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IntroductionAre reviews primarily a consumer guide, or should they serve another purpose? Do review scores deter intelligent discussion of videogames? Is the presence or absence of a review score the only difference between a reviewer and a critic? What is the role of the reviewer when the Internet is democratizing published opinion? How should reviews and reviewers evolve in light of the emergence and growth of Flash games, small games, indie games and user-generated games?These questions and more were on the mind of N'Gai Croal, John Davison and Shawn Elliott last summer when they decided to expand their conversation to a number of noted reviewers, writers, bloggers and journalists for a published email symposium on game reviews. (See below for the full list of participants.) The planned list of topics include Review Scores; Review Policy, Practice and Ethics; Reader Backlash; Reviews in the Age of Social media; Reviews in the Mainstream Media; Casual, Indie, and User-Generated Games; Reviews vs. Criticism; and Evolving the Review. Round 1's topic: Review Scores.ParticipantsLeigh Alexander, Gamasutra/Sexy Videogameland/VarietyHarry Allen, Media AssassinRobert Ashley, freelancerTom Chick, freelancerN'Gai Croal, Level Up/NewsweekJohn Davison, What They PlayShawn Elliott, 2K BostonJeff Gerstmann, Giant BombKieron Gillen, Rock, Paper, ShotgunDan Hsu, Sore Thumbs BlogFrancesca Reyes, Official Xbox MagazineStephen Totilo, MTV News
Quick thought regarding the indie/AAA dichotomy, though: I often think that AAA-popular-sequels tend to start with 9/10 and lose marks, while games with less expectations start with 5/10 and have to gain them. And... oh, I'll shut up. More on this later, I suspect./quote]
