disclaimers

All reviews on hirez.org are the reviewers personal view of the artpacks. If you don't like pack reviews don't bother to read them, other people like them. ANYONE can contribute with their own review, and if it's serious enough it will get published on hirez.org. All reviews submitted are subject to editing without notice. Just submit reviews in the submit-form.

Below are the individual reviewers' comments.

god among lice:
When I'm reviewing packs I try to keep in mind that different people have different tastes, and also that many people are already familiar with the style and feel of the artwork in the bigger groups. My goal is largely to try and ignore my personal tastes in style and focus more on describing a pack so that a person who knows what they are interested in might better decide if they would enjoy it.

Most of the time it's hard for me to compare groups or artists and say that one is better than the other. For that reason, my number ratings are more often indicators of how a group fared compared to its previous releases than how they did compared to other groups. Please do not assume that since one pack has a higher number rating that it is automatically "better" than another group's pack. I think of them as "interest levels". When combined with the descriptive review, the potential viewer should know if it's a pack they want to look at.

To counterbalance this and introduce innovative new art to those set in their ways about what they like, I'll try to reward originality, freshness, and experimentation at the same time that I'm pointing out great execution in styles and modes that people are already familiar with.

mongi:
I write reviews simply for fun. It's what I like, and surely a lot of people have the same taste as me, so the reviews benefit they who have the same taste as me and wants to know what quality packs there are out there. You can't view art objectively, it is all about what you like and don't like. It isn't set what is good and what isn't, not in ANY way. If someone loves "plug-in damaged" pics, then so be it, let them be. It's all for entertainment.

Reviews also generates a kind of competition between the groups. Not that art is about competition at all, but some "healthy" competition doesn't hurt. Besides, the artscene isn't purely about art, it's as much about hype and vanity. Compare it with movies, it's art, but at the same time there's a lot of hype and commercial stuff around it.

What I take in view when reviewing a PACK (not just the art) are a lot of stuff: the actual art of course, packing, organization, overall impression, attitude, even the file_id.diz! The art is judged by technique, content and purpose. That's it. Remember it's what I think, but you can still send me comments.

root88:
Why would I want to read reviews from some guy I’ve never even heard of? First, some people out their just don’t have the time or bandwidth to grab every pack that has been released. In combination with other reviewers, you should be able to find the best ones. Secondly, many of the artists in the scene are doing remarkable work, and deserve to be congratulated and praised in front of their peers. Finally, many newcomers could use some constructive criticism from someone that has seen just about every thing released to the scene for that past ten years. I used to run a BBS from 89-95 and I’ve been tracking the scene ever since. While in many cases, I may not be able to do better myself, I may have a new idea or tip that may improve an artist. For the past three years, I have been enjoying the work that everyone has released without giving anything back. It might be a small contribution, but I’ve got to do something.

My goal is to fairly review the groups hirez productivity for an entire month, not just the archive that is released at the beginning of each month.