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The Problem with Modern Game Reviews


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#1 Tricky Sonic

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Posted 24 January 2013 - 10:01 AM

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So...I collect older magazines, my favorite all time is Gamefan. I been reading through reviews out of Gamefan and old EGM's from the 16-bit and 32-bit era and they are so different than modern day reviews...and better. Back then people seemed to have legitimate complaints. Awkward controls, glitchy, bad jumping mechanics, horrible sound...etc etc... I realize more and more though with reviews now a days , they focus on things that shouldn't detract from a reviewers score. This comes in light of some of the complaints of The Cave. One big negative most reviewers seem to give...is no off-screen play. Really? That's a huge negative? I find it ridiculous when I see games getting like 8 out of 10 or something and the one negative is "they should of had more voice acting". Back in the day, people seemed to really appreciate games for what they were, and reviewed what it had. "8 out of 10! This game is flawless in its execution, excellent gameplay, intelligent design, best voice acting I've heard in a game yet!, however I can't give it a 9 or a 10 because I felt it needed more voice acting."

People need to stop judging games by what they aren't and more for what they are. If the auto industry was the same way - it would be like a guy testing a new car and giving it 3 out of 5 stars because he drove a blue model and he feels it would look better if it came in yellow. So yeah. Moral of the story...most game reviews suck.

**also I cannot spell modern apparently lol - if a mod wants to fix**



/end rant

Edited by Tricky Kirito-Kun, 24 January 2013 - 10:02 AM.

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#2 Ixchel

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Posted 24 January 2013 - 10:27 AM

I think it comes from the complexity difference. Back then there were very few things to leave out of a game or mess up, so if you happened to screw up, most likely it was on something important. Nowadays most games above shovelware status know how to get the controls right and have decent graphics by default. It forces you to shift your complaints on what could be better to make it a 10/10 because you can no longer complain about the major problems of the bit era. So it has to be more on the little details rather than the big picture. So while a lack of off screen play is in not a big deal, I can see deducting .5-1pt off because Nintendo made it seem like such an expected feature.

I do agree with you however that people take off too many points for ridiculous reasons sometimes for the current scoring system.The modern scoring system seems skewed to me. I remember back when a 5/10 rating actually meant "This is a so-so game." Now anything below 7-8 is seen as horrible. I guess it makes sense for gamers to be more picky now that gaming has gotten so big and there are a lot more games coming out but... Just annoying that it would be hard to limit yourself to the best when 7-10 really means 5-10 :/
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#3 Occult Satanist

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Posted 24 January 2013 - 11:07 AM

I agree there are countless times I didn't play a game or purchase it due to game reviews but then as I play it at a friends house I realize just how fun, immersive, and well designed the game really is and then I regret not purchasing or giving it a chance to begin with, to be honest these experiences made me realize that you can't rely on other peoples opinions of a game or another way you could say it is to "Not judge a book by its cover" , you need to at least play the demo before you can begin deciding whether or not the game is worth purchasing

Edited by CAPU-CHU, 24 January 2013 - 11:14 AM.

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#4 SolxBurst

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Posted 24 January 2013 - 01:53 PM

I agree completely. I also constantly find myself watching reviews where one small "problem" is taken out of proportion, the best example of this is how reviews complained about the controls for Kid Icarus: Uprising, when it took 5 minutes to get used to, and eventually they were better for the game than dual analog.

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#5 Mitch

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Posted 24 January 2013 - 02:23 PM

The Problem with People ReviewingReviewers Modern Game Reviews ;) :P


Most games now adays dont have awful screeching sounds or disgusting jumping mechanics, People have come to expect a Flawless AAA "movie style feel" to their videogames, and since the standard is set so high there has come to be less flaws to complain about... because there are less flaws that doesnt mean everygame gets a 9 or 10.... that would put the game reviewers out of a job. So they knit-pick it to find the tiniest flaws to gripe about because they like to get a paycheck :P

#6 SoldMyWiiUAndLeftTheForums

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Posted 25 January 2013 - 08:46 PM

IGN-norant!




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