Opinion: Reviews
Before writing for this site, something I had never really done was write a review for a videogame, with score attached. Most of my interest was looking at a game critically and determining a topic or topics to look at more closely and how it related to both the gameplay and to games in general.
That does not mean I never read review scores, however. Shawn Elliott wrote The One and Only Right Review earlier this month, which tells you everything you need to know, like this snippet here:
I neglected to dedicate individual paragraphs to the trophies and achievements, the customization, the cutscenes, the voice-overs, the Havoc physics, the pause menu, the patented and groundbreaking player abilities bullet-pointed on the press release, and if not these then everything else that the discerning readers who choose to use the comment function on this site point out while proving that they are, in fact, far more qualified to have written this review.
Now on to further thoughts and some questions:
Personally, I read reviews to get a general gist of the game and its mechanics, as I do not expect a reviewer to spoil the plot for me unless it happens to be heinously horrific (though, by all means, I do like when they emphasize excellent writing and plot, but there it becomes an issue of giving away too much). However, I do not read reviews for games I know I will purchase no matter what, as I would rather not amp myself up even more or come in with someone else's voice in my head. Reviews are then for games in which I may have a passing interest and am determining if it stands for purchase or rental.
Therefore, the one thing I do normally skip is the number score, of which I have grown rather dubious. For my own review of Muramasa, I spent a good deal of time, more than I did writing down my impressions, vacillating between giving it a 7 and an 8, deciding ultimately in favor of my own enjoyment of the game overall, minor quibbles aside, and separating it from my expectations after having played Odin Sphere. However, is that fair to you, the reader?
Ultimately, it comes down to the idea behind the review to provide informed purchases, and where your emphasis lies. The joke among many game bloggers I know is that once a review has a number, you can often just skip to it, skim the text, and be done (which is more a critique of most writers out there, something we hope you enjoy here). As games are interactive experiences, though, this means that a score often fails to fully convey what a particular gamer needs. At the same time, the writing itself can give information about which I may not care, especially if I have been keeping up with a game and am just trying to understand its quality.
Then there is the flip side of the coin, where a metacritic score has often caused some pointing of fingers at people in the blame-game of currying favor with a particular site. One thing I do not expect of reviews is a symbiotic relationship that may skew the piece I am reading. As Game-Boy mused, this comes under the impression that review scores sell games, which is certainly a topic for debate.
So, with that, what do you expect from reviews? How much does its numbered score factor into your reading? Is a review there for helping to decide on a purchase, or for some other means for you (perhaps engaging in a discussion about the game itself)?
VorpalBunny
Posted to Miscellany on 26 October 2009
· Comments (6)
Other stuff like this: opinion, reviews, scoring games
I like having numbers attached, because I am often picking up a game on the road to play over the trip--and that sometimes involves a limited selection (like the PSN line-up). In these cases, a a number score can eliminate the game from my decision process by being under a 6/10. As for skimming reviews or foregoing them altogether...I never do that for games over 6/10. I'm pretty forgiving with my games if they have some smarts, but I don't need to read how bad it was once it's clear that the reviewer did not find it to be salvageable.
When it comes to a review, I do read the review of the game and the text, though I do like having a score as well.
That said, a review should explain clearly why the game got the score it did. On my blog I've been recapping old video game magazines, particularly EGM, Nintendo Power, and Game Pro. While EGM's reviews were small (because of the Review Crew format), I usually got a good explanation of why each member of the Crew gave it the score they did - though on occasion I did find myself scratching my head at why they gave the game, say, a 6 out of 10 while saying how much they liked the game - not even giving anything along the lines of "this game is generally mediocre."
GamePro, on the other hand, in its first 5-6 years thus far, gave a great deal of information on how the game is played, what the game's plot was, and so forth. However, very little is given to justify the score. Before, when they didn't have scores at all, they never said anything bad about the games, so started picking a game an issue and playing it and reviewing it myself, to see if it was actually good or not. Ultimately, I've found myself in my recaps skimming the review for the scores, without actually reading the review, because the review itself is generally meaningless.
Nintendo Power never really gave reviews, just mini-strategy guides, but they did start eventually giving out scores. But, again, they never particularly went into why certain games got certain scores (which is why I started picking a game an issue from Nintendo Power to review as well).
Sorry for the tangent on how reviews used to be, but it might explain on why people respond to reviews the way they do now - particularly gamers who grew up on old GamePros, at least before they changed how they wrote their reviews.
Game reviews are just useless fluff to me; the only judge of a game that matters is me. ^-^
I usually do read reviews of everything I'm interested in, but if there's a game I'm going to get (Dragon Age next week & Ratchet Friday) I don't care what it gets review wise, good bad or in between. That being said if I have a game I'm just thinking of getting I do use reviews to decide. I've rented a lot of games & been glad I did instead of buying them, based on a review.
Gameplay videos. Nothing sells me more than gameplay videos.
I do not care about the "numbers" one gives for a review but i do read them. Hell i did my first review 2 days ago. I did give it a number but it doesn't mean anything really. So what was the point in even putting a number score? I guess it was how much i enjoyed it on a scale of 1 to 10