One review killed it for you? I wanted to thank the developers of SoF again for their extremely gracious response to our review. Most developers (not pointing figures) have tried publicly ridiculing us, so it's nice to see some decency in people. Also, remember we try to update our reviews to represent the most recent version. We already caught wind of a SoF update in the wings and will likely look into that upon release. If you ever think we need to reassess a review after an update, please feel free to email me at [email protected].
I watch AppVee's Youtube reviews. Used to visit Pocketgamer, but after I found TA, I don't feel the need to go anywhere else for written reviews.
Slide to Play (I love me some tuesday twitter giveaway) reviews are ace. However I don't take their scoring system seriously as I don't feel like 4 possible points allows enough disparity for an accurate gauge of a games rating. I'll visit Pocket Gamer every now then and IGN, Appvee, and Appera on a rare occasion. Touch Arcade is my favorite though because of the active forums
It was not the first time, STP rates totally differently than most other sites just to be kind of special I guess And concerning the update, if the reviewer will be the same (rogue-like game hating) person, why should anything change? And you should read exactly. I still praise and visit the site But they definitely try to be different ... and sometimes that's very annoying.
Great point about the scoring. Despite the controversy, there is one major reason that we stand behind it so strongly: it forces our writers to think extra hard about what they feel a game deserves. On a 5-point scale, we could easily go with the ever-famous "middle of the rode score", 3. Without that median to fall back on, we must decide whether we would give caution before purchasing or if the game is one we recommend. It may not be quite as flexible, but definitely more concise. It is also visually distinctive. I highly recommend reading Steve's editorial, titled "Friday Slide: A Score Subject", on the scoring system and why he came up with it. Not only does it explain the point in a more thorough manner but also clears up the common misconception that a 2 or 3 means the game is generally bad.
I can see how we can be different, but it is just the honest opinion of the reviewer. I'd say 80% of the time we are in the same ballpark as many other sites. Trust me, in no way are we trying to be special. One thing I have found, and I hope this is taken with a grain of salt, is that the community tends to have a generally positive attitude towards the majority of content put out. We look at games with a critical eye, the extent of which varies between writers. Myself and Andy Groen are unquestionably the toughest graders at the site. Going back to the scoring, there is one more thing that we believe in: content of the review over scoring. We understand many people only have time to look at our score and pros/cons/bottom line, which is fine, but we always express our reasoning in-depth in the review.
Hadn't thought of it that why before, some game rating make more sense now. Your rating scale is also like your signature thing, I love the artwork of the numbers . I also like how you guys are very critical, I feel like you guys reviews really help me weigh the positives and negatives of game and determine whether it is worht the price.
Just throwing in my two cents.... My favorite thing you do is hands down the review updates. It shows a dedication to the review. It's nice. On a side note.... Four seems too small while your reason for not using 5 is very valid, but have you considered 6? That seems like it would solve both issues.
This site blows the others out of the water. You can communicate with devs, beta test, talk about reviews, it is the best site out there. Most of the others are either confusing or are also dealing with console games resulting in them diluting the reviews and such of iPod touch games.
Other than TouchArcade.com, which has a permanent tab on our browsers for all of us here at Pocket Monkey Games, we use SlideToPlay.com and AppGamer.net. And yeah, we are fans of SlideToPlay for their reviews and no fear to show their critical views of a game even when they are in direct contact with the developer (Yes, we are looking at you 'Sparta' review! ) But in honesty, they are good.
For me, generally Slide to Play are at the top of my list for iPhone gaming websites, their in-depth reviews and info are generally the most reliable. The scoring was kinda funky to me at first but STP Tim already explained it. Aside from that, I also keep track of Touch Arcade itself, AppGamer, and TouchGen. I sometimes went to NoDPad, but that Seed 1 review kinda put me off. No offense, but that review was really bad.
