Poll: Game Reviews: Professional or User Reviews?

[Phlakes]

It's actually a bit sad that people really believe this. I guess that's just how the internet works, though.

Look up Jeff Gerstmann. I can understand making the argument that people presuming that ALL professional reviews are bought and paid for is silly, but trying to make the argument that they're never bought and paid for is equally ludicrous, because they obviously are.

I never said it never happens. But "a couple reviews have been bought and paid for" =/= "reviews in general are bought and paid for".

Look up Jeff Gerstmann. I can understand making the argument that people presuming that ALL professional reviews are bought and paid for is silly, but trying to make the argument that they're never bought and paid for is equally ludicrous, because they obviously are.

Darn you ninja'ed not only my example but my point. Thanks? lol

See above.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I never said it never happens. But "a couple reviews have been bought and paid for" =/= "reviews in general are bought and paid for".

You implied that speculating about it was worthy of ridicule, whether that was your intention or not.

The state of games criticism is not particularly healthy. I can't think of any other form of media coverage that subsists almost entirely on advertising revenue from the very products they're supposed to be objectively analyzing. Whether or not this always translates into dishonest reviews is debatable, but there is plenty of evidence to support a healthy suspicion. I don't think it's an accident that we live almost entirely in the 7-10 range on the reviewing score, for example, nor do I think it's coincidental that major gaming sites assume an almost sycophantic position with major publishers and developers whenever a controversy arises.

I don't particularly like people slamming the "CORRUPTION!" button every time a review pops up they disagree with either, so I am sympathetic to your position here. Sadly, as long as the perception of impropiety in that industry exists, people are going to find plenty of fuel for their confirmation biases.

 

[Phlakes]

I never said it never happens. But "a couple reviews have been bought and paid for" =/= "reviews in general are bought and paid for".

You implied that speculating about it was worthy of ridicule, whether that was your intention or not.

...Well, yeah, believing that it happens enough to be put into a general statement like "professional reviews are bought and paid for" is ridiculous.

The state of games criticism is not particularly healthy. I can't think of any other form of media coverage that subsists almost entirely on advertising revenue from the very products they're supposed to be objectively analyzing. Whether or not this always translates into dishonest reviews is debatable, but there is plenty of evidence to support a healthy suspicion.

No, there's not plenty of evidence. There's no evidence, actually. There have been a couple isolated cases and the rest is nothing more than a conspiracy theory.

 

[Yopaz]

I read a mix of them. I try to find the user reviews that are between 4 and 8 since those are the ones that are trying to do an effort on their review rather than giving 1, 2, 3, 9 or 10 which usually means they either hated it for petty reasons or are huge fans that are blinded from its glaring flaws.

More than reading reviews I watch gameplay videos and decide based on the game itself rather than reviews. Although bad reviews from both critics and users means I'll stay away form it in either case.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

That said, I've never pre-ordered a game.

I've only done it once, and that once is something I still don't regret. But it isn't something I make a habit of. I only did it that once because I knew, regardless of what reviewers were going to say, that I was going to get the game, because of how closely I'd followed every detail of information that got out.

That once was Mass Effect 2, by the way.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Back when Gamefaqs still had a lot of people doing user reviews, I used to read a lot of the longer ones, kind of comparing between the really high, the really low, and the really mediocre scoring reviews. You could usually piece together a pretty accurate picture of the game by doing that. These days, though, it seems like nobody bothers to write up any reviews on Gamefaqs anymore, and I've never liked the user reviews on other sites. They tend to be way too short, just a paragraph or two long. Gamefaqs reviewers always broke it down into somewhere between five and ten categories, each getting at least a paragraph of explanation.

So what do I do these days? I basically ignore reviews entirely, going on positive word of mouth instead. Basically, I'm more likely to trust someone who gushes about a game outside the context of a review than I am someone who is specifically setting out to review it. That's true whether they're a pro (advertising money, much?) or just some random schlub.

 

[DustyDrB]

No, there's not plenty of evidence. There's no evidence, actually. There have been a couple isolated cases and the rest is nothing more than a conspiracy theory.

Well, there is arguably evidence. The fact that most gaming sites are absolutely plastered with advertising for games makes it understandable that someone might question the authenticity of those sites' reviews. I know it's not a unique issue (happens to movie sites, car sites, etc), but it's so much more in-your-face (some sites basically give their pages a reskin at times, complete with border ads, various block space ads, scroll-over pop down ads, and "exclusive previews").

For the record, I agree with you. I don't really think reviewers are by-and-large corrupt. But I disagree in your dismissiveness of people who do think that way.

 

[Adon Cabre]

That said, I've never pre-ordered a game.

I've only done it once, and that once is something I still don't regret. But it isn't something I make a habit of. I only did it that once because I knew, regardless of what reviewers were going to say, that I was going to get the game, because of how closely I'd followed every detail of information that got out.

That once was Mass Effect 2, by the way.

You just happened to list the one game that refuses to run on my PS3. It simply freezes, and tells me to go and read a book or switch to cable. Glad I didn't pre-order that "shlup".

Not as strange as Red Dead Redemption though; which only ran after I played another game for about 10 minutes or so, and then put the disk in. Full proof method.

 

[applesandoranges]

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