I rate games out of five stars. If you're curious as to what this
compares to in a ten-point scale, simply multiply any given rating by
two. There you have it. As you can see, my ratings are rather vague.
That's because I don't think you can quantify the greatness of a game
down to a decimal value. Review websites that give a game 9.9/10 later
regret it when a clearly superior game comes out and they're forced to
give it a 9.95/10 as a result, all while trying to avoid claiming that
anything is "perfect" by giving it 10/10. So instead of making this into a math
game, I just give you a general idea of where it falls within my scale
of greatness. In other words, a 5-star rating doesn't mean "THIS GAME IS
PERFECT!"; it just means that it was excellent enough in my eyes to
deserve my highest "score," because its cons were so outweighed by pros
that their existence was entirely negligible. Here's a bit more explanation:
Red (5
stars): THE BEST. Highly recommended games for any
gamer, and absolute must-play titles if you love the genre. There
are my favorite games of all time. No matter how old they get, these
classics shine through the ages, and I still play them continuously.
They are masterpieces.
Gold
(4 and 4.5 stars): GREAT. Highly recommended to just about
everyone, especially fans of the genre, as these are the greats of
each group. Truly outstanding games. Give them a try; they're worth your
money and time.
Green
(3 and 3.5 stars): Good. Recommended, but only for fans of
the genre who have already played all of the games above them. These are
above average, good, enjoyable games... but not great ones.
Blue
(2 and 2.5 stars): Average. Only for die-hard fans of the
genre who are dying for another game to play, as these are simply
your typical entries into each group. They're playable, but don't expect
anything special.
Purple
(1 and 1.5 stars): Bad. Not recommended for anyone, even the
most die-hard fanboy. These games are a waste of time and
money, with only just enough redeeming qualities to keep them from the very
bottom.
Brown
(0.5 stars): THE WORST. Avoid these stink-fests at all costs.
These so-called games have no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The
half-star is only there to signify that they exist. The fact that they
do exist will make you question your faith in humanity (assuming
you have any). Video gaming hell.
Red (5
stars): THE BEST. Highly recommended games for any
gamer, and absolute must-play titles if you love the genre. There
are my favorite games of all time. No matter how old they get, these
classics shine through the ages, and I still play them continuously.
They are masterpieces.
Gold
(4 and 4.5 stars): GREAT. Highly recommended to just about
everyone, especially fans of the genre, as these are the greats of
each group. Truly outstanding games. Give them a try; they're worth your
money and time.
Green
(3 and 3.5 stars): Good. Recommended, but only for fans of
the genre who have already played all of the games above them. These are
above average, good, enjoyable games... but not great ones.
Blue
(2 and 2.5 stars): Average. Only for die-hard fans of the
genre who are dying for another game to play, as these are simply
your typical entries into each group. They're playable, but don't expect
anything special.
Purple
(1 and 1.5 stars): Bad. Not recommended for anyone, even the
most die-hard fanboy. These games are a waste of time and
money, with only just enough redeeming qualities to keep them from the very
bottom.
Brown
(0.5 stars): THE WORST. Avoid these stink-fests at all costs.
These so-called games have no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The
half-star is only there to signify that they exist. The fact that they
do exist will make you question your faith in humanity (assuming
you have any). Video gaming hell.