What is it?

Negative World will be running a competition for review writers. Basically... write and submit a review for Negative World, and you're in! However, there are going to be two minor stipulations:

1. It must be a game that has not been reviewed on Negative World yet.
2. Whoever calls a game first, gets dibs on that game. You can only have "dibs" on one game at a time though, and I will keep an updated list in this thread.

NOTE: This contest is for Negative World members only. However, it is free and only takes about a minute to join us, so why not go for it?

What is the deadline?

All reviews submitted between right now and midnight (Pacific) January 7th, 2013 (new deadline!), that follow the above stipulations, will be eligible. Of course, they must be for a game on a Nintendo console. From the classics to the virtual console to the Wii U... anything goes!

Who can enter?

All members of Negative World! Members at level -2 and down can already write reviews. If you are -1 and would like to enter, let me know, and I will hook it up.

...except Zero. We hate that guy, so his reviews will not be eligible.

Don't get overly concerned about whether you are a "good enough" writer. If you're interested, get involved! Try your best! That's all we're asking!

How many entries can I make?

Hmm... let's say... 5? This is a soft limit though, if you really want to do more, just ask. Please make sure to keep the length and quality level at your best though, these are public reviews for our site. If we notice anyone just knocking out reviews left and right without much effort put into them, we may have to... say something. Besides, you probably won't win anything with a sloppy review.

However, as stated above, don't worry too much about your own skill level as a writer. Just try your best!

How will winners be determined?

1 winner for "best review" will be selected by you, the people of Negative World. We will work out exactly how based on how many entries there are. But it will involve a voting process using the polls. This will happen regardless of the number of entries, so if you are the only entry... you win!

IF we get at least 10 entries, 1 winner for "Zero's choice" will be selected by Zero because he has the power and it is his money being used for the prizes. He may include the other moderators in this decision. May.

More prizes may be announced in the future depending on the popularity of this contest.

What are the prizes?

Each winner will receive one WiiWare / eShop game of their choice, $15 or less. Considering that eShop doesn't allow gifting on 3DS, if one of those games is selected, we will probably just use a download code or Paypal or whatever works for everyone involved.

Anyone who wants can throw some N into the mix or whatever.

How do I write a review?

If you are level -2 or below, it's easy! Just go to the game database and search for the game that you would like to review. If it is in the database, click on it, and on the top right side of the page for that game (above the game's image) you should see "add a review". If the game is not in the database, you can add it using the "submit a game" form at the top right of the main database page. Anyone level -1 will have to let me know you are interested, as stated above.

You can also use the new file upload page to upload any images related to the review you will be writing.

SUGGESTION: I strongly suggest to write your review outside of Negative World (I use Google Drive, but you can just use Microsoft Word or something if you want), SAVE FREQUENTLY, and then copy and paste it in when you are ready to submit it. Otherwise, if the server hiccups when you submit, you may lose everything. That would suck, no?

What format should the review be?

Here at Negative World we like to let our reviewers have their own sense of style. Whether you want to structure your review with sections, write freeform, etc. is up to you. We do prefer that some images / videos / etc. be placed within the review (use the file upload page to upload your images), but this is not a requirement. Just go with what makes the most sense to you!

How do I know if a game has been reviewed yet?

Just go to the game database and search for the game that you would like to review. If it is in the database, click on it, and if there are any reviews for it they will be listed at the bottom of the game page (example here.) If the game is not in the database, it has obviously not been reviewed yet, and you can add it using the directions above.

Can I review a game that I have already played?

Sure! We are hoping to get some more "modern" reviews, but anything is fine. Just make sure to refresh yourself on it if you have not played it in awhile.

How do I call "dibs" on a game?

Just post your intention to review a game in this thread. First come, first serve. Make sure to mention the platform as well as the game name. You can change your dibs at any time, but if so, you lose dibs on the old game. Obviously, when you submit a review for a game that you had dibs on, you are now free to call dibs on another.

Do I have to call "dibs" on a game?

No, you don't have to call dibs, you can just submit what you want when you want if you like. However, if you don't call dibs and someone else gets to it first (either by calling dibs or releasing a review) then you're plain out of luck. For all of those involved, it is probably best to take advantage of the dibs system.

More to come

If I think of anything.

