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Multiplayer editor Stephen Totilo examined the process of reviewing games with interviews from reviewers, developers and publicists. Check out his reports:

• Totilo wrote about what reviews really mean to developers in his MTV News report.

• In an attempt to document the best review process, Totilo, with notes from his interviewees, drafted a Game Reviewer's Bill of Rights.

• For some game developers, low Metacritic scores = no royalties.

• Are downloadable games ignored by reviewers? Capcom and Sony weighed in.

• Meanwhile, popular PC puzzle game "Peggle" was totally skipped. Reviewers and publisher PopCap discussed the oversight.

• Sources say they were told by Konami not to mention certain things about "Metal Gear Solid 4" in their reviews.

• Former GameSpot reviewer Alex Navarro said that a PR person asked him to hold his review if he gave a game a low score.

• Should reviews ditch scores? Ted Price and Denis Dyack disagree.

• A sampling of key quotes about reviews from Jeff Gerstmann, Pete Wanat, Ted Price and Chris Kramer.

* Patrick Klepek spoke with Phil Harrison about how "Alone in the Dark" fixes a big problem in gaming, but he's not sure if the game will support the PS3's Home service or trophies.

* Harmonix claimed that the Wii version of "Rock Band" wasn't an afterthought and that white plastic is meant to get dirty. Meanwhile, we confirm "Guitar Hero: World Tour" will have licensed downloadable tracks.

* Yoshi takes the top spot for reptiles and amphibians in our search for the Greatest Animal in the History of Video Games.

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Not long after waking up today, DHL showed up at my apartment with a package. DHL packages are usually from Microsoft. "Ninja Gaiden II" time, right?

My eye quickly noticed the DHL package was labeled "Ninja Garden II." Microsoft must have slipped up and sent me Tomonobu Itagaki's secret new side-project!

But, alas, it was just a typo. A boxed copy of "Ninja Gaiden II" was actually inside. That's not exactly a bad consolation prize, though.

Since the last entry,

*I dined with Kotaku's Leigh Alexander, who had a copy of "The World Ends With You" in her DS. At last! Someone I could use the game's wireless data-sharing Mingle mode with. But...but... she hadn't played enough of the game to unlock Mingle mode. Why in the world would even this most passive of multiplayer modes -- a mode that simply allows players to log each other's IDs, earn experience points as a reward for making a connection, and trading items -- be something that has to be unlocked?

Next: I will spend some of the weekend with "Ninja Gaiden II," but how much bloody chopping can a man take? We'll see.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" won the "Movie of the Year" award at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards. This year, "At World's End" is up for the same award. Will Johnny Depp and his crew return to the stage to accept the golden popcorn once again? You'll have to wait and see on Sunday night.

As is the trend this week, even though the movie is up for an award, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End" the game sure wasn't nominated for anything. It may be great for Achievements, but running around as Jack Sparrow in the game just isn't quite as fun as watching him. See for yourself in the first '120 Seconds' of "Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End."

(Videos not viewable by users logging in from Canada or the U.K.)

MTV Multiplayer's reviews week is drawing to a close. And I thought it would be good to end with one of the fundamental topics of any conversation about reviews: are game review scores really necessary?

Several stories in this week's series demonstrated the role game review scores play in the business (Note that no one ever said they guarantee higher sales!). I asked two of the game development studio leads who have been quoted throughout my series what they think about the need for the number and letter scores.

Denis Dyack, Silicon Knights: All reviews need is a 'thumbs up' or 'thumbs down.' If I was writing a review I would write a detailed review about where I thought [a game] was strong or weak. I would write is as if I was talking to a friend who I liked or appreciated -- which should be the customer, for a reviewer. ... You see all these 10 out of 10 reviews for 'GTA.' A 10 out of 10 doesn't make it perfect. Just have people score it with thumbs up or down. To say this is 'highly recommended by most people,' I think, is more accurate. To me this makes much more sense."

