Game Revolution
Encyclopedia
Game Revolution or GR is a gaming website created in 1996. Based in Berkeley, California
, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomic
s, screenshots, and videos. Their features pages include articles satirizing Jack Thompson
, E³, the hype surrounding the next-generation consoles, and the Video game controversy
. Cameo writing appearances include Brian Clevinger
of 8-Bit Theatre and Scott Ramsoomair of VG Cats
. The website has also participated in marketing campaigns for video games, including Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows
. To date, it is one of the oldest remaining video game review and news site on the internet.
Founded in 1996, GameRevolution claims hundreds of thousands of daily visitors to its site.
and Mike Krahulik
of Penny Arcade to attend. They also bestowed Black & White (video game) the Best of E3 award.
(a division of Atomic Online http://atomiconline.com/properties/craveonline/) for another undisclosed sum. It has since been integrated as part of the CraveOnline community while continuing to stand alone as a popular site. The purchase was announced February 25, 2008.
s of the game itself with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. Game Revolution, through their roughly two-page reviews come to a summary in the American A-F Grading system. Game Revolution claims rightly that they have never given an "A+", and their "A" is awarded to very few, very select games. Such games include Metroid Prime
, Ōkami
, Grand Theft Auto III
, and Halo: Combat Evolved
. On the opposite side of the spectrum, when faced with games they consider to be terrible, the site's reviewers often choose to make the actual reading of the review humorous. For example, when reviewing Survivor: The Interactive Game, multiple drop-down boxes that serve no logical purpose were added to poke fun at the game. One problem with the grading system is that it causes problems when meta review sites have to convert the score to a numerical value that doesn't quite reflect the grade that GR gave it.
Some GR members have been creating reviews akin to those of the main GR staff, including a mimic of GR's summary +/- system, and copying GR's somewhat humorous style and paragraphing.
These reviews are a part of the member produced content that has gained affluence since its inclusion.
Recently Game Revolution featured a preview of Reset Generation
for the N-Gage 2.0. The cross-platform action-puzzle video game impressed the staff with its many cultural references, and in turn the preview was highlighted on the N-Gage Blog.
years ago and the inclusion of ActionTrip through the CraveOnline purchase.
in the comments related to that day's Manifesto. Winners are chosen the following Monday, and win prizes such as games, t-shirts and other merchandise. On some occasions the staff has also given out beta keys to upcoming games.
to its already extensive range of personal input from the staff.
The GR podcast mostly pertains to video games, but also contains humorous commentary on world politics and news. The podcast is usually updated Friday evenings both on the website, and off iTunes
.This in now terminated
contacted the Lou Kerner of Game Revolution and requested he remove an ´offensive´ AIM
buddy icon from an affiliate site of Game Revolution known as Bolt.com. Kerner complied and had the offending icon removed immediately. However, Thompson saw the removal as an admission of guilt
and contacted the NYPD to have Kerner arrested. However, no such action was taken. Duke Ferris, another employee of the site, wrote an article http://www.gamerevolution.com/features/jack_thompson on the matter and humorously pointed out the ridiculousness of the entire situation. To drive home this point, he even chose to present a primitively drawn image which had Thompson being devoured by a crocodile, and then challenged Thompson to go ahead and have him arrested. It is unknown if Thompson responded to the article.
Other community aspects of the site include the ability for members to post their own reviews, cheats, and FAQs. Members can also use the site to write Blog
s about their daily lives, views on gaming topics, or just about anything they desire. A running contest called Vox Pop (or Vox Populi, Voice of the People) allows users to pick the most interesting or deserving blog entry to win a prize. The prize is typically a game selected by the staff and mailed to the winning member.
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
s, screenshots, and videos. Their features pages include articles satirizing Jack Thompson
Jack Thompson (attorney)
John Bruce "Jack" Thompson is an American activist and disbarred attorney, based in Coral Gables, Florida. Thompson is known for his role as an anti-video-game activist, particularly against violence and sex in video games....
, E³, the hype surrounding the next-generation consoles, and the Video game controversy
Video game controversy
Violent video game debates often center on topics such as video game graphic violence, sex and sexism, violent and gory scenes, partial or full nudity, portrayal of criminal behavior, racism, and other provocative and objectionable material. Video games have been studied for links to addiction and...
. Cameo writing appearances include Brian Clevinger
Brian Clevinger
Brian Clevinger is an American writer best known as the author of the webcomic 8-Bit Theater and the Eisner-nominated print comic Atomic Robo...
of 8-Bit Theatre and Scott Ramsoomair of VG Cats
VG Cats
VG Cats is a webcomic written and drawn by Canadian cartoonist Scott Ramsoomair. Published on its own website, it features the adventures of a pair of anthropomorphic cats, who often play the roles of characters in popular video games that are parodied in the strip. Strips are usually presented in...
. The website has also participated in marketing campaigns for video games, including Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows
Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows
Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows is the follow-up to Gauntlet Legends and Gauntlet Dark Legacy. Industry veterans John Romero and Josh Sawyer initially spearheaded Midway's San Diego studio, intent on reviving the Gauntlet action role-playing game franchise...
