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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Template:Video Game Reviews

{{Video game reviews}} is a template which presents review aggregator and individual publication review scores in a video game article. It supports a game's reception section, which for released titles is necessary for an article to be broad in its coverage.

Things to remember:

  • This template is not required.
  • This template supplements the reception section; it does not replace it.
  • Only include reviews if they are cited within the text.

Guidelines

General rules

  • {{Video game reviews}} is not required. Traditional reviews, or those that provide some type of score, may be few and far between for some games. If you only have a couple of such reviews which could be used to fill the table, consider foregoing the table and instead simply state these in the body of reception text.
  • All reviews must be referenced. Individual reviews should cite their original publication, not the truncated aggregator summary. See also Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Sources.
  • Every single-site review source should be used within the reception section. The reviews table supports the text. It is not to replicate the function of external review aggregators.
  • Stay with the "usual suspects".

Aggregator scores

Aggregators present readers with a quick gauge of the critical consensus.

  • Metacritic − Industry standard
  • GameRankings − Useful for older games
    Do not include GameRankings in articles about newer games. GameRankings is mainly useful for older games and it is mainly duplication in newer ones. Round aggregator scores to the nearest whole number (e.g., 83.46%83%).
  • OpenCritic − Useful for newer games.
    Only use OpenCritic's Critics Recommend metric normally. Do not include OpenCritic's Top Critic Average metric in articles that have a Metacritic score.

Review scores

The following sources comprise the most popular and influential voices in the games industry. They provide a core selection of reviews to build a reception section:

  • IGN − Most popular English language games website
  • GameSpot − Second most popular English language games website
  • Game Informer − US magazine with the largest circulation
  • Edge − UK's longest running print magazine
  • Eurogamer − Most popular European English language games website

For older games, particularly fifth generation and earlier, web based publications lacked the reach and influence of print publications. Consider these sources:

Single platform publications may offer specialist insight to platform-exclusive games, and allow readers to compare the reception across platforms of multiplatform games. Consider sources such as Nintendo Power, Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer, PlayStation Official Magazine – UK, and others.

For niche genres, genre publications may offer specialist insight. Consider sources such as Adventure Gamers, RPGamer, PC Pilot, and others.

Games which have strong cultural ties to their country of origin should have reception from that same country. Japanese games and Japanese ports of American games, for example, are best served with a Famitsu review (See below).

Consider coverage from outside traditional video games media. High quality sources such as The New York Times, Wired, and the BBC do not cater to a "gamer" audience, but may on occasion cover video games. Wikipedia is both a generalist and specialist encyclopedia. Opinions from these sources may be more accessible to a non-gamer audience and place the subject in a greater cultural and societal context than is possible at a narrowly focused video gaming publication.

Consider the aggregate scoring breakdown. The review aggregators used in the table are considered reliable sources and are trusted to provide the critical consensus. However, some games may divide opinion and there may be no true consensus. This division of opinion may already have been captured following the guidelines above, but if not - consider including further reviews expressing these "outlier" opinions.

Scoring systems

  • Reviews without scores: Some publications, such as Kotaku and Polygon, may not score their reviews. If, instead of a score, the publication presents the game with a badge or award in its review, this can be included in the table. This is not necessary.
  • Collective scoring: Publications such as Electronic Gaming Monthly and Famitsu review games among a group, with each reviewer offering their individual score. Using the average or cumulative score from these publications will result in the loss of that breakdown, so include the individual scores, either in the table itself or in a footnote.
  • Numerical scores: Make sure to include the maximum possible score for a review if the review uses a numerical value ("7/10", "86/100"). This is not required if the score is published as a percentage, as this presumes the maximum score of 100%.
  • Letter grades: Ratings that use a letter grade system should simply present the letter grade ("B-", "C+").
  • Stars: If a review uses a star rating, convert it to the numerical value ("3.5/5" but not ""). The {{rating}} using has been discarded.
  • Individual component ratings: If a review scores components of a game separately (but does not give an overall score) e.g Graphics 3/5, Sound 4/5, Gameplay 5/5 etc, add all the components together to reach a single score like 12/15, and add a footnote listing the individual scores.

