FAQ

What games are put up here for review?

Two requirements:

1) The game is available to buy (or download) digitally.

2) The game is DRM free.

What games does this include?

Some freeware games. All GOG games and similar DRM free stores. A few game company stores offer their games DRM free.

What games does this NOT include?

Any game that isn’t available to download legally will not be reviewed.

Any game that has DRM, excluding forms of Internet multiplayer, will not be reviewed. Browser games also will not be reviewed.

All Steam games will not be reviewed.

What the heck? Why won’t Steam games be reviewed?

Steam uses DRM to become an alternative console itself. Instead of using hardware for the DRM, Steam uses the Internet.

While some Steam games might be DRM free, this isn’t certain those games will remain DRM free in the future. Therefore, all Steam games are assumed to be DRM.

Why don’t you have many games reviewed? I expect hundreds of reviews!

The nature of the PC game is different than that of game consoles. And since I am playing these games in the present, I am reviewing them fresh and not relying on nostalgia.

I also have a real life job and responsibilities that don’t allow me to play video games all day.

The objective is to get at the true value of the game, not flood the site with worthless reviews that are shallow editorials.

What computer specs are you are reviewing these games on?

Intel Duo 2.80 GHz
3.5 GB Ram
Nvidia Geforce GT 620
Windows XP Service Pack 3

The computer that is doing the reviews is not particularly strong and isn’t that weak either (but gets weaker as technology gets better every year). With Windows XP, it should be able to tackle these older games. If this computer is having problems running a game and it isn’t a modern game, it is going to be very difficult for Windows 7 and 8 users.

Why are some reviews short?

It is because that is all that needs to be said. It’s difficult to talk much about some game genres such as shmups. Terrible games get short reviews because I am not interested in torturing myself.

Why have another review site for games?

Four reasons.

1) There are no sites reviewing these old (and some new) games. On GOG every game gets a five star review. You buy it, download it, play it, and then immediately uninstall it soon after. I want to stop that. There is tons of garbage on GOG but there are also some great games.

2) All review sites use platforms to review games such as PS3 or PC or even Indie. This site is unique because it presents DRM free as a console itself, a post console.

3) Review site scores don’t mean anything since they aren’t tethered to a control group. What does 80% mean anyway? At Post Console, we are using a historical era as that control group. 80% means the game has the value of a Zelda. That means something and isn’t nebulous.

4) Most game review scores are put and forgotten. We’re going to attempt living reviews. The reviews of games can change over time. The really old games obviously won’t change, but the newer ones’ true value will be identified as time goes on. Much of this comes from the readers and myself in saying, “Does this game actually have that value?”

How do the reviews work?

Most reviews are nothing but an editorial of the game. What Post Console is trying to do is to illustrate its value, not deliver an editorial.

The most important thing is showing how the game is played and how to get into the game fast. The beginning areas of games are shown off and illustrated to give the reader an idea of what to expect and to reduce the learning curve.

Other elements of the game are shown such as, “What is the correct input for this game?” You don’t want to buy a game designed for joysticks when you don’t have a joystick.

In one way, I’m trying to emulate the old game magazines in that they SHOWED how the game was played and gave you the sense of the game’s depth. I believe that is very important in obtaining the game’s value.

Why did you pick the NES Era as the Scale?

It was a time period before ‘Console War’ as well as a time period when games didn’t all feel the same (prior to the rise of the Game Industry). It’s easier to differentiate within the scale. Many people can relate to the NES Era better than any other era. When I say, “This game has the value of a Legend of Zelda,” that says a specific form of value and isn’t just a number.

One can shift the scale to another generation if one wants. For the SNES Era, you could place, say, Super Mario Kart on top followed by Super Metroid then Link to the Past then Mega Man X then… You get the idea.

Do you take price into consideration of the value?

No. Prices change too much and there are too many sales. Many sales are 75% off!

Anything that bumps up games’ scores?

Yes. A game being freeware gets a bump. There can be no buyer’s remorse when you do not pay anything so I am comfortable in pushing those titles forward a little.

