Basically how the game looks. Is it hard to figure out what the characters in the game are supposed to be? Do they clash or blend in with the background? Are the backgrounds realistic? Are the colors appropriate, or do they clash together? Does everything seem like it is in proportion to one another? Do objects on the screen, blink, disappear, or freeze?
Basically how the game sounds. A reviewer must decide if audio is annoying, pleasing, appropriate, or distracting. Does in game music add or take away from the game? Are there various sound effects, or just repeated noises. Is the lack of audio disturbing? Sadly for the 7800, there wasn't many games that scored highly in this department.
How the game plays. (Duh) Is it easy to control? Are controls slow and sluggish or fast and accurate? Are the functions needed to play the game too difficult to perform on a constant basis because of poor programming? Is collision detection good? Does the computer respond correctly to what just happened on the screen? Does the game suffer from "slow down" when there is too much going on? If the game is supposed to be realistic, is it?
This is real basic. Is the game original or not? Is the game (or was the game) a ground breaking cart, one that changed that genre of games forever? Was it revolutionary? Was it innovative, or just another rip-off of another game?
If the game is a remake of an arcade or computer game, the reviewer must decide how well the 7800 came to replicating the original experience. The capabilities of the Pro System are taken into account, and the reviewer asks himself/herself questions from the other categories in reference to the original. This category also applies to basic original sport titles.
If a game is fun, you will want to play it. If a game has many options, it will add life to the cart. If the game is not fun, or is easily beatable, there will not be a point in playing the game over and over again. Basically this means replay value, but it also takes into account the difficulty of a game in accordance to the fun factor of a game. For example, if a game is hard, but not fun, you will not be likely to pick the game up again and play it. But if the game is difficult but enjoyable to play, it will add to it's value.
Sometimes the scores of graphics, sound, value, gameplay, and originality/interpretation does not fairly represent a game's worth to a reviewer. For example, if a game has terrible graphics and sound, but is a great game to play, the reviewer should score reviewer's tilt high to shift the score higher to better represent how the reviewer feels about the game. The reverse is true as well. If a game has wonderful gameplay and is a dead ringer of the arcade game, yet the reviewer thinks this game is terrible, a lower reviewer's tilt score will better represent how the reviewer feels about the game.
This is a mathematical score generated by the 6 previous categories. Below is a chart of what the numerical values mean.
