DayZ - Review

[ICECritics 1]

Hey guys,

 

We're a new gaming and technology review website that opened only yesterday. We have a bit of a way to go before we're professional but we're happy with it so far. 

 

We have completed our first review of DayZ and would love you guys to read it, tell us what you think and perhaps even share it!

 

Thanks!

 

http://www.icecritics.com/dayz/

[Mays (DayZ) 154]

DayZ Alpha - Review

[Monkfish (DayZ) 339]

Psst. You can't review an unfinished product. What you're doing is previewing it. ;)

[spartanxapathy 203]

Psst. You can't review an unfinished product. What you're doing is previewing it. ;)

 

Beat me to it.

 

 

Hey guys,

 

We're a new gaming and technology review website that opened only yesterday. We have a bit of a way to go before we're professional but we're happy with it so far. 

 

We have completed our first review of DayZ and would love you guys to read it, tell us what you think and perhaps even share it!

 

Thanks!

 

http://www.icecritics.com/dayz/

 

 

Good luck with your site :)

[applejaxc 2500]

I don't think the people on the DayZ forums are the kind that need a review for the game.

 

DayZ Community members should proofread their work.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Applejaxc

[SirKamyk (DayZ) 5]

The review is alright to give a general idea of what's happening, but it would benefit from being longer I think. Also, as the others have said it's not really a review.

As for more specific feedback, well, there is a consistent misuse of the apostrophe in "its" in a couple of sentences. That and Chernarus is not in Russia. Being from Eastern Europe myself, I'm pretty sensitive on that point.

 

Good luck with your site :D

[ICECritics 1]

DayZ Alpha - Review

 

Changed!

 

Psst. You can't review an unfinished product. What you're doing is previewing it. ;)

 

Also Changed title!

 

Beat me to it.

 

 

Good luck with your site :)

 

Thanks :)

 

I don't think the people on the DayZ forums are the kind that need a review for the game.

 

True, but we need your guys opinions, it is our first after all!

 

The review is alright to give a general idea of what's happening, but it would benefit from being longer I think. Also, as the others have said it's not really a review.

As for more specific feedback, well, there is a consistent misuse of the apostrophe in "its" in a couple of sentences. That and Chernarus is not in Russia. Being from Eastern Europe myself, I'm pretty sensitive on that point.

 

Good luck with your site :D

 

Thanks, we put Russia due to the link to Russia and the Russian wording. That's why we added the 'Virtual Area'. We've changed it now so that it doesn't include any mention of Russia!

[ICECritics 1]

I don't think the people on the DayZ forums are the kind that need a review for the game.

 

DayZ Community members should proofread their work.

 

Huh?

[applejaxc 2500]

Huh?

 

You changed my mind. It's good to post that link here, so people experienced with the game can proofread your work for errors.

[weedmasta 784]

I stopped reading at hefty price tag.

[ICECritics 1]

You changed my mind. It's good to post that link here, so people experienced with the game can proofread your work for errors.

Well fair enough, no idea how much more experience you have than me, but either way it was proof read, honestly yeah, the couple of It's did manage to escape though. As I said, thanks for the advice.

[ICECritics 1]

I stopped reading at hefty price tag.

 

Well honestly, I have to admit despite how great it is, the price is pretty high. Either way, this means that a lot of money is going to go into it's development!

[Zollicoffer 200]

Well fair enough, no idea how much more experience you have than me, but either way it was proof read, honestly yeah, the couple of It's did manage to escape though. As I said, thanks for the advice.

 

I think he was saying that we should proofread our own posts. Thanks for posting your link. Since this is your first review, and considering the field you are tiptoeing into, I'm sure you understand the importance of being critical. Here is my advice:

 

DayZ.

