Do you think game reviewers should abolish their numbering s

[Darkly]

Im just getting sick lately of really good games not get the attention they deserve because big sites like ign giving them undeserving scores.I really wonder how many fanboys bother to read through the reviews because these are often much kinder than the stupid number they recieve at the end, which to be honest is just fuel for the fanboy fire.

I don't agree with the system because now almost anything under a 9/10 for example is almost considered a failure.Reviews themselves are heavily opinionated, and as such they areinfluenced by their own experiences with the game, which when translated to a score can drag a game down.

as we know games take a tremendous amount of effort to make and games only recieve respect for the score they get, a great game may have a couple techical hitches but because of the lower score it gets it is quickly forgotten.

tl;dr: do you agree or disagree with /10 scoring?

[MetaZedlen]

I think it's bullshit too, not only for the underrated games, but for the 200 mile OVERRATED games, such as Crysis, terrible gameplay and the requirements are out the window, but like you said, it gave fanboys something to jerk-off to(graphics...)

[amtalx]

Numbers are the only universal language. You are going to have a lot of trouble abolishing them.

That being said, I think its fine. Sometimes I don't want to read Joe Gamespot's 8 page diatribe about whatever game. A numerical score lets me get to the point quickly. If I'm interested, then I'll read more. Besides, if you are letting critics tell you which games are good and not deciding for yourself, an X/10 score is the least of your concerns.

[Xefi]

most reviewers are bias, so it shouldn't surprised many of us that most good games that deserved higher score should score higher.
I listen to the reviews from the many people that play the game rather than from ign or gamestop review, where only one person giving the review.

5000 people vs. 1 reviewer: i wonder whose is more accurate? i go with those 5000 people. LOL. I mean, if out of 5000 people reviewing and that game still got a really low score, than that game really suck. But from one guy/girl's bias review, i dont think i can trust such a source.

[Darkly]

On 2008-03-11 11:27, amtalx wrote:

Besides, if you are letting critics tell you which games are good and not deciding for yourself, an X/10 score is the least of your concerns.



This is the problem though. So many people DO blindly believe in a games score, which is why it's starting to get on my nerves.

[Eihwaz]

I tend to commit this bias, but in regards to music, not video games. I tend to start with the most critically acclaimed albums by a certain group, and then work my way "down", as it were.

At any rate, I rarely allow reviews to dissuade me from buying a game I'm interested in. I can usually tell whether or not a game is worth my money by doing a bit of my own research. The numerical score, in my eyes, is just a quick summation of things, and the review itself is the real meat of things.

[Anduril]

When it comes to games I really don't read reviews. If it catches my eye (or is in a series that I enjoy) and I can afford it I usually buy the game. Plus it's not like you can't sell the game back to a gamestop or something for some cash if you don't like it. I think people should probably check reviews and rent games to decide whether or not they want to own the game. Reviews are a nice starting block, but you should always take them with a grain of salt, since most reviewers play so many games that they get disillusioned with them after a while, and use your own judgement. But sadly most people are like a a sheep in a flock being steared toward a cliff.

[AlphaMinotaux]

I haven't bothered with reviews for about 5 years now. Never cared really and never will.

[Cz]

I buy the game regardless of the bad reviews, and i never bother with the grading, but it does hurts to see some of the games i like score soooo low.

[Frana]

They need to rate horrible games lower than bad ones, by a lot. Game informer gave DBZ:Sagas around the same score as Budokai 3. And Sagas was broken. (Sorry, I've been watching DBZ today^_^)

[Sinue_v2]

5000 people vs. 1 reviewer: i wonder whose is more accurate?

Neither. The only accurate review of a game is the one YOU give it, because only YOU know your personal tastes. This is why rentals and demos are critically important (imo) in my game buying decisions. Reviews are just reviews, and no matter how bias or incompetent you may think they are - they are getting paid to do a job. No different than Roger Ebert or Gene Shallot. There's a lot of films I like which they didn't, and vice versa. On television, they often review in teams - to express the differing opinions or stress the film's shortcomings. And they don't even have a 10-point scale - usually it's a simple *Thumbs Up* or *Thumbs Down*.

I generally don't read reviews either, aside from Zero Punctuation (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation).

[Kent]

Zero Punctuation reviews are, in a general sense, correct opinions. Yahtzee is the type of person who really should be the one to review games.

