For those that are addicted to Facebook as I am, you surely play some of the hundreds of browser-based games.  Personally, I was playing too many and had to make a decision to only play a couple so they wouldn’t take up most of my time.  Of course, when I see that a new one has come out, it’s hard to pass up the chance to play around with it for a bit.  When I saw that there was one out with a fantasy based story line that seemed to be a mix of Evony and World of Warcraft, I simply had to take a look.  This new MMOSG (in this case, it means strategy game) called Empire Craft, you will build your city, recruit your armies, and conquer the world.  Here is what I found with my first hour of game play:

Anyone that has played Evony will be comfortable right off with Empire Craft.  The basic game play is the same – build your city up to defend yourself against other hostile cities.  You can build a wealth of different buildings, from your tavern to iron mines to stores to city walls.  While it is a simple game to play, as you progress through the levels it will take longer to build and longer to get resources that you need to build.  I personally like these type of strategy games, combines a sim city building game with military strategy.

One of the things I noticed right off the bat is that it has a World of Warcraft feel to it.  You get to choose your race when you start: Human, Dwarf (that look like the Night Elves from WoW) and Orcs.  Then, you choose your name and you’re ready to rock.  You’ll go through quests to gain rewards of experience, resources, and more, and the beginning quests will help you learn what you need to do to get further in the game and protect yourself.

Those that are looking for the RPG feel in this will find that there is a great RPG base here.  Take into account the fact that the whole game is based in a fantasy feel, then add in that the players that love this game and play it regularly are into the role-playing aspect of building their own fantasy city.  The graphics only play into the overall feel of the game.  The players also offer a great deal of the RPG feel as well, even if most don’t seem to be hard core role players – they still play their part.  And, you will easily find that there are a ton of players that do take the game seriously, and take their parts seriously as well.  They play in clans/guilds that take their positions, their cities, and more as serious role play, even if this is a casual Facebook game.

While I really like Evony, Empire Craft is more my style as it’s more of a fantasy based game instead of just medeval style.  Same principle behind the game style, just different graphics.  And, there are also wandering monsters that you can take out as well.  I do have to build up a bit more before I can head out with my armies and heroes and take out any wandering monsters or take over any resources that are close to my city, but I’m sure that I will.

Although I just started playing Empire Craft, I will probably continue to play it for a while as I really like the fact that it’s browser based (nothing to download) and it’s a completely free mmo game.  Those out there that are looking for a new free mmo game to try out might check Empire Craft out on Facebook when you get a chance.

Game Play: While you have to start out in the bakery as Jill to get some money saved up to purchase other places in town, the game play overall is superb. Here’s why: when you get to the point in Cake Mania Main Street where you are getting frustrated with a level or you cannot pass a certain part, then you can simply head back to town and start in a different area. This makes it a great way to play, yet still have a massive versatility so that you don’t have to worry about getting bored at all in Cake Mania Main Street.

Once you unlock one of the other shops in Cake Mania Main Street, you can play it and still gain money from the other shops that are there. While it starts at around $5 a day, it’s still better than nothing and you will find that you can upgrade the other shops to make more money throughout the day.

Now, all of the different shops in Cake Mania Main Street offer you the same type of game play, just in different styles: you have your customer who places their order, then you have to put the order together and keep them happy so that they will pay for it and tip you well. The happier they are, the more tips you get. While that’s not all that there is to this great little Sandlot Games title, you’ll find that it’s enough to keep you on your toes quickly so that you will be more than happy to sit and play for hours on end. Since the game play will keep you so I give the game play for Cake Mania Main Street yet another solid 10 out of 10.

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Graphics: Here is yet another area where Cake Mania Main Street shines to bright. The graphics here in this newest version of the Cake Mania saga are brilliant. From the beautifully bright colors to the crisp lines, you will find that everything little to big in this Sandlot Games title is just about as perfect as it can be. I have played this title til I am blue in the fingers, and have yet to find one single glitch, one graphical problem, anything. There are absolutely no color mistakes, the lines are all perfectly clear and clean, and you won’t have to worry about anything flowing together wrong here either. The designers for Cake Mania Main Street did a perfect job on this great game, which again earns it a 10 out of 10 from me.

