Forums » General Gaming

Who Else is Tired of Ambiguous Review Scores?

    • 1217 posts
    July 16, 2015 9:21 PM EDT

    "Passable Story! Decent Gameplay! Shoddy Characters!

    ~9 out of 10~"

    I understand that a lot of gamers these days don't bother with reviews, or they have their own very specific sources for which ones they trust. But still, whenever another lineup of games hits, we're assailed by waves of 7, 8, and 9 out of 10 games. Four stars! 86/100! Sure, the people who are reviewing these games are gamers, too, bound to get something good out of them, but between accusations of "paid reviews" and the more or less constant stream of them, it kinda feels like the ratings lose their weight. Anyone else feel that way?

    Perhaps a more helpful question: What reviews/reviewers, if any, do you trust?

    • 700 posts
    July 16, 2015 9:29 PM EDT

    I trust Angry Joe or Zero Punctuation for reviews.  I used to read Gameinformer a few years ago though.  Despite Joe giving a score, his reviews tend to be so thorough that one really isn't necessary.  I'd rather get the whole story and read or listen to a long review  than get a number.

    • 1217 posts
    July 16, 2015 9:35 PM EDT

    I can't stand Angry Joe myself. I generally enjoy listening to Yahtzee's reviews, though, but he doesn't often review games that I'm interested in. Definitely worth listening to, though, for the comedy if nothing else.

  • July 16, 2015 9:36 PM EDT

    Yeah, review scores are weird. I tend to just ignore them entirely otherwise I start thinking, "Wait, you said it had great gameplay, a good story, and really great level design. Shouldn't it be 9 or 10, not 7 and a half?" Opinions on video games, books, and movies can't just be summed up in numbers.

    • 700 posts
    July 16, 2015 9:45 PM EDT

    Right, Yahtzee is his name.  I think I've watch Total Biscuit a few times.  Who do you generally go to for reviews?  

    • 66 posts
    July 16, 2015 9:50 PM EDT

    Oh, Yahtzee... Remember playing his Chzo Mythos series. 

    • 1217 posts
    July 16, 2015 10:10 PM EDT

    I typically don't, actually. I'm a pretty picky gamer, and a lot of my gaming choices are based on past experiences; usually I'll buy the first game in a series used, and if it's good, I stick with it. So I got Borderlands 2, ACIII, and New Vegas because I had played and loved their predecessors. I just commit to them. There's only been one time I recall being truly disappointed by a game I payed full price for, and that was Army of Two: Devil's Cartel.

    Right now, it's the approaching release of Star Wars: Battlefront that has me considering reviews and reviewers. Based on what's been released so far, it's not really the Battlefront game I was hoping for, so in this case I think I'll hold off on it until I see how some more prolific gamers find it. Plus, it comes out the week after Fallout 4, and there's no way I'm leaving the Commonwealth to play it!

    • 288 posts
    July 17, 2015 6:58 AM EDT

    Angry Joe is fun, and his reviews are generally ok, but his scores are sometimes fanboyish and not outright impartial.

    • 288 posts
    July 17, 2015 7:02 AM EDT

    What I like to do is go to Metacritic, then go to the user review section and then read only the orange (mixed) reviews. They tend to be the most objective.

    But in general I don't trust reviews, I've found that the modern day mass taste, including the reviewers', does not match mine much. So I'd rather check the game for myself.

    (and of course for us hailing from Tortuga the latter is less of a problem )

    • 1483 posts
    July 17, 2015 7:12 AM EDT

    I check PC Gamer reviews, they have been largely objective in my experience. 

    • 1217 posts
    July 17, 2015 2:38 PM EDT

    I just find him (or, to be fair, his internet personality) to be obnoxious, and impossible to take seriously.

    • 1217 posts
    July 17, 2015 2:41 PM EDT

    I can imagine them being helpful for PC players, certainly. I stumbled across one of their articles on the current build of Star Wars Battlefront, and between the comments and article itself, it rather turned me off to associating with that community. Come to think of it, I've given a lot more weight to reviews here from people like you and Neb than anywhere else on the web.

