[Jim_Zabek]

Hi Annette,

I'm Jim Zabek, the Editor-in-Chief for The Wargamer.

You've got some excellent advice: you have to be very careful when you run a review site, though I wouldn't restrict that statement beyond that point. There seem to always be a few folks who can possibly misapprehend a review or statement made on the site. Perhaps I can help clarify a couple of things for you regarding your concern around review times and titles.

First, The Wargamer has never been known to have the fastest turnaround times on reviews. When a title is hot, we do try to get something out on it ASAP. In the case of Gary Grigsby’s World at War we had gold copy several weeks before the game was released commercially. In the case of Raging Tiger, we did not. Before I go further, I'd like to make a formal request: please send any exclusive screen shots, preview code, and review code to us as early as possible, especially for 82nd Airborne. There is a tremendous level of excitement around it and our readers and staff are really excited to see it. If you can get us Gold code three or four weeks before the game comes out I will do my best to get it reviewed before or coinciding with the game's commercial release.

As for timing, and since your concern centers around Matrix products, let me share a couple of examples. I don't keep a calendar as to when a game is commercially released and compare that to when we publish a review. However, I believe it's safe to say that Matrix Games' Starshatter was released sometime early last summer. A quick check of our site (where we do list the date our review was published) shows that review went up on...(drumroll please)

February 3, 2005.

Another "big" Matrix title, War in the Pacific, came out around the middle of last summer. We published its review on....

January 12, 2005.

There's no conspiracy on the part of The Wargamer to slight Shrapnel's games or cause Shrapnel any trouble, and I have to apologize to you if you received that impression. It's simply not true.

Something that is true, and you have rightly pointed that out, is that reviewers have opinions and those opinions can vary from person to person. Let’s talk about game manuals for a moment, since the subject is on many people’s minds:

I haven't seen the manual to Raging Tiger (we only received a single copy and it went to our reviewer) so I can't comment on it. I have seen the manual for Gary Grigsby's World at War and can say that it is lengthy but well written. Criticism of a manual usually isn't limited to its length but rather its quality and, more importantly, the need for it. A strong tutorial will help mitigate the need to flip through page after page of a paper manual. Without having seen Raging Tiger's manual, I can only speak in general terms: that care should be taken to make a manual as user friendly as possible, and ideally almost superfluous.

To illustrate a final point about manuals, perceptions, and game quality, let's take a look at Dominions II. I'll have to ask that you forgive my lack of savvy in quoting; this is my first post in the forums and I'm still learning the interface.

Let's take a look at what our reviewer (a third person who neither reviewed World at War nor Raging Tiger):

QUOTE
Documentation

This is one area that Dominions II could have been stronger. Don't get me wrong - the manual is well written, thorough, and has a complete listing of all the specialty items and spells available in the game. However, it does not go into enough depth to be truly satisfying. I would have appreciated an example of play or some tips about how to get started. By this I mean, what types of magic to specialize in depending on race, battle tactics and use of magic. To a certain extent, some of these shortcomings are addressed in the 'Tip of the Turn' that comes up between turns the orders of the previous turn are processed, especially when tactics are considered. Consequently, I found the learning curve to be steep and at times frustrating as I first delved into the game. A walk-through of the set-up and first few turns of a game is available on Shrapnel's website. I highly recommend it for any newbies.

/QUOTE

Care to guess what he thought of that title? Let's see what his conclusion was:

QUOTE
Summary

Dominions II is a great game. The more I played, the more I liked it not only because I am a strategy game fan, but also because of the challenge it presented. Rarely have I come across a game has made me work as hard as I did to improve my performance. Except for an improved diplomacy screen or at least a system to allow a player to see who they are and aren't at war with, I believe Dominions II has it all. This game won't be for everyone but if you like strategy games and can do without glitz and high tech graphics, Dominions II will be a great choice. I highly recommend it!

/QUOTE

Not only that, but Dominions II received our prestigious Award for Excellence. I think it’s safe to say that the game’s manual doesn’t reflect the overall quality of a game. It’s also safe to say that when we see a great game, we let the world know – irrespective of who the publisher is. It’s also safe to say that when we find a game we don’t like, we won’t hide that fact from our readers, either.

I can understand that some Shrapnel staffers may not have liked our review of Raging Tiger. However, The Wargamer's review isn't the only one on the net. I haven't seen any other reviews which refute it. That doesn't mean that some gamers won't like it - it's ideal for some, but not for others. That point was made in our review, though. And when Dr. Jim Cobb offered to take another look at it and I gladly accepted because I know he’ll be able to speak to the audience who might enjoy the game.

I can't control how my reviewers feel about the games they review. Forcing one to give a positive review to a title he doesn't like would be as bad as forcing one to write something negative about something they loved. I can't allow either.

What I can do is give you all the free press you can get if you send us developer diaries, screen shots, and previews. And when you publish another game as excellent as Dominions II, you'll hear our staff cheering for it, too.

Oh, and good luck launching your independent gaming news site. I look forward to reading it.