Scoring

The hardest part of game review always is finding a way to convey your true feelings to other gamers who have yet to share your experience, while also remaining flexible enough to consider that every gamer's tastes are different. Thus, thousands of man hours and gallons of malt whiskey finally came together to result in the most accurate video game scoring chart ever devised by deity or man:

The Just Games Retro Hyperscientific Scoring System!

Now you will never have to question if you can trust the numbers you see on the screen. You can rest comfortably, safe in the knowledge that the score provided for every game is equivalent to cosmic law. What follows is how we do it. If you're ever confused - and don't worry, the very nature of hyperscience can certainly be confusing - you can check this page as a reference.

All games are rated on four points: Graphics, Sound, Control, and Fun/Entertainment. These are rather self-explanatory. The important thing to note about classic game review is that we DO NOT handicap games simply for being old. Graphics, sound, and control are rated in comparison to other games on that system, or similar games on systems in the same time period, if applicable. We're not going to say that Mario looks better on Gamecube than in the original Mario World, because that's kind of fucking obvious.

The Fun/Entertainment rating generally follows the same rules, and is an indication of the entertainment value available for the average gamer. If you're a die-hard fan of a certain genre or franchise, then you may of course have different feelings toward your beloved subject, and be better able to tolerate any flaws a game based on it has. If you're really into self-torture, then you may just adore the bad games. Point is, this rating is solid and always trustworthy on at least some level, but your mileage may vary. This is also the only section where we allow ourselves to consider current games, or later games, in the scoring. If what the game was trying to accomplish was done much better later, we'll be sure and mention it.

All games also receive a final "Overall" score. This is completely subjective. All aspects are scored independently, but this value does take the other 4 scores into consideration, as well as scores for other games on the same system, or games from the same time period. It also considers the genre of the game - a racing game with an 90+ score is most likely a good racing game for the system, not necessarily the best game ever. It's a complicated score, but no actual metrics are attached.

Finally, read the whole review if you want the full opinion. Every scoring decision is always best explained there.

Graphics, Sound, Control:

Fun/Entertainment:

1 - Don't bother
2 - Examine with disgust and great caution
3 - Not awful, but still little real entertainment value
4 - Probably worth trying once
5 - Play until bored - it won't get better
6 - Not great, but some may enjoy it
7 - Pretty good, but you've probably seen it all before
8 - Worth playing to completion if you like it, but limited replay value
9 - Worth getting, playing, and holding on to to play again.
10 - Classic. Play it, if just to say that you have.

Overall:

0 - 49% - The further you go, the worse they get.
50s - Typical for a decent, but quite average game
60s - Good game, but held back by some thing(s)
70s - Generally a good, but often forgettable experience
80s - Quality game that you're very likely to enjoy
90 - 100% - Best of the best. Very likely a recognizable "classic"