[Monochrome]

If there isn't a number score, there better be a letter score. If reviewers are too wishy-washy to plant a figure on it, then why should I be bothered to read it? Then they will just feel free to give the good points and bad points with no clear direction toward whether it's worth your time/money. If you assign something a value then you have to reveal to the reader your reasoning in assigning it the way you did. I always jump to the 'score' first, just so I know what direction the review is heading in. That way, I aim for "what was it that they really really did/didn't like about this game/movie/cd etc??" as I read it. Maybe their reason for liking or disliking it is flawed in my opinion, so I may disregard the score more, or less.

[Mewnie]

On 2008-03-11 19:17, Kent wrote:
Zero Punctuation reviews are, in a general sense, correct opinions. Yahtzee is the type of person who really should be the one to review games.



Yeah, when someone with ADD reviews The Witcher and says it's garbage http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/MagpieMouse/MewnPSU/emot-awesome.gif He has his bias.

Game reviews are bullshit anyways. It's part of the Games Industry Hype Machine. I wouldn't be surprised if there's payola.

Word of mouth is better.

[Eihwaz]

On 2008-03-11 22:03, Mewnie wrote:
Game reviews are bullshit anyways. It's part of the Games Industry Hype Machine. I wouldn't be surprised if there's payola.

Word of mouth is better.

Word of mouth reviews tend to be part of the Deluded Fanboys Hype Machine; however, since they're not paid to froth, they're less likely to proclaim something that is truly shitty as the second coming of Jesus Christ.

[Mewnie]

Well, that depends. Are you going to places like IGN? Yeah, you're going to hit a wall of stupid.

[Sekani]

Scoring systems are stupid, but the illiterate fanboys responsible for all of most gaming sites' traffic are the ones who demand them, so they stay.

As for text reviews, most people harp on them because they don't know how to read them. The biggest mistake people make is that they expect a reviewer to somehow share the exact same opinion on games that they do. When opinions differ, as they often do, it's not a difference of a opinion, it's an act of war. The reviewer is a tool, the site sucks, they should be fired, blah blah blah. It's amazing how pathetic these people sound when talking about a game review, and these aren't just idiots, these are actually intelligent people falling into the same trap.

A well-written review should be descriptive enough to give you, the reader, an idea of whether or not YOU would like the game based on your own tastes and preferences, regardless of the final score or verdict. People need to learn that even if Halo gets a 9.99999 it'll still suck if you don't like first-person shooters, and even if Lost Odyssey gets a 4.2122 it'll still appeal to people who like eastern RPGs. The smart thing to do obviously is to read multiple professional reviews (most reader reviews are just fanboy drivel) and base an opinion based on the combined impressions that they had. Then rent it yourself anyway.

[Sord]

i might use the scoring system to rent, also reviews from regular people, but never to buy. If I really enjoy a game I rented, (and I'm not done or bored with it by the time it's returned,) I'll make a point to buy it.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sord on 2008-03-12 13:51 ]</font>

[AlexCraig]

I rate games myself by both watching being played and playing the game itself. If I don't like it, I won't play it. If I like it, I'll continue to play it.

Final Fantasy Tactics, for example, I think is an excellent game. The only reason I'm not playing it is because my brother keeps pestering me to do so and I kind of find that funny.

Halo, as another example, I like playing the arcade/PvP mode, but I will never play Story Mode. Mostly because I NEVER play story mode in ANY FPS.

[Jife_Jifremok]

I find the numbers helpful when I'm looking at a long list of reviews (say, at Gamefaqs). I usually avoid most of the 10 and go with the 7-9 and the oddball less-than-6 for that "other side of the story" (or if the game is quite unpopular but not overlooked, the 2-4 and the oddball more-than-7). My own personal scoring system would have 6 being average (and therefore fail) and 10 being perfection, thus impossible to achieve, but I don't write reviws...yet.

The real meat is, of course, in the text. Sometimes it is extremely easy to dismiss a review, like when the words "this game needs a lock-on system" appear. Such a phrase indicates that I should take ALL of that person's reviews with a whole frigging can of salt, as well as look further into the game because it doesn't seem to cater to stupid-heads. Of course, most of the time it isn't so easy...but that's what gameplay videos and playable demos are for.

As for the numbers, yes they should stay. And the more precise they are, the better. Then again, abolishing the numbers might force people to actually read the text. Hmmm...

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Jife_Jifremok on 2008-03-22 05:48 ]</font>

[Kylie]

First of all, I don't worry about reviews or opinions of others when getting a game. Because most of the games I get are games from series I've played for years, and I don't care what anyone thinks if that's the case. However, when I look at reviews out of curiosity, I have a "tl;dr" moment. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif Also, I doubt taking away a review score would make much of a difference because it isn't going to make people that would take someone else's word so seriously any smarter.