P3

GAME: THE GUNSTRINGER 

Direct mode of address 

The mode of address in this review was not direct as the perspective that this writer wrote this piece from is one of talking to a large group of people instead of talking in a one on one situation like a formal piece would.

Colloquial Expressions 

This review used a couple of colloquial expressions and phrases, including (but not limited) to words like 'ass'. This sort of informal language wouldn't feature in a formal review that you would see in a largely known newspaper article or anything of the sort.

Expletive Language 

The review was written using expletive language and didn't feature any technical words that would need defining when using them in conversation with a regular person. The review was simple and the language used was basic.

Indirect Mode of Address 

This review was written in an indirect mode of address as the language used wasn't targeted at the reader but instead to a group of readers and the general audience that had been cultivated by that point. Individual focused speech didn't appear as the writer wrote like he was talking to more than one person.

Formal Expressions 

There was some formal language used in the review but the majority of the text was in a more colloquial style, using world that wouldn't appear in a formal setting (the kind that would get you told off if you said it in front of the posh granny you have yet rarely see).

Technical Language 

There was a lack of technical language throughout this review of The Gunstringer. It was simple in a way that managed to get their point across without confusing anyone with overly technical words. If someone was to stumble across this piece without knowing anything about video games then it would be odd but the language used here is nothing outside of the general gaming fan's base knowledge.

EDGE 

Direct Mode of Address 

When comparing this review to the previous one, this review is more direct. This gives the feeling that you're in a more personal setting or in a one on one conversation rather than listening to a public speaker.

Colloquial Expressions 

The review was written in a very colloquial style and the very first line of the review is the best example of it. It sounds like someone conversing to you and you alone rather than someone writing a review of a video game for the general public.

Expletive Language 

The entire review was written using expletive language and none of the review was written with technical language. This makes it more like a one-sided conversation.

Indirect Mode of Address 

Some parts of the review use indirect address but the majority of it stays using a direct mode of address to talk to the reader of the article.

Formal Expressions 

There were no formal expressions used in this review as it stayed in the formula of using colloquial style.

Technical Language 

There wasn't technical language throughout the review, refraining from using complex words and instead using little technical words about gaming in general.

Vloggers 

Jim Sterling 

Jim Sterling doesn’t seem like he tries to create an image of himself. Instead, he tries to naturally create humour. Through the review, it seems as if he isn’t following a script but thinking of things (as himself) on the fly. He doesn’t seem to be targeting any specific audience aside from people who play video games. Given his platform, we can assume that his target audience is teens/young adults. Jim Sterling covers a variety of video game genres on his YouTube channel but the majority of YouTube viewers are people of the ages 13-18 so we can assume they are who he targets.

MatthewMatosis 

Matthew seems to be following a script through his review so he doesn’t talk right off of his mind but instead talking in a predetermined way. He explains technical details that help decide which version of the video game they should buy and it’s clearly scripted by the way he follows word patterns. I think that this reviewer is aiming his videos to adults in the age range of 30-40 as the formal style is similar to something you would find in a professional newspaper. This is seen throughout the video.

Pushing Up Roses 

This reviewer speaks in an informal style who depends on humour to keep the pace of her video rolling. Pushing up Roses makes many attempts to be comedic throughout the entire video, This reviewer seems to be targeting people of the ages 10-15 as her humour is prominent in people younger than her generation. She uses modern slang that people above a certain age wouldn’t understand. When she says ‘yeet’, she’s using generation Z humour as it’s a joke her audience would enjoy. 

Geek Remix 

Given that this is a scripted review, it has a sense of formality to it. Despite this, her language is informal. Geek Remix relates to her own gaming experience in the review’s subject in a way that a more formal review wouldn’t and this makes it seem more like a conversation between her and the reviewer. The target audience for this review is people of the age range 20-30. The entire video proves this. 

Comparing Reviews

IGN:

Genre:

Skyrim is an open-world RPG.

Narrative:

The review IGN have written outlines the basic start of the main storyline of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. They spend a huge chunk of the narrative section talking about the side quests of the game. In total, it takes far more time to complete all the side quests than it does to complete the main storyline of this game.

Production Process: 

This review neglects to mention the Production Process of this game. 

Characters:

The story and mental characteristics aren't mentioned in this review, but the physical characteristics and features are talked about.

Gameplay:

Many Systems in the game are explained in this review, and gameplay is used as examples to back up points that the reviewer is making.

Target Audience:

The target audience for this review are fans of RPG games and/or fans of AAA/popular video games. Skyrim has an age rating of 18+ in the UK and it seems as though the targeted age for this review is people of 18-23.

Platforms:

This review only focuses on the Xbox 360 version of The Elder Scrolls V and doesn't explore any other versions of the game, like versions on the Playstation 3, PC, or next-generation consoles.

Game Spot:

Genre:

Skyrim is an open-world RPG.

Narrative:

This review by Game Spot touches on the narrative of the game briefly but chooses to focus much more on the gameplay contents of the review.

Production Process:

This review neglects to mention the Production Process of this game. 

Characters:

The review only talks about the main character at the beginning of the review but doesn't talk about any characters much more than that.

Gameplay:

The review shows footage of the gameplay from Skyrim as they're used as illustrations for the topics and points being made through the review.

Target Audience:

The target audience for this review are fans of RPG games and/or fans of AAA/popular video games. Skyrim has an age rating of 18+ in the UK and it seems as though the targeted age for this review is people of 18-23.

Platforms:

This review only focuses on the Xbox 360 version of The Elder Scrolls V and doesn't explore any other versions of the game, like versions on the Playstation 3, PC, or next-generation consoles.

My Comparison:

Genre:

It's the same game, so it's the same genre.

Narrative:

Many people look at reviews of video games that they're interested in buying but aren't completely convinced. This means that the decision to refrain from spoiling the mains storyline is a good one as many people looking for the review won't know the ending yet.

Production Process:

Reviews like these are mainly designed to talk about the finished product so I can see why the production process was excluded from both reviews by IGN and Game Spot. Having said that, I would have found it interesting to see how the game was made.

Characters: Neither IGN nor Game Spot talk about the characters in Skyrim at length and I think this is done to make sure nothing is spoilt for people who haven't played the game yet. 

Gameplay: 

IGN talk about the gameplay in Skyrim more than Game Spot do and they go into detail about the features and systems in the game at length while Game Spot skim them. 

Target Audience: 

The Target Audience is the same in both reviews, they're both similar in formality and language used. 

Platforms: 

Both reviews only mention the Xbox 360 version of Skyrim and this could limit reach as Skyrim has been released on a ridiculously large amount of consoles. Not talking about different platforms, even briefly, is something they made a mistake on.