Jameson's Stuff (review, blogs, etc.)

[HustlerOne]

Good to see that you're still doing these reviews. Your reviews have always proven to be useful and insightful.

[Jameson]

Thanks. It is always nice to hear that people are finding them helpful and/or useful.

Hopefully I won't fall behind again any time soon.

[Jameson]

TARDIS powers here .... err I mean Time and Dimension Powers...

[Jameson]

I asked this over on G+ but I figured that since I do mostly M&M reviews right now I'd repeat this here:

I'm always trying to make my reviews better, so I figured I would see what the crowd had to say.

When you read a review of a product what are you looking for from the review? How detailed versus generalized? Is there something you particularly find useful or enjoy? Likewise anything you'd rather not see?

[Etherial Ghost]

I asked this over on G+ but I figured that since I do mostly M&M reviews right now I'd repeat this here:

I'm always trying to make my reviews better, so I figured I would see what the crowd had to say.

When you read a review of a product what are you looking for from the review? How detailed versus generalized? Is there something you particularly find useful or enjoy? Likewise anything you'd rather not see?

In general, I like a good product overview, how it fits well with preexisting products (if an rpg supplement), general usefulness, and quality.

In your Power Profile reviews specifically, I look for things like: new and creative uses of a power source, how it might fit with previous profiles, any useful rules updates/sidebars. I also like your percentage ratings system, but might (and this is only me here!) suggest that they not all be in 5% increments. If a profile isn't a 100%, but better than another that was rated 95%, make it a 96 - 99%?

But that's just me. Please keep up the good/hard work. Even though I buy them all eventually, there have been a few that I've put off for a while based on your reviews (but I can't remember which right now -- and by for a while, it's usually only a couple of days or so).

[Jameson]

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I also like your percentage ratings system, but might (and this is only me here!) suggest that they not all be in 5% increments. If a profile isn't a 100%, but better than another that was rated 95%, make it a 96 - 99%?

With regards to the scale I stick to 5% increments largely because after a point I find that dividing further and further into smaller measurements becomes increasingly invaluable. Basically is there a quantitative difference for an un-objective score of 98% versus 95%? Both are not quite 100%. Yes, one is closer, but ultimately the important take away is that they are very close, but not quite perfect.

Were this a completely objective review system (i.e. my own taste did not factor in at all) then those 3% might matter, but unlike a math test my feelings as as much part of the review as not, and what I see as 95% somebody else might shift up or down based on taste.

As a result, the 5% increments allows for a little more "wiggle room" in my ratings, to help them align with other people's personal taste. In the end, I feel like my words carry the real weight of my review and the number is more of a subjective representation of what those words convey.

[Jameson]

Supernatural Handbook

[Jameson]

Death powers

[HustlerOne]

Thanks for the review of the supernatural handbook. I wasn't sure about getting it until I read your
insightful review. It sounds like it would be useful for anyone who needs a monster for historical, Science fiction, and B movie settings. I especially like the alternative titles for each chapter such as Things That Go Bump, or, Chapter 4: Misadventures in Horror.

I cant criticize your reviews since I have no experience with them myself. If I had to make a comment then it would be to provide as much info as possible without making a review too time consuming to read. That's
pretty hard to balance in my opinion. So far your reviews have done exactly just that even for a book that's
as long as the supernatural handbook.

[Jameson]

I cant criticize your reviews since I have no experience with them myself. If I had to make a comment then it would be to provide as much info as possible without making a review too time consuming to read. That's pretty hard to balance in my opinion. So far your reviews have done exactly just that even for a book that's as long as the supernatural handbook.

Thank you for the feedback. I tend to agree regarding the difficulty of covering the contents of a book/product thoroughly without either 1) spending too much time, or 2) being boring and or giving away too much. I'm glad to hear that I'm toeing that line successfully thus far.

[Jameson]

Magnetic Powers

[Jameson]

Darkness Powers

[Jameson]

Dream Powers

I'm thinking about writing a review of the Power Profiles line as well. Not sure what form it will take, but at this point it will probably not happen until the weekend.

Edit: decided against, when the inevitable compilation comes out I can review that as a "product line review" of sorts instead.

[Jameson]

My computer at home croaked earlier this week. As a result I'm going to be unable to review anything until I get a replacement. I had hoped to read & review Shadowchaser's Black Chapter over the holiday break but that might slip even further out now as a result.

I'll update here again once I get my laptop repaired or replaced.

[Shadowchaser]

My computer at home croaked earlier this week. As a result I'm going to be unable to review anything until I get a replacement. I had hoped to read & review Shadowchaser's Black Chapter over the holiday break but that might slip even further out now as a result.

I'll update here again once I get my laptop repaired or replaced.

Argh! I'm sorry to hear about your computer problems, Jameson!