Writing about Games

What issues face reviewers?
It is a reviewers job to find a fine balance of objective and subjective writing about games that are about to be released. They must give an evaluation on all the aspects of the game, this is a guide for the gamer so that they can then go and make their own decision on whether they would want to go out and purchase the game themselves. So the first issue the reviewer has to take into account I feel is the audience. I feel this because if the reviewer was left to write about the game for themselves they would just talk about the aspects that they themselves look for in a game.

"A modern British videogames magazine is put together in 19 working days. In that time, they have to research and write at least sixty-thousand words of copy to fill just shy of 150 pages."
"The second a magazine is finished, then the next demands your attention."

I chose a few quotes for another factor that I feel faces reviewers these days, and that is time. As shown in the quotes that I have picked from the first link, they lead you to think that the world of reviewing games is a frantic non stop world of meeting deadlines and coming up with credible reviews that will give the gamer an insight into the games.

Is an objective ranking system for games necessary for sales, is it even feasible?
I personally think that an objective ranking system assists me in deciding whether a game is worth buying, don't get me wrong I do not think it as being a necessity but I do find them helpful in deciding whether a game is worth buying or not, because it provides the gamer with a general guide which allows them to make a decision.

What are your feelings about the New Games Journalism (NGJ)?
I believe that this idea is briliant, because gamers can continuously share their own opinions on a specific game that they have played which in turn leads to a broader review of the game, well that is what I personally feel happens. Because with the conventional review you just get one persons objective view of the game. But with the NGJ you get a lot of people coming with different aspects that they have seen in the games that they think may need changing or they may think are not up to standards. Therefore you can get a much broader picture of the different problems that other gamers have come across with the game.

How do you feel about your own writing, do you value objectivity or subjectivity?
I like to think that I am an objective writer who can about things not only looking at what I like but what I think others would want to know about, but because I always look at things from my own point of view first and foremost it is easy for me say that I am a subjective writer. But hopefully as I continue writing the blogs I would like to think that I can change from my set ways of writing and change so that I can write for a wider audience, fingers crossed.