WastedJoker Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 I usually rely on Gametrailers for my reviews. Their reviews sync pretty well with my experiences once I've bought the game. I tend to balance out their reviews, past developer experiences and the opinions of friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massiveterra Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Agreed 100%. The biggest problem that I have with sites like Metacritic or Gamerankings is that the average score that a game receives doesn't always properly convey the sentiment that was behind those reviews. Sites like IGN seem to give out an automatic five points just for shipping the game. From there, flawed games get a 6, average games get a 7, good games get an 8, great games get 9.0-9.4, and GOTY contenders get 9.5-10. Meanwhile, sites that grade on a five point scale (Giant Bomb, for instance) give flawed games 2 stars and average games 3 stars. The sentiments are similar, but the scores are totally different. Tycho over at Penny Arcade made this argument a while ago, and for the most part I'm just echoing what he said and what I feel are valid points. At the end of the day, the average score that a game receives is useful in a relative sense, but from an absolute perspective, it's a completely worthless number. I too would like a Rotten Tomatoes-style site for games. As for the topic, I must admit that I do allow myself to be swayed by review scores when looking at games that I don't know a great deal about. For instance, I only had a passing interest in Alpha Protocol, and when I saw it getting destroyed by reviews, I decided that it was worth skipping. Meanwhile, I was very excited for Final Fantasy XIII, and so the lukewarm reception didn't stop me from buying it. In a perfect world, I would try every game for myself, but when you have to pick and choose, it's nice to have a collection of experts that you can trust (for me it's the fine folks at Giant Bomb above all others). I actually really enjoy Kotaku's Loved and Hated style of review. It actually forces the user to read rather than to skim numbers. Joystiq used to not have scores as well but they run by a 5 star system now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minifig Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 No, but Demos and DRM do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perochan Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 yes, but not just 1 resource. i VERY rarely buy games so reviews are important to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draconian Guppy Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Yup, even though sites may be biased towards certain developers (Ea...IGN...) They do help IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LingeringSoul Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 I actually really enjoy Kotaku's Loved and Hated style of review. It actually forces the user to read rather than to skim numbers. Joystiq used to not have scores as well but they run by a 5 star system now Yeah, same goes for Ars Technica's system, where they either say buy it, rent it, or skip it. I always enjoy reading their reviews, even if I don't necessarily agree with them all of the time. Like you said, they're nice in that they force you to delve into the review, look at the nitpicks, and see if any of them are things that would bother you. JRPGs are a good example of that, I suppose. A lot of reviewers rip into those games for having long cutscenes, long dungeons, or weird characters, but none of those nitpicks really bother me since I've been playing JRPGs for so long and I'm a traditionalist when it comes to the genre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qdave Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 if the game is rated low by a lot of reviewers then yes. And low is not 7..its more like 5 or 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Decryptor Veteran Posted July 8, 2010 Veteran Share Posted July 8, 2010 Reviews can help, but it depends on the reviewer, the review and the genre. In the end though it's down to whether I think it looks interesting/fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pupik Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 I never buy games based on a review. Not only because they're all (reviewers) are sell outs, but because I don't share their taste in gaming. I only judge the games upon the gameplay videos and playable demos. To be honest; I'm not even bothering reading any reviews. The most I'll do, is a preview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raa Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 It doesn't influence me much. What suits one doesn't always suit another... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kralik Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Of course they do... I don't buy any game without visiting Gamespot.. except FIFA and NFS.. they are making them **** on PC now but I still have to get them.. EDIT: Now that I think abt it.. when it comes to series.. I dont care what reviews are like.. be it CnC.. Tomb Raider.. PoP, CoD or any other series.. but if I dont own the series or the game is not part of any series then I read the reviews.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argi Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 They definitely do for games that I'm not familiar with w/ no demo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techno_Funky Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 I cant really spend on lots of games so I do heavily rely on reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spy beef Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 I only acquire a game if it gets 8.5+ on Gamespot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kralik Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 I only acquire a game if it gets 8.5+ on Gamespot. I'm probably acting like a troll now but.. Goooooo Gamespot!! They are the best gaming site.. been using this site for 10+ years.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slammers Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Most definitely. I mean i don't go exactly by a certain score but if a game gets over 8 on most sites/magazines then i'm definitely interested and anything over a 9.3 or so is almost a definite buy. Eurogamer.net is my pick for best reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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