FAQs (or things we think you'll ask, even if you haven't yet)
How do you come up with your ratings?
Our ratings are not based on any set formula. There are general guidelines, but it's entirely up to our reviewers what grade they give a particular game. We base our opinions off of similar games and what we have seen in the past.
That being said, we do have a general rating scale. We've come up with an extensive description of each aspect of our rating scale, which you can read about in detail on the "Review Layout" page.
That being said, we do have a general rating scale. We've come up with an extensive description of each aspect of our rating scale, which you can read about in detail on the "Review Layout" page.
Do you include language in your ratings?
Usually, no. Rating movies and finding language within a set script is entirely doable. However, the overall gameplay experience (and the dialog that a player is exposed to) will vary depending on an endless number of variables. We are unable to take into account every line of dialog that occurs in the game simply because there are usually so many.
However, if a game has particularly large amounts of mature language, we may decide to include that in our review. Examples of this would be Rogue Warrior, whose language was so blatantly foul that it detracted from the overall game experience (honestly, who describes anything as "a total goat-fuck"?)
If it detracts from the gameplay experience we'll include it. Otherwise, no, language is not included.
However, if a game has particularly large amounts of mature language, we may decide to include that in our review. Examples of this would be Rogue Warrior, whose language was so blatantly foul that it detracted from the overall game experience (honestly, who describes anything as "a total goat-fuck"?)
If it detracts from the gameplay experience we'll include it. Otherwise, no, language is not included.
Do you include achievements / trophies in your ratings?
Not specifically. We do sometimes mention achievements when discussing the length of a game, since developers include achievements to give games extra replay value, but the specific content of the achievements are too numerous and detailed for us to get into. Usually, the achievements are simply a mirror of what content the game already includes, so if you look at the specific content we're rating you'll get a good idea of what the achievements will cover.
If you don't know what an "achievement" or "trophy" is, see our Acronyms and Definitions page.
If you don't know what an "achievement" or "trophy" is, see our Acronyms and Definitions page.
Do you rate violence against women and children differently than violence against men?
Violence against children definitely gets rated higher than violence against adults. There are very, very few games where that becomes a factor, however, so if it is we definitely mention it.
Violence against women, however, is not rated differently than violence against men. We're not sexist. Shooting a person is no more violent whether that person is a man or a woman.
There is an exception. If the violence is sexual in nature (like shooting a man's genitals or hitting a woman's breasts specifically) then this will get special mention. This will usually fall under the "violence" category if the player is supposed to commit these actions directly. If the game uses another character or characters to commit the actions, then it will usually fall under the miscellaneous category.
Violence against women, however, is not rated differently than violence against men. We're not sexist. Shooting a person is no more violent whether that person is a man or a woman.
There is an exception. If the violence is sexual in nature (like shooting a man's genitals or hitting a woman's breasts specifically) then this will get special mention. This will usually fall under the "violence" category if the player is supposed to commit these actions directly. If the game uses another character or characters to commit the actions, then it will usually fall under the miscellaneous category.
What do the different colors on the tables mean?
If the color is green, it means that the particular category is good. The higher the value, the brighter the green. For example, games that are more fun will receive a higher "overall fun" rating, which will be colored in a brighter color of green.
If the color is yellow, it means that the particular category could be something that some parents may not want their children exposed to. Brighter yellows mean that the category is a more prominent part of the game. For example, if a game includes a lot of religious themes or issues, then the religion category will receive a higher rating and the yellow for that category will be bright.
If the color is red, it means that the particular category contains adult content. Brighter reds mean that the category is particularly adult or particularly frequent within the game. For example, if a game includes many uses of drugs and alcohol, the rating in the substances category will be higher and the red for that category will be brighter.
For more information on how we come up with the ratings for each category, see our "Review Layout".
If the color is yellow, it means that the particular category could be something that some parents may not want their children exposed to. Brighter yellows mean that the category is a more prominent part of the game. For example, if a game includes a lot of religious themes or issues, then the religion category will receive a higher rating and the yellow for that category will be bright.
If the color is red, it means that the particular category contains adult content. Brighter reds mean that the category is particularly adult or particularly frequent within the game. For example, if a game includes many uses of drugs and alcohol, the rating in the substances category will be higher and the red for that category will be brighter.
For more information on how we come up with the ratings for each category, see our "Review Layout".
How do your ratings different from the ESRB and PEGI?
The ESRB has a very specific format for how it rates games. We believe that the format they use is inadequate for fully informing parents on the content within T and M rated games. For more information, see the "ESRB and Ratings" page.
Do you rate children's games? (Meaning eC through E10+ rated games)
No. Our reviews focus on content meant for pre-teens and teenage children. As a result, we only review T and M rated games.
If E games include violence, most of the time it is no worse than what a child would watch on Saturday morning cartoons. If you don't have a problem letting your child watch Pokemon, you shouldn't have any problem letting your child play E rated games.
However, the difference betweeen an E rated game and a T or M rated game can be surprising. So we focus on those.
If E games include violence, most of the time it is no worse than what a child would watch on Saturday morning cartoons. If you don't have a problem letting your child watch Pokemon, you shouldn't have any problem letting your child play E rated games.
However, the difference betweeen an E rated game and a T or M rated game can be surprising. So we focus on those.
Why don't you rate games right as soon as they come out?
If you've been around here long enough you might notice that we tend not to rate games until at least a month after they come out. We do this because we spend so much time making sure to go in depth into all of the games we review (games can have a lot of content to go over).
The length of time it takes us to review the game will also depend on the amount of content in the game. Games like Call of Duty: Black Ops are relatively short, so the review takes less time to write. However, games like Fallout 3, which has a lot of game content as well as many mods (see "Definitions"), will take more time to review.
But don't worry! All of the games we review are high-quality games. If you see it on this site, it's almost certainly worth playing!
The length of time it takes us to review the game will also depend on the amount of content in the game. Games like Call of Duty: Black Ops are relatively short, so the review takes less time to write. However, games like Fallout 3, which has a lot of game content as well as many mods (see "Definitions"), will take more time to review.
But don't worry! All of the games we review are high-quality games. If you see it on this site, it's almost certainly worth playing!
Why do you sometimes refer to gamers as "he"? What about girl gamers?
We know there are girl gamers (some of our staff play regularly with their female significant other) and we definitely wouldn't want to step on their toes. But we also didn't want to have to write "he/she" every time we used a pronoun to refer to a gamer.
So we decided that whatever the gender was for the main character (or the majority gender of the main characters, if there are more than one) was the gender we would use through the review. For most games, this will result in the pronoun "he". There are some exceptions (such as Mirror's Edge, Wet, etc.), but the majority of reviews will have the male pronoun when pronouns are used.
So we decided that whatever the gender was for the main character (or the majority gender of the main characters, if there are more than one) was the gender we would use through the review. For most games, this will result in the pronoun "he". There are some exceptions (such as Mirror's Edge, Wet, etc.), but the majority of reviews will have the male pronoun when pronouns are used.