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There's been a lot of talk going around these days about how games are rated in reviews. IGN recently released a podcast about it and reader remarks have brought the issue into the spotlight. It seems that people aren't very fond of the current “out of 10” rating system. The question of why people don't like the current system has been answered with multiple reasons and as many, or more, suggestions on how to change it.

Some have complained concerning why writers, like myself for instance, have an overall score, but then have the note below saying that it's not averaged based on the scores for the other ratings above, which include things like sound and graphics and whatever else the writer may base his ratings on. Others have asked why some games will get ratings like 9.6 while some will get a 9.5, wondering what makes the difference in the tenth of a point. Comments have also been made, not just by readers but reviewers too, as to why game reviews need to be so long and technical. Compared to movie, book and other types of reviews, game reviews are extremely long and considerably more technical. Most of this has to do with the fact that games have many different aspects to them other than just the story and the acting, etc. Games, being interactive, make things like the gameplay, sound and graphics important to note, thus adding to the length and technicality of reviews. And there are more questions, some of which I have asked, myself. So what we're going to do today is take a step towards making a change.

Below, I have listed some suggestions as to what to do with the current rating system. While this might not change the style of game reviews written by all of our game writers here at The Comic Book Bin, it will at least change mine. That means readers can look forward to a style better suited to their preference. All you have to do is send in your preference to me (eli@comicbookbin.com) before my next review is up, which should be plenty of time to gather enough votes, especially considering I have not yet started playing the next game I'll be reviewing.

So here come the options!

Option A: Keep it the same. There's no reason to change a system that's worked for so long.

Option B: Instead of having numbers, just say something like: Buy it, Rent it or Not worth your time.

Option C: Have the number for the overall score mean something. (0-3 means it's not worth your time, 3.1-6 means rent it and 6-10 means buy it)

Option D: Your options suck! I've got a better idea.

All you have to do is send me the option you choose (just type in the option letter, no need to send me the whole sentence) and I'll tally up the votes. If you do go with Option D, let me know what it is, and if I think it's good enough, I might even add it to the list. So take the time to send in your opinion, because you too can help make things better for game reviews everywhere.