Review Spotlight

Postby **VideoGameCritic** » August 31st, 2014, 6:44 pm

Scotland - I think you have the right idea. The mobile site is going to become increasingly used so I need to pay attention to that and ensure it delivers all the features of the web site.

Postby **VideoGameCritic** » September 1st, 2014, 12:50 pm

I added the review flashback (aka spotlight) feature to the Mobile main page.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Also, please keep those suggestions coming.

Postby **VideoGameCritic** » September 2nd, 2014, 8:45 pm

I fined-tuned the Review Flashback feature a little more on the mobile main page (at the very bottom).

I gave it a blue background so it stands out. Also, you can now click on the screenshot to go to the review. Same for the main page.

Rev1 · Postby **Rev1** » September 3rd, 2014, 6:59 pm

I like it, it stands out and is easy on the eyes. I tried looking at the mobile page from my laptop and the feature didn't work right, but on my cellphone it worked great. Cool feature.

Postby **VideoGameCritic** » September 3rd, 2014, 9:02 pm

The reason it didn't work may have been because you needed to hit refresh.

When people use an ipad, what version of the site are they seeing? What should they see?

scotland171 · Postby **scotland171** » December 23rd, 2014, 6:54 am

When did the Review Spotlight get renamed to Review Flashback? This is confusing as you have Flashback Reviews as well as Review Flashbacks now, and they are different things.

I preferred the older Spotlight name.

Its still a feature, two years old now, I enjoy as a gateway to your reviews and review style. It often has me reading now just the spotlight review but a few neighbors too. I do find its lost on the bottom of the mobile version even when I know where it is, and more prominent on the full site.

Not sure your web stats give you click thrus on that feature, but that is my anecdotal two bit coins worth.

Postby **VideoGameCritic** » December 24th, 2014, 12:29 pm

I think I changed it from Review Spotlight to Review Flashback a few months back. But if people think Spotlight sounds better I can change it back.

Also, maybe I can put it in the middle of the mobile screen, instead of the bottom.

Postby **scotland** » April 28th, 2015, 3:26 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:I think I changed it from Review Spotlight to Review Flashback a few months back.

Thanks for returning it to "Review Spotlight", as Flashback now makes me think of the AT Games units or something else from the 1960s of which we do not speak.

This feature is still pretty lost on the mobile site. You have to scroll down a lot of graphics of recent reviews, then past the hyperlinks of somewhat recent reviews, then you finally get to it before copyright notice. LIke the other parts of the full site, it may be better to just dispense with on the mobile site, or give it a link up top.

Today's Review Spotlight was the original NES Castlevania. I think this review, done in December of 2004, is excellent. Its short but still manages to summarize the plot, the music, the gameplay, and give a sense of its appeal. You point out the negatives like cheap hits and poorly defined sprites along with the positives, which justifies the B and putting it as 2nd in the Castlevania trilogy of titles Konami did for the NES. I also like that you reviewed all three titles at the same time. I like reviews (or re-reviews) that share something, like being sequels, or sharing a theme or a gameplay style.

Postby **scotland** » February 14th, 2016, 11:43 am

I saw today's is a 1994 CD-i Titannic interactive documentary, narrated by Patrick Stewart. Thanks for reviewing educational titles. I hope you review some more. Are there systems that don't have educational titles? Maybe you feel its unfair to rate them, as your main criteria is fun, but the NA rating is fine by me.

The review says 'rediscovery in 1992', which is not correct. I think Ballard found it in 1985, but chose not to salvage anything (which resulted in others coming in later, salvaging parts, and claiming rights to the wreck).

We learned a lot about Titannic when Ballard found it. I remember reading a lot about it, and it was just a series of issues that led to it going under so quickly and dramatically...everything from the size of the rudder, to the crew inexperience, to the rivets, to the angle of the strike, etc. There is a mid 90s point and click adventure about the Titannic too, "Adventure Out of Time", but I've never played it. Is there a movie tie-in from the Cameron movie. That would actually make a great 8 or 16 bit platforming game, wouldn't it? Add in an orca for a final boss in the frozen water or something. A new Titannic game is in the works, after being crowd funded.

Edit: I have noticed the bump delay you mention below. Maybe moving it up would be a good idea.

Postby **VideoGameCritic** » February 14th, 2016, 12:28 pm

I don't normally review education titles unless there's something that really catches my eye. Can't really compare them against games which is why I used NA (not applicable) instead. Thanks for the correction about the date - I should probably fix that. If you guys have any other "educational" review recommendations let me know.

I'm wondering if I should move the Review Spotlight pane up over the Voting Statistics pane? The reason is because the voting statistics usually take a second or two to load, which makes the right panel "jump" a bit, which doesn't look so hot. If I pushed the stats down a bit, people probably wouldn't even notice. Thoughts?