. To date, it is one of the oldest remaining video game review and news site on the internet.
Company history
Net Revolution, Inc., a California corporation was founded in April, 1996 by Duke Ferris as a holding company and as publisher of the Game Revolution website. Ferris served as president of the company until it was acquired in 2005 stock purchase by Bolt Media, Inc. for an undisclosed sum.Founded in 1996, GameRevolution claims hundreds of thousands of daily visitors to its site.
E3
The staff of Game Revolution are annual judges at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Duke Ferris is a returning Judge for the 2010 show. Perhaps the most influential year for Game Revolution at E3 was in 2000, where they invited Jerry HolkinsJerry Holkins
Keith Gerald "Jerry" Holkins né Parkinson is the writer of the webcomic Penny Arcade and co-founder of Child's Play, a multimillion dollar charity that organizes toy drives for children's hospitals...
and Mike Krahulik
Mike Krahulik
Mike Krahulik is the artist for the popular webcomic Penny Arcade and co-founder with Jerry Holkins of Child's Play, a multimillion dollar charity that organizes toy drives for children's hospitals. He goes by the online moniker "Jon Gabriel" or "Gabe"...
of Penny Arcade to attend. They also bestowed Black & White (video game) the Best of E3 award.
Purchase By CraveOnline
Following the bankruptcy of Bolt Media, Inc., continuing to be frequented by hundreds of thousands of visitors, GameRevolution was purchased from the assignment for the benefit of creditors by the men's entertainment site CraveOnlineCraveOnline
CraveOnline is a male lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. The site is owned by media company AtomicOnline, the publishing division of Evolve Media Corp.- History :...
(a division of Atomic Online http://atomiconline.com/properties/craveonline/) for another undisclosed sum. It has since been integrated as part of the CraveOnline community while continuing to stand alone as a popular site. The purchase was announced February 25, 2008.
Content
GameRevolution's popularity stems from the varied and voluminous content on the site. Such content includes: Reviews, Previews, Screenshots, Videos, Cheats, FAQS (Frequently Asked Questions), Downloads, Release Lists, Features, Goodies, Comics, The GR Mailbag, Daily Manifesto, Podcast, Community, Chat, Forums, and Member Produced Content.Reviews
One of the site's most acclaimed attributes is their style of reviews, often harshly criticizing the game and developerVideo game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
s of the game itself with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. Game Revolution, through their roughly two-page reviews come to a summary in the American A-F Grading system. Game Revolution claims rightly that they have never given an "A+", and their "A" is awarded to very few, very select games. Such games include Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime is a video game developed by Retro Studios and Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube, released in North America on November 17, 2002...
, Ōkami
Okami
is an action-adventure video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom. It was released for Sony's PlayStation 2 video game console in 2006 in Japan and North America, and 2007 in Europe and Australia...
, Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 open world action computer and video game developed by DMA Design in the United Kingdom, and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D title in the Grand Theft Auto series. It was released in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2, May 2002 for Microsoft Windows,...
, and Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved, frequently referred to as Halo: CE, or Halo 1, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game of the Halo franchise, it was released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system, and is...
. On the opposite side of the spectrum, when faced with games they consider to be terrible, the site's reviewers often choose to make the actual reading of the review humorous. For example, when reviewing Survivor: The Interactive Game, multiple drop-down boxes that serve no logical purpose were added to poke fun at the game. One problem with the grading system is that it causes problems when meta review sites have to convert the score to a numerical value that doesn't quite reflect the grade that GR gave it.
Member reviews
Recently, members have been given the ability to write their own reviews on the website, for any game in Game-Revolution's database. This has caused problems where some user reviews have written reviews about games still in development, but are in GR's database (such as when GR releases a preview, or screen shots of the game). Due to the websites smaller staff, a number of games do not have reviews for them; the member reviews fill this void.Some GR members have been creating reviews akin to those of the main GR staff, including a mimic of GR's summary +/- system, and copying GR's somewhat humorous style and paragraphing.
These reviews are a part of the member produced content that has gained affluence since its inclusion.
Previews
Before a game is released, developers will commonly release information about their title. This information is compiled together into a look at upcoming titles written by members of staff. These previews are an informative look into such aspects apparent in the unfinished game such as the style of gameplay, story, and graphics. Also included is information about the developer.Recently Game Revolution featured a preview of Reset Generation
Reset Generation
Reset Generation is a cross-platform action-puzzle video game by RedLynx for Windows and N-Gage 2.0 compatible devices. Soundtrack for the game was composed by 8 Bit Weapon...
for the N-Gage 2.0. The cross-platform action-puzzle video game impressed the staff with its many cultural references, and in turn the preview was highlighted on the N-Gage Blog.
