P3- understand the importance of reviews for the marketing and promotion of computer/console games

The three reviews I will be looking at are Daz Games, Metacritic and GameGrin.

a) genre- this game is very heavily based on horror and psychological themes due to the theme it is looking into. It does a very good job at showing us this with all its twist and turns.

b) target audience- Daz games takes the route of the player’s aspect, he expresses players thoughts and feelings when playing the game through. He also considers the emotions that this game brings up, as he has played through and completed the game personally he is a trustworthy reviewer.

Metacritic looks at the view of a company that has played the game through different parts of the team and then came up with a final review based on everybody’s input. It considers the more technical side of the game like how the visuals and game play can impact on the sales and popularity. The kind of review is aimed at the more hardcore gamer as it looks at the technical side of the game.

Gamegrin is a mix of the two above as it looks at both the technical side and the overall likeability. it considers the players and how they are going to feel during the playthrough often going through the emotional cycle of the player at any one given time during the gameplay. They give the game a 7 overall out of a possible 10 which means that it has a good balance between technicality and player emotions during it. it comments on the visuals but also comments on how the player can often and most likely will get attached to the character that they are playing as.

c) narrative- There are a range of different reviews for Fran Bow due to the narrative it looks into, the storyline looks into children and mental health issues. Daz Games said that “it was the most disturbing games I’ve ever played” due to the issues that were brought up and explored.

Metacritic says that “Fran Bow is a creepy adventure game that tells the story of Fran, a young girl struggling with a mental disorder and an unfair destiny.” It goes onto say “it is disturbing yet adorable, full of violence but at the same time tender.” It also comments on the story and how it very quickly turns into a deep, hard hitting story, yet it still contains some light hearted, funny moments. They have also said it does get confusing whilst playing especially towards the end.

d) characters- Daz Games says the game is mainly based around one character and her interpretations of the surrounding characters. The main character being Fran, she comes across many different monsters and demons on her way. He also loves the way the game follows the one character on her travels and gives great details so we can get to know her well. He gave the game a 9/10 for the character work saying that the player can actually become emotionally attached to the character that they are playing as.

Metacritic also said the game follows the one main character and gets the player really involve in the characters life. The story and character are both very detailed and allow for the player to become attached with Fran whilst playing. It brings up the strong link between characters used in the game, it engages the players a lot more as they are able to play through Fran’s eyes and opinions.

e) gameplay- Many reviews will agree the gameplay is outstanding; Metacritic says that the gameplay follows one character and is played from a 3rd person view. It is also a point and click adventure and so the gameplay is very intensive and focused on the player and the way that they interact with the story. Metacritic also said “the gameplay is gripping and unexpected leaving the player stuck between tough decisions based on the characters life and story”.

GameGrin, said the gameplay is compelling and that “the most important aspect of the game is how it plays in comparison with the story as there is no point having a brilliant story without good quality gameplay”. It also brings up that the game is easy to play meaning everyone can get involved. This really helps the story and means that the gameplay is simple but interesting and fun for anyone. It also commented on the good art style of the game and how the game was designed which includes many advanced features and alot of work ahs been put into making the game look very complex.

f) platforms- Fran Bow can be played on PC through steam download and on android and IOS through the app store and google play. Metacrtic point out how these are good consoles to get more casual gamers involved. It also says that the game is sold rather cheap for a PC game this is positive for the developers as it will most likely sell more copies.

g) reviewers recommendation- Gamegrin also brings up similar information saying that the game is widely distributed between platforms and since the the game is a point and click adventure it is already suited to be brought to android. But they also said it's not available on consoles like PlayStation or Xbox and this could be a a big loss of sales due to the huge market for consoles in the modern day. They rate the game a 7 overall and although it is a good all round distribution platform it can be improved in the future by bringing the game to some sort of console.

links:
metacritic- http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/fran-bow
Gamegrin- https://www.gamegrin.com/reviews/fran-bow-review/
Daz Games- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbQbiNE1xP8