We rate games on a scale of 1-5 stars including half-stars, with 1 star being "Awful" (definitely not worth your time) and 5 stars being "Outstanding" (a classic in the making, and definitely a contender for Game of the Year awards). We also believe in using the full extent of our scale, so you won't see any bad games getting an inflated 3.5-star score (on the contrary -- that means the game is good!).
Editors' Choice Award
GameSpy has an Editors' Choice award, which is automatically bestowed on all games scoring 4.5 stars or higher.
What makes an Editors' Choice game? It's a binary cue: This award is a flashing beacon that tells our readers they will have fun with this game. This stamp indicates that the majority of gamers will find this game well worth their time and money. If a game gets 4.5 stars or better, it's a definite keeper.
What the Stars Mean
4.5 to 5 Stars: Outstanding! An exceptional game that we recommend universally and without reservation. These games are landmark games that are generally in the running for Game of the Year awards. Games in this range receive a GameSpy Editors' Choice award.
3.5 to 4 Stars: Good. A very memorable game, recommended for most of our audience. It might have some minor flaws, or it may lack originality, but it's altogether a lot of fun, and well worth your time.
2.5 to 3 Stars: Average. This game is definitely playable, but lacking in key areas. Die-hard fans of the series in question might still get some entertainment, but this game doesn't shoot for much beyond maintaining the status quo.
1.5 to 2 Stars: Poor. This game suffers from fundamental design issues, significant bugs, and other serious flaws. We don't recommend it.
0.5 to 1 Star: Awful. This game is fatally flawed, either technically or from a gameplay standpoint (or both), to the extent that it is nigh-unplayable.
What Are We Looking for When We Review Games?
We call them like we see them. GameSpy has not and will not ever allow a game's review score to be influenced by developers, publishers, or anyone else. GameSpy does business with developers and publishers in many ways -- through the sale of advertising, GameSpy.net toolkits, and other means. But we adhere to strict standards when it comes to reviews -- we call it the "Church-and-State question." One doesn't influence the other. Period.
It's all about FUN! GameSpy reviewers look at games from several different perspectives -- whether the game has technical brilliance, graphics to die for, an elegant and useful interface, and more. But it all comes back to the fun. Is the game fun to play? That's the single most important criteria when we start scoring.
Money matters. We know you pay hard-earned cash for your games, and our reviews are here to help you decide whether a game's worth buying or not. A game that might be seriously overpriced at $50 could be a total bargain at $20, which is why a game's overall value factors into our reviews and scores. But, conversely, an amazing indie game that's $15 is still amazing!
We love multiplayer! We think multiplayer gaming is important to connected gamers like you. In every GameSpy review, we make a point of going over the multiplayer options -- and letting you know what's great and what's not.