Jimquisition: Hate Out Of Ten
- Thread starter Jimothy Sterling
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The problem is that most people got accustomed to how the school system grades their students.
A 90-100% exceptional
B 80-89% above average
C 70-79% average
D 60-69% below average
F 0-59% needs help
when scores are out of 10, most people (readers and reviewers) run back to the school grading system. (I'll admit, I'm guilty of this too)
The way the 10 point scale should work is
10 as close to perfection as currently possible
8-9 exceptional
6-7 above average
4-5 average
2-3 below average
1 this is a game?
I like the 5 star system best because it places itself nicely with people's expectations
***** exceptional
**** above average
*** average
** below average
* barely a game
most people will happily accept 3 stars as average.
A 90-100% exceptional
B 80-89% above average
C 70-79% average
D 60-69% below average
F 0-59% needs help
when scores are out of 10, most people (readers and reviewers) run back to the school grading system. (I'll admit, I'm guilty of this too)
The way the 10 point scale should work is
10 as close to perfection as currently possible
8-9 exceptional
6-7 above average
4-5 average
2-3 below average
1 this is a game?
I like the 5 star system best because it places itself nicely with people's expectations
***** exceptional
**** above average
*** average
** below average
* barely a game
most people will happily accept 3 stars as average.
I'd also like to speak against this desire for some 'average' score in reviews.
Besides the fact you're trying to average/generalize/simplify a creative work, something you should spend time with, play with it's mechanics, get to know it...
What will the average value be based upon? Average compared to other games scores, or average based upon the scale?
Besides the fact you're trying to average/generalize/simplify a creative work, something you should spend time with, play with it's mechanics, get to know it...
What will the average value be based upon? Average compared to other games scores, or average based upon the scale?
It's weird that people even follow these. You're basing a game on the review of someone that obviously...is not you. Only you can decide if a game is fun for you, so going based off the scores random internet people give is pointless. I found fun gaming in Kane & Lynch and that was beaten into the ground by reviewers all over the place. Did it have flaws? Tons, but I still squeezed my money's worth out of it and had fun regardless.
I knew the reviews sucked, but I bought it for like $10.00 and played through it regardless. I'm not changing my buying habits off people I know nothing about.
I knew the reviews sucked, but I bought it for like $10.00 and played through it regardless. I'm not changing my buying habits off people I know nothing about.
don't the scores for games usually take a exponential dist, i mean, there are ~2x more 9 games than 8 games etc... so surely we could normalize the scorse into percentiles ? i.e. this game is in the top 1% percentail of games...etc...etc?
also i give this episode 11/10.
also i give this episode 11/10.
Well, American culture has been encouraging this kind of behavior for years, especially in the school system. When you give everyone a trophy for participating, or a good grade for showing up to class, or allowance for living in your parents basement, of course you end up with this kind of mentality. When people are rewarded for their intent rather than their results, they expect similar treatment in nearly every area of their lives, especially if they grew up with that kind of system. The result is people getting angry when a game, especially a game they like, receives a "low" score. Unfortunately, since we have full on political movements revolving around this mentality, a change seems a very long way off.
Great column this week. People really are retarded when it comes to this subject.
I honestly think the whole number game is terrible for reviews anyway. There is not standard by which they are employed, so it becomes ridiculous.
Also, the criticism for reviews in the 9+ range tends to be haters saying a publisher bought a review score and the game is fucking aweful and a waste of money. Just look at the Skyrim page the SPUF.
I honestly think the whole number game is terrible for reviews anyway. There is not standard by which they are employed, so it becomes ridiculous.
Also, the criticism for reviews in the 9+ range tends to be haters saying a publisher bought a review score and the game is fucking aweful and a waste of money. Just look at the Skyrim page the SPUF.
Personally, if I had to give scores to games, I would review them as in golf.
A game that is nothing special, but is worth considering for every gamer will get a 0 for par. Great, Excellent, and Superb games will be scored -1, -2, and -3 (or birdie, eagle, and double-eagle/albatross) respectively. The best possible score is a -4, but that's impossible to get because nobody can hit the ball 480 yards.