Sound and Audio: This is really the only place where I had to dip the score from a 10 down to a 9 out of 10, and it’s only due to the fact that the music is a bit repetitive in Cake Mania Main Street. But, this is the only factor that has any down side to it in this great game. The sounds and voice acting are great, the burgers sizzle, the flowers swish, the wrapping crinkles, and everything fits together perfectly so that you simply get all of the great sounds in one great Sandlot Games title. So, this area gets a 9 out of 10 for me.

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Cake Mania Main Street Overall Opinion: For anyone out there that love great online games, Cake Mania Main Street is the one for you, it doesn’t matter if you love strategy games, time management games, or just something that is downright fun – Cake Mania Main Street will give it to you to satisfy that sweet tooth you have. Sandlot Games hit it out of the park with this one, and you will not be disappointed at all with this great Cake Mania title. Want an even better opportunity to play this great game? Head over to Sandlot Games site and get a free pc download for this great game to try it out for free before you buy it. Check out Cake Mania Main Street today, you won’t be sorry that you did!

Story Line: You play as Mr. Jones, a lonely retired gentleman who longs for a more exciting life than just living alone in the country.  One day, you get a call from the love of your life, Mimi.  She wants you to come join her in tropical paradise – with a long list of gifts and requirements!  How will you get all of these items as well as a million dollars?  Well, you’ll start up your own graveyard that’s what!  So, now, you work your way toward becoming a millionaire and earn Mimi’s love once more.

Game Play: For one of the many time management games that Big Fish offers, the game play in this one is really good.  You have to plan out everything – from how you lay out the plots to how you manage your time.  This is where the strategy part comes in, as you really have to make sure that you think before you start digging.  Mr. Jones’ Graveyard shift is one great little game that will keep your brain and fingers working!

When customers get to your graveyard, you will have to greet them by either walking to them or clicking on the car icon that appears in your lower right hand corner.  They will give you all of the information that you need – from the person’s name to what they do or don’t want by their grave.  According to what they want, you need to purchase those items that will create a 30% markup to get to the goal amount.  Different people will want to pay different amounts for the funerals of their loved ones, and you will have to meet this before they will pay for your services.

When you take a job, you’ll have to do everything from digging the grave to chiseling the headstone to placing the items around the grave to make them happy.  The whole ordeal is a bit funny – and you’ll want to make sure that you watch everything as it goes on.  Once the funeral is done, the car will appear again with a “$” on it.  You’ll head over there to get paid.

There is a supply truck that will come daily for you to get your supplies from, and you want to make sure you check it daily as well.  Sometimes there are specific items that won’t be available every day that customers will want.

As you go through the game, you will have to build up your money and reputation so that you can purchase other plots of land around you and buy more gifts for Mimi.  And, you have to sleep at night to regain your strength and to save your progress.

And, there will be special graves that you’ll construct that will give you bonuses and special items – such as those that will make anyone happy!  You want to make sure that you pay attention to every detail in this game so that you can earn the maximum each time and get to your goal faster.

Graphics: As you can see from the screenshots that I’ve posted here in this review, the graphics are great.  They are cartoonish, but they fit the overall theme of this great game well.  You’ll love the colors, the way that Mr. Jones looks, the way that the ghosts roam the graveyard at night, and everything else about this game.  Even the zombies are really funny, lumbering about – so there isn’t much to complain about in this fun little game.