 

Writing a review is different than posting on forums. Grammar and structure are both incredibly important. To start, you should typically avoid one word sentences, unless they are being used to emphasize something. Just saying "DayZ," doesn't emphasize anything in particular, which just makes it awkward. Your writing style is very personal, as if you're speaking to the reader. Would you ever say something like that? It is good to reiterate the title of the game in the first sentence, but you should also be saying more than that. Alternatively you could also get away with "DayZ-- [rest of sentence here]," but very very rarely.

 

 

A game first created on Arma II as a mod has finally converted to its own standalone game, and it’s fantastic. From the realistic need for food, to the amazing graphics. This is one truly great game, despite the hefty price tag that comes with it.

 

Rule #1: Consider your audience, and be specific. If they're reading a review, they probably don't know anything about the game. If they don't know anything about DayZ, they probably don't know anything about Arma II, and they certainly don't understand what you mean by "fantastic," "amazing," and "realistic."

 

You said "finally." Has the game taken awhile to be released? Explain why that is. Keep in mind that this is an alpha; it's a game still in development. So it is currently being converted into a standalone, but has not yet. Tell that to your audience, who may not be familiar with the concept of an alpha. Also, people usually read reviews because they want to know whether it is worth buying a game, so while you understand that a price tag of $30 is "hefty" for an alpha although it's still half the cost of a major title, you make no mention of that in your article. A reader might assume that DayZ is $50 or $60. Always be specific.

 

Never ever ever ever ever tell a reader how they should feel about a game. When you say "fantastic," that doesn't mean anything. The greatest books don't tell you how you should feel, they make you feel it. The same is true with all types of writing. A review shouldn't just denote the game as good or bad or excellent. They should explain, every observation that can be made about whatever is being reviewed, and let the reader decide for themselves. It should be a cataloged dismantling of everything behind the game. From the mechanics to the emotions to the backstory. The graphics are amazing? That is a very strong word, and one you should avoid using. Strong statements dull the effect of milder ones; but more importantly how are they amazing? You contradict yourself here, later saying

 

 

The graphics of the game are, good. Not excellent but not bad either. It partially depends on what your computer can run, but even while it’s at the lowest settings it looks good enough to be playable.

 

Now the reader is confused as to whether the graphics are amazing or just okay, and still has no idea what they look like. Talk about the ambiance, architecture, color scheme, realistic and highly detailed textures, rotational blur, any of the myriad of screen effects for certain statuses, character models, map size, tell me exactly what you mean by "lowest setting" and "playable" in fps, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc. Any one of those can set the game apart and make it unique in the reader's mind. Consider yourself an engineer. You are taking the game apart piece by piece, and examining each in extreme detail. If you have more useful information in your article, you will have more readers. Only in the last paragraph, and usually the last sentence, will you issue any sort of judgment. And when you do, always answer it to the silent question of is this game worth buying?

 

Keeping in mind everything I mentioned above, this is what an acceptable first paragraph might look like:

 

 

DayZ is a survival game first created as a modification to the military combat simulator Arma II, and is currently being developed by Bohemia Interactive as a standalone title. On December 16, 2013, an early version of the game was released to the public on the Steam Network. Taking full advantage of the Real Virtuality engine on which Arma II was created, the DayZ Alpha has quickly become a runaway success known for its unique gameplay mechanics, focus on realism, and intricate use of graphics.

 

From there, have one paragraph on each of these topics in order:

 

Development backstory

Releases and pricing model

Gameplay mechanics

Graphics

Other noteworthy things about the game

Conclusion

 

Hopefully you'll find some of this helpful. May I ask if you're still in school or out?

Edited January 21, 2014 by Zollicoffer

[doctorbadsign 645]

Not really a review as such. Not to be too disparaging, but a review is of something finished. You could call it a preview I guess, or a first impressions....

[dirny 24]

Tip to "reviewing" a alpha state game. Do not name it as review and do not do it as such. Do a preview, first impressions or such about these games as they are not at the state they should be, or will be in a long time to warrant a "review". Like big game sites do this too and it is bit misleading, as bit further along the road things might be totally different and making the "review" then more or less useless and misleading.