"Dibs" list
Chrono Trigger DS (DS) - sirmastersephiroth
Fractured Soul (3DS eShop) - anon_mastermind
ZombiU (Wii U) - gamewizard65

Finished list
Crosswords Plus (3DS) - ludist210
No More Heroes - GelatinousEncore
Kirby's Pinball Land - roykoopa64
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle - GelatinousEncore
Nano Assault Neo - roykoopa64
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - sirmastersephiroth
Nintendo Land - TriforceBun
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward - Ploot
Assassin's Creed III (Wii U) - roykoopa64
Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS) - VickiL
Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion (3DS) - deathly_hallows
NightSky (3DS eShop) - ludist210
New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U) - DrFinkelstein
Batman Arkham City Armored Edition (Wii U) - Mr_Mustache
Adventure Time: HIKWYSOG (3DS) - vinniebrock
Crimson Shroud (3DS eShop) - VickiL
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) - eccentricplayer

Zero (not officially in the competition)
The Denpa Men: They Came by Wave - Zero
Monster World IV - Zero
Starship Defense - Zero
Little Inferno - Zero
Art Style: Orbient - Zero
Chasing Aurora - Zero
Monster Tale - Zero
Trine 2: Director's Cut - Zero
Gunman Clive - Zero

URL to share (right click and copy)

@Zero

Are we included in it?? I thought it was all up to you! Maybe you should do a secret poll then..

--When do we get to vote on your reviews? <3

"Everyone" votes for the first winner.

Zero chooses a Zero's Choice winner.

Two winners!

...but of course, WE'RE ALL WINNERS WHERE IT COUNTS.

You guys can vote on my reviews whenever you want. I honestly think that Little Inferno is one of my best reviews ever though. I think I write the best reviews when I connect to a game on a level beyond just "fun", if that makes any sense.

Alright..I'm starting the review crawl. I can't do them all in one sitting (OR CAN I), so those last four will be tucked near the end. Eat a sandwich, read about Crosswords Plus, advance.

Wow, you guys did a great job pumping out these solid reviews. I've been kind of busy lately and haven't had a chance to dig into them deeper, but I'll continue to read (also need to check out the GOTY winners and such).

@Zero

Sooo nice!

I wish we could review non-Nintendo games too. But I understand why we can't. I mean, I can still it just wont be official.

So, I wrote a review of Crimson Shroud. Not really to enter into this contest, but because I beat it yesterday afternoon. Outside of this review-a-thon, is it fine to just upload any review we like, whenever we want?

EDIT: Getting tired. Posting it and going to bed. If it's a problem or out of protocol or something, I'm sure Zero or someone can remove it.

It's always fine to upload reviews! Write reviews and upload them whenever you want!

And anything submitted is part of the competition!

Alright! Got my review in!

That's cutting it down to the wire! Ha ha.

So I guess this thing is technically over. Though if anyone wants to get their review in while I'm trying to figure out / set up how we are going to vote on this stuff over the next few days, go for it.

My last 25 posts were in response to Reviews. I am WINDED, and I don't know who will win. Gonna be close!!

Great writing, everyone.

Zero said:

That's cutting it down to the wire! Ha ha.

Well, I had the finished review sitting on my computer for a few days. But I realized around 11:45 pm EST that I hadn't published it yet! So, I went and made some revisions and tried to make everything work well. I thought I missed my chance when the time hit 12:01 am, but then I realized that the rules said 12 am PST. So...yeah. But this was fun!

@EccentricPlayer

Don't worry, Zero can't do math either. He "called it" up there that it was over at 1:20am EST. Uhhh, haha, thats like an hour and 40 minutes early..

i didn't forget about this! Just been uber busy lately. But we should start a votin' soon. We have like 17? 18? reviews so instead of listing them all at once and guaranteeing that no one reads through all of them before voting, I'm thinking of doing groups? Like every few days another group goes up, and then at the end the winners of each group all go up against each other?

Do you guys think this should be "blind" voting? I sort of feel like that might be best. Especially because some people's reviews might not get any votes and then they might feel bad... Of course, that would require me to modify the GOTY voting or something to make this work, whereas non-blind voting could just be done with the regular voting thingy built into the board, making my job a whole lot easier.

@Mr_Mustache 1:20 eastern time is 12:20 central time man...

I'm fine with regular voting.
Let's get this goin'!

@Zero

I know, but it was up at 12am PST.. (1am MST, 2am CHICAGO STYLE TIME, 3am EST)

@ploot

You just want regular voting because you're going to get 100% of the votes. Bloooooooooooooooooooooooot.

Yeah we're all adults here, right? RIGHT?!

Hmm. I kind of feel like whatever review is on top has the advantage, but as long as I keep it down to say... 4 reviews per poll, everyone will read all of them before voting. RIGHT?

RIGHT?

R. I. G. H. T.?

Ok here is how we will do it... there are exactly 12 people who wrote 17 reviews. So the first 3 groups that we vote on will be 4 each, so everyone will be in 1 of those groups exactly once. And the last group of 5 will be the "repeat" reviews.

NOW... since the group of 5 has a slight disadvantage what with having more competition, the people who did multiple reviews should tell me which review they consider their FAVORITE of the ones that they did, and I will use those reviews in the smaller groups of 4.

Does this make sense?

@Zero

I read all of them that night. Yep.