Sounds and Audio: While I didn’t care for the music much as it’s really repetitive, the audio is superb!  I actually missed this for a while as I was mainly playing with the sound off.  Then, my kids asked to listen to it and I was amazed.  It’s so funny to listen to that I was surprised that I hadn’t before.  The funeral party will arrive, mumble some words (and you’ll hear a woman sobbing in the background), then the preacher will even say “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” and they’ll move on.  The voice acting is really good for a little game like this, and adds to the overall charm of this one.

Recap: For those that love any type of time management games or PC strategy games, get this one.  No matter what type of gamer you are, or how old you are, you’ll love this one.  I have to say that I would easily recommend it to anyone out there who loves Big Fish Games as well.  There is just so much great about this game that it’s hard to say no to it.  And, you’ll get a free 1-hour playing time when you download it to see if you really want to buy it or not – but I can guarantee that you will!

Story Line: In Kuros, you play a young girl who has no idea who or where you are.    Throughout the game, you will search for clues to help you solve this mystery as you go through different areas and levels of the game.  You will go through the different areas of the game, meeting interesting new characters who will help you on your quest to find out who you are and where you came from.  The thing I like about the story line in Kuros is that it’s original and unique.  It’s a bit of the hidden pictures type game, mixed in with a puzzle game.  It’s a fantasy themed game, yet still a mystery game.  With so many different things rolled up into one little game, Sandlot Games did a great job with this one and it’s story line.  Any age gamer will love this story line as well, which is only another plus on this long line.

Game Play: Even though Kuros is a hidden pictures game, you will still be going through different puzzles and games in each different level to pass that area.  Some puzzles and games might be mixed up pictures, crystal light shows, and even finding map fragments that you need to get through the level.  There is so much to the game play in Kuros that it’s hard to get bored with it – which makes it even better.  Of course, the map fragments are a bit hard to find in some areas, but that only adds to the game play and doesn’t make it too easy.  There is help in the different areas though, in the form of looking glasses.  These will help you see an area where there might be a hidden object that you can’t see or just help you if you get stuck.

Graphics: The graphics in Kuros are excellent.  I personally love them.  It is easy to see that the art work in Kuros was done with care, as the detail in the different areas, puzzles, and maps are evident.  But, the game isn’t overly detailed – which is good.  The art work also reflects the fantasy theme, and helps to add to the overall feel of the game.  Of course, they aren’t cartoony, which is good as well.  They are actually just a perfect fit for this hidden pictures game that will be a perk to any age gamer.

Overall: Would I recommend this game to other gamers?  Of course I would.  I really liked playing this one, even if I did get frustrated sometimes trying to find that last map fragment… but maybe I just shouldn’t sit up so late at night playing computer games huh?  Well, if you are looking for a new hidden pictures game, a new puzzle game, or just something new and fresh in general, you need to go over to Sandlot Games and check out Kuros. You won’t be sorry you did and I promise that you’ll enjoy this great new game.

The Basics: Funny Farm has you matching up different types of animal faces (and of course, their loving farmer) to win the game.  You have to completely clear the board, without leaving any animals on the board, which sounds pretty easy, but it’s not.  It takes some strategy to do this well as you can only match up the animal faces vertically, horizontally, or diagonally touching each other.  So, you have to really pay attention to where the pieces will slide next after you take two of them out of the mix.  As you remove different pairs from the board, the other pieces will slide toward the upper left corner, which you’ll quickly find out.  There are only three levels in this quick little free computer game, but it holds some of the best that puzzle and strategy games has to offer in this short amount of time.

The Graphics: As you can see from the screenshots that I’ve provided you, this is a cute little colorful game to play.  The details are good, even if the game overall is cartoonish.  I personally love the game overall, and I probably play it too much some days.  But hey, that’s what free computer games are all about right?  The colors are really bright and vibrant, even on an older monitor which means that kids and adults will like this little free computer game on King.com.

Recommendations: I would easily recommend that any computer gamer check out King.com and Funny Farm.  The site is great and there are tons of different free computer games here that you will enjoy.  You can also play free games for cash here on this site, which is fun as well.  So, no matter what type of computer games you enjoy – action, strategy, card – you will find something on King.com that you will fall in love with.

