Subjective Game Ratings:

[ShadowTiger]

(Of course, this thread has at least two toes in the Think Tank for all purposes.)


Have you ever played a game, and really enjoyed its graphics? Then, have you ever read a review which said that the graphics were fairly bad, compared to other games? .... Why IS that? :odd: If you ask me, this is fairly immediate and undeniable proof that some portions of video game ratings are simply subjective. It all depends on the style of the reviewer. Well, can you say that everyone feels the same way about every game? Surely not. Can you find a middle ground? Probably. Does this make looking at game reviews a bit more complex? I hope not, but it can sure has heck happen. :p

[King Link]

Exactly. However, if you refer to several reviews (best if it's at least five separate, reliable and professional reviews) you will at least have a better understanding of the game, and its pros and cons.

[Rainman]

You should look for a reviewer or reviewing site which seem to have your same general interests. That usually will help keep the review indicative of what your reaction to the game will be.

[Saffith]

http://www.gameindustry.com/review/item.asp?id=474
http://www.cv-games.com/article.asp?ArticleID=31332
http://www.allgame.com/cg/agg.dll?p=agg&SQL=GIH|||||7950
Yeah, it's a problem. A rather big one at times.
The worst, really, are the ones where the reviewer is more or less determined not to like the game. You can see a lot of that at GameFAQs - there are plenty of "I hate stealth games, so Metal Gear sucks" kind of reviews. There used to be a guy who wrote reviews there (all gone now, thankfully) who invariably compared NES games' graphics to those of Blue Stinger (which is a Dreamcast game). Predictably, he didn't give a lot of high scores.
There are some sites/magazines/etc. that have several people agree on games' score(s), rather than just one person. I'm fairly certain PC Gamer does that, and maybe IGN. And then there are those that give several reviewers' opinions separately, like Nintendo Power. Less efficient, I suppose, but those both seem like better ways to go about it.

[vegeta1215]

I subscribe to Nintendo Power, and they are usually right about which games are good or not. Gamespot and IGN also have really good reviews. Even so, I still read gamer reviews on Gamefaqs.com, cause you get a lot of opinions all in one place.

[MottZilla]

Remember that you should never read 1 review and settle for that. Like vegeta said, you should read a range of reviews. With Gamefaqs, I like to read the reviews which gave a really low rating, then ones that are average, then ones that are high ratings. That way you do like said before, get a good understand what what may or may not be good about the game.

[ShadowTiger]

Remember that you should never read 1 review and settle for that. Like vegeta said, you should read a range of reviews. With Gamefaqs, I like to read the reviews which gave a really low rating, then ones that are average, then ones that are high ratings. That way you do like said before, get a good understand what what may or may not be good about the game.
While that is certainly true, it immediately goes back to the original problem, in that if you read more than one review, and they have fairly different opinions about certain features of a game, how do you know which one is right? Of course, there does stand the chance that the reviews will be similar, which is nice, except if those are the ONLY two which are similar, in which case, ... yeah, back to the original problem. :shrug:

[DsS Game]

I really don't like reviews because some of the games I have have low ratings but yet when they were on a demo disc, I got interested in it pretty quick.

If it strikes your interest, screw a review. Try it out yourself.

Daywalker

[Yoshiman]

3/10 Silent Hill3 review (http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/review/R55581.html)


This time you control an unattractive woman as she unravels a confusing and lacklustre plot.
This is what really annoys me. "OMG! The main character doesn't look like Jennifer Lopez! :0 " She's an average 17 year old girl. Not a supermodel. The plot's supposed to be a mystery, as well.

There are other things in the review that lack common sense, as well, but that just stood out. :rolleyes:

That's why I usually rent before I buy a game. You can barely trust reviews anymore. Especially if half of them say "Awesome game. Buy it now," while the other half say "It sucks. Burn it."

[ShadowTiger]

...
I Wubu, Yoshiman. :D

I think that one of the only fairly reliable methods, is via a peer review. Actually, I could very well be digging my own grave by saying it, but at least I know that I am in doing so. When a peer recommends a game to you, they probably have a good reason for recommending it to you. Every game my friend recommends to me I've enjoyed immensely, without fail. Some of the reviews I've seen from the "professional" reviewers, can sometimes be a bit skewed by their own high standards of what games should be, which worries me as well, in its own way.



Of course, the only things really at stake here is gas money for driving to the store to get the game, or refund it. You can always erase the game off your hard drive, or not recommend it to someone, or return it immediately. Oh yeah, and time. Time is always at stake.

[theplustwo]

I don't really read reviews that much. I usually read previews (Game Watch in Nintendo Power or "Previews" in Pocket Games) and then play the games at demo stations in stores.

[mikeron]

I find that the best game review is the one you get by renting it first at Blockbuster. Get a gamepass and have at it.

[vegeta1215]

While that is certainly true, it immediately goes back to the original problem, in that if you read more than one review, and they have fairly different opinions about certain features of a game, how do you know which one is right?

Reading a range of reviews like Mottzilla said (which I also do btw) lets you pick out the common bias towards the game that you can disregard.

Renting is probably the best way to evaluate a game without actually buying it, but renting games is expensive (around $6 for a week near me). That adds up fast if you are curious about a lot of games. (they do have game passes that are a flat rate for a month which is a better deal if you rent games often, but I don't)

[Petoe]

I wish it was possible to rent games here, since I cannot trust reviews anymore. I used to blindly turst IGN Cube's reviews since they always seemed to review the games like I would have reviewed them. But IMO nowadays they give too high scores for crappy Nintendo games, and then fantastic games like Pikmin 2 and Metroid Prime 2 only gets a bloody 9.2/9.5...

Instead of reviews and missleading scores, I'll only read previews and if there's a playable demo somehwere, I'll go and play it.

[vegeta1215]

Like I said, I think IGN gives pretty good reviews. Their's are usually very lengthy, and they pick up on nuances found in games that not many reviewers pick up. Most of their Nintendo ones have been dead on for the ones I've played.

I was angry at first to hear that MP: 2 got a slightly lower score than the first Metroid Prime (mainly due to Halo 2 and Half Life 2 getting near perfect scores - but they have different people reviewing them too), but after beating the game, I think the review they gave is fair. Though I can't comment on the multiplayer experience in MP: 2, it looks like a lot of fun, and is a nice extra that shouldn't bring down the overall rating. However, the single player game, while great, is not as good as the original Metroid Prime imo - if only due to the key hunting and more linear feel to it, which is very different from most Metroid game. (that and the insane number of guardian and mini boss fights)