Pocket Gamer Scoring and Editorial Policy

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Pocket Gamer Scoring and Editorial Policy

Pocket Gamer's scores explained

by Chris James

Around here, we rate every game out of 10, focusing on five key factors:

Audio/Visual What does the game look and sound like?

Gameplay How engaging is it to play?

Value How much are you getting for your hard earned pounds?

Innovation Does it do anything new, or simply retread old ground?

Overall All things considered, how essential is it you buy this game?

Of course, scores can never tell the whole story – you need to read the review for that. But they should help you to make the right decisions about which games may be right for you.

Those five factors: A little more detail

Audio / Visual: What does the game look and sound like?

How does it compare with the eye-candy of other games on the format?

How good are the special effects? What about the music?

Have the game's creators made the most of the handheld's capabilities?

Are the production values of overall high quality?

Gameplay: How much fun is the game to play?

How accessible and responsive is its control system?

Is the difficulty level well-judged, so it's an enjoyable challenge?

Is there a gripping storyline or background plot?

Value: How much bang do you get for your buck?

How long can you play the game for? (Clearly, you'd expect more from a £30 console game than a £5 mobile one).

Are there features that will keep you coming back once you've 'finished'? (for example, multiplayer, hi-scores, and so on)

Does the game deliver enough entertainment for the price?

Innovation: Does the game do anything new?

Are we excited by its newness? Are we dying to tell all our friends?

How well does it build upon games that have gone before?

Does it extend the game genre in brand new ways?

Overall: The final verdict

This is NOT an average of the above marks. Rather, it represents our ultimate recommendation of how essential a purchase the game is

Our scores run from 0-10, where 10 is completely amazing and, you'll be shocked to hear, more desirable than a big fat 0. An average game will get about 5 out of 10.

Those final scores: What do they mean?


	A game? I thought this was a screensaver?
	A game has to be truly awful to score this low. You'll probably smell it before you get close enough to buy it.
	Don't waste your money. No, don't argue. Listen to us.
	What can you say about a game that scores 3? Unimaginative, boring, repetitive, dated, clumsy and weak?
	There is an inkling of entertainment here, but the creators have failed to nurture anything more than a wasted opportunity.
	Okay, we're halfway to heaven. A game scoring 5 has a few redeeming features, but they're offset by lazy design, buggy features, or downright boring play.
	Now we're getting somewhere: a better than average game that are worth a look if you're a fan of the genre, or if you spot one reduced in the bargain bin.
	Hurrah! Winning our Bronze award, this game ticks all the right boxes. Trouble is, there are a few rough edges too, and as a result you won't enjoy it for as long as you might.
	It takes an entertaining, well-assembled game to scoop a Silver award. You can be sure of a top-notch pocket gaming experience if you buy it, but it's still missing that certain something...
	Buy it – we'd whole-heartedly recommend a game that scores 9 and a Gold award to anyone. You'll find near-perfect entertainment: a classic in the making.
	The rarest of games, anything scoring our Essential award is good enough to make it worth buying the console just to play this game! Pocket gaming nirvana.

Our Editorial Policy

At Pocket Gamer, we believe in judging each game on its merits, not how it relates to a previous edition on a PlayStation 2 or Xbox, or even how it compares to a version on a different pocket gaming device. A PSP game will nearly always look more exciting than today's mobile titles, so our reviewers focus on how the game performs on a particular piece of pocket gaming kit.
This doesn't mean that we ignore the wider world of games – if there's a similar but better game on that device, we'll tell you. But we're not going to assume that you've played (or are even interested in) every obscure title on every format.
The bottom line
Just like you, our writers are concerned with the here and now. You want to know if a game is fun to play on the device you've got in your hands, and quite frankly whether it's worth the cash. Every single one of our reviews aims to tell you that: giving you a good impression of what it's like to play, its greatest strengths and potential weaknesses, and where it sits in relation to the best games of its kind on your machine.
We hope you agree that we do a good job, but if you think we've been unfair or downright wrong, please do get in touch, either via the forums or by emailing us directly at feedback@pocketgamer.co.uk.

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