When I started playing Evony, I did so because I was bored.  (Yes, even I get bored of World of Warcraft even with a level 80… or two.)  While I play several other free browser based mmo games as well, I don’t play any that are Sim building games – which I absolutely love.  So, when I saw that Evony was a type of Sim building game, well, I had to give it a shot.

Gameplay:
Basically in Evony, you are building your own city on a massive map.  While there are open areas around you to conquer for materials, you will start off with enough area to build up your town and gather the materials that you need.  You have a wealth of different buildings available to you right from the start, and you can choose to either follow the quest lines (which basically gather you up a ton of materials and goods) or you can just build how you want to.  Personally, I do a bit of both in Evony.  There is a great in-game chat system as well, and I’ve found that many players are pretty helpful and won’t make fun of you too bad – even if you are a noob.

Graphics:
The graphics in Evony are really good for a free browser based mmo.  As you can see from my screen shots here in this free mmo game review, they are very detailed and nicely done.  I like how the designers gave everything the smallest detail to make the game believable – instead of a cartoonist aspect or graphics that aren’t as detailed as they should be – which happens a lot.

Building:
You start off with a level 1 town hall and a very small wall around your city.  You have to build up your cottages in town to get people to move in, then you have to work on materials – especially food.  As you play, you will develop your own pace for building different categories of buildings and the quests in Evony can help you as well with what to build next and what you really need or don’t need.  With the wealth of different buildings available to you in this free mmo game, it can seem a little overwhelming – but don’t worry.  It’s really not.

Why I Like This Free MMO: Evony:
Why do I like this free browser based mmo game, Evony?  Easy.  It’s fun.  It’s like a great mix of Age of Empires and a free mmo game.  So, instead of trying to figure everything out for yourself, you actually have people that will help you – real people that you can actually talk to, not just a computer generated answer that doesn’t mean squat.  And, there are alliances in Evony that you can take advantage of – especially for those newer players that aren’t ready when their 7-day protection is up.  (Yes, this happens after your first 7 days in the game.  Then, other cities and players can attack you without warning.)

But overall, this is just a super concept, a fun little free mmo game, and I really enjoy it.  For those of you that think this might be an mmo game you’d like – head over to Evony.com and try it out.  I mean, it’s not like it will cost you anything – which is good.  And, I promise that you’ll have a good time with this little building mmo game.  Hey, if you come to play, look me up on World 42…

I was asked to take a look at and review this new free to play MMO game from Aeria Games (although you can also find it through NDOORS as well), and at first glance, I thought – wow, this is in NO way the type of normal MMO game that I would play. I went ahead and downloaded it and waited for it to install. I do have to say here that the download/install time is really quite fast for a new MMO game. I was impressed with this. I’m not sure how it is on computers with a slower internet connection than I have, (I personally use a cable modem), but the overall time was really great.

When the game downloaded and I had looked at the four character choices, I finally chose the blonde girl… as it fits me best. While I do wish that there were more character choices or a way to customize your toon – I can also understand why there isn’t, as you can purchase some great clothing and other goods from the item mall that will allow you to stand out from the crowd in game.

I head in the game and start going through the first few quests, which are a tutorial of the game itself to get you familiar with everything. At first, I thought, oh, man, a super-long tutorial… nice. But, once I started seeing what all there is to the game, how to search for things, the different towns, the stock markets, and everything else, I was really glad that there was a long tutorial to go through. And, really, by the time that you are done with it, you can basically go out and kill anything that you’ll need for the next quest lines.

While I am not normally a fan of Anime cartoons, games, or anything like that, I really like this little free MMO game. So much in fact, that I’ve been tweeting about it constantly to let people know about the game.