Games that are not worth considering for everybody, get positive scores. A game where fans of the genre or the franchise would enjoy it, but others should probably stay away will receive a +1 score. There's no "worst" score since you can always take more strokes to get the ball in the hole, so if you really strongly dislike a game, feel free to give it a 12 or something.
Personally, I don't like the idea of giving numerical scores, but if I had to I'd do the above, if for no other reason than to screw with Metacritic.
A game that is nothing special, but is worth considering for every gamer will get a 0 for par. Great, Excellent, and Superb games will be scored -1, -2, and -3 (or birdie, eagle, and double-eagle/albatross) respectively. The best possible score is a -4, but that's impossible to get because nobody can hit the ball 480 yards.
Games that are not worth considering for everybody, get positive scores. A game where fans of the genre or the franchise would enjoy it, but others should probably stay away will receive a +1 score. There's no "worst" score since you can always take more strokes to get the ball in the hole, so if you really strongly dislike a game, feel free to give it a 12 or something.
Personally, I don't like the idea of giving numerical scores, but if I had to I'd do the above, if for no other reason than to screw with Metacritic.
As a great man once pointed out "This trend of celebrating mediocre games is quite troublesome, and while we continue to revere games like [insert name here], and throw our money at developers that's what we'll keep getting. More mediocre games" He shall remain unnamed for modesty sake (It was me 
).
Jim used to get on my tits first few episodes and, to put it bluntly I thought he was obnoxious asshat. Since then he earned my respect and proven me wrong by bringing up some valid points on interesting subjects while not deviating from his unique style. So I apologize to Jim for judging him on first impressions only.
OT: Some people (obviously very thick people with very small attention span) just look up review scores and start bitching without even reading through them. I found Eurogamer review of Uncharted 3 to be a real eye-opener to certain shortcomings of the series in general.
Also what people often forget is that while reviewers try to be objective, everyone has their preferences and what works for one person might be off-putting to another.
). Jim used to get on my tits first few episodes and, to put it bluntly I thought he was obnoxious asshat. Since then he earned my respect and proven me wrong by bringing up some valid points on interesting subjects while not deviating from his unique style. So I apologize to Jim for judging him on first impressions only.
OT: Some people (obviously very thick people with very small attention span) just look up review scores and start bitching without even reading through them. I found Eurogamer review of Uncharted 3 to be a real eye-opener to certain shortcomings of the series in general.
Also what people often forget is that while reviewers try to be objective, everyone has their preferences and what works for one person might be off-putting to another.
As an amateur reviewer I always stuggle with giving score but I only use them because there are millions of morons who don't read reviews and need a number to tell them to buy the game. I use a 1-5 scale and I usually base my scores on my experience over what's new or innovative or whatever... which is probably why I'll never go pro.
With my scale I use,
1- Don't but it's complete rubbish
2- Only buy if it's you're thing
3- Worth a look at but be sure first
4- A great game and I enjoyed it a lot
5- A must buy my IN MY OPINION!
Wait... theres the problem right there! Reviews are OPINIONS of the reviewer and not a detailed analysis of the game. Want a detail analysis of the game go to Wikipedia! Want someones opinion on the game who's played it READ REVIEWS NOT JUST LOOK AT THE SCORE!!!! People bitching about scores of a game is stupid. I never bitched about one of my favourite games Blade Kitten getting a bad score. No I read to find out why the reviewer gave it that score and understood the choice they made because everyone is different and if we all pulled our heads in instead of acting like idiots we may actually achieve world piece... and actually read reviews and not just the score.
Also if you're gonna ***** about a score, ***** when it's lower then a 5 like what every Dynasty Warriors game keeps getting. If the game gets a 7 or higher it mean break open that piggy bank and buy the game or in the case of a 10 buy 2 copies. Besides if reviewers were allowed most of them would throw the score system out and just write a review without scoring it. We use scores because we know the majority of people looking at reviews just do that, look at the review until they find the score. I agreee with Jim's choice of a 8.5/10 for Batman because he experienced the game differently on a personal level then I did and I gave it a 5/5 trying my best to find a reason to lower my score but I personally could find a reason.
