Gaming NEVA RELY ON RATINGS

[Arm73]

I always read every review from as many sources as I can, because you simply cannot thrust just one review.
And then you have to know how to read and understand a review, and how to get the information you are looking for out of the lines.
In fact, I don't even bother to see the final score, it's not like I see 8/10 or 4.5 and I assume the game is good, but there are certain aspect of the games that makes it appealing to me such as a good story, smooth gameplay, slick controls and so on.....
If you came across a decent review, then all of this elements will have to be considered, but then maybe the game is unoriginal or is too short or has so and so graphics and gets a few points less out of the score.
Guess what ? I don't care, like for example I saw a Red Steel video and read a couple of reviews and I knew I would like the game in spite of the average score, and I was right.
So it's a personal affair, you have to be smart enough to read trough the lines of a review, and you will find exceptional valuable information.
But of course, if you are dumb enough to judge and buy a game based on it's score alone, which might be a good one too, but probably not your kind of game, then you'll end up with a nice dust-collecting DVD box for your shelve......

 

[moley]

gametrailers.com you can see the guy playing the game and make your own mind up, generally they will boost the points for a bad game in exchange from bribes but it has its limits not like a barbie game will ever get a 9 just because you give them a holiday. Good games such as Okami dont need to bribe everyone who plays it can tell its a cut above the rest.

 

[ShadowXP]

VojislavK makes no sense. I mean what the fuck's a VojislavK.Vojislav is a common Serbian name. The "K" is probably the first letter of his last name. So there. Vojislav K.

VojislavK makes so much sense he has 1-3 results of about 2 on Google.
Logictastic!

 

[rice151]

I lOvE iT wHeN pEoPlE uSe ThIs InCrEdIbLy AnNoYiNg WaY oF tYpInG!

ThAt's hOw dA AzNs dO iT iN dA BaY!1!1!

Anyways, I only use ratings to reinforce what I think of the game, also If I don't play the game, I actually do base my whole idea of the game on that rating.

For example Red Steel got bad to mediocre reviews. I played it and turned it off in less than 5 minutes, I mean....... wow it did not feel intuitive at all...I totally agree w/ almost all the reviewers. Ewww... And now we're still getting Red Steel 2???! WTF.

And Cooking Mama for the Wii, I read it was also bad to mediocre w/ a couple critics saying it was alright. Of course I had NEVER play it, but I convinced a friend not to buy it and she thanked me after playing it at a GameStop stand

 

[Sick Wario]

i never believe what i read in reviews

teh only site i trust is www.gamestats.com sicne they give you a list of ALL the other reviews around the web

and red steel WAS pretty damn cool to me. red steel 2 could be something special

 

[Rocco Savadgie]

Superman on the N64. Now that was the best game I've ever played. Amazing. Going to dust off that old superman cart right now. I give it 9/10. So jealous of anyone who has yet to experience this masterpiece. Ignore the reviews out there - it's a conspiracy that's all; because level 4 has details on the... hmmm, I better not say

 

[maxlifan]

This person does make a point lol.. When i played that lawyer game for nds it wasn't as fun as the review said.. it was just clue after clue after clue... well i guess people have different tastes

 

[dirtycarrot]

I rely on Metacritic, they also use a wide range of other reviews and tally the average.

But, I must admit, you will never know if you will like it or not till you get it.

I loved COD3, framerate issues aside, I thought it was a great game.

The only thing that annoys me about Red Steel is the dicky arm movements on screen and the annoying "Give up you moron" etc catch-phrases.

 

[archagon]

Metacritic and Gamerankings FTW!

 

[Covarr]

I try to read all the reviews I can find as well as watching videos. If, while watching a video, I get bored waiting for stuff to happen, I avoid the game because it will probably be the same way. If, while watching a video, I get bored because I'm not the one interacting with it and there's no challenge to a video, I'm more likely to get it as I'll want to play it for myself to actually enjoy it.

As for reviews, the ratings they give tend to be crap. Sometimes the review will be filled with praises and say that it's flawless and then for no apparent reason the game will get 5.5 out of 10. Or other times (such as GameSpot's review of Gears of War) they will point out numerous flaws and still give it a perfect score. So I read the review itself but ignore the rating it gets.

 

[VojislavK]

Thank you evryone for this thread and thanks the guy that told the other guy what my name means. And if your wondering why this reply came a bit late, it was because i was banned thanks again.
Take care everyone!!!

 

[VmprHntrD]

Wrong board yes, but also on Red STeel it deserved every insult it got on the sword reaction end of the side, the rest...not so much. When it hit $30 temporarily I bought it to test out and about 1/2 into the game the sword fights got insanely hard because it would never duplicate my moves without having to do them multiple times so it was unreliable and it was luck to pass the stuff. What blew about that was having to re-do 5..10...15+min of a stage to get screwed by bad controls again so I ditched it (thankfully for no loss when it went back up to $50 or I'd have been pissed.)

Far as game reviewing goes that thing he started on is correct, to a degree. I used to write for a game review site for a couple years. Ours wasn't a corporate level one (IGN, etc) but there were influences we'd notice for sure. We never did bow down to them mind you and wrote from the side of honesty (at least for me in every case.)