There is so much to this game, that even though I’ve been playing since the closed beta opened up, I still don’t know everything that there is to know. You have to learn to keep your toon healthy, which includes eating certain foods that will help to keep up your digestive, respiratory, and more, you have to learn to keep your bank in the positive so that you have the money for foods, mats, and medicines when you need them, you have to learn to play the market right to make money, and there are so many other areas to the game itself that I couldn’t even begin to start.

I guess that I’ll have to do a Luminary guide for you all, huh?

One of the main things that appealed to me more than anything was the different ways that a player can get involved in the game itself. From those that love to just solo it out to those that want to run everything, there is a place for you here. In the game, there are several towns throughout the land that you can actually run for office in. These offices include the treasury, over the markets, the builder, and more. Once a town has been established, the leaders of it can set the different areas for members only or for everyone, such as the bank, the market, and the town’s hunting grounds.

There are also some great little dungeon type areas to hunt in with different levels. Each level will have it’s own special boss (that will be super higher level than what the mobs are there), and there is a timer that will show on the side of the screen as when the boss will reappear. On each different level, there are different level mobs to fight and you’ll have several quests that will take you throughout the whole area, grinding away.

Now, as far as levels go, there are 100 levels in Luminary. I’m sure it will take a while for someone to get to the top when the open beta starts – but it’s actually pretty easy to level in the game now. I really like the fact that you can level with grinding quests or just soloing out some mobs. And, even mobs that are 10+ levels lower than you are can easily give you xp as well – which is a nice change.

It also regulates the different types of weapons and crafting items that you can make. You have to read books and use a certain weapon to skill up in your chosen weapon, and you are only allowed a certain number of skill points per toon. If you use all of these up, you can only reallocate your skill points when you hit 10, 20, 30, 40… etc. So, you really have to think carefully before you start reading books and placing your skill points in different areas. You want to make sure that you have a specialty, where you can become an artisan so that you can make some good cash on the market.

I could easily go on and on about all the great stuff in the game. But, I’ll leave that for another post, as I’m planning to play this one a lot.

Overall, I really love this new MMO and I find that there is something really addicting about it. I would recommend it to anyone, no matter what type of MMO gamer you are, as there are so many components to this game that you will have a hard time mastering them all. You’re welcome to find me in game, as I’m on almost every day… I’ll let you guess what my character name is.

The game is multiplayer as well, online or network which makes it really enjoyable. You can compete in the markets or in elections. Vie for the city mayor or accuse each other of crimes in court. Or you can ally and try to take out the other computer guilds. Their are multiple cities in each map and plenty of room to run your own city and show it off to your friend in game. You can even move different characters in your dynasty from town to town. So if you get bored of one town you can switch towns.

There are also titles in the game, you can go from commoner to baronet. You also pass your titles down to your children, so your dynasty can prosper. There is also a feature where your children take the attributes of you and your wife. So their stats will be good if you and your wife have great stats. You can control three people from your dynasty. This leaves plenty of room to have variety and keep things interesting. Since each character can’t change classes, you can have your wife and son be two different classes or you can specialize on one skill and refine it throughout generations, so your kids can be born with a mastery of skills in that craft.

So, I headed over and downloaded the game – which actually didn’t take as long as I expected it would.  Once the download was done, I jumped in and started to create my toon.  Now, I for some strange reason, I always choose the “evil” side when I play an MMO game – call me crazy – so I had to start out with the Union of Fury, which holds the Vail and the Deatheaters.  I chose my first toon as a Vail Pagan, as you can see above, because, well, they look cool!  There are several different hair and faces that you can choose from to customize your toon and there are some different heights that you can pick from as well, all to help you create a toon that is really you.  While I do wish that there was a little bit more in terms of customization on your toon, what is there is great.

Here is one area where Shaiya is completely different: you get to choose if you want it on “easy” or “normal” mode of play.  ”Easy” lets you level a bit easier, as you gain more experience, while “normal”, is – well, normal.  This is great for new players to MMO games and a genius way to get people hooked on a game.

