How We Review

While reviews, at times, can be both subjective and objective, we here at DualShockers believe that although we are a blog site, we certainly don’t like to treat it as one, especially when it comes to reviews. What this means is that we try to be as fair, but most importantly honest (to our readers and ourselves) about the games we review. With that said, a review’s quality takes priority over a review’s timing. So while a title’s review may not be up day and date with it’s release, or sometimes even the same week, what we can guarantee is a thorough and in depth analysis of the title at hand.

How Much Is Actually Being Played?

It is requested and expected that any and all of the DualShockers editorial staff not only play review titles thoroughly but also complete the campaign/story mode as well. If a game incorporates an online competitive or co-operative mode, those features should also be explored for several hours. Longer titles with branching stories and/or side-quests may take longer as we try to provide for an accurate review as possible.

Who Is Reviewing What And Why?

You wouldn’t want a fan of RPG’s telling you about an FPS right? Well don’t worry because that will not happen here. We try our very best to “right fit” our reviewers and make sure to play (pun intended) to their strengths, and preference in game types and genres. You can be rest assured that whoever wrote the review you’re reading is not only incredibly knowledgeable of the title in question but also the genre as a whole.

How About Games With No Endings?

Obviously, not all games can be held to that same review standard as listed above, and for some it wouldn’t even make sense. For these isolated cases, we ask our reviewers to play as much of the game in question as possible. It should be played to the point that they can be confident enough in their knowledge of the title that he/she can describe how every facet of the title works. Some examples of these are (but not limited to):

• Sports Games
• Puzzle Games
• Online Only Games
• MMORPG Games

To Our Readers

Just like what you read in our about us page, the message in our reviews remains the same. We make it our goal to be true and honest to you all first and foremost. Sure, we got ourselves into this because we love gaming and we love writing about it, but at the end of the day buying games at times can be a major decision (especially if finances are scarce) and we want to help make that process a bit easier for you. Don’t be scared if we give a game a 6, 5, or even a 4, as that still means that the game is just about average. Just make sure to read the review as you may learn something about a title that may sway you in a certain direction whether good or bad. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind about the reviews in the comments sections!

To Publishers and Developers

We came into this whole gaming journalism thing because we felt we can make a real contribution to it. Much of this industry is getting swallowed up by corporations and/or sponsors. Things aren’t said that should be, and vice versa. We make it our goal to not only provide your titles with adequate coverage but also be honest in how we review them for our readers. If your game has a low score, read the review to find out not only why but also use that feedback to figure out what changes can be made for the next time around. Again, as we stated above, please don’t feel like having an average score is a bad thing, it something that should be embraced and taken into account for any future works. The constructive criticism you receive here, may help you make a follow up that comes back as Game of The Year, you never know. Just make sure to thank us if that happens!

If you have any questions about any reviews or the review process here at DualShockers you can contact us here:

editors [AT] DualShockers [DOT] com  (Subject: Review Policy)

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