Why is it so hard to find honest game reviews?

[chozo_hybrid]

It's called an opinion etc, draw your own conclusions. I don't tend to use reviews, I just look at a little gameplay footage and the trailers they release and can usually make up my mind on a game like that, or I rent them and then buy them if I like them, unless they have a demo available.

 

[insectoid]

Maybe read a bunch of reviews. Common points will crop up.

 

[sumanoskae]

It's more of the same, just with a slightly different story and a couple new weapons and perks.

If you own and enjoyed both Modern Warfare and World at War, then you'll love it.

If you thought that either was redundant, or don't like either, you won't like this either.

Personally, I just got it because I skipped MW2 and had a $60 lying around

 

[crimson sickle2]

Read the Escapist reviews (not ZP) or go to a non-honest reviewer (like IGN) and mix their review with ZP's. You should be able to get well-balanced reviews that way.

 

[RedDeadFred]

it's not hard to find an honest review. People just assume the review is dishonest if the reviewer's opinion is different than their own.

 

[Messing]

Maybe because all the game reviewers want to suck up to the games companies in case they are looking for a job there in the future !

Keeping their connections open while conning the honest gamer :/

 

[Mcface]

If you want a honest opinion of Black Ops i will give one...

Is more of the same, you be better off if you don't play it.

This is the kind of misleading info you should be on the lookout for. Black ops is defiantly not "more of the same" it makes vast improvements to the multilayer portion of the game that have plauged it since 4.

The guns are balanced, the perks are all useful, you can't use more than 1 claymore a life, or 2 m203s per life. you don't die as quickly as MW2. the new COD CASH system is just plain awesome. You can unlock what you want, when you want it, rather than using every attachment on a gun just to get an Acog or something. The maps (with exception of one) are well designed and mostly balanced to deter camping. And the new theater mode is just plain cool. The kill streaks are also improved, they no longer stack, so it takes more skill to earn the higher ones.

Negatives, the spawning is still bad. Performance issues on PC. Sniping is just on the fence of being totally useless now. With no more stopping power, a lot of people use ghost now, which isn't really a bad thing, but it can be.

 

[gunningyoudown]

Try Giantbomb they are fairly good at being fair

 

[Bakaferret]

You're going to have to give better examples other than "They didn't say what I agreed with, so they're obviously biased." Did you disagree with WHY they liked the games? Or did it just not have the same effect for you?

It's different if they review the game talking about how well it's separate elements (shooting, storyline, pacing, etc.) come together, or if they just say "OMG IT'S TOTALLY AWESOME *drool*". Either way, I don't see why it matters to you. If you disagree with the review, don't buy the game.

But on a side note, I've found that podcasts typically follow my tastes in games better than written reviews. Try listening to the Black Ops reviews on Joystiq Podcast or Weekend Confirmed. If I recall correctly, they weren't very fanboy about it at all...had good and bad things to say about it.

 

[CarlsonAndPeeters]

All you have to do is check out 3 or 4 sites and look at the content of the reviews, not the scores. The information is all there. You just have to extract it from the opinions (which reviews are supposed to contain) and decide what you think about it (e.g. does the games weak story matter to you?)

 

[Something Amyss]

Lately I've been trying to find an honest review of Black Ops. I can't trust Gameinformer or IGN because they got all the exclusive interviews and stuff like that so they're not going to be honest.

Even friends can't be trusted.For example in my school I can't find one Ps3 owner that will ever say anything other than "Black ops is so awesome the story is soooo great." and 360 owners have their minds clouded by Reach.

Even if they bought both consoles and a Super-PC, they may have been counting down the days until release, have every game in the series, and will probably say it's the best thing ever even if in the game they got rickroll'd .

This isn't just Black ops, it's almost all popular games ALL OF THEM.This will probably never end until someone makes some sort of miracle game that everyone enjoys and that won't happen anytime soon.

You're surprised that asking the opinion of fans means biased results?

It should probably go without saying.

People aren't being dishonest, though. Well, magazines might, but people are just sucked up in the hype.

 

[Jaded Scribe]

Define "honest". It sounds like you're getting a lot of positive information on the game, but you are choosing to discard it.

Yes, professionals should be taken with a grain of salt, since a scathing review can result in loss of advertising and such.

But if all of your friends are enjoying it, and most of the reviews are positive, why not give it a shot?

"Honesty" here is bullshit. A review is almost completely subjective. Just because a reviewer says it's awesome, but you thought it was awful, doesn't mean they were lying. They just have a different opinion.

Yes, there are objective aspects to be considered, and a good reviewer will focus on those, but in the end, whether they give the game a Yay or Nay is completely based on their own opinions.

Get over yourself and learn how to form your own opinions by trying games out yourself. If you don't want to buy it, then try signing up for something like GameFly, or check Blockbuster. Hell, GameStop allows you to return any game you buy used, no questions asked (I forget the time constraint, but it's at least a week. More than enough time to try it out and return it if it's not for you).

 

[Caligulove]

For games like that, where you dont think you're gonna be able to get a straight answer from someone, or paranoid about someone's bias towards or against Black Ops- the best thing really is to just rent it from somewhere for $4-5 or whatever the amount is.

If you're really stingy about spending ANY money, though, there's all sorts of "Lets Play" kind of videos that are simply gameplay, with or without commentary from the person making the video- its a good way to see what you're in for before putting down your hard earned cash.

Though, if you have played any of the Call of Duty games from the last 3 years- you're gonna still feel familiar

 

[Xyliss]

...You do understand that reviews are subjective, right?

The best review is playing it yourself and finding out