Content is another factor. Games that are unique, memorable, will score better than games that offer more generic content. You can tell what is generic or not if there are so many other games like it.

Are there game genres you don’t think you can review well?

I strongly dislike adventure games and horror games. Adventure games are too slow for me. Horror games just don’t cast a spell on me. I’m the type of guy who can go through any Haunted House and yawn through it. The only time I get scared in the game is from emergent gameplay. I’ve never met a scary game.

Some adventure games are OK, I suppose. They just aren’t my cup of tea.

I’m pretty broad with what I like. If I had to choose a favorite, it would be strategy games of both turn based and real-time.

How does feedback to reviews work?

Readers are free to post comments agreeing or disagreeing with the score. If they disagree, they better specify why.

All review scores are done by me. There is no democratic vote. If we went that direction, we’d be back where we began with the passionate players, stuffed with nostalgia, giving these games five star reviews based more on the game’s influence on their youth than the actual game.

However, the goal is to get at the true value of these games. I am hoping a good amount of the review will be some debate. Since I have personally played these games recently, I can elaborate on why the game has the value of a ‘Wizards and Warriors’ or a ‘Super Mario Brothers 3′.

Where did my comment go?

All comments not pertaining to the game or the review will be removed. No one is interested in hearing about your dog or the weather at your house. Comments attacking myself or other commentators will be removed.

Why do you have so many games getting good reviews?

It’s because I haven’t gotten to the bad ones yet. I am just like you. Do YOU want to play bad games? Of course not. When given a choice, I gravitate towards the better games. The better reviews aren’t because I’m tilting the scale but that I’m cherry picking the better games first.

Why are you so hostile to some games?

Post Console games are not innocent of mediocrity until proven. To the contrary, Post Console games are guilty of mediocrity and their excellence must be proven. A gravity of harshness pushes all the games toward the Urban Champion abyss. Games only rise after every rhetorical arrow is fired at them.

The games that don’t rise are the games not proven excellent. The better rated the game, the longer the review must be as excellence must be justified and elaborated.

What games do you recommend I purchase?

I recommend all games 70% and above. (Mega Man, Zelda, Metroid, and Tanooki quality.)

Tanooki games should be purchased by everyone even if they dislike the genre.

Metroid games should be purchased by everyone who likes the genre and wants to see a game unsurpassed in it.

Zelda games should be purchased by everyone who likes the genre despite the game might being surpassed in it.

Mega Man games should be purchased by those who just want a solid, good game.

I’ll do my best to make sure the recommended list is as few as possible. The wallet prefers harshness.

I tried one your better rated games, and I didn’t like it. What is going on here?

And there are people out there who don’t like Super Mario Brothers 3. The games that get highly rated are going to be the ones you will find many, many people agree with. Now if a turn based game gets rated highly and the person hates turn based games, this doesn’t mean they will love the game. But they probably should give it a chance as it is the best of those type of games.

I don’t want you to buy a game and only end up uninstalling it because it wasn’t fun. I’ve had that happen to me. I cannot promise that such a thing will not happen to you again, but I am hoping it will happen with much, much less probability with Post Console than it was without it.

I do not believe that we should buy twenty games only to find one or two we really like to play.

What about mods?

I’m reviewing these games straight vanilla. If there is a worthwhile mod, I’ll try to mention it and experience it. Mods that alter the basic game, or lack of them, won’t influence the score.

May I ask you to review a game?

You may ask. The reason I may not do it anytime soon is that I am reviewing many games at once. The only way I am able to do this is by stacking games of various genres so they don’t overlap. For example, I cannot review multiple RPGs at a time. If I did so, I think it would interfere in truly playing concentrating on the game. However, a side scroller on the side doesn’t interfere. Neither does a puzzle game or a first person shooter.

Some of the Post Console games take extensive time to play especially the RPGs. Since I’m playing these games today, it will be a while to go through genres that are time sinks.

May I send you a game?

You may. My email is at postconsole@gmail.com. You may also donate to the PayPal any amount you wish as it will be used to improve this website.

Why are you doing this?

If we do not decipher the true value of these games, I fear the Post Console will fail, and we’ll be stuck in a DRM only world.