GameNutts.com was started by me, Michael McNutt. I have written reviews for a couple of years now for various small websites. I do not work in the industry but for the last six years, I have worked for a large corporation developing internal software and websites. Due to the complexity of such a large organization, I wanted to learn more about web design on a personal level. I wanted to learn more about the process from front to back. To do that I used my previous experience with .Net, SQL and database management mixed with my hobby and passion for video games to create this site. Since I do work for a major corporation in the IT industry, there are often times where I have to work late to meet deadlines. This severely limits my free time and drives me to use it more wisely. Part of that reason is what drives this site. I got tired of reading through long reviews full of fluff and unnecessary data just to find the parts that I was interested in. Likewise, some magazines, give short reviews of a game, but do not have the detail that I want to see. So, I decided to try to fill that void by writing reviews that should be organized in a way so that you can go straight to the areas you want, and read about them quickly. Also, the scoring system is set up in such a way so that you can see where a game excels or falters and then be able to judge if that is something that you care about or not. You will also understand the weight of each scored category and how it effects the overall score. In fact, let me explain the scoring categories.

Scoring Categories

Story  scored out of 10 points.

• Summarizes the overall story, and explains any key pieces of information without giving away spoilers. (Hopefully)
• Will only show on those games that have stories. RPG's, Action, Adventure and FPS's to name a few.

Game Modes scored out of 10 points.

• This category will try to explain the different modes to play the game.
• It will show on those games that do not have stories.
• Mostly sports, and maybe fighting games.

Gameplay scored out of 40 points.

• Considered by GameNutts.com the single most important factor of a game, which is reflected in the scoring weight.
• Describes things like:
• Controls
• Artificial Intelligence
• Level Design
• Camera Angles
• Objectives and Goals
• Mini games
• Weapons, tools and anything you need to use to reach your goals.
• Unlockables and collectibles
• Basically anything that is involved with the major gameplay mode.

Multiplayer scored out of 10 points

• It's an optional category that will only appear for games that have multiple players.
• Most important for online capabilities.
• Should include whether multiplayer is co-op or competitive or both?

Graphics scored out of 20 points

• Describes how the environments look.
• Describes how do the character models look.
• Describes how detailed the graphics are.
• Do they look better or worse than the previous best graphical games?
• Describes any specific graphical style and does it fit with the overall theme of the game?
• Realistic
• Cartoony
• Dark

Sound scored out of 10 points

• Do the sound effects sound realistic?
• Is there voice acting and is it any good?
• If there is voice acting, are their celebrities doing the voice acting?
• Describes the music in the game and if it is repetitive or annoying.
• Describes if there is a soundtrack or any popular artists that perform the music in the game.

Captivation scored out of 10 points

• Describes the challenge of the game.
• Describes how long the game might last.
• Describes the replayability of the game.
• Does the game have an easy learning curve or a long and involved one?
• Is the game addicting?
• Does the game immerse you into the experience or leave you feeling like an outsider?

Just remember that not all items within a category will apply to all games. But GameNutts.com strives to give users a complete synopsis of a game in a way that is quick and easy to read. From the hardcore gamer, to the casual gamer. Hopefully everyone can get something out of visiting our website.