    • 1483 posts
    July 17, 2015 2:45 PM EDT

    I never trust reviews, regardless of their source. I use them to establish an initial expectation of the game. I then look up for gameplay videos and see if the game matches that expectation and if it still interests me. If it does, I try it out 

    • 1217 posts
    July 17, 2015 2:55 PM EDT

    It could be argued that that's what reviews are for. I mean, it's not really common that they close with "Take my word on it, go buy this game!" but often in scoring the way they do, it's not any clearer what aspects of the games will or won't appeal to you. It's easy to say, "I'm only interested in the shooters," so you don't waste time looking at other genres, but even when you get to the shooters, they're still unhelpfully ambiguous.

    For a lot of people these days, it's the dodgy quality of some AAA games coming out that cause them to stop buying on day one. For me, its just as relevant that you can't trust reviews for a good picture; a lot of times you're just way better off trying it yourself with a rental, or borrowing, or the High Seas, a la Overhate.

    • 288 posts
    July 17, 2015 3:04 PM EDT

    Arrrrr

    • 1483 posts
    July 17, 2015 3:10 PM EDT

    Origin offers a refund, Steam does the same as for now. The options you mentioned are not the only ones 

    • 1217 posts
    July 17, 2015 3:18 PM EDT

    True. I haven't educated myself on all the options, in no small part because I don't buy games often. I'm also less likely to benefit from Origin/Steam's offers since my laptop is a far cry from a gaming machine. XD

    • 558 posts
    July 17, 2015 3:58 PM EDT

    I don't like to watch gameplay of games that I am going to buy because you don't know how it will be until you play it yourself. For example, I thought Transistor had boring combat until I tried it out and enjoyed it. I think Dark Souls is boring to watch but fun to play.

  • Tom
    • 624 posts
    July 17, 2015 8:34 PM EDT

    I know, right? I run a D&D campaign every Sunday, and after each session I give my players post-it-notes to write their reviews of the session; what they liked, disliked, wanted more or less of, etc.

    Here's some of my reviews:

    • I NEED MORE MAGIC MISSILES B+ STARS/10
    • MOAH LOOT! :D
    • 10/10 - party number deflation = 9/10! (actually, triple underline)
    • A picture of a flower smiling, with 9/10 under a square root sign.
    • B+/7              Had fun, focus on RP was a nice change. Sparkly purple cape was distracting.

    And my all time favorite. For context, I'm a larger, bearded guy who wears a style of flat-cap. I'm told I resemble George R.R. Martin when I'm wearing it, so my players have begun calling it my GRRM Hat, and to beware when I'm wearing it.

    "FUCK YOU AND THE HAT THAT RODE IN ON YOU.

    P.S. [PC Name] LIVES!"

    For my players: I like my reviews. They make me laugh.

    • 1217 posts
    July 17, 2015 8:41 PM EDT

     Fantastic

    • 627 posts
    July 17, 2015 8:43 PM EDT

    That is the most amazing review I have ever seen 

    • 700 posts
    July 17, 2015 11:05 PM EDT

    I check Metacritic as well.  Sometimes I'll go to Gamestop for one thing and find a really good deal, like 4 used games for $10, so I'll end up walking around the store reading Metacritic reviews on my phone.  And that right there shows exactly what review scores are for - a synopsis of the positives and negatives of a game that let someone decide very quickly whether it's something worth picking up.  

    That's the only time I'll really put any faith in scored reviews; when the loss I'll suffer for buying a game in minimal.  Otherwise, I'll watch an extensive review and look at gameplay.

    • 149 posts
    July 17, 2015 11:48 PM EDT

    Reviews can sometimes be very insightful or fun commentaries on a game, but I find that they rarely determine how much I enjoy a game. Reviews are just opinions. I never trust only one or two to justify a purchase. If I'm in the market I'll look at several - not the numbers, but rather what the people have to say.

    • 237 posts
    July 18, 2015 2:52 AM EDT

    YOU SAID DIAMOND MERCENARIES 2 SUCKED BUT YOU GAVE IT A SIX OUT OF TEN WHICH IMPLIES IT IS ABOVE AVERAGE!

    • 1217 posts
    July 18, 2015 3:22 AM EDT
    They just can't make up their minds.