For those of you that have opened a review site on blogspot or something of that sort: Does your site get any traffic? If so, how much? Once developers realize that you are a decent reviewer, will they give you a promo code if you request it? I'm thinking about do a site because I already have a few reviews that I think are pretty cool. Impressions?
Check the "Review siter R us" social group, you could also contact tenfingersclub, or touchmyapps, both are great and there are people form TA reviewing on them
Like they said, join an existing site. And to answer your question, yes, promo codes are given on the day of release if you are acquainted with the developers and publishers. I was given a promo code for Assassin's Creed on the day of it's release by Gameloft, same goes for Underworlds. If you think you're a competent reviewer, join a site that's worthy of joining. Don't join the blog-esque sites. I don't think I can post any links to the sites, because that'll just result in me being warned. Try looking arounnd people's signatures, some even state that they need more reviewers. Good luck!
I would agree that you're better off joining an existing site for two reasons: (1) traffic, and (2) credibility. I think developers are a lot more comfortable giving codes to an established site than they are to any freelance hack that calls themselves a reviewer. Now don't misunderstand me: there are people that run their own sites that are good at reviewing, it's just that most "single user" review sites tend to be a bit shy on the actual reviewing of a game, and tend to mainly write a synopsis of the product instead. For that we have the App Store Most of my reviewing experience comes from the Pocket PC / Palm world, and I will say that because of the whole "50 promo codes per version" limitation (at least I think that's the main issue), I've found it a lot harder to get review copies of iPhone software than software for other devices. Generally, though, if you can prove that you will write a good, fair (doesn't have to be positive) review, developers are pretty receptive to sharing a code with you. Good luck with whatever you end up doing.
Should it tell me something that you were the first to respond to my comment I actually don't tend to read a lot of reviews unless it's for a game I don't plan on reviewing myself, and to be perfectly honest, other than comments you've made on TA I don't think I've read any of your reviews. Not to mention the fact I never said the people I was referring to were actual TA members
That I'm the only one that reads your posts? Re: blogs being lesser than websites. Every big review website is full of ads. Blogs can have that personal commercial-free feeling (and load a lot faster). It seems people hint one-person review sites are just out there to get promo codes. May be true for some, but it all depends on the person doing the reviews. For example most of the games I review are $1-$2. It takes me 30-60 minutes to do a review (play the game, take screenshots, transfer and resize them, write the review, proof-read it, upload everything and make it look nice). I make more than a dollar an hour at work I review for three reasons. I like to write, I like games, and I like to bring attention to the little gems that pop up on the app store by indie devs and might get lost in the shuffle if they remain undiscovered. So you don't really have to be a big site to be legit, or have more than one reviewer. You just have to have a dream Write one review, then two, then three, etc., and if they're good you'll get a good reputation in time. It's just a lot of hard work and dedication. So you don't really have to have a big site or your own domain name, just a love for what you're doing.
Ouch! I don't disagree with you, I was just trying to (quite possibly mistakenly) look at it from a developer's point of view. However, I will say that a majority of my recent experiences with blog style review sites have been like this: "iDracula by Chillingo (first mistake, which I even do - give the developer, and not the publisher, credit whenever possible) IDracula is a game where you run around shooting up monsters. There is a control pad on the left to move your character and a control pad on the right to fire. Some kilt monsters leaf cool powerups that build your character up. You get skill points at various intervals. The graphics are slick, the music is cool, I like it." First of all, 95% of that review was synopsis. Then, the opinion line was basically worthless. You liked the game - big whoop. Why did you like the game? How did the controls work for you? Were the power ups useful or just there for the sake of having power ups? There are so many simple questions that could be answered to make the review more interesting. These are the kinds of review sites that I'm talking about. I've written for 2 or 3 different blog style sites over time and have never felt compelled to publish stuff like the example above. It's useless to the consumer and not really very professional (I'm not saying that a review necessarily has to be formal, though, there is a difference). I would say the shortest amount of time it takes for me to write a review (this is just the authoring and proofing part) is probably half an hour. That's usually after having played the game off and on for at least 3 or 4 days. I realize that everyone has a different comfort level as far as how much game play time is required to write a thorough review, but for me I can't just pick up the game, play it a few minutes, and know what I want to say. There have been many occasions where I had a review pegged one way or the other based on initial impressions, but after sticking with the game for a while my opinion totally changed. But again, that's just me. The key to all of this, as you mentioned, is that you have to enjoy what you're doing. If not, the rest of it doesn't matter.
I feel bad when I have a 1-2 week turnaround time for a review, but I can't just power up a game and write a review. I have to play it, leave it, think about it, play it, leave it, etc., and I spend a few days on and off on them. Sometimes you're just not in the zone to get a feeling for a game so I find multiple sittings are a necessity.
I'm sorry, I couldn't resist and thanks! I'll have to check out Pablo's. I think reviews should be around 800 words. That is enough to cover the graphics, sounds/effects/music, controls, gameplay, etc. That also covers a couple of suggestions. If I find a major flaw it's going to be over 1000 words. I try not to review games that take 500 words to review (i.e. not much to say about them) because that usually means the game lacks substance and replayability. I'm a grammar and spelling freak, which is a huge plus in having your own site. You can log in and edit as many times as it takes to make it perfect
Not technically "mine" anymore it's currently being run by coconutbowling, ibitf, and DHrox, they make great honest reviews. To tell you the truth Our site might have had a maximum of 1 promo code review, the rest were games that we bought and enjoyed and thought we'd share them with people. Not even the wordsworth devs gave us a promo when we ran the poll of what language you want to see next.