[ICECritics 1]

Tip to "reviewing" a alpha state game. Do not name it as review and do not do it as such. Do a preview, first impressions or such about these games as they are not at the state they should be, or will be in a long time to warrant a "review". Like big game sites do this too and it is bit misleading, as bit further along the road things might be totally different and making the "review" then more or less useless and misleading.

 

Yeah, we've been told that a lot and I totally agree, we've changed the title of our post to display this.

Not really a review as such. Not to be too disparaging, but a review is of something finished. You could call it a preview I guess, or a first impressions....

Same as above :)

 

I think he was saying that we should proofread our own posts. Thanks for posting your link. Since this is your first review, and considering the field you are tiptoeing into, I'm sure you understand the importance of being critical. Here is my advice:

 

 

Writing a review is different than posting on forums. Grammar and structure are both incredibly important. To start, you should typically avoid one word sentences, unless they are being used to emphasize something. Just saying "DayZ," doesn't emphasize anything in particular, which just makes it awkward. Your writing style is very personal, as if you're speaking to the reader. Would you ever say something like that? It is good to reiterate the title of the game in the first sentence, but you should also be saying more than that. Alternatively you could also get away with "DayZ-- [rest of sentence here]," but very very rarely.

 

 

Rule #1: Consider your audience, and be specific. If they're reading a review, they probably don't know anything about the game. If they don't know anything about DayZ, they probably don't know anything about Arma II, and they certainly don't understand what you mean by "fantastic," "amazing," and "realistic."

 

You said "finally." Has the game taken awhile to be released? Explain why that is. Keep in mind that this is an alpha; it's a game still in development. So it is currently being converted into a standalone, but has not yet. Tell that to your audience, who may not be familiar with the concept of an alpha. Also, people usually read reviews because they want to know whether it is worth buying a game, so while you understand that a price tag of $30 is "hefty" for an alpha although it's still half the cost of a major title, you make no mention of that in your article. A reader might assume that DayZ is $50 or $60. Always be specific.

 

Never ever ever ever ever tell a reader how they should feel about a game. When you say "fantastic," that doesn't mean anything. The greatest books don't tell you how you should feel, they make you feel it. The same is true with all types of writing. A review shouldn't just denote the game as good or bad or excellent. They should explain, every observation that can be made about whatever is being reviewed, and let the reader decide for themselves. It should be a cataloged dismantling of everything behind the game. From the mechanics to the emotions to the backstory. The graphics are amazing? That is a very strong word, and one you should avoid using. Strong statements dull the effect of milder ones; but more importantly how are they amazing? You contradict yourself here, later saying

 

 

Now the reader is confused as to whether the graphics are amazing or just okay, and still has no idea what they look like. Talk about the ambiance, architecture, color scheme, realistic and highly detailed textures, rotational blur, any of the myriad of screen effects for certain statuses, character models, map size, tell me exactly what you mean by "lowest setting" and "playable" in fps, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc. Any one of those can set the game apart and make it unique in the reader's mind. Consider yourself an engineer. You are taking the game apart piece by piece, and examining each in extreme detail. If you have more useful information in your article, you will have more readers. Only in the last paragraph, and usually the last sentence, will you issue any sort of judgment. And when you do, always answer it to the silent question of is this game worth buying?

 

Keeping in mind everything I mentioned above, this is what an acceptable first paragraph might look like:

 

 

From there, have one paragraph on each of these topics in order:

 

Development backstory

Releases and pricing model

Gameplay mechanics

Graphics

Other noteworthy things about the game

Conclusion

 

Hopefully you'll find some of this helpful. May I ask if you're still in school or out?

 

Wow. Thank you for your feedback. I've just spent a fair amount of time in which I should of been studying [There's your answer] editing the post. I would really appreciate if you could check it out.

 

I have redone the whole first paragraph and amended parts of others. I really would like to add more to [P]review, just explaining the mechanics etc. Hopefully I'll be able to add a bit tomorrow.

 

Please do tell me what you think of the improved version! :D