Your Opinion on Video Game Reviews

[SwissStopwatch]

I actually do put some stock in reviews for things like games and movies, if I read a lot of them and can read some general trends from them. The catch is, this means I don't just read the professional reviews. I also tend to ignore the ones from people who are obviously stupid and barely literate (That's a lot of the people writing these things, although you probably know that already), and listen to people who can argue their point at least reasonably well. If a lot of reviews say the game is a piece of garbage and can show why (and if it's something I'd pay attention to in a game), I'll be more reluctant to purchase something, and it goes the other way for me, too.

I put more stock in other methods of determining whether or not I'd like a game, though. Talking to friends who have the game works pretty well, since they hopefully have some idea of the games strengths and weaknesses and what you want out of a game. Watching them play it or playing it yourself also isn't bad. These obviously work better than just reading game reviews, but sometimes I have to fall back on those (For example, I can't do any of this with Dynasty Tactics 2, the only people I know who play that are from online). So in that case, I have to fall back on the review. They're OK, but not to be overly relied on and not the most reliable thing. And, looking at just the number score probably won't work (I mean, at the very least, you have to account for the 2 point bonus Final Fantasy games all get)... the review's mostly useful for the evaluation of specific elements in a game.

[Archy]

Video Game Reviews, I do not trust.

Why? First off, this reviewer guy who reviewed game X is not the same person as me. Therefore, if he says "Game X sux its a waste of money", there's a chance that isn't my opinion. Technically, what he wrote may pass off as a review for everyone to some, but not for me. You're your own person, go do your own reviews on a game. The only difference between me and the reviewer is that he gets his opinions printed while I do not.

All this, however, stemmed from some magazine that gave Suikoden 1 a Star and a half. :P
_________________