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Round 2 Rules

What a fantastic turn out. Clearly we have had some of the best content anywhere on the web since this contest started. If there was a way for FiringSquad to hire all 30 of the qualifiers, we would surely do it.

You have all read the results so far. The people to beat at this point in this competition are:
From Prelim 1:
Millroy: Dear Star Trek: Legacy (for the PC)
jacobvandy: Windows Vista: The Future of PC Gaming (Part 1)
Suibhne: Review: Dark Messiah of Might & Magic (single player)
From Prelim 2:
Power666: The CPU and GPU engaged for marriage
darrellwu: Graphics: Style and Photorealism
dasickninja: Bigfoot Killer NIC Review.

Some of you didn't qualify in the first preliminary but came back in the second and really stepped up the pace. So don't be discouraged if you are not at the top of the list at the moment. Remember that each article will be based on its own merit. You've made it this far which proves you have the talent.

Now for the rules.
In this round you are going to have to convince us that you really know what you are talking about. Your mblog can't be an editorial piece. It can not be a fluff piece. In this round your review must combine both hardware and a game. We will allow any combination of any device provided that it is gaming related with any game that you play (Whoopass Soda is not a gaming device). As an example, you can discuss how different video cards affect the frame rates of a specific game. Or, you can discuss how different game settings affect network game play or playability based on video resolution. Part of the judges job will be to judge how pertinent your argument is to the game and hardware in question and will rate you on this relevance along with your score for writing style, accuracy, and entertainment value.

You must also include at least 3 images in your mblog that support your argument.

You may also include video capture to support your argument, although it will only have a very small influence on the judges scores (5 points max per judge out of 100 possible points). It might however have a bigger impact on the FiringSquad readers scores (still worth 300 out of a possible 700 points).

You are only allowed to submit one mblog for this round. The sooner you submit, the more page views and votes you will receive. Remember to use a pertinent and catchy title. This can have a HUGE impact on page views as we have seen from previous rounds. It might not hurt to read up on search engine optimization (SEO) and how you can drive traffic to your article. Paid advertising will get you disqualified.

If you need help or want some feedback from the editors, you'll need to email us no later than Friday March 9th to fs.feedback@firingsquad.com. We will attempt to get as much feedback to you as possible as quickly as possible.

To summarize:
No editorials.
Must include affects of hardware on game or vice-versa.
One mblog per participant.
Minimum 3 images to support your opinion.
Video capture optional (small point advantage given if effective).
Help available if requested before Friday March 9th.
Submissions start Wednesday March 7th.
Submissions close midnight Wednesday March 14th.
Top 10 qualifiers move to the next round.

Do not hesitate to post in the comments section of this cluster if you have general questions.

Finally, we wish you the best of luck and look forward to reading your excellent submissions.