Garrison_Ford's Bioshock Infinite Review up for Critique

Guys, there's no spoilers.

Anyways -- I prefer to use Microsoft Word for critiquing articles (track changes is the best), and I really don't want to suffer through the headache of getting the formatting to work on GameSpot, so... gonna link to you screenshots of the document instead. Let me know if you can't read the comments and I'll update the sceens.

Part 1 - http://imageshack.com/a/img198/2811/bysv.png
Part 2 - http://imageshack.com/a/img593/5428/q40.png

The biggest problem with your review is the lack of elaboration. You speak of the game's high quality but never explain in detail why it's so good. I can follow along since I played the game and thus understand the mechanics and themes, but few are going to have that same knowledge. I would have been completely perplexed if I hadn't already played the game myself.

You must write reviews with the assumption that the reader knows nothing about the game in question. People read consumer reviews to learn about what these games are just as much as whether they're worth their time. Fail to do so and they'll look elsewhere. Treat them right and they'll remember you if they happen across another one of your works, which is exactly what you want as a reviewer.

Guys, there's no spoilers.

Anyways -- I prefer to use Microsoft Word for critiquing articles (track changes is the best), and I really don't want to suffer through the headache of getting the formatting to work on GameSpot, so... gonna link to you screenshots of the document instead. Let me know if you can't read the comments and I'll update the sceens.

Part 1 - http://imageshack.com/a/img198/2811/bysv.png
Part 2 - http://imageshack.com/a/img593/5428/q40.png

The biggest problem with your review is the lack of elaboration. You speak of the game's high quality but never explain in detail why it's so good. I can follow along since I played the game and thus understand the mechanics and themes, but few are going to have that same knowledge. I would have been completely perplexed if I hadn't already played the game myself.

You must write reviews with the assumption that the reader knows nothing about the game in question. People read consumer reviews to learn about what these games are just as much as whether they're worth their time. Fail to do so and they'll look elsewhere. Treat them right and they'll remember you if they happen across another one of your works, which is exactly what you want as a reviewer.

c_rake

c_rake thank you for the in depth analysis! This is exactly what I needed, good feedback. After reading my review again with your thoughts in mind I totally agree that my review doesn't really explain the game very well. I say the game is awesome but unless you are in my head you wouldn't know. I'm currently writing a review for DOTA 2 and I'm going to keep this in mind. I would like to post that review here once I'm finished to see if I'm on the right track.

Also, to everybody else, I try my best to keep the review as spoiler free as possible. 

c_rake thank you for the in depth analysis! This is exactly what I needed, good feedback. After reading my review again with your thoughts in mind I totally agree that my review doesn't really explain the game very well. I say the game is awesome but unless you are in my head you wouldn't know. I'm currently writing a review for DOTA 2 and I'm going to keep this in mind. I would like to post that review here once I'm finished to see if I'm on the right track.

Also, to everybody else, I try my best to keep the review as spoiler free as possible. 

Garrison_Ford

Jumping straight to the big leagues, I see... Looking forward to that Dota 2 review, then.

It's a difficult task, explaining game mechanics and such. Had the same problem when I first started writing reviews. Hell, I still struggle with it now. Just keep at it and you'll learn how to do so effortlessly.