Lapsed Gamer Radio

Here at Lapsed Gamer Radio we like to do things a little differently. We set out to cater to a specific type of person – those of you out there who have an interest in gaming, but for whatever reason have become a lapsed gamer. Maybe you don’t have much time to play, or you fell out of love with gaming and are slowly getting back into it. Maybe you haven’t held a controller in a really long time, maybe you’ve never held a modern controller, maybe (like our dear own Cev) fast-paced first-person-shooters make you feel sea-sick. It is with that in mind that we will be tailoring our reviews to suit our audience, so don’t expect us to review games by the same criteria as most other sites.

We also won’t be giving games scores here at LGR. While we understand that a lot of reviewers still like to use scores and have perfectly valid arguments for using them, we hold the opinion that they can often detract from the body of the review itself. We’ve all seen enough arguments on comments sections along the lines of “I can’t believe you gave Game X a perfect 10 but only gave Game Y a 7.5”. Therefore, instead of scoring games, we will be using a (not at all pinched from Eurogamer) system of stamps.

Seal of Quality

This award will be reserved for the best of the best. The cream of the crop. The mutt’s nuts. For a game to win the gold stamp award, not only does it have to be exceptional in terms of gameplay, story, fun-factor etc., it will also have to be a game we feel is perfect for a lapsed gamer. Something that doesn’t require a massive time commitment to play, or at least a game that can be played in easily manageable chunks, a game that doesn’t require the lightning-fast reactions of a teenage pro-gamer to enjoy, or a game that can easily be played with your kids. The reviewer might be absolutely in love with the game, but if they feel it isn’t accessible for a lapsed gamer, then the gold stamp will not be awarded.

Approved

The silver stamp will be reserved for games we really really like and would recommend to anyone, but aren’t quite good enough to win the gold stamp. Maybe the game is absolutely brilliant and we think you should play it, but with the caveat that it might not be perfectly suited to a lapsed gamer.

Avoid

Absolute stinkers. Broken games, unfinished games, games with serious design flaws. The avoid stamp will be reserved for games that we cannot recommend and would advise you actively avoid.

Not every game will be awarded a stamp, only those that we recommend, highly recommend, or recommend you avoid at all costs. If a game isn’t awarded a stamp then that means we have some reservations about it, but it’s not a complete stinker. We will be clear in our reviews what those reservations are, and it will be up to you to decide whether you feel they are enough to stop you wanting to play the game or not.

As for what games we review, there is no set criteria. Some reviews will be for brand-spanking-new games, some will be for games that are a year or two old, maybe some games we review will be several years old. As we are an enthusiast, hobbyist outfit, the games we review will by and large be ones we have bought ourselves, but occasionally we may be sent review code or a review copy of a game. If this is the case we will ensure that is clearly disclosed in the review, as it will if we review a game by a developer who has appeared on the podcast, or with whom we have a friendly relationship. In these cases we will endeavour to be as objective as possible because we value our integrity highly.

If you have any questions about our review policy please visit our contact us page.