Ratings System

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Game Ratings Guidelines

There is no hard and fast rule on how to rate a game. Opinions can differ greatly among different gamers about the same game. These differences are likely attributed to differences in the gamers' past gaming experiences, specific interests, and relative emphases on the different gaming elements that make up the game. When rating an adventure game or interactive fiction, this site considers 3 gaming elements when giving an overall rating of the game.

Gameplay

Central to the playability of a game is an enticing quest that your alter ego must complete in order to win. This quest often harbors further mini-quests or puzzles, which may be logic oriented, inventory based, or arcade by nature. These puzzles should be well integrated into the story rather than stand out by themselves in isolation. A good puzzle should not be a puzzle that can be solved only by trial and error, but a puzzle that can be deduced by logic and fact gathering. It also should not be necessary for the player to die in the game in order to obtain information that solves the puzzles (the "resurrection" paradox). Most games are linear in design to a certain extent, that is, only the successful completion of a puzzle opens up another to be solved. This linear design is in contrast to an open design whereby multiple puzzles are available at a time and there is more than a single pathway in which the player can advance forward to win. A good game should strike a balance between these modes of play.

Production

A respected game is a title that pushes the edges on gaming technology and design. The game engine should be efficient with a clear, intuitive interface. The interface can be through either a text parser as in an interactive fiction title or a point-and-click system as in a graphic adventure title. For the latter, the graphic engine should provide beautiful immersing scenery to explore that are quick to load or render. A superior graphic engine can render locations and objects in true 3 dimensions in real time. It is preferable over a frame based approach. Video and audio supplements should be used sparingly to enhance the quality of the game but not overshadow the gameplay. If cinematic videos are in the game, the cast and acting should be professional. Installation should be hassle free. It is important that the production of a game is judged relative to the technology available at the time of its original release. This avoids the problem of technological depreciation when a game is judged years later, when improved hardware can artificially inflate a game's performance.

Difficulty

The level of difficulty reflects the challenge the game presents to the gamer to complete it to the end. This design element is a double-edged sword. A game with the appropriate level of difficulty increases the satisfaction a gamer experiences once the challenge is met. In contrast, an excessively difficult game may frustrate the gamer enough to abandon the game, while a very easy game may not give the sense of accomplishment the gamer seeks from playing the game to the end. The judgment is a difficult one, since it is largely affected by the gamer's level of expertise. An advance player will judge a game to be less difficult than a causal player. As such, it is important that the judgment of the level of difficulty of a game be made from the perspective of an "average" gamer.

We grade our games based on a 5-point ratings scale for each gaming element.

Ratings Gameplay Production Difficulty
5 of 5
 Excellent Excellent Difficult
4 of 5
 Very Good Very Good Hard
3 of 5
 Good Good Medium
2 of 5
 Fair Fair Easy
1 of 5
 Poor Poor Trivial

These ratings are then combined qualitatively to give an overall rating of the game. The relative weighting of each element in the overall rating is left to the author's judgment.

Ratings Overall What Does It Mean?
5 of 5
 Excellent This is an exceptional game. We recommend this game without reservation to all adventure gamers.
4 of 5
 Very Good This game merits play by most adventure gamers. Only minor flaws prevent it from being a classic.
3 of 5
 Good This is an average game suitable for some adventure gamers. There are few flaws, but there are also few redeeming qualities.
2 of 5
 Fair Much improvement is needed in this game in order to provide an adequate gaming experience to most adventure gamers.
1 of 5
 Poor Only diehard adventure gamers will see light in this game which has few redeeming qualities.