General

Usage

All of the following fields are optional:

title*
Can be used to provide a custom title for the table; otherwise, it will default to "Reception".
subtitle*
Used to add additional text before the collapsible section. This is necessary to add if want a longer title, as long titles via the "title" parameter will not center correctly.
state* [autocollapse, collapsed, expanded]
autocollapse  –  The table will start out collapsed if there are two or more tables on the same page that use other collapsible tables. Otherwise, the table will be expanded. For technical details, see MediaWiki:Common.js.
collapsed  –  The table will be collapsed (hidden) by default. This is useful for very long tables.
expanded  –  The table will be expanded (shown) by default. This is useful if autocollapse is not showing the table in a section that it wouldn't matter.
If undefined or set to blank, the table will not be collapsible. The table will also not be collapsible if the title parameter is not set.
align*
right  –  Displays the table on the right. This is default.
left  –  Displays the table on the left.
inherit  –  Specifies that the value of the float property should be inherited from the parent element.
none  –  The table is not aligned, and will be displayed just where it occurs in the text on the page.
qid
Can be used to link to a different Wikidata QID than the current page. Specifying 'none' will disable Wikidata pull entirely.
df
Can be used to specify the date format for any generated citations from Wikidata.

Code

Aggregator Code Example
Metacritic MC 83/100
GameRankings
(See note above—only use when Metacritic data is unavailable)
GR 84%
OpenCritic
(See note above—only use OpenCritic Top Critic Average if Metacritic data is unavailable)
OC 96% recommend

Use "wikidata" as the rating for the above fields to pull from aggregator reviews declared on the game's respective Wikidata page. This will automatically build references from Wikidata as well. The default date format is MDY. To change it, specify another format with "|df=<format>" such as DMY, YMD, etc. See WP:VG/WD for a quick guide on editing Wikidata.

Award layout

Usage

awardn*
These are for the title of the awards that the game has won.
awardnPub*
These are the publishers that provided the award for the game.

Code

Example Blank Template

{{Video game reviews
| title = 
| subtitle = 
<!-- Formatting -->
| state = <!-- blank/collapsed/collapsed/expanded -->
| align = <!-- left/right/none/inherit -->
<!-- Awards; no limit -->
| award1Pub = 
| award1 = 
| award2Pub = 
| award2 = 
}}

Single-platform/column layout

Usage

awardn*
These are for the title of the awards that the game has won.
awardnPub*
These are the publishers that provided the award for the game.
revn*
These are for custom reviewers. Use with revnScore.
revnScore*
These are for custom reviewers scores for each Platform. Use with revn.
aggn*
These are for custom aggregate. Use with aggnScore.
aggnScore*
These are for custom aggregate scores for each Platform. Use with aggn.

Code

Example Blank Template

{{Video game reviews
| title = 
| subtitle = 
<!-- Formatting -->
| state = <!-- blank/collapsed/collapsed/expanded -->
| align = <!-- left/right/none/inherit -->
<!-- Aggregators -->
| MC = 
<!-- Reviewers -->
| XPlay = 
| IGN = 
<!-- Custom aggregators; limit is set to 10 -->
| agg1 = 
| agg1Score = 
| agg2 = 
| agg2Score = 
<!-- Custom Reviewers; limit is set to 10 -->
| rev1 = 
| rev1Score = 
| rev2 = 
| rev2Score = 
<!-- Awards; no limit -->
| award1Pub = 
| award1 = 
| award2Pub = 
| award2 = 
}}

Multi-platform/column layout

Usage

na*
This will set a fill of N/A grayed out.
awardn*
These are for the title of the awards that the game has won.
awardnPub*
These are the publishers that provided the award for the game.
revn*
These are for custom reviewers. Use with revnPlatform.
revnPlatform*
These are for custom reviewers scores for each Platform. Use with revn.

Code

You first need to put any platforms that are being used. The code to use is as follows:
Enter "true" into any platform used.
If not used, set to non-true value, leave blank, or delete the parameter.