He is right though 5/10 games oddly enough 1/2 the time really aren't that bad, probably should have been a 7 area thing, but in order to leave room for bribed off big name titles you got to shaft the little guy developer.

 

[111111111]

I've got better things to do than read what some journalist ponce thinks of a game. I'd rather try it out for myself, and if it is good I'll carry on playing it.

 

[Poolking99]

Reviewers have an opinion and you have your's. Just because so called "professionals" get paid to throw an opinion out there, you shouldn't trust it above your own.

 

[Darkforce]

Eh... regardless of whether the publishers bribe the reviewers or not, game reviews are never all that valid because at the end of the day it simply is one persons opinion on the title in question. If you have a look on metacritic for example, a typical game will have review scores all over the place.

Whilst I don't imaging bribery to be all that commonplace in the industry I think there is some weight on the reviewers shoulders to write a fairly positive review for even the worst games as a
few negative reviews for games from one publisher may discourage the publisher from sending games to the publication for review in the future.

My only gripe with reviews nowadays is that they're all very polite and positive towards even the worst games... the game can be a stinker but will probably get no less than 6/10, 5 at the worse. 0-4 might as well not exist. I miss the days when publications had the balls to give a game 1 or 2/10.

 

[aligborat69]

My Girlfriend works for a UK Gadget Magazine and the whole thing about Manufacturers Products getting High ratings because of heavy advertisement is 100% accurte and verified, she sees it going on. Shes not into gadgets, or stuff or games, but tells me what goes on in her office. I cant tell you the magazine for obvious reasons, but the company who makes the magazine has video game magazines, technology magazines and home entertainment magazines and every single one gives high ratings to games/gadgets/entertainment/computer products if the manufacturers have advertised well in the issue.

They even have a Movie/DVD Review magazine and ive even met some of the people supposedly doing the reviews and they admitted they hardly watch the DVDs and base their reviews and Star ratings on how the cover and storyline look.

At the end of the day, ive disagreed all my life growing up with magazine reviews of games and other things, ive always found my own experience and opinions better and i will never just take a review and base my purchase/download on that, i make my own judgement by playing it and deciding the score its worth.

Even IGN, take their site for example, some games get reader scores before the game is even released in stores or the warez scene!

Reviews will only ever be the score you think they should be, never listen to anyone else :-)

 

[Arm73]

Wrong board yes, but also on Red STeel it deserved every insult it got on the sword reaction end of the side, the rest...not so much. When it hit $30 temporarily I bought it to test out and about 1/2 into the game the sword fights got insanely hard because it would never duplicate my moves without having to do them multiple times so it was unreliable and it was luck to pass the stuff. What blew about that was having to re-do 5..10...15+min of a stage to get screwed by bad controls again so I ditched it (thankfully for no loss when it went back up to $50 or I'd have been pissed.)......

I have to disagree here, I am sorry, but I still like red steel.
In fact, it was the first game I played on my Wii, which I got on the official US launch day along with Zelda and Excite truck,and it was the first one I completed.But I got the feeling it got multiple endings sort of...
Then I sold it to buy call of duty III, and recently I got a hold of a *backup* and I started it again.
I just love it, sure it could be better, but as it is is still very enjoyable, I like the story and the scenario and I really feel sucked ito the game when I play it, expecially now on my newer LCD hdTV.
The swords fight are so incredibly easy !!!! Believe me , even the bosses, when you master a couple of cool moves, became a piece of cake to beat, and you don't have to hopelessly wave your hands trying to hit something, it's all about timing, during the practice session it becomes clear how you have to do it, and I never fail a combo, specifically I like the one that brakes your opponent's sword, that can make any fight considerably shorter.
I remember when I switched to another FPS game, I really missed the sword fights every now and then and also the ability to zoom in and out .
So if I would review that game I would point out a few flaws, but also would incorage people to give it a fair try if you are into that type of game and stick to it, I did it and I 'm glad I did.

 

[VojislavK]

BlabLabLa

 

[Tagg7]

Unless just one reviewer deviates from the norm with a really great review, there is no reason not to trust a professional video game reviewer. They are paid to give their honest opinions with no bias.

 

[VmprHntrD]

^^Hahahahaha keep telling yourself that. They're paid to keep the magazine/online site in business first and foremost, secondarily though in tandem to keep the 'reputation' of the media in good standing.

To do this you got to take a few bullets for each developer, in particular larger 3rd parties who can shank you if they wanted to, 1st parties too. If they lean on you with some killer freebies, extra hardware, pressure from HR with indirectly inferred threats you damn well give that game an extra point or two and kind of ignore little issues when doing the review. It's quite commonplace when it comes in particular to multi-system sites as each hardware maker will want that best score over the others, or if a place knows their game is meh...they'll want a little gloss. If you don't do it expect to not get all the free games to review later, or you'll get them later, or better yet you may not get a full or any invite to press things, preview on site trials, and the rest.

I worked for 2 years in game media and there's good chat between sites and things, and sadly this crap is totally in play. This is why outside of knowing a few people who won't slob the knob I tend to gloss reviews and try and pick some personal accounts by those who would be fairly well pissed off if they lost $50 on a piece of shit.