Topic: User "reviews"

So, what's wrong with people posting extended impressions on a game? Even scoring the games.

Why are these posts deleted? There is no rule in the community guidelines that states something like user reviews - I'll call them extended impressions, because they hardly resemble the review articles you find on the site.

I've seen this happening in the years I've been active on the forums, but... I never saw a downside to people posting it. And worse, it's like sending a message to your userbase that you don't want people to put effort in their posts.

Anyway, I was gutted to see @Ralizah's impressions on some games deleted.

I have no problems with this. Users should be allowed to post them. Only thing I’d say is that it should be one thread of user reviews per game rather than thread per review.

Is there community guidelines anywhere listing this rule? I'd be very interested to see what other surprising rules are on it. Because as it stands this rule seems very arbitrary and poorly thought out.

The longer posts from users detailing their impressions of a game are generally good quality posts that explain their reasoning for liking or disliking a game in good detail. Those posts are interesting to read and they aren't bothering other users, so I urge the mods to rethink this rule.

Seconded! (Or thirded? Whatever!) I'd love to be able to unleash my inner writer a little more and be able to share some gaming thoughts/user reviews with this wonderful community (I can't write just one paragraph or a few sentences... I overwrite a bunch 😅)

Like @Kidfried has said @Ralizah 's impressions seemed to very well done... in particular the one about Okami grabbed my attention as it's a game I've ALWAYS heard about and wanted to play but never got round to it, so it was really nice to see it... it's a shame it got deleted!

It's pretty crazy. There are a bunch of people on the forums who Pushsquare could use going forwards who are really intelligent and write great mini reviews (just check out the ps3 game deliberation threads). Such as @Ralizah who plays all kinds of games and is an avid gamer.

Just my two pence but Sammy could set up an academy for budding reviewers. Then he could get more coverage on the swathe of games that release now a days.

As you all know, I tend to be a little verbose in my posts, especially when writing about a game (or movie, or book) I feel strongly about. I have been aware that official reviews are discouraged on the forums so I have usually held back from giving scores when I post impressions but have often wanted to. In the end, I think it’s a matter of semantics to disallow a score and I fully welcome a loosening of the rules to allow for actual review style posts with a review score if the user wants to post one. It is often very helpful and enjoyable to read and discuss games in that format. Furthermore, I agree that the quality of some of posts here on Push Square forums are fantastic and I would even say superior to what one might see done by professional journalists on other websites. (And I emphasize other websites. I thoroughly enjoy the work that Push Square writers do in the main site)

@antdickens - So I guess what we’re saying is that going forward we can post extended impressions in a review style form with a score and everything, but don’t create a new thread just for that one review? Like I can’t start a new thread titled “My Resident Evil 2 Review” but I can post a review in the “Resident Evil 2 - OT” thread?
I assume that means it’s okay to post a user review in a thread like “Games You’ve Recently Beat” or “PS4 Recommendations” or “What Vita Game Are You Playing” threads?
Just needing to clarify because I’m afraid I’m one of the culprits on this rule so I want to be clear.

And here's me, hardly able to string a sentence together. I'm well jel.

2/10.

@kyleforrester87 No jam. 2 out of 5 kyles.

@kyleforrester87 Well, they say it’s a sign of intelligence to be able to clearly communicate a thought in the fewest number of words as possible.
You post good.
10/10.

I actually had no idea it was against any sort of guideline. It's not meant to contradict the official posted reviews on the site, and, anyway, as has been pointed out, they're not polished and organized enough to be like official reviews. I've actually been transitioning away from that style to listing aspects I like and dislike. I also space them out to every seven days or so with the conscious intention of not making the Recently Beaten Games thread the Ralizah Review Thread, so to speak.

More than anything, besides organizing my thoughts on games, it gives me a chance to interact with a lot of the passionate people on this forum about them.

If the sticking point is posting a score, then I'm happy to drop those. I just use them as a quick visual indicator of how I feel about a game based on PS/NL's own scoring policy.

Anyway, thanks guys! I'm happy that people care enough about my ramblings to actually address their removal and seek some sort of clarification on the rules. It's not my intention to violate the community's posting guidelines, after all.

