So You Want to Be A Video Game Reviewer?

By Geoff Duncan Updated May 31, 2007

So You Want to Be A Video Game Reviewer?

It might seem that writing about video games would be pretty straightforward, but any serious gamer can tell you there’s a world of difference between a well-written, knowledgeable review or article and the sorts of incoherent ramblings one typically finds in online forums, posted to fan sites, or (ahem) published on the Internet. If you really want to write about games—and have people pay attention to what you say—you not only have to have too be able to put words in a row and get the lingo right, you have to know what you’re talking about and write in an interesting way.

A new book, The Videogame Style Guide and Reference Manual may not be able to make your writing more interesting—you’ll have to do that yourself—but it can help you out with may of the other details that make up a quality game review or article. Endorsed by Games Press The Videogame Style Guide authors David Thomas, Kyle Orland, and Scott Steinberg combine decades of journalism, gaming, and freelance writing experience, and cover everything from IGJA usage and grammar practices to standard abbreviations, terms, and names. The book also offers valuable industry background information including in-depth entries on key companies and individuals, historical timelines, and a guide to game criticism which can help make your reviews and comments stand out from the crowd. The book also features a forward from Electronic Gaming Monthly’s Dan “Shoe” Hsu.

“The Videogame Style Guide and Reference Manual brings long-awaited clarity to the amazing, fast-paced world of electronic entertainment,” said co-author David Thomas in a release. “From enthusiasts to editors, developers to publishers, and even software retailers, armed with the information found within, we’ve all finally got the tools required to start speaking in a language everyone can understand.”

The Videogame Style Guide and Reference Manual is available for pre-order now, and is priced at $14.95 for paperback and $24.95 for hardcover.

[Editor’s note: Author Scott Steinberg is a contributor to Digital Trends.]

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

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There’s a fairly good excuse as to why those games don’t include controller customization options, though. It's because of a system-level controller remap option tucked deep away in the Nintendo Switch’s settings menu. If you didn’t know that existed (as few of my friends seem to), get ready for a solution to all your control issues that’s been hiding in plain sight all this time.

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Disney Illusion Island is full of video game Easter eggs

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From an enemy to some vital game mechanics, these three references in Disney Illusion Island stuck out to me the most. They show a reverence for the industry and pay homage to some great games that might’ve influenced aspects of Disney Illusion Island. Keep an eye out for these and more Easter eggs while playing through it yourself.
Portal

This Disney Illusion Island reference is unavoidable. There are points where you’ll want to heal yourself, and through the game’s world, you’ll find some boxes that contain hearts. Upon closer inspection, these boxes look like the companion cubes from Portal, as they are white with a heart in the middle. You won’t be carrying around these boxes, though; you simply jump on them, and a couple of hearts for players to collect with pop out.
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Sonic the Hedgehog

Gaming

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A villager looks at a sunset.

Although sales aren’t the only metric relevant to how good a game is, it’s a decent measurement of how influential certain titles have been over time. With this list of the bestselling video games of all time, we'll take a look at the cream of the crop.

Some interesting notes before diving in: Many of the titles below were included as part of a hardware bundle at some point, with the exception of a small handful of games. Several are also exclusive to one console -- mainly Nintendo games. It's also worth noting that many of the sales stats for the following games are a couple of years old at this point and are likely higher today.