AceGamez9/28/2010322672.84%234981.84
ActionTrip9/27/201082775.90%62769.3
Adventure Classic Gaming9/27/201037071.19%26340.3
Adventure Gamers9/20/201048265.85%31739.7
All Dreamcast6/29/200110477.83%8094.32
AllRPG3/18/200834880.41%27982.68
AntKids.com6/16/200155178.43%43214.93
Archive 642/4/200412575.34%9417.5
Armchair Empire9/27/2010194576.04%147897.8
AtomicGamer9/22/201063082.94%52252.2
BonusStage5/3/200670878.92%55875.36
Boomtown5/17/2010126870.21%89026.28
Cheat Code Central9/27/2010397871.56%284665.68
Cincinnati Enquirer1/25/200643978.52%34470.28
Club Skill10/11/200636376.93%27925.59
Computer & Video Games UK9/29/2010104767.78%70965.66
Computer Games Mag4/1/2007174663.37%110644.02
Computer Games RO9/26/201047880.22%38345.16
Computer Gaming World5/1/2006110962.89%69745.01
Console Gameworld10/2/200851776.80%39705.6
Console Monster9/29/201072873.62%53595.36
Console Obsession9/29/201071173.66%52372.26
Contact Music2/6/200734076.69%26074.6
Cube Europe9/4/200520776.62%15860.34
Cube UK12/1/200543371.90%31132.7
Cubed39/29/201080372.28%58040.84
Cyber Gaming Net12/16/200662873.92%46421.76
D+PAD Magazine9/29/201042869.81%29878.68
Da GameBoyz7/29/201099077.15%76378.5
DailyGame11/28/2009105674.70%78883.2
DarkStation9/8/2010111974.49%83354.31
DarkZero9/19/2010105172.65%76355.15
DC Swirl9/19/200119162.09%11859.19
Deeko8/27/200977275.99%58664.28
Digital Chumps10/1/201056174.35%41710.35
Digital Sports7/28/200545878.71%36049.18
DreamStation.cc7/27/200749074.71%36607.9
DS Central1/29/200526161.61%16080.21
DS-x29/26/201066467.57%44866.48
EAGB Advance11/28/200315872.72%11489.76
Edge Magazine UK10/1/2010146763.76%93535.92
Electric Playground1/10/2007223473.15%163417.1
Electronic Gaming Monthly1/1/2009433267.77%293579.64
ESC Magazine7/3/200642175.05%31596.05
eToychest2/15/200777976.40%59515.6
Eurogamer9/29/2010352366.02%232588.46
Extreme Gamer9/29/201090675.98%68837.88
Final-Level5/4/200536570.11%25590.15
Firing Squad12/1/200732178.49%25195.29
Fragland9/24/2010143975.94%109277.66
Futuregamez9/20/201078578.05%61269.25
G4 - X-Play3/27/2009175263.55%111339.6
Game Axis10/13/200653077.33%40984.9
Game Blitz8/17/200464984.12%54593.88
Game Chronicles9/29/2010298676.06%227115.16
Game Fan7/3/200333477.99%26048.66
Game Helper4/11/200734774.33%25792.51
Game Industry News9/29/2010107980.18%86514.22
Game Informer10/1/2010521373.06%380861.78
Game Over Online9/29/2010255076.38%194769
Game Positive6/15/200915974.83%11897.97
Game Power7/20/200161673.00%44968
Game Power AU1/4/200769577.28%53709.6
Game Raiders3/25/200566579.27%52714.55
Game Rankings7/11/2006114872.72%83482.56
Game Vortex9/29/2010445380.53%358600.09
Game XC1/25/200746379.27%36702.01
GameAlmighty4/29/200833670.89%23819.04
GameBoy Station2/27/200219166.34%12670.94
Gamecell 9/10/2010106672.10%76858.6
Gamecenter2/6/2001108866.34%72177.92
GameCritics9/29/2010133667.48%90153.28
GameDaily11/3/2009223470.36%157184.24
GameFocus9/28/201067376.25%51316.25
Gameguru Mania2/10/200848574.20%35987
GamePen9/4/200250670.16%35500.96
Gameplanet9/24/2010137776.01%104665.77
GamePlasma3/11/201056676.89%43519.74
Gameplayer8/5/200944572.97%32471.65
GamePro9/29/2010440976.70%338170.3
Gamer 2.05/22/2009124076.05%94302
Gamer Limit9/27/201060075.74%45444
Gamer Web6/14/200390072.84%65556
Gamer Within3/18/200858274.02%43079.64
Gamer.tv4/20/200429977.91%23295.09
GamerFeed3/16/200696768.15%65901.05
GamerNode9/28/201086975.00%65175
Gamers Daily News9/29/201038074.07%28146.6
Gamers Europe1/23/200850268.91%34592.82
Gamers Pulse8/8/200482875.94%62878.32
Gamers Wave9/22/200341079.45%32574.5
GamersHell9/13/2010104175.64%78741.24
GamersMark4/15/200991677.93%71383.88
Gamervision9/23/201086973.92%64236.48
Games Are Fun4/27/200966177.40%51161.4
Games First!12/5/2007129470.79%91602.26
Games Master UK10/1/2010388772.42%281496.54
Games Xtreme9/20/201053579.31%42430.85
GameSpot9/28/20101142467.40%769977.6
GameSpot UK (Pre-2003)8/20/2002112773.47%82800.69
GameSpy9/22/2010482969.92%337643.68
gamesTM10/1/2010163565.87%107697.45
Gamestyle9/29/201065065.77%42750.5
GameTap5/27/200827873.31%20380.18
Gametrailers9/29/2010133375.84%101094.72
GameZone9/28/2010654275.13%491500.46
Gaming Horizon10/14/200782675.38%62263.88
Gaming Illustrated7/26/200738981.67%31769.63
Gaming Maxx4/15/200432681.13%26448.38
Gaming Target9/29/2010193877.44%150078.72
GamingExcellence9/28/2010111973.33%82056.27
GamingTrend9/27/2010129179.57%102724.87
GamingWorld X9/16/200450277.75%39030.5
GD Xbox12/18/200321772.33%15695.61
GF3K1/23/200432578.21%25418.25
Giant Bomb9/23/201043070.51%30319.3
Globe Technology2/1/200648771.29%34718.23
GMR Magazine2/1/2005117372.64%85206.72
GotNext7/5/200871672.25%51731
Hardcore Gamer Magazine9/27/201095571.46%68244.3
HonestGamers9/23/2010162068.00%110160
Hooked Gamers9/29/201053076.74%40672.2
Hot Games8/19/200396073.24%70310.4
Hyperactive7/29/200346080.62%37085.2
IC-Games7/6/200867277.49%52073.28
IGN9/29/20101202568.41%822630.25
