For every mention on a forum of a particular game review I often see a common response being "I don't read reviews, their scores don't matter, I could care less what someone else thinks of it." Which at face value seems to make sense, but I think often ignores the hidden value that game, or really any media review ultimately offers, which is a (usually) non-endorsed synopsis of that media's content.
Bias, is inescapable, whether we're talking the often hyperbolic back-of-the-box descriptions, the oft-as-not pre-rendered trailers and the reviews themselves, all bound to the same convention of "we have an agenda" that ultimately does little to sway our final reception towards the experienced product.
Reviews seem to be marketed themselves as endorsements, which undoubtedly some, if not many gamers will accept unquestioningly as whether a product is worth their time. For the rest, this biased endorsement, often tidily summed up as a review score, has little to no value, yet the context of the review itself can often present a much clearer analysis of the game's content than the hyperbolic ad-speak that the game developer will try to present to entice potential buyers.
I've often gone on to buy games I read details about in a review that rated it very poorly and enjoyed the game immensely and by contrast avoided buying a game quite heartily recommended. The key lies in knowing what you like and dislike and seeking out the details.
Is it a turn based RPG or an action hack n slash?
Does it have a challenging endgame or is it very casual difficulty?
Is it properly designed for this system or is it a poorly done port?
Does it focus on story or open ended gameplay?
Is it really similar to this other game it looks like?
How do the mechanics of this system work?
There's so many potential questions that a good review can answer when you ignore the bias of their suggestion. I personally find the value of a good reviewer to not lie in how closely their opinions align with my own but in how well they present a clear picture of what to expect from the gameplay. Maybe they hate turn based RPGs with tile-based movements and call them slow, boring, outdated mechanics, but I personally love them and get a lot of nostalgia from it. The bottom line is we all have different tastes for how we will receive a certain game's content, but a review that details the content, be it gameplay, story, audio, or visual, we can make informed choices based off our own preferences.
So what do you think? Do you feel game reviews are useful aids in making purchasing decisions for games, regardless of reviewer bias?
Bias, is inescapable, whether we're talking the often hyperbolic back-of-the-box descriptions, the oft-as-not pre-rendered trailers and the reviews themselves, all bound to the same convention of "we have an agenda" that ultimately does little to sway our final reception towards the experienced product.
Reviews seem to be marketed themselves as endorsements, which undoubtedly some, if not many gamers will accept unquestioningly as whether a product is worth their time. For the rest, this biased endorsement, often tidily summed up as a review score, has little to no value, yet the context of the review itself can often present a much clearer analysis of the game's content than the hyperbolic ad-speak that the game developer will try to present to entice potential buyers.
I've often gone on to buy games I read details about in a review that rated it very poorly and enjoyed the game immensely and by contrast avoided buying a game quite heartily recommended. The key lies in knowing what you like and dislike and seeking out the details.
Is it a turn based RPG or an action hack n slash?
Does it have a challenging endgame or is it very casual difficulty?
Is it properly designed for this system or is it a poorly done port?
Does it focus on story or open ended gameplay?
Is it really similar to this other game it looks like?
How do the mechanics of this system work?
There's so many potential questions that a good review can answer when you ignore the bias of their suggestion. I personally find the value of a good reviewer to not lie in how closely their opinions align with my own but in how well they present a clear picture of what to expect from the gameplay. Maybe they hate turn based RPGs with tile-based movements and call them slow, boring, outdated mechanics, but I personally love them and get a lot of nostalgia from it. The bottom line is we all have different tastes for how we will receive a certain game's content, but a review that details the content, be it gameplay, story, audio, or visual, we can make informed choices based off our own preferences.
So what do you think? Do you feel game reviews are useful aids in making purchasing decisions for games, regardless of reviewer bias?
