Yet another review site (colloquially known as “YARS”) is a UK-based website aimed at presenting news, reviews and editorials relating to the world of videogames and gaming. One of the main aims of the site is to promote up-and-coming writers, and offer a chance for anyone who wishes to try writing informative reviews and articles a helpful environment to succeed. YARS has several volunteer editors who aim to help new writers get better: by working in various areas of the industry, the editorial team is well placed to offer constructive advice and assistance, or just a place for people to see their work on the web.
History
YARS was created by Andrzej Marczewski in 2006 with the purpose of creating a games reviews site and community for aspiring writers.
“I wanted to create a games reviews site that would allow anyone with a love of games to try their hand at being a reviewer. I felt that this would give readers a very honest opinion of what gamers really thought, not what journalists thought. Hence the tagline of Games review written by gamers for gamers.”
Andrzej Marczewski Owner of YARS
As the writing and editorial teams expanded in the coming years, YARS also extended its criteria to include news and editorials, as well as forums for members to discuss the pieces posted on the site.
The site you are seeing now is the first site to not be totally custom made. Andrzej decided that it was time to move to WordPress and open up the site even more!
Ratings
How YARS rate games
YARS rate most games on a simple 0-5 scale. That’s it. We used to have a much more complex system, but simple is better these days!
The Y Award
The Y Award is given based on the average of the Gameplay score, Graphics, Sound and Overall.
- 5 gets the Diamond Y Award
- 4.5 gets the Gold Y Award
- 4 gets the Silver Y Award
- 3.5 gets the Bronze Y Award
- 1 or less gets the Stink-Y Award
Initial Timeline
- November 2006 the idea was born with inspiration from long time friend of Andrzej Marczewski and current editor Jamie Trimmer.
- On the 16th of December 2006, YARS released it’s first review: Shadow of the Colossus[1]
- On the 15th of January 2007, YARS was officially launched[2]
- In July 2007 John McMeiken joined the team as Deputy Editor. He had previously worked as a reviewer for Burn Magazine.
Current Editors
- Andrzej Marczewski (daverage) – Executive Editor [3]
- John McMeiken (mrjoekerr67) – Deputy Editor [4]
- Jamie Trimmer (mrt) – Senior Editor [5]
- Sam Parnell (Revolver ocelot)- Senior Editor [6]
- Ben Taylor (Phoenix Trigger) – Senior Editor [7]
- Nathan Cochrane (cochrane612)- Editor (MIA) [8]
- Dave Snell (HippyDave) – Editor [9]
Members in the industry
- Some reviewers have gone on to work in journalism, Mike Jennings ended up working for PC Pro magazine[10]
- Jamie Trimmer also went on to get credits in several Rockstar Games, including Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto IV[11] and The Ballad of Gay Tony[11] as a tester.
References
- ^ a b YARS review of Shadow of the Colossus
- ^ News of the Launch of Yet Another Review Site
- ^ Andrzej Marczewski’s profile on YARS
- ^ John McMeiken’s profile on YARS
- ^ Jamie Trimmers’s profile on YARS
- ^ Sam Parnells’s profile on YARS
- ^ Ben Taylors’s profile on YARS
- ^ Nathan Cochrane’s profile on YARS
- ^ Dave Snell’s profile on YARS
- ^ Mike Jennings Blog at PCPro
- ^ a b Jamie Trimmer developer profile