Both digitallyOBSESSED.com and DVD Review have reviews of the Akira DVD. Having just read Clay Shirky's Open Letter to Jakob Nielsen from June 1999, I'm obligated to say that digitallyOBSESSED.com, in addition to having the cooler name (and self-described an eclectic, mature, erudite DVD reviewer community
), is the more usable site of the two.
Starting with their RSS feeds, DVD Review's are just titles:
We took an early look at Pioneer's hot release of Akira
whereas digitallyOBSESSED's are heavy on actual data:
Akira: SE. From: Pioneer Entertainment - Year: 1988 - Rated: R - Release Date: July 24, 2001 - Starring: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama - Features: Anamorphic * Widescreen * DD 5.1 * Extras! * - Recommended!
One might also note that digitallyOBSESSED's link goes, unsurprisingly, to the Akira review--whereas DVD Review's link is http://www.dvdreview.com/ , two clicks away.
As far as the sites go, digitallyOBSESSED gets applause for both a consistent design and having the Akira review one click from the front page (even ignoring the dOc Spotlight
on the left). However, I find the four columns a bit much, especially on a screen only 800px wide. I would also put the search form higher on the page, perhaps at the top.
With the presentation of the reviews, digitallyOBSESSED uses the inverted pyramid, or journalistic, form: start with the conclusion.
Their conclusion is given quickly in the tabular rating breakdown. digitallyOBSESSED separates the film and technical reviews. DVD Review gets a plus for using pictures, and linking its audiovisual jargon (deplored recently by someone or other--I can't find the link) to a glossary.
But, eh. They're both pretty good reviews.
