Newgrounds.com — Everything, By Everyone.

There are millions of reviews on this website. Some are incredible, some are great, some are good, and then some are outright abusive and unhelpful. There are so many users out there who are willing to help people learn how to review and help an artist learn the proper mechanics of leaving a constructive review. I figured I would contribute to the bunch.

Firstly, I try my best to write reviews for artist who need the criticism rather than those who are already in the top best flashes in the Flash Portal. Those big hitters like reviews, but it's very rare they're reading all 1500 of the posted reviews. The artists new to flash are the ones who need your help, so they're the ones who require the MOST ATTENTION IN DETAIL!

The biggest thing about leaving a good review is not being afraid to be critical of someone's work. You're not leaving a review to be someone's best buddy for eternity. You're leaving a review to be helpful and help them realize where they need to improve. An artist will have a lot more respect for you if you grade them strictly rather than just throwing out a free 10/10.

Grade them on everything. Every single aspect of the flash. It doesn't need to be a novel, but try to say more than "This flash was awesome." Say something like "This flash was awesome BECAUSE the graphics and sound were good. However, you could improve your backgrounds and character detail just a little bit more to make this even better. Keep up the great work!" That's a short review with a lot of punch to help an artist improve. It's not super detailed, BUT IT HELPS. I also like to say something encouraging at the end of the review to help the artist keep their head up and work harder to improve.

Now, if you really want to look at some great reviewers on this site, look at Coop, SCTE3, Phobotech, and Fro. These guys are some of the best and most helpful reviewers on the site, and are still VERY active. If you have any questions just ask! They're also part of a very helpful reviewing crew called the Review Request Club. This is the place to go where you can help newer artists with their work, both audio and flash. Some artists have greatly improved their work thanks to the RRC. Check them out!

My review style revolves around a few major topics and I like to go into great detail while I review submissions so I can give the author a maximum benefit. Check it out:

Graphics/Animation: -/10
Here is where you grade the animation and graphics of the author. Many times this is where your overall score will take the biggest slam for an author. Grade based on detail, smooth animating, framerate, backgrounds, and texture. These are real important because this is the visual effects of the flash you're watching. This is basically the whole importance of an animator's career. They will gain a lot from your help here. I base my score here on the Top 50. This is a rather harsh grading system, but it works. Keep in mind - EVERY AUTHOR HAS A DIFFERENT STYLE! Egoraptor is a prime example.

Audio: -/10
Here is another important piece. Was the sound fuzzy? Did the author use appropriate audio? Was the syncing of the audio lined up with the flash properly? All of those above will affect the score. One of the major killers for me is when the music loops through the end of the flash. The more clear the audio, the higher the score. Voice acting is huge. It really is terrible when someone uses a regular microphone with sounds in the background that have nothing to do with the flash. Music needs to be well made as well. Grade strictly here too.

Story: -/10
Some flashes have a story. Some don't. Which is why this one is up to you on whether or not you want to include it in your review. I personally don't always leave this in. But when I do, the sequence of events is the major thing you review on. Was the story invigorating? Did you care about the characters? Do you want to see another? These are all questions that should be answered in this part of the review. This never really has too big of an effect on the overall score for me. It's just an extra to tell the author what I think.

Originality: -/10
Let's face it. Some flashes just aren't original. Pokemon, Halo, Gears of War, and Madness have been absolutely beaten to death. Madness especially. So when you review this portion, review it harshly. This could make or break a great flash for me. However, an exception is if someone has taken an unoriginal idea, and made something funny out of it. Then it becomes acceptable to grade that as something on a more original scale.

Overall: -/10
Sum everything up. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the loved. I like to reiterate the great parts of the flash here to let the author know that there were positives. I try and focus on things that will be improvements in the future and how they will have a great shot at making something better if they keep practicing their skills. This is a big part where I'll end with a "Keep it up" or a "Great work."

Hopefully I was able to give someone some type of insight on how to be constructive in a review. Even if you don't want to do the long review style I chose to do, maybe try one of the shorter styles as I mentioned above. Remember, the best type of review is a constructive one, not a destructive.

Good luck!