Now, I have Possess designed and ready to go.  So, I hop in game.  (Let me stop right here and let you know that if you aren’t familiar with MMO games, then you won’t have a clue what I’m talking about in this next part of the review.)

First, you drop in game in a field and you can immediately look around and tell the quest giver there by you.  Moving is pretty easy, point and click, and your toon in on his/her way.  Although, I’m used to the click-hold-and-move-your-mouse to run around, clicking to move isn’t bad either.  You can change in mid-stride if needed.

Ok, so on to the quest giver!  He is pretty easy to talk to and it’s pretty easy to get the quest from him.  But, here is where I had some issues and had to stop right off – the interface is not automatically set with your attack button at number 1 and any spells as well as they are in other MMO games.  I had to search through the interface until I found them, which actually took me a bit to find.  Once I did, it was easy enough to customize my hotkeys as I wanted.

Now that I have my hotkeys set, I can go out and kill what’s needed for the quest.  So, I head out down the hill and kill off what I need.  As I’m doing this, I’ve learned from too much experience in MMO games that you should always grind a bit while you’re doing quests to help you level.  While you’re finishing your first quest, you’ll ding level 2 easily, possibly 3, depending on how much you grind.

This is kind of where the game gets repetitive.  With any MMO game, you have to quest and you have to grind.  The key here is to have more questing than grinding, and there are times in Shaiya when you have to do more grinding than questing.  So, for me, this part of the game (the massive amount of grinding) takes my rating down a little bit.

But, here’s where it redeems itself: the graphics.  For a free MMO game the graphics are pretty darn good.  There are too many free mmo games out there that do just enough to get by with graphics because they are offering a free game to players.  This is not the case here.  You can easily tell that Shaiya had a lot of effort put into the design and graphics.  I love the toons and their unique looks – I love the effort that was put into creating a completely new side to the evil of the game with two new races that are completely different than in any other game.  (Now, I can see similarities in the two races in the Union of Fury and the Mages and Titans in Last Chaos – but they are more unique in Shaiya.)

One other thing that I noticed is that the map and mini-map are superbly designed.  Here’s why: you can easily see where you need to go, even in the towns, for gathering quests and turning them in.  The map itself is easy to use, easy to see, and I absolutely love the maps in Shaiya.

As for the merchants and trading among players, I have done enough trading with merchants to see how easy this is too.  You simply click on an item in your bag and drag it over to the merchant’s list of items and *ding* done.  Buying items from merchants is just as easy, click and you’ve got it (if you have the money).  Now, I haven’t dealt with the trading among players or through the auction yet.  So, that part will have to wait for a later part of my review for the game.

Overall, I really like this one.  On our Zownder rating scale, I rate it a 4.5 out of 5.  I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a change in their normal MMO gaming as this one offers unique toons, races, classes, questing, maps, and just a generally refreshing free MMO game overall.

Wait – isn’t that what I just told you to do in the guide? Yes it is, but there is a trick to offering your services for free so that you can quickly become a paid reviewer, and this report will tell you how to do it. Here are the steps that you need to take:

Step 1: Write a sample review. Now, don’t just crank one out and hope it’s good. You need to take your time, find one of the most popular games for the type of games that you want to write about, such as pc gaming, console gaming, MMORPGs, and so on. Then, look up the most popular keywords that related to that specific game for the SEO (search engine optimization) content. Once you have this information, take your time and write a great review that sites will fight over to post. Make it personable and passionate, like a blog, and not dry, like a Wikipedia page. But, do not offer too much of a personal opinion – as you want your review to be fair and balanced, no matter how you truly feel about the game.

Step 2: Find some of the middle-sized gaming sites to contact. Don’t go for Yahoo! Games, Gamespot, or Curse Gaming right off the bat, as these are some of the “big fish” in the gaming site world, and they will be harder for you to crack. Instead, you want to go for medium-sized sites that get decent traffic. Here is the best way to find them: search for what type of gaming you want to write about, for example “pc game reviews” or “console game reviews”. Now, you will probably pulls up millions of hits. Go to about the third page of the results and start with the sites listed there. This is where the middle-sized sites will start, and these are the ones you want.