ImpulseGamer9/29/201037980.88%30653.52
Incite Games6/23/200031869.37%22059.66
Independent Gamer9/22/200330768.36%20986.52
InsidePulse9/13/200654165.03%35181.23
Irish Player2/16/200330977.73%24018.57
JIVEMagazine2/20/200831277.61%24214.32
Just RPG11/28/200743280.30%34689.6
Kikizo9/26/201060876.24%46353.92
Kombo9/22/2010157975.32%118930.28
Lawrence4/5/2010120477.54%93358.16
Loaded Inc6/15/200663273.36%46363.52
Mad Gamers8/22/200338274.09%28302.38
Media & Games Online2/5/200345676.47%34870.32
Mobile GameFaqs UK12/12/200618081.82%14727.6
Modojo12/18/200963264.21%40580.72
MS Xbox World9/29/201087775.67%66362.59
Multi-Player Online Gaming1/17/200232967.15%22092.35
Mygamer9/29/2010125372.29%90579.37
Netjak9/25/2008105071.65%75232.5
N-Europe9/22/201046273.98%34178.76
Next Generation1/1/1999100162.64%62702.64
Next Level Gaming3/25/2007185977.82%144667.38
NGamer UK8/1/2010109660.87%66713.52
NGC Magazine UK6/1/200657167.20%38371.2
N-Insanity1/22/200731576.86%24210.9
Nintelligent Network1/17/200616075.07%12011.2
Nintendo Gamenet9/27/200512186.32%10444.72
Nintendo Insider5/15/200625974.15%19204.85
Nintendo Life9/26/201082365.17%53634.91
Nintendo Power10/1/2010334268.01%227289.42
Nintendo Spin7/6/200823675.61%17843.96
Nintendojo6/8/2010102773.28%75258.56
NintendoWorldReport9/22/2010119369.65%83092.45
N-Revolution Magazine UK12/5/200819670.33%13784.68
NTSC uk5/18/201086266.83%57607.46
NZGamer9/28/2010112577.64%87345
Official Nintendo Magazine UK10/1/201093169.81%64993.11
Official Playstation Magazine7/1/2008218563.67%139118.95
Official Xbox Magazine11/1/2010167770.55%118312.35
Official Xbox Magazine UK10/1/2010137668.53%94297.28
Operation Sports12/18/200721573.26%15750.9
P2 Magazine UK12/1/200566470.72%46958.08
PALGN9/28/2010191069.18%132133.8
PC Accelerator1/1/199918763.64%11900.68
PC Format UK9/1/2010109768.20%74815.4
PC Gameplay10/9/200219573.69%14369.55
PC Gamer11/1/2010181968.16%123983.04
PC Gamer UK10/1/2010181067.18%121595.8
PC Gameworld10/3/200877476.11%58909.14
PC Power Play10/1/201021070.24%14750.4
PC Zone UK10/1/2010239467.68%162025.92
Pelit (Finland)9/1/200878081.54%63601.2
PGNx Media10/6/2009150283.99%126152.98
Planet Xbox 3609/29/201048176.85%36964.85
Play Magazine5/1/2008208276.36%158981.52
Play UK10/1/2010172172.49%124755.29
play.tm9/28/2010102773.87%75864.49
Playstation 2 Mag UK7/1/2008142863.07%90063.96
Playstation 2 Max UK9/27/200456071.54%40062.4
PlayStation LifeStyle9/29/201031072.16%22369.6
Playstation Official Magazine AU8/1/201019872.63%14380.74
Playstation Official Magazine UK10/1/201078265.28%51048.96
Playstation Official Magazine US10/1/201045669.43%31660.08
Playstation Universe9/24/201028576.95%21930.75
Pocket Gamer UK12/18/200969666.08%45991.68
Portable Review4/24/200842273.47%31004.34
PSE Magazine5/1/200681885.91%70274.38
PSM Magazine12/1/2007178770.40%125804.8
PSM3 Magazine UK10/1/2010181968.45%124510.55
PSW Magazine UK6/26/200960969.11%42087.99
PSX Extreme9/27/2010127375.06%95551.38
PSX Nation5/19/2005121771.64%87185.88
Quandary5/3/200843272.54%31337.28
RealGamer9/29/201056971.04%40421.76
RewiredMind4/5/200749267.30%33111.6
RPGamer9/27/201049367.25%33154.25
RPGFan9/29/201072781.37%59155.99
Sega-169/27/201060363.96%38567.88
Silicon Fusion7/29/200736777.05%28277.35
Sports Gaming1/25/200647278.42%37014.24
Talk Xbox12/10/200937278.78%29306.16
TeamXbox9/27/2010141374.90%105833.7
TechTV5/9/200494865.32%61923.36
The Entertainment Depot9/27/201064169.20%44357.2
The Gamers Temple9/29/2010155973.26%114212.34
Thunderbolt9/29/2010176270.23%123745.26
Total PC Gaming5/1/201020368.67%13940.01
Total Video Games9/4/2009110775.72%83822.04
TotallyGN9/27/201041672.02%29960.32
TotalPlaystation9/29/201078275.44%58994.08
UltraNinjas6/7/201039176.32%29841.12
VGChartz9/28/201061676.81%47314.96
VG-Force1/4/200654277.27%41880.34
VGPub11/30/200749977.02%38432.98
Video Game Talk1/11/201085266.73%56853.96
Video Gamers First8/27/200555775.59%42103.63
VideoGamer9/29/2010209369.91%146321.63
VideoGames NZ4/6/200948781.24%39563.88
Videogameslife9/27/200555965.97%36877.23
WonderwallWeb2/23/201073378.54%57569.82
Worth Playing9/29/2010362772.32%262304.64
X360 Magazine UK10/1/201077264.14%49516.08
XBM UK12/1/200545267.79%30641.08
XBN Magazine2/1/200554759.34%32458.98
Xbox 2k7/21/200311277.02%8626.24
Xbox Evolved7/22/201054773.85%40395.95
Xbox Exclusive1/4/200716881.58%13705.44
Xbox Gamer Mag UK4/1/200542664.25%27370.5
Xbox Impact4/8/200413577.25%10428.75
Xbox Maniacs2/2/200417776.80%13593.6
Xbox Rules1/30/200515075.00%11250
Xbox World 360 Magazine UK11/1/201061162.75%38340.25
Xbox World Australia9/29/201038477.68%29829.12
Xbox World Mag UK6/1/200820966.32%13860.88
XboxAddict9/24/201060979.69%48531.21
XboxSolution12/22/200624280.82%19558.44
XboxZone3/5/201017777.39%13698.03
XGP Gaming11/13/200632182.31%26421.51
Zentendo4/28/201023872.02%17140.76
ZTGameDomain9/29/2010142577.68%110694
SUM25706518576521.35
TRUE AVERAGE72.26390738

