Keys to criticizing?

[Arkhangelsk]

Here I am again, seeking advice on the keys of writing. So I've been writing 5 or 6 reviews, and I'm constantly in the quest to improve my writing, and my criticism. But while doing this is good for me, my mind folds it when it comes to how criticizing you can be. Whenever I try, I go either Gamespot nice, or Yahtzee ranting. I don't want to be too nice, and don't want to be hateful, but it's hard to find good balance and flow when you're supposed to praise the game for the qualities as well as emphasize the frustrating bits without the review being too clunky. What I'm saying is, I've tried very much, there are a couple of reviews I haven't yet put up but let close friends read, but I can't get the criticism flow right. And since many Escapists have a degree from the school of Smartarse, I ask for your help. Also, if you need examples, here are some of my reviews, if you desperately need to read them:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.120461?view_results=1
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.118324
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.115617
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.115460#2133520
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.107853#1802763

Those are my reviews of Jak & Daxter, Gears of War 2, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Halo 3, and Battlefield: Bad Company.

 

[hopeneverdies]

Start with your medium strength arguments stick your weak ones in the middle and then go all out towards the end on which way the game swings, good or bad

 

[Screens]

I think praise or ranting is perfectly acceptable as long as there is a reason to praise/rant.

I like to think of reviews as a persuasive essay. My conclusion and final thoughts are my thesis, and then I branch off from there. It doesn't really matter what you say for me personally, as long as you back up any statements with evidence (pictures and screenshots count). Just try and touch on every subject you can and give us your honest opinion. Frankly, overshooting and presenting a huge wall of text is, in my opinion, much better than something shorter. It at least shows you have the dedication to write that much. Plus it's a lot harder to nit pick every little grammatical mistake in a wall of text than a two paragraph rough draft.

 

[Gotham Soul]

Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes.

That way when you criticize him, you're a mile away and you have his shoes.

---

Okay, seriously speaking: basically what hopeneverdies said. Also, when you're reviewing games, it helps organization-wise to arrange it by aspects e.g. graphics, playability, entertainment value, and so on.

 

[dukethepcdr]

As long as your are accurate in what you say, you can be as critical or as nice as you like. What I mean is, when you say some aspect of a game stinks, give a specific example from the game. Or at least, describe what it is about the game you don't like with as much detail as you can. For example, don't just say "the graphics are crap". Instead say something like "I've seen games made five years ago with better rendered character faces than this game. The NPC's look like shop window dummies."

Some of the most enjoyable game reviews I have ever read have been ones that tore bad games apart. If you get specific about what you don't like, and especially if you can manage to criticize the game in a funny way, your review will be fun to read.

That's not to say that you can't be nice in reviews too. Once again, the key is to be specific. We readers get bored of reading the same thing over and over in reviews. Instead of saying "The best FPS ever made!" say something like "I've never played a game with a targeting system as accurate as this one".

It also helps to have some organization to your review. That's why many professional review sites and mags have headings for separate aspects of the game they are reviewing. They break the review up into headings like graphics, gameplay, music, story etc. Also, trying make two or three main points about each aspect of the game can help keep it coherent and reduces the risk of rambling on.

 

[Anarchemitis]

Read Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. It has excellent reccomendations on how to criticize if in your eyes they need improvement.