My views on video game reviews changed after the "Kane & Lynch" Fiasco on GameSpot. It was a sad day in journalism when you're out of a job because you thought a game made by a big sponsor of the said company was a horrid piece of trash
278: Opinions for Sale or Trade
- Thread starter Jim Sterling
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Nooo. No. Sorry.Lord_Gremlin said:
Those guys are our Eurogamer. Don't even mention them. They have sold their souls multiple times (The Sims 3, EA), been caught in piracy to get out reviews and their main guy I've had the misfortune to talk with is quite an unpleasant person.
They all are.
yeah i hate it when videogame reviewers create a "look" like some hybridation of a pimppornstar of gaming...
Welcome to the Escapist, Jim!
Very good article. I say it all the time, if you actually read a review, you can easily sort out the author's biases. Hyperbolic language, hazy description or no description of important elements of the game, saying the game is a "_______ killer", and other things can cue you in that the reviewer may be at least a blinded fan (example: You wouldn't want me to review a Bioware game professionally. I love them too much) and at worst just plain dishonest. That review score to me exists more as a useful indexing tool than a recommendation. I see a high score and that makes me research the game to see why it is so loved, but I'm not going to buy it on spot.
I do want to shake everyone at Destructoid's hand for not being afraid to not gush over the latest Fable game. I still can't believe that pretty much every reviewer listed on Metacritic gave Fable II at least a pretty good review, especially since it divided the gamer community so much.
Very good article. I say it all the time, if you actually read a review, you can easily sort out the author's biases. Hyperbolic language, hazy description or no description of important elements of the game, saying the game is a "_______ killer", and other things can cue you in that the reviewer may be at least a blinded fan (example: You wouldn't want me to review a Bioware game professionally. I love them too much) and at worst just plain dishonest. That review score to me exists more as a useful indexing tool than a recommendation. I see a high score and that makes me research the game to see why it is so loved, but I'm not going to buy it on spot.
I do want to shake everyone at Destructoid's hand for not being afraid to not gush over the latest Fable game. I still can't believe that pretty much every reviewer listed on Metacritic gave Fable II at least a pretty good review, especially since it divided the gamer community so much.
That's all well and good but I still don't know anyone who trusts game reviewer's "opinions" anyway. The all have terrible taste and just aren't very critical.
When I'm looking at a review, I'm not looking for some basment-living mouth-breather's personal opinion, I'm just looking for some facts about the game. Except with Zero Punctuation, that I just watch for a laugh.
When I'm looking at a review, I'm not looking for some basment-living mouth-breather's personal opinion, I'm just looking for some facts about the game. Except with Zero Punctuation, that I just watch for a laugh.
Ah, I remember that. Although, luckily he and Shoemaker have moved to Giantbomb.com and seem a lot happier there.Irridium said:
OT: These publisher/reviewer situations always seem so harsh. Sure, sometimes the publisher will really pay the reviewer to make a good review, but in most of my experiences the publisher relies on advertising for the website. If the game gets a bad review, then the publisher pulls the advertising.
In that case, it's a little bit of blame for the publisher and reviewer, the publisher is sort of implying that the reviewer should review the game well or else, and the reviewer knows that. Incidents (like the one above) have taken place when the unwritten, unspoken deals don't turn out well, and they both lose money.
"Main guy"? The "undead" one or the one that robs caravans? They both are kinda douchebags, still, many mainstream games get exactly what they deserve. Although that Sims 3 review by infamous caravan robber is kinda suspicious.JourneyThroughHell said:
Generally, you take AG.ru and Eurogamer, merge them and get the "true" score.
I meant the caravan robber.Lord_Gremlin said:
I still hate the guts of that site.
EDIT: I'll rephrase that, I hate the people who run it.
The reviews for Russian games on there are actually pretty damn good.
To be honest despite all that's said here I don't believe most reviewers because of scores that don't ever fit games. The more believable reviewers are the ones who don't give scores in numbers or letters.
It's not about a single reviewer most of the time but the site they're on, I don't believe any review off IGN or Gamespot or any site LIKE that because of just how stupid some of the scores they give are. Hell 90% of the articles have people calling out the reviewer on IGNs comment sections. A lot of the games they gave decent reviews I found amazing and the ones they threw perfect 10s at I called bullshit on because they were NOT 10/10 material.