Screenshots
The screenshots section is an easy to navigate look at images released for many upcoming titles. There are commonly numerous images of characters and unique gameplay aspects.Videos
The videos in this section of the site are similar to the screenshots in that the videos are also released by the developer for the purpose of publicity. Videos commonly include trailers, clips of gameplay, and insight into all concepts that can be viewed and heard that the developers desire to show.Cheats
The cheats section has many applicable cheats for current and past video games as well as walkthroughs, or step by step solutions of games. Many are user created and list different methods to cheat in a game, examples being unlocking items, or enabling the popular God mode which makes the player invulnerable to losing.FAQS
The FAQs section consists of a number of Frequently Asked Questions and answers about popular titles. These are commonly user created and help answer questions about gameplay or other aspects of the titles.Downloads
The downloads section has a number of demos, addons, patches, and even free games that can be downloaded through the site, or commonly through mirrors, onto a computer.Release lists
The release lists is, simply, a list of release dates for upcoming games on varying consoles and the PC.Goodies
The Goodies section is a compilation of various media about games. There are videos, whether in cartoon or live action form, that discuss games or on the topic of games that can be viewed inside of GameRevolution. There are also a number of games that can similarly be played in site.Web comics
The website brings together and links various online comics of varying popularity that are commonly related to video games. The particular comics presented have fluxed and changed over the years, such as the removal of Penny ArcadePenny Arcade (webcomic)
Penny Arcade is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website loonygames.com. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have established their own site, which is typically updated with a new comic...
years ago and the inclusion of ActionTrip through the CraveOnline purchase.
GR Mailbag
Game Revolution also has a GR Mailbag (previously "Moron Mailbag"), a way of showing their personal responses to the numerous hate-mail they receive. However, the mailbag is not limited to hate-mail, and has included junk and complementary mail as well. Almost every response Game Revolution posts is intended to be humorous in nature, usually poking fun at the sender or the e-mail's contents. The Mailbag is updated the least out of the site's content, which is often pointed out be the creators as a running gag.Daily Manifesto
The Manifesto is a section updated daily with personal and gaming news and interests of the GameRevolution staff. It commonly has links to popular gaming news or entertainment videos.Haiku Friday
A weekly feature of the Daily Manifesto occurring most every Friday, where users post HaikuHaiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
in the comments related to that day's Manifesto. Winners are chosen the following Monday, and win prizes such as games, t-shirts and other merchandise. On some occasions the staff has also given out beta keys to upcoming games.
Podcast
Recently, GR added a podcastPodcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
to its already extensive range of personal input from the staff.
The GR podcast mostly pertains to video games, but also contains humorous commentary on world politics and news. The podcast is usually updated Friday evenings both on the website, and off iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.This in now terminated
Features
The feature section commonly includes articles about important gaming events as the Nintendo Summit http://www.gamerevolution.com/features/nintendo-summit-2008 and other developers' personal and public congregations and displays. For a number of years it has also contained the GR Awards for Best, and Worst, of a year in gaming, as well as having buying guides for the Holiday Season. There are also a number of bizarre and unique articles describing phenomena in the gaming community, or simply, interesting news for gamers.Jack Thompson controversy
Sometime in August 2005, Jack ThompsonJack Thompson (attorney)
John Bruce "Jack" Thompson is an American activist and disbarred attorney, based in Coral Gables, Florida. Thompson is known for his role as an anti-video-game activist, particularly against violence and sex in video games....
contacted the Lou Kerner of Game Revolution and requested he remove an ´offensive´ AIM
AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. It was released by AOL in May 1997...
buddy icon from an affiliate site of Game Revolution known as Bolt.com. Kerner complied and had the offending icon removed immediately. However, Thompson saw the removal as an admission of guilt
Admission (law)
An admission in the law of evidence is a prior statement by an adverse party which can be admitted into evidence over a hearsay objection. In general, admissions are admissible in criminal and civil cases.At common law, admissions were admissible...
and contacted the NYPD to have Kerner arrested. However, no such action was taken. Duke Ferris, another employee of the site, wrote an article http://www.gamerevolution.com/features/jack_thompson on the matter and humorously pointed out the ridiculousness of the entire situation. To drive home this point, he even chose to present a primitively drawn image which had Thompson being devoured by a crocodile, and then challenged Thompson to go ahead and have him arrested. It is unknown if Thompson responded to the article.
Article regarding video game violence and youth violence
Perhaps Game Revolution's most revered article (as evidenced by its consistent referral by various video game websites) was Duke Ferris's composition regarding the current public controversy with video games and its connection with violent youth. Ferris openly criticized the matter, and offered several bits of data to prove that there is no discernible connection between two. In fact, he points out that this year's youth has been the least violent in several years, yet political figures and the media have made it a point to make the issue seem the exact opposite. As with the style of the site, the article can be considered humorous in nature. The original article can be found here.Community
Game Revolution hosts a small but vibrant group of users on its message boards and live chat room. While the message boards are divided into a mixture of video game and non-gaming discussion boards, the topic of discussion in the live chat is less structured and is typically non-gaming related. Unlike other major gaming websites, the Game Revolution forums have a relatively small community; membership exceeds 41,100 people, and of those roughly 200 members on the message boards and chat room are frequent users.Other community aspects of the site include the ability for members to post their own reviews, cheats, and FAQs. Members can also use the site to write Blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s about their daily lives, views on gaming topics, or just about anything they desire. A running contest called Vox Pop (or Vox Populi, Voice of the People) allows users to pick the most interesting or deserving blog entry to win a prize. The prize is typically a game selected by the staff and mailed to the winning member.