Step 3: Find the email addresses for the site administrators, their careers/jobs page, or any other area where they request that you send information to. Make sure that you gather up between 10-20 different sites to submit your emails and information to so that you will have a good chance of getting a great response back.

Step 4: Draft an email cover letter, like I showed you in the guide. This will be their first impression about you, so make sure that you follow the steps in the guide to create one that they cannot refuse answering. When you do this, here is where the trick comes in:
*Offer them your services for free for a couple of weeks or for a set number of reviews or articles. Offer to do reviews or articles over any topic that they would like, no matter what it is – but be prepared for this if they accept your offer, because they will usually offer you really hard or boring topics to see how you to and test your skills. Make sure that you tell them a time frame of when the work will be completed, and set a goal longer than the time that you will actually need, but not too far out. This way, you can easily get the work done and to them quicker than they expected it.

Step 5: Don’t get discouraged if a few, or even most, decline your offer – no matter what. But, there will be others who will jump on the opportunity for free SEO content for their site. When they do, make sure that you deliver what you say you will and then deploy the “under-promise and over-deliver” ideal. Show them that you know what you are talking about when it comes to both gaming and SEO work to prove that you will be a great asset to their site. You want to blow them out of the water so that they will not want to lose your skills and written work when your “free” offer is up.

Step 6: When you alloted time is up or you have turned in all of the articles that you have offered them for free, send them a separate email and let them know that you enjoyed working with them and ask how they liked the work that you did for them. Don’t offer them anything else right now, simply wait for their response. If they do not respond within the next 4-5 business days, then send a simple follow up email, asking if they received your work. Once they respond with a positive email or phone call, ask them about working out a deal for your services for their site.
*Tip: If you ask them to contact you over the phone, make sure that you have worked out what you want to say and have a small speech worked out as to how you want to ask them for a position with their site.

Step 7: You need to know what the going rates are for reviews and articles for gaming sites. The going rate for a review or articles that is 500 words or more is $10-20 USD, and the going rate for feature-length reviews or articles that are 1500 words or more is $30-60 USD. Now, when you are getting started with getting your reviews and articles out there, you should expect to be at the lower end of these pay scales and when you get better and have more out there published online, you can start to move up the scale and make more. Basically, don’t expect to be making $100 USD for the first feature article or review that you write.

Step 8: Making a deal with a site is actually pretty easy, as long as you already have a worked out speech ready to go. Once you know what the going rates are and you have received a good response from the site that they are interested in your work, then you simply ask for a paid position with them. (Yes, it is that easy.) If they say no right away, don’t get discouraged. Simply ask if there is anything that you can do to help change their mind. Be open to taking less money per review or article or to providing less work a month that you originally wanted to. But, if they say yes, and they want to work something out, do not be arrogant when you are dealing with them. Since you are getting your foot in the door, you want to be agreeable and work with the site, but you do not want to seem too agreeable. If they make an offer that is too low for you, say like within the $3-5 USD range for a 350 word review, tell them that you would be happy to do a couple for $5-7 each. You should not ever take less than $5 for a 300 word review or article. Basically, you want to work with them until you both get what you want. Keep in mind though that some of the smaller sites may not have a budget to pay much right at the moment. Simply work with them, and when their budget goes up, they will remember that you were happy to work with them and they will be happy to work with you as well.

Remember that once you have made a commitment to work for a site, you need to keep it if you want to grow your experience and your reputation online. If you do not, they you will find that trying to get another paid reviewer spot will be twice as hard and you may get to the point that you cannot find a paid spot at all. Keep your reputation up as a great game reviewer or writer and you will find that those coveted high-paying positions on the “big fish” gaming sites will start coming to you.