It's not about a single reviewer most of the time but the site they're on, I don't believe any review off IGN or Gamespot or any site LIKE that because of just how stupid some of the scores they give are. Hell 90% of the articles have people calling out the reviewer on IGNs comment sections. A lot of the games they gave decent reviews I found amazing and the ones they threw perfect 10s at I called bullshit on because they were NOT 10/10 material.
In the states (at least) GI subscriptions get bundled with their discount card. And, yeah, 99% of it is either full page ads or full page ads written by the staff. There's usually some mildly amusing bits or interviews, but it's definitely a fluff mag.VondeVon said:
Agreed. Same thing happened to me. Shame, as there was indeed some good points.SpiderJerusalem said:
I don't pay attention to any reviews. Usually when I do watch or read a review, I've already decided beforehand whether I'm going to buy it. Not to mention a lot of the games who do get 9s or 10s are games I care little for, like Halo Reach or Modern Warfare 2.
It's not different then political media, its now about news it's about access and unfortunately it's spilling over into all other media forms. Most journalists these days have zero integrity and write biased articles based off what they hope to gain in the future, whether it scoring a new job to just scoring free copies of the latest games.
Amen! When these deals do go down the reviewer is usually shooting themselves in the foot. I've picked up a game before based on some stellar early reviews only to find out it was a well dressed turd. Once that happens though I never trust that reviewer again. Perhaps as an overcompensation I actually tend be suspect of any game that is highly rated by that reviewer afterwards, almost as though their approval becomes an instant black mark against a game. Time and experience helps to weed out some of the crap.
I do think its important not to fall into the rut of believing all reviews are contrived on the basis of pandering to the various publishers. I have bought a few games that were highly rated that I just didn't like. I was disappointed but I went back and read review to see if they points they made about the game valid. If they were and didn't overlook any blatant issues I try to chalk it up to simple difference of opinion.
If you follow a persons reviews for very long you can get a feeling for what kinds of games they like (FPS, RPG, RTS, etc). I think this is very important because there can be an inherent bias simply based on a familiarity for the genre or the personal appeal of the subject matter. I don't think that bias is a bad thing. We are able to speak more knowledgeably about the things we like. As a reader though sometimes its important to recognize this and take that into account when your looking at the review.
In the end I apply my time honored rule of: "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me".
I do think its important not to fall into the rut of believing all reviews are contrived on the basis of pandering to the various publishers. I have bought a few games that were highly rated that I just didn't like. I was disappointed but I went back and read review to see if they points they made about the game valid. If they were and didn't overlook any blatant issues I try to chalk it up to simple difference of opinion.
If you follow a persons reviews for very long you can get a feeling for what kinds of games they like (FPS, RPG, RTS, etc). I think this is very important because there can be an inherent bias simply based on a familiarity for the genre or the personal appeal of the subject matter. I don't think that bias is a bad thing. We are able to speak more knowledgeably about the things we like. As a reader though sometimes its important to recognize this and take that into account when your looking at the review.
In the end I apply my time honored rule of: "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me".
Erm...Modern Warfare is not a graphical upgrade of Doom. Doom had a selection of weapons designed for specific roles in combat (ie, every weapon was there because it was useful, not just because they wanted 50+ weapons even if 40 of them were minor variations on the same thing) and monsters which did different things to each other, for a start. Do not drag the good name of Doom through the mud with such a comparison.unacomn said:
I like to read reviews but more often than not I already know if a game is a day one purchase for me, through things like previous games by the same team or if the multiplayer is a core component (hate being late to the party!).
With my student gaming budget I'm probably about 6-12 months "behind" and get most games preowned, in this instance I find reader reviews helpful (and hilarious) and look at all the lowest scored ones. If I know I can put up with the things they moan about in CAPS then I'm generally ok.
With my student gaming budget I'm probably about 6-12 months "behind" and get most games preowned, in this instance I find reader reviews helpful (and hilarious) and look at all the lowest scored ones. If I know I can put up with the things they moan about in CAPS then I'm generally ok.