@crimsontadpoles there is no such rule, and therefore comments should not be stopped on this basis.

@Th3solution I think having a specific user reviews thread PER GAME makes the most sense, away from the OT for that game. That way the thread can focus on the user reviews only.

I was not aware that it was not in the rules but I guess it should. I was going after experience. A few years ago I posted a "review" on Nintendo Life about DuckTales Remastered I believe it was. It was intended it just ended up that way. It included a score and everything I just started writing about it and that's how it came out. Anyway it was removed and I was told by the mod team that that's not allowed and it was immediately deleted. I was told the same thing a couple of sentences maybe a paragraph of what I thought about the game and that was it.

When I questioned the mods about it they said it comes off as spam and that user reviews are not allowed because I am not a staff memeber.

Was I upset yeah but that's the rules or so I was told.

I apologize if I did something wrong but as I said I was going off of experience. I have also seen in the past other users at NintendoLife who posted "reviews" get told the same exact thing.

I truly am sorry for my actions.

@Tasuki No need to be sorry. Making and keeping up a policy is a difficult thing, and everyone can have their own view. Yours can differ from mine (it probably does!), so I don't think there's a right or wrong. I just opened this thread to start a bit of a discussion on it.

Good day and, as always, thank you.

Ok, I am going to do a little review in this very thread, get ready!

SEKIRO!! Shadows Die Twice

Were you incredibly dissapointed when Capcom cancelled the Bionic Commando games on PS3 and were secretly hoping there would be a prequel based in Medieval Japan using the Dark Souls Engine? Yes!? Wait, really?

What are the odds? What an unexpected thing to wish for.. but it happened! And it's called Sekiro. It's a very good game with some very challenging combat. You should play it.

@Tasuki
It takes strength of character to own a mistake & apologise for it. You have my respect for that!

Aww it's ok @Tasuki !

You do a wonderful job round here as a mod and if I'd had the same experience as you I probably would've done the same thing

And yeah a whole heap of respect from me too👍

@Tasuki And now I really wanna read your review of DuckTales Remastered.

@Tasuki Modding is hard work. The rules and standards of conduct you're meant to enforce aren't always clear-cut, and sometimes you just have to make a call based on your experience and gut feeling. I appreciate your candor here and dedication to your role as a mod.

Also, do you happen to have the Duck Tales review saved somewhere? Sounds like you put some work into it.

I am curious as to what the best way to progress here is, now that the issue has been raised. Should I continue posting impressions in the "Recently Beaten" thread, or do so somewhere else? I'll quit if I find it bothers the community here, but that's not the impression I've gotten.

Would @antdickens be the person to ask, or @get2sammyb? I'm not entirely certain of the pecking order around here.

@Ralizah I've spoke to Sammy, and he has no objections to user reviews either. As long as they are indeed just that, reader reviews, not something copy/pasted from your own blog etc with a link (as that would fall under spam).

@Tasuki sorry to hear that on NL, but a) it was a very long time ago (6 years?) and b) the mod must have been harsh on the spam rule, cos there is nothing against user reviews in the community rules.

So, if everyone is in agreement, we can have official user reviews threads for games. Anyone got suggestions on how to format the thread titles?

I think a 'user reviews' thread should be added to the main menu list. Each game can then have its own 'user review' topic - Instead of 'Uncharted 4-OT' in the PS4 category, you could have 'Uncharted 4 - PS4 - User Reviews' in a User Reviews category. If there is already a User Review thread for a specific game, then people, if they so wish, can write a review in that specific thread , if not they can start a new Thread in the User Review Category. User Reviews don't necessarily have to be just of games, they could be a review of Hardware - like PSVR or Playstation Pro for example. If people also wish to write reviews on older software (PS3 for example) or newer with PS5 seemingly close, it makes sense to collect ALL user reviews under one category. I don't think it makes sense to have User Reviews under the PS4, PS3, PS5 etc category as that would be more difficult to find and maybe even get confused with OT threads.

Of course this is my thoughts and others may have their own opinion. Having a dedicated category thread for all user reviews does make it easier for those people who may want to read user reviews and all those who wish to write a review, they know where to write it - also makes it easier to see if a user review thread for a particular game/product has already been started so they don't make a duplicate thread.