Example Blank Template

{{Video game reviews
| title = 
| subtitle = 
<!-- Formatting -->
| state = <!-- blank/collapsed/collapsed/expanded -->
| align = <!-- left/right/none/inherit -->
| na = true/false; default is false and can be omitted
<!-- Turn on platform etc. -->
| DS = true
| iOS = false
<!-- Aggregators etc. -->
| MC_DS = 
| MC_iOS = 
<!-- Reviewers etc. -->
| XPlay_iOS = 
| IGN_X360 = 
<!-- Custom reviewers; limit is set to 10 -->
| rev1 = 
| rev1_PC = 
| rev1_X360 = 
| rev2 = 
| rev2_PC = 
<!-- Awards; no limit -->
| award1Pub = 
| award1 = 
| award2Pub = 
| award2 = 
}}
Common predefined system types, see #How to add a new platform for all
System Code
3DO Interactive Multiplayer 3DO
Nintendo 3DS 3DS
Amiga AMI
Arcade game ARC
Atari 2600 A2600
Atari Jaguar JAG
Atari Lynx LYNX
Atari ST AST
Commodore 64 C64
Amiga CD32 CD32
ColecoVision CV
MS-DOS DOS
Dreamcast SDC
Nintendo DS DS
Game Boy GB
Game Boy Advance GBA
Game Boy Color GBC
GameCube NGC
General ~~ If review is broad. GEN
Intellivision INT
iOS iOS
Macintosh MAC
Master System SMS
Mobile phones MOB
N-Gage N-G
Nintendo 64 N64
Nintendo Entertainment System NES
Nintendo Switch NS
Personal computer PC
PlayStation Vita VITA
PlayStation PS
PlayStation 2 PS2
PlayStation 3 PS3
PlayStation 4 PS4
PlayStation 5 PS5
PlayStation Portable PSP
Sega Saturn SSAT
Sega Genesis SMD
Sega Game Gear SGG
Nvidia Shield NSHI
Super Nintendo Entertainment System SNES
TurboGrafx-16 TG16
Wii WII
Wii U WIIU
Xbox XBOX
Xbox 360 X360
Xbox One XONE
Xbox Series X and Series S XSXS
ZX Spectrum ZX

How to add a new platform

Go to Module:Video game reviews/data and add {'wiki url/title', 'short code for the system'} within the system array.

  • Define a code for the new platform, such as "PS2" for PlayStation 2.
  • Determine its alphabetical order, and the platform code preceding and succeeding it. For example, for PS2, the PS precedes, and the PS3 succeeds.

How to add a new reviewer

Go to Module: Video game reviews/data and add {'wikilink/title', 'short code for the reviewer'} within the reviewer array.

  • Define a code into the appropriate place (alphabetically) of the existing code.
  • Provide an appropriate wikilink if available.

Template Data

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Video game reviews in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Video game reviews

A template to show the review scores, aggregator scores, and awards given to a title.

Template parameters[Edit template data]

This template prefers block formatting of parameters.

ParameterDescriptionTypeStatus
titletitle

Title of the template.

Default
Reception
Stringoptional
subtitlesubtitle

Subtitle of the template.

Stringoptional
statestate

The tables collapsable settings.

Suggested values
autocollapse collapsed expanded
Default
expanded
Stringoptional
alignalign

The tables horizontal alignment settings.

Suggested values
left right inherit none
Default
right
Stringoptional
nana

This will set a fill of N/A grayed out.

Default
true
Stringoptional
GameRankingsGR

Only use for older games when Metacritic data is unavailable

Stringoptional
OpenCriticOC

Only use the Critics Recommend metric. The Top Critic Average should be omitted when Metacritic data is available

Stringoptional
MetacriticMC

no description

Stringoptional
1Up.com1UP

A+ to D-

Stringoptional
ACEACE

no description

Stringoptional
Adventure GamersAdvGamers

no description

Stringoptional
AllGameAllgame

no description

Stringoptional
Amstrad ActionAAction

no description

Stringoptional
AmtixAmtix

no description

Stringoptional
Computer and Video GamesCVG

9.2/10 (0 to 10)

Stringoptional
Computer Games MagazineCGM CGSP cdmag

no description

Stringoptional
Computer Gaming WorldCGW

no description

Stringoptional
Consoles +CP

no description

Stringoptional
CrashCRASH

no description

Stringoptional
DestructoidDestruct

no description

Stringoptional
Digital TrendsDT

no description

Stringoptional
DragonDragon

no description

Stringoptional
EdgeEdge

6/10 (1 to 10)