Ted Price, Insomniac Games: As a consumer I like seeing the numerical scores. It lets me know if I should go spend my money. If something is under a certain score I probably won't give it much consideration. I think as a developer I think we all appreciate the numerical scores because it justifies the work we put in the game. .. I understand the problem with numbers because there is no consistent system that people use. But generally when you see a good game, it's getting scores within a certain range and when you see a bad game it's getting scores in a certain range.

And that is a debate I suspect will never cease. Stay tuned for one more post in this series, fittingly enough, about second-guessing.

For much more about game reviews, check back all week to follow my reviews series here at MTV Multiplayer. Got a comment you can’t bring yourself to share below this post? Drop me an e-mail.

Nintendo's "Wii Fit" gives gamers a chance to turn the Wii Balance Board sideways and treat it like a snowboard, but it's publisher Ubisoft that is backing the first game that makes such a feature its focus.

I was given a demo of the Wii version of "Shaun White Snowboarding" at a Ubisoft event in San Francisco, one of the first games I've seen controlled by the Balance Board.

If a player used the Wii Balance Board, they stand on the board as they would a snowboard and then lean toward the TV to go faster, lean back to brake, and tip their weight to their toes and heels to turn and carve. From what I saw, tricks could be activated with a spring of the legs, and bigger tricks could be triggered with a hula dance shake of the body.

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While reporting MTV Multiplayer's week-long series about game reviews I've heard from members of the gaming press about restrictions publishers place on game reviews. I'm familiar with some of these. It's common for a publisher to specify plot details that they don't want revealed in reviews.

What I heard about print reviews for "Metal Gear Solid 4" was different.

I've been told by two gaming media sources who asked to remain anonymous that Konami representatives had been asking print reviewers to keep some technical details out of their reviews, namely the length of the game's cut-scenes and the size of the game's installation on the PlayStation 3.

Such details wouldn't have been plot spoilers, but perhaps the publisher was concerned that they would be viewed as negatives?

Konami representatives declined to comment to me about any of this, as did editors of a few major video game magazines.

Read more...

Continuing our ridiculous super-serious year-long quest to find the Greatest Animal in the History of Video Games, we had our panel of judges decide the best of this month's species -- reptile and amphibians.

This time, our regular round of virtual animal lovers -- Kotaku news editor Leigh Alexander, Capcom Senior Producer Morgan Gray and I Can Has Cheezburger co-founder Tofuburger -- were joined by Joystiq writer Justin McElroy.

With bated breath, we give you the best reptile/amphibian in video games, according to our panel of judges... Read more...

What happened to "echochrome," that little game the Sony released over a month ago? I know we touch on this subject weekly in 'What We're NOT Playing' but I haven't actually played it since the day I downloaded it. It's easily the best 3-D puzzle game in a very long time, surpassing its' contemporaries like "PQ," and "Cube," but I'm still not playing it. I'm also finding this is happening more and more with the PS3 games I download. They're great games ("Everyday Shooter," "PixelJunk Monsters"), I just never think to turn my PS3 on. I know I'm missing out big time here, but I just always seem to gravitate towards my Xbox 360. Maybe I'll remember to go monochrome this weekend.

Friday's Multiplayer Link Selections:

Jason's Pick:

Game Informer's List Of The Top Ten Video-Game Books Of All Time: One of the best things to do when you aren't playing video games is read.... about video games. This list will get you going in the right direction with classics like (selections from my personal library) The Ultimate History of Video Games, and Game Over.

Tracey's Pick:

The memories of our future: Steampunk in gaming: Ars Technica's Michael Thompson takes a look at Steampunk in pop culture and video games, and wonders why the subgenre isn't as commercially successful.

Stephen's Pick:

Hidden Levels From 'New Super Mario Bros.': Hacker's find the most interesting things. From GameSetWatch [via Press The Buttons].

Patrick's Pick:

In-Game XBM Coming to PS3?: Whether this report is true or not, it's coming, but is it too little, too late?

* R.T.F.A. stands for “Read The Full Article.”