I prefer the 5/5 system because of the simplicity of it. I don't want to split hairs. I am gonna tell you, in broad terms, where is lands on the scale of game history.
MY MOVIE RATING SYSTEM
*/5. So Bad Its Good- If I give a movie a "*," that means a special little turd. Its a movie that is so bad that its hilarious (even if the directors didn't mean to make it that way). These movies are great for sharing with friends and tearing it apart. Ex. The Room, Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation, Mac and Me.
1/5 Kill It With Fire, If I give a film a rating of "1" it means the movie isn't just bad. It is barely a movie or so offensive that to even uses a single sensory organ to witness it would be an insult to the heavens. If I give a movie a 1, avoid it at all costs. The film is pure garbage. Kill it with fire. Ex. Shrek The Third, Punisher: Warzone, 10,000 B.C.
2/5. Bad, A movie that lands itself in the bad category means that, while a failure, is not a complete failure. The movie might have some entertainment value, like a good character/scene, but as a whole it fails or is offensive. Ex. Wolverine Origins, Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace, Hancock.
3/5. Okay, The movie was neither bad nor great. Its probably worth at least once viewing and maybe more if it really catches your fancy. This is probably the easiest rating to give a movie. ex. Night at the Museum, Simpsons Movie, Spiderman 2
4/5. Great, These are the movie I recommend you check out at least once before you die or it you're just bored. These are the movies that really deserve attention and help elevate film as art and entertainment. ex. Iron Man, How to Train Your Dragon, The 40-Year Old Virgin.
5/5. Favorite, These movies are instant classics....or at least in my book. I reserve 5/5s for movies that I HAVE to own and watch and share with everyone. At some point this year, I'll probably make a list for my top 100 films. Wink. ex. Big Trouble in Little China, Brazil, The Royal Tenenbaums.
MY VIDEO GAME RATING SYSTEM
1/5. CURB-STOMP WORTHY, Few games in the history of my experience are so bad, so unplayable, or so head-ache inducing that they deserve to be set down and stomped into pieces of useless powder. To sum it up? 1/5 is for a game that is basically unplayable, ugly, "shovel-ware"; the kind of game you'll find twenty copies or more in a bargain bit at your local story. This category is usually filled with creativity bankrupted sequels and movie/tv based games.
Ex. Superman 64, Sonic Free Riders, and Ironman
2/5. BAD, Playable, but severely flawed. These games are mediocre, uninteresting, and/or poorly designed. The latter of which include ineffectual level design, lackluster stories, and fails to perform in a way that is antiquated. The game isn't necessarily garbage and, conceivably could be enjoyed, but I would recommend the player research, play a demo, and/or wait for a heavy discount on the title to hit the market. This category is filled with series lows and poorly executed ideas.
EX. Duke Nukem Forever, Medal of Honor (2010), Donkey Kong Country Returns
3/5. OKAY, The game is average, playable, and technically solid. The game brings nothing new to the series or genre, but it is completely competent. A big factor that makes the difference between a 3 and a 4 is the amount of game content and replay value vs. the game's price, I am comfortable in someone buying the game, but would generally recommend waiting for a small discount. This category is often earned by adequate license games and adequate sequels to franchises.
EX. Beautiful Katamari, Simpsons The Game, Resident Evil 5
4/5. GREAT, I feel comfortable recommending these games to most gamers and, usually, deserve full price. Usually games in this category are technically proficient and have good ideas/good execution, but have small flaws that may hamper the fun for most player. A big factor that can set these games are part from an okay title is, even despite lacking innovation, it makes up for it for adding a lot of new content to a series for your dollar and a lot of replay value. This score is often earned by titles that are good sequels in triple AAA series that use a familiar formula in an interesting way.
EX. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, Halo Reach, Pokemon Black/White
5/5. CONTENDER FOR GAME OF THE YEAR/CLASSIC, A game that earns this sort of score is either a genre defining classic. The game is not perfect, nothing is, but it sets lofty goals, achieves them, and innovates while doing so. These are the game I would pay the full price of admission to play, would recommend to any gamer, and lend out to my friends as soon as I can.
EX. Grand Theft Auto 4, Bioshock, Portal,
SPECIAL/COLLECTOR'S EDITION RATING SYSTEM
This is a lot simpler. For Special/Collector's Editions of Games there are 3 ratings.
WORST-BUY- It simply isn't worth it. Its overly expensive, the additional content isn't cool or worth it for the title, and/or it is in some way inferior to just buying the normal version of the game. I wouldn't recommend it until it basically in a bargain bin. These are probably the most common and usually involve just a little addition of some in-game content. EX. Halo 2 Collector's Edition
FAN-BUY- It is probably worth it to fans of the series who are going to love the extra content and put the special edition stuff on a shelf somewhere. These fan-buy's might be a little expensive, but often the value for a hardcore fan or player will out way the price. EX. Modern Warfare 3: Hardened Edition
MUST-BUY- This collector's edition is cool. It appeals to the fans in a way that, even if you're not a fan, it is worth throwing down a little extra dough to get this as soon as the price deflates from the initial price (usually you can get it for ten to twenty bucks less). The contents of these collector's editions come with cool, but not ungodly large or wonky stuff (example of large/wonky stuff, Skyrim Dragon Statue, Remote Control Car). EX. Fallout 3: Collector's Edition (comes with a lunchbox, bobblehead, and art book, on Amazon its worth $130, but you can find them in discount areas of stores for about $60).
BOARD GAME/ TABLETOP/ RPG RATING SYSTEM
My experience with truly bad board games is fairly limited. I'll instead be using a simpler system until I gather more experience. It should be noted that I review games for adults; games like Sorry are perfect for kids (families too), but if all the players are old enough to be involved in mature competition without devolving into fights, those sorts of games are just okay.
SKIP- BORING OR BROKEN: I've played very few board games that are this bad, but there is some over-expensive garbage out there. These games are migraine inducing, take hours to set up with little pay-off, or are just offensive in some other way that gives them a distinctive rating of boring or broken. These are the sorts of games you find in gift shops and in your grandma's attic-- games you wouldn't wish upon your worst enemy. EX. The Full House board game,
MAYBE BUY- SHELF-WORTHY: These games are fun a couple of times, on a really rainy day, or when you gotta entertain a party of bored folks. There is nothing terribly bad about games in this category, but they can be boring, may have several problems, or are just cheaply made. Regardless, some of these games are either classics or novelties that are fun from time to time. What separates these games from the best games of all times is the encouragement of interaction, critical thinking, strategy, amusement, and creativity that the other games encourage in their players. EX. Snakes & Ladders, UNO, Jenga, etc.
MUST-BUY- GAME OF THE YEAR WORTHY/ A LEGIT CLASSIC: These games are fan-fricking-tastic; games like these deviate from other games by creating a variety of choices, encouraging interaction, improve, and imagination, and are made with skillful craft to make a game that looks as good as it plays. These games are usually simple to pick up, but complex enough to master by combing strategy, problem solving, and creativity. A good game in this category can leave a lasting impression if you manage a daring play, have a terribly especially good laugh, or find out something special about your other players. These best tabletop games defy expectations. EX. Chess, Risk, Hero Quest, Cranium, Apples to Apples, etc,