Stringoptional
Electronic Gaming MonthlyEGM

9.5/10 (0 to 10)

Stringoptional
EurogamerEuroG

1 to 10 (1999–2015), no scores (2015–2023), 1 to 5 (2023–present)

Stringoptional
FamitsuFam

0 to 40

Stringoptional
G4G4

no description

Stringoptional
Game InformerGI

no description

Stringoptional
GameFanGameFan

no description

Stringoptional
GamekultGamekult

no description

Stringoptional
GameProGamePro

no description

Stringoptional
GameRevolutionGameRev

A to D- (1996–2012)

Stringoptional
GamesMasterGMaster

no description

Stringoptional
GameSpotGSpot

7/10 (1 to 10)

Stringoptional
GameSpyGSpy

no description

Stringoptional
GamesRadar+GRadar

no description

Stringoptional
GStarGStar

no description

Stringoptional
GamesTMGTM

no description

Stringoptional
GameTrailersGT

no description

Stringoptional
GameZoneGameZone

no description

Stringoptional
Giant BombGB

no description

Stringoptional
HyperHyper

no description

Stringoptional
IGNIGN

9.5/10 (1 to 10)

Stringoptional
Impress WatchIW

no description

Stringoptional
Jeuxvideo.comJXV

16/20 (1 to 20)

Stringoptional
JoystiqJoystiq

Ceased scoring reviews in January 2015

Stringoptional
JoypadJP

no description

Stringoptional
M! GamesMG

no description

Stringoptional
Mega FunMF

no description

Stringoptional
Maximum PCMaxPC

no description

Stringoptional
N64 MagazineN64

no description

Stringoptional
Next GenerationNGen

5-star rating

Stringoptional
NGamerNG

no description

Stringoptional
NGC MagazineNGC

no description

Stringoptional
Nintendo LifeNLife

10-star rating

Stringoptional
NMENME

no description

Stringoptional
Nintendo PowerNP

no description

Stringoptional
Nintendo World ReportNWR

no description

Stringoptional
Official Nintendo MagazineONM

no description

Stringoptional
PlayStation Official Magazine – AustraliaOPMAU

no description

Stringoptional
PlayStation Official Magazine – UKOPMUK

no description

Stringoptional
Official U.S. PlayStation MagazineOPM

no description

Stringoptional
Official Xbox Magazine(UK)OXMUK

no description

Stringoptional
Official Xbox Magazine(US)OXM

no description

Stringoptional
PALGNPALGN

no description

Stringoptional
PC FormatPCF

no description

Stringoptional
PC Gamer(UK)PCGUK

no description

Stringoptional
PC Gamer(US)PCGUS

72/100

Stringoptional
PC PowerPlayPCPP

no description

Stringoptional
PC ZonePCZone

no description

Stringoptional
PC Games (DE)PCG

no description

Stringoptional
PCGamesNPCGN

no description

Stringoptional
PlayPlay

no description

Stringoptional
Pocket GamerPG

no description

Stringoptional
PolygonPoly

Ceased scoring reviews in May 2018

Stringoptional
PlayStation: The Official MagazinePSM

no description

Stringoptional
PSM3PSM3

no description

Stringoptional
RPGamerRPG

no description

Stringoptional
RPGFanRPGFan

no description

Stringoptional
ShacknewsSN

no description

Stringoptional
Sinclair UserSUser

no description

Stringoptional
TeamXboxTX

no description

Stringoptional
TechRadarTR

no description

Stringoptional
Total!TOT

no description

Stringoptional
TouchArcadeTA

no description

Stringoptional
USgamerUSG

5-star rating

Stringoptional
VentureBeatVB

no description

Stringoptional
VideoGamer.comVG

no description

Stringoptional
Video Games ChronicleVGC

no description

Stringoptional
Video Games (DE)VGS

no description

Stringoptional
X-PlayXPlay

no description

Stringoptional
Your SinclairYSinclair

no description

Stringoptional
Zzap!64Z64

no description

Stringoptional

See also