The average score when throwing out the letter grade sites is a 72.26 out of 100. Including the letter grade sites (using GameRankings' conversions), it is a 72.45.

So the next time somebody tries to tell you, "Hey, it got a 7 out of 10! It's a good game!," you can tell them to sod off.

Then again, it depends on the reviewer in question. Some reviewers give out an average of 8, others a 6. That's probably what I'll go over with the next update.
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Hello

Yet another no-name clown talking about video games. Just what the internet needs!

I figure I'd hop on the recent bandwagon frenzy of blogging. I've always had dreams of starting my own site, but it's probably better to see if I can handle managing a simple blog instead of opening my wallet for a server, domain name, dedicated connection, etc.

Feel free to post whatever, sites that delete viewer comments are a big pet peeve for me. Nobody truly enjoys criticism, but it is necessary to help us improve.

Mostly planning on talking about older games and game design, with some current news every now and then. Compared to the average paid reviewer, I'll probably come across as a cynical, miserable bastard (I'm a firm believer in 5/10 should = average), but because I'm doing this for fun and not for money, you can expect an honest opinion.

I play everything aside from MMOs. Not a big fan of online gaming in general. Favorite games are those with lots of micromanagement and customization, such as Alpha Centauri and Final Fantasy Tactics.

OK, let's get this thing started.
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