In short, reviews are supposed to be read since the score doesn't matter. It's all personal taste and opinion.
With my scale I use,
1- Don't but it's complete rubbish
2- Only buy if it's you're thing
3- Worth a look at but be sure first
4- A great game and I enjoyed it a lot
5- A must buy my IN MY OPINION!
Wait... theres the problem right there! Reviews are OPINIONS of the reviewer and not a detailed analysis of the game. Want a detail analysis of the game go to Wikipedia! Want someones opinion on the game who's played it READ REVIEWS NOT JUST LOOK AT THE SCORE!!!! People bitching about scores of a game is stupid. I never bitched about one of my favourite games Blade Kitten getting a bad score. No I read to find out why the reviewer gave it that score and understood the choice they made because everyone is different and if we all pulled our heads in instead of acting like idiots we may actually achieve world piece... and actually read reviews and not just the score.
Also if you're gonna ***** about a score, ***** when it's lower then a 5 like what every Dynasty Warriors game keeps getting. If the game gets a 7 or higher it mean break open that piggy bank and buy the game or in the case of a 10 buy 2 copies. Besides if reviewers were allowed most of them would throw the score system out and just write a review without scoring it. We use scores because we know the majority of people looking at reviews just do that, look at the review until they find the score. I agreee with Jim's choice of a 8.5/10 for Batman because he experienced the game differently on a personal level then I did and I gave it a 5/5 trying my best to find a reason to lower my score but I personally could find a reason.
In short, reviews are supposed to be read since the score doesn't matter. It's all personal taste and opinion.
It's really sad because I know how integral the number system is, for me at least.
It's used a lot to determine whether or not something is worth spending money on when we currently don't have a lot to go around. I wish I could demo everything legally and compare it, but that doesn't always happen, so I get stuck with numbers and other people's reviews.
We do it with books, movies, tv shows...
Just make the number system mean something again. I can't trust 10's anymore and I admit I've been spoiled against fives. I'll have to make an effort now to start reading the actual review instead of treating the number like a TLR.
It's used a lot to determine whether or not something is worth spending money on when we currently don't have a lot to go around. I wish I could demo everything legally and compare it, but that doesn't always happen, so I get stuck with numbers and other people's reviews.
We do it with books, movies, tv shows...
Just make the number system mean something again. I can't trust 10's anymore and I admit I've been spoiled against fives. I'll have to make an effort now to start reading the actual review instead of treating the number like a TL
R.
I more or less agree on the combined score approach rather than having individuals decide the score that is sticked on the game's front page. Metacritic is more of the opposite of this.
You'll notice at times that User Scores can be higher/lower then the Official Reviewer Score.
You'll notice at times that User Scores can be higher/lower then the Official Reviewer Score.
Why did we ever invent numerical game scores? Seriously, why? Did they start out as a minor accompaniment to real reviews and then get out of hand, or were they plaguing us from the start?
This is why Yahtzee is a better source for information than 90% of reviewers: you listen to what he says and decide what that's worth for yourself. If you think he's biased against Wii games (to take an example totally at random), look at what you've got if you take away the bias. That anybody liked numeric ratings to begin with is a mystery to me. The fact that they're surviving in the days of review bombing, corporate shills and Metacritic drama is just baffling. What good is a number out of five or ten on its own, apart from as meaningless, binary validation?
This is why Yahtzee is a better source for information than 90% of reviewers: you listen to what he says and decide what that's worth for yourself. If you think he's biased against Wii games (to take an example totally at random), look at what you've got if you take away the bias. That anybody liked numeric ratings to begin with is a mystery to me. The fact that they're surviving in the days of review bombing, corporate shills and Metacritic drama is just baffling. What good is a number out of five or ten on its own, apart from as meaningless, binary validation?
LOL I remember Dark Knight was sitting on 100% on rotten tomatoes for a while, before one reviewer gave a negative score. It had something like 500 comments, most of which were full of hate vitriol. good times.