Your Opinion on Video Game Reviews

[Ryusei]

I'm not sure if it really belongs here, but if it isn't, feel free to place this where it should, mods.

So, as the topic says, what are your opinons on video game reviews in general? Do you believe them? Do you base your view on games from them? Do you even read them?

Personally, I don't even read reviews anymore. I don't trust them. Some of them are so biased, they give off a wrong impression on the game they are trying to review. While some of them are so biased, they rate the game higher/lower than it's supposed to. It's not really good to base my views on a certain game from reviews anymore.

What do you think?

[John Layfield]

I never put a great amount of stock in them. Even the most professional, unbiased review comes down to one person's opinion. So, really, there was never a golden era of reviews where people should base their opinions on games on what some other person says.

Remember, becoming a games reviewer doesn't require being a hardcore fan of games or a knowledge similar to your own, it "only" requires decent journalism skills. Your personal preferences could go against everyone elses, ever, but if you got a good certification in journalism, you'd get that spot just the same.
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One day, I shall come back. Yes, we shall all come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.

[Firefly]

I personally don't listen to reviews anymore. It seems like whenever a game gets a good review, I hate it, and when it gets a bad/OK review I love it. So now, if a game looks interesting to me, I'll buy it, bad reviews or not.
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[Amyral]

Just like any other media review, it depends. I don't take much stock in random reviews, but if, over time, someone has shown tastes similar to mine, I may listen to their review. If it's a review from a source I find more, well, credible, such as established publications, I may read them for their insight, as the art of critical thinking and applying it to something hasn't completely gone by the wayside, and it is still possible to find it occasionally. Of course, you don't see that in the random internet reviews by **Sephirothismybitch94!!!1*, so I don 't really put that much stock in internet reviews unless they have interests similar to mine.

As far as random reviews, most of the reviews you'll find on a site like Gamefaqs come from either hardcore lovers or haters, and most of the time, they will either be rabid Squaresoft or Nintendo fanboys, so I put no stock in them.

Of course, all the reviews are subjective, so while one person may think they rate the game too highly, others feel they don't rate it high enough.

[Sage]

If I'm looking for a good game to purchase and have no suggestions, I'll peruse stores online, pick out titles, and then go read reviews from a few different sites. I don't put too much reliance on them, but if a game consistently gets dismal reviews, I'll pass on it. It is however just one factor among others such as developer/publisher, story preview, gameplay, prettiness, and so on.

In general though, I don't read them and thus, obviously don't put faith in them. They can point out potential "flaws" in the game or aspects one may not like. For example, if you hate long load times and everything you read says load times are 10 seconds or more, then it would be safe to say that you might not want the game. It depends on how complete the review is.

The best thing to do, if you read them, is get past the writer's opinion and pull out the facts. "The graphics suck! Never buy this!" and "[random aspect] makes up for the graphics and you won't even notice them! Buy it now!" are two takes on the same thing: graphics are lacking. It's what you think of that part of the game that matters.
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[Tron Bonne]

likewise, i don't put any faith in reviews either, especially gaming magazines which nowadays are nothing more than picture books. if i'm unsure of a game, i ask some of my friends or at least read some reviews by fans (re: not fanboys).

i mean look at suikoden. the newer games have gotten crappy reviews, but that didn't stop me from playing the games.

i just don't find the "professional" game reviewers credible. i mean, they play and review games for a living. that's lame.
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[Yvl]

It depends. If its a game I've never heard of or a game that is the only one in its series, then it tends to be mroe trustworthy. For example, "Red Ninja" got terrible reviews, and they were all dead on.

Meanwhile, FFXII is getting loads of 10/10s at GameFAQs. The few reviews that didn't get it are from people who hate the series but tried the game because of its battle system. None of the ones I read really touched on the fact that the game's story had serious issues.
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[Ryusei]

[Sophita]

I'll read through a review to find out basic information about a game, but I won't buy or pass on a game based on a review's score. More often, I'll buy a game based on a gameplay or story element I find interesting than the review score, which is often pretty meaningless. ("A new final Fantasy? 10! A new Dragon Quest? 10! A new Metal Gear? 10!")

So I guess, really, I wind up using reviews more like previews when I read them.
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SCII month continues! DueFiumi.com

John Layfield wrote:

But bubbles... children love bubbles! XD

[Tron Bonne]

[VikiFanatic]

I don't listen or read reviews much, unless i'm torn between many games to make a good decision. It's pretty much a preferential option. I myself only buy games that i find interesting. I'm more into graphics and animation, so i buy that. When I found I enjoy it, i compare it with the views of the reviewers only to find out that it was only mediocre to them.

I'd have to agree that reviews all depend on the people who wrote them: their opinions, styles, and preferences. So it should only act as a guide for you. There IS no perfectly correct review, and sometimes it may have been corrupted by bribes for it to get a better score. All I can say is: Just buy what games you like, the reviews won't really matter if you yourself enjoy it. :D
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[Malt Hitman]

I'm a sucker for some game reviews and game reviewers that I trust. Part of it is that most games that I've purchased though game reviews didn't really do me harm yet. Game reviews were the reason that I was introduced to games like Suikoden III and Disgaea: Hour of Darkness.

I have read game reviews where I've disagreed on some of the points that the reviewer made and bought the game anyway but that's just difference of opinion. Usually technical issues like bugs and game mechanics come though the review without too much bias. If a reviewer didn't like a system that can rant about it but there's that danger with anything.

[malicesoul]

Well, I for one, put no value in the scores and all that given in reviews. Sure some faults or errors might seem true, but the weight a particular fault varies, and is dependent on individual preference. Thus, they're nothing more than relative subjective opinions as far as I'm concerned. I have to see things for myself in my own perspective to truly know whether a game is good or not. There have been games which I loved, but hated by a bunch of people, likewise there were also a bunch of games with rave reviews which I thought sucked. So I don't like blindly putting faith in someone else's words, instead I like to experience things first hand and think for myself.

[Ujitsuna]

I do usually check game reviews before buying, it's good to know the strengths and weaknesses of a game, and if you have absolutely no idea about it, the general concept. However, I tend to ingnore them when I know that I will like the game, if it's a sequel with more of the same to a previous installment, and reviews (and they generally tend to) give it lower marks because no innovations have been made, that will not stop me from liking and playing it. However, I think reviews serve as a good yardstick for games generally, if you know one place is harsh for reviews, if a certain game gets a high review, you may feel inclined to check it out, however you may hate it, such is the curse of the review.

[eXistence of Fly]

I however always read reviews, because to date it remains as a prime source for entertainment to see some person getting paid to rabble on about how much they liked or disliked a certain game and pick out high points such as 'I got to be a Greek hoplite and stabby stabby some Roman Legion' or low lights such as 'I seriously wish Tidus would just grow a pair, the damn whiny little shiela.' No one could come up with such classic obvious tripe without being paid to do it, my only regret with reviews is that there mostly isn't a talk back for their reviewer, because that would even be more hilarious!

I give game reviewers a 2... out of 5.
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