A note regarding RMG's rating system, as well as the ESRB.

I struggled for several days over which rating system to implement in writing reviews of games, and the one I eventually settled on was a ten-point scale. To me, it is less complex than the system that IGN uses, which is also a ten-point scale, but allows for splitting hairs because of decimal uses. For example, IGN rated Killzone 2 as a 9.4 and Gears of War 2 as a 9.5. What difference between these two games possibly constitutes one as being one-tenth of a point superior to the other game?! It seems to me that it would be impossible to, over a long period of time, consistently rate games along the same guidelines.

1UP.com's rating system of a letter scale (from "A+" all the way to an "F") is closer to what I see as an efficient rating scale, but even theirs does not quite measure up for me. With each letter grade having a "+," "average," and "-" rating, that produces a total of 12 differing letter grades. When you tack on the "F," that makes it 13. If I told you a game was an 8 out of 13 (which is what 1UP's grade of "B" for the game Wheelman would translate to) what would you say?

"Dude, that's a weird number."

Bingo. A ten-point grading scale in my mind keeps it simple and relatable. I know it doesn't quite allow for differentiation between games that don't quite seem to be on the same level (for example, I would rate Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Madden NFL 09 as 8/10, but I feel that Madden is the superior game because of replayability factor, length, and overall depth of gameplay) but it provides an easy-classifiable status upon a game.

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10- A shining example of gaming at its absolute best .

9- An excellent game that must be bought. It has a shortcoming or two that prevent it from receiving a "10," but it does not detract from the overall experience.

8- A great game that definitely should be played, and possibly bought. It has some shortcomings that can be overlooked.

7- An enjoyable gaming experience, but there are better games out there. Rent this.

6- A game with definite flaws. Maybe rent it, or if possible, borrow it from a friend.

5- An average game. It does not bring anything new to the table and has several issues that detract from the overall experience.

4- Sub-par. You know plenty of games that are better than this. Why would you want to waste your time on this one?

3- Bad. How did the publisher get tricked into thinking this game was a good idea?

2- Miserable. You feel bad for the people in the credits because you know they are going to have their names associated with this piece of garbage for the rest of their lives.

1- Embarrassing. You want to hunt down the developer and hit them in the face for making this game. Burn it, and then burn those resulting ashes again.

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Also, here are the videogame ratings the Enteractive Software Rating Board provide, as well as examples of games that have recieved this rating. I provide this listing as a reference guide for parents and also because I will be including the ESRB rating of each game I review at the end of its review.

EC- Early Childhood
- Dora The Explorer: Journey to the Purple Planet (PS2, Gamecube); Wonder Pets! Save The
Animals! (DS)
E- Everyone
- Smash Cars (PS3); Summer Athletics 2009 (Wii)
E10+- Everyone (ages 10+)
- Real Heroes: Firefighter (Wii); LEGO Batman: The Videogame (multiple platforms)
T- Teen (13+)
- UFC 2009 Undisputed (360, PS3); Sam and Max Save the World (360); Uncharted (PS3)
M- Mature (17+)
- Killzone 2 (PS3); Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3); Halo 3 (360); Bioshock (360)
AO- Adults Only*
- Thrill Kill (PSX); Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, XBox)

*According to the ESRB's website, only twenty three games have ever recieved an "AO" rating.