Eep. I'm not a big fan of the "preview research" model. That's basically just taking other outlets' information and branding it as your own when you spin the word ordering.
I'm Canadian, and I've been approached about this. Thankfully, I don't actually have to do it. It's an international thing that most foreigners freelancing for a non-"local" outlet need to do. Somehow I dodged it as a canuck. Yay!
It pretty much depends on what you're looking. If it's a good game and you you downplay what weaknesses it has and then talk about the biggest and best things (graphics, writing, gameplay, etc). However if it's a bad game you downplay whatever red...
The problem I usually have is with prioritization. I have a hard time keeping my word count down because I want to talk about every good/bad thing in the game. Being able to step back and say to myself, "does this particular element matter that mu...
Pretty much the time where you can't stay below 700 words is when you're doing a series review that doubles as an overview or if you're doing a review of two linked things. Another reason is also a column, which for most professional outlets end u...
A former colleague and I used to do One Word Reviews. Obviously these couldn't exactly be all-encompassing, but they were fun and conveyed a general feeling about the game in question.
As a rule, I try to keep all reviews in the 800-1000 word ran...
My name's Mitch Dyer, and I'm a freelance contributor who's typed words for Official Xbox Magazine, GamePro, GameSpot and PlayStation: The Official Magazine.
I'm always looking for work, so feel free to contact me at my e-mail address: MitchellDyer at Gmail dot com, or on AIM - MitchyD88. There's also a fancy-pants comment box below.
Hey Mitch, I was scoping out your blog (Down Write Fierce) and I started reading your Reviews Review. I think it's great that you're critical of yourself, and are constantly challenging yourself to give review scores that will stand the test of time. I think more reviewers should be as mindful of themselves.