Lair, a different opinion after EGM's review?

[HappySqurriel]

twesterm said:

z64dan said:

marc said:

kber81 said:

@ twesterm

If you feel better with this silly 5,5 - good for you. Have a nice day. I'm not telling this game is outstanding 10/10 production but 5.5 is a joke. You can trust only this one review because it suits you but reality is different.

I think the real issue is that most people disagree over what a 5.0 means. 5 is actually the midpoint of the scale which means that unless we are curving the scale (common but very bad practice) a 5 SHOULD represent an average game and most games should fall into that range +/- 1 point. Unfortunately we have been taught to see a 5 as a failure and so we disregard what the scale really means and instead base our scores on school grading.

When I see a 5.5 it just means that the game is slightly above average but no where near great. A 7.0 would be something truly good and worth getting while anything 8.0 and up is phenomenal. At least that is how I try to scale things when I review but the point is reviews are not using a standardized scaling system. One persons 5.5 may very well be another persons 7.5. The real meat of a review is in the text itself not in the arbitrarily and unprofessionally contrived scoring scale being used.

I see the 0-10 scale the same way I see 0-100 grades for schoolwork. If you get a 70 (7.0), you pass, but not well. A 50 (5.0) is failing. A 90 (9.0) is wonderful.

 That would work is that's how EGM used their scale but it isn't.  For EGM, a 5 is a 70% and that's how they grade things.

Except (of course) that after 4,257 articles the average score of all EGM reviews is 6.7 ...
About 50% of games have a score of 7 or higher ...

A score in the 5.5 range puts this game in the bottom 1/3 of all games reviewed by EGM ...

For reference here are some other games that EGM has given between a 5 and a 6 to (with the exception of a handful of games that may be reviewed poorly) these are not "Above Average" games

 

Spy Hunter 2	PS2	5	50.0%	60.3%	-10.3%
The Great Escape	PS2	5	50.0%	59.5%	-9.5%
Alias	PS2	5	50.0%	65.9%	-15.9%
Tenchu: Fatal Shadows	PS2	5	50.0%	59.6%	-9.6%
		11
Monster 4x4: Masters of Metal	PS2	5	50.0%	48.7%	1.3%
ESPN International Winter Sports 2002	PS2	5	50.0%	65.5%	-15.5%
Looney Tunes Space Race	PS2	5	50.0%	63.3%	-13.3%
Soldier of Fortune Gold	PS2	5	50.0%	56.0%	-6.0%
X2: Wolverine's Revenge	PS2	5	50.0%	61.7%	-11.7%
SWAT: Global Strike Team	PS2	5	50.0%	70.4%	-20.4%
Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land	PS2	5	50.0%	69.5%	-19.5%
.hack//G.U. vol. 2//Reminisce	PS2	5	50.0%	64.0%	-14.0%
The Simpsons Skateboarding	PS2	5	50.0%	37.6%	12.4%
Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers	PS2	5	50.0%	72.3%	-22.3%
True Crime: New York City	PS2	5	50.0%	64.2%	-14.2%
Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure	PS2	5	50.0%	71.6%	-21.6%
Sega Classics Collection	PS2	5	50.0%	52.5%	-2.5%
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses	PS2	5	50.0%	62.5%	-12.5%
Armored Core 2: Another Age	PS2	5	50.0%	73.6%	-23.6%
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness	PS2	5	50.0%	56.4%	-6.4%
Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2	PS2	5.17	51.7%	56.0%	-4.3%
RPG Maker 2	PS2	5.17	51.7%	68.0%	-16.3%
		8	1826
Sonic Riders	PS2	5.17	51.7%	59.2%	-7.5%
Athens 2004	PS2	5.17	51.7%	65.5%	-13.8%
Commandos Strike Force	PS2	5.17	51.7%	61.8%	-10.1%
FlatOut 2	PS2	5.17	51.7%	75.4%	-23.7%
Hot Shots Tennis	PS2	5.17	51.7%	69.0%	-17.3%
Conflict: Desert Storm II - Back to Baghdad	PS2	5.17	51.7%	74.5%	-22.8%
Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers	PS2	5.17	51.7%	59.5%	-7.8%
Shadow the Hedgehog	PS2	5.17	51.7%	49.4%	2.3%
Predator: Concrete Jungle	PS2	5.17	51.7%	49.4%	2.3%
Herdy Gerdy	PS2	5.17	51.7%	70.5%	-18.8%
Wrath Unleashed	PS2	5.17	51.7%	62.7%	-11.0%
Arc the Lad: End of Darkness	PS2	5.17	51.7%	57.5%	-5.8%
All-Star Baseball 2005	PS2	5.33	53.3%	74.1%	-20.8%
Kuon	PS2	5.33	53.3%	60.2%	-6.9%
		2
Mega Man X7	PS2	5.33	53.3%	57.2%	-3.9%
PaRappa the Rapper 2	PS2	5.33	53.3%	67.7%	-14.4%
Sled Storm	PS2	5.33	53.3%	72.4%	-19.1%

Game Name	PLAT / Rating	Rating / Votes	Ratio / Hits	Avg. Ratio	Diff
World Tour Soccer 2005	PS2	5.33	53.3%	70.4%	-17.1%
Death by Degrees	PS2	5.33	53.3%	51.5%	1.8%
Galerians: Ash	PS2	5.33	53.3%	55.3%	-2.0%
Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War	PS2	5.33	53.3%	75.8%	-22.5%
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects	PS2	5.33	53.3%	56.0%	-2.7%
Urban Reign	PS2	5.33	53.3%	62.5%	-9.2%
PaRappa the Rapper 2	PS2	5.33	53.3%	67.7%	-14.4%
Sled Storm	PS2	5.33	53.3%	72.4%	-19.1%
Medal of Honor Rising Sun	PS2	5.33	53.3%	69.5%	-16.2%
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm	PS2	5.33	53.3%	70.7%	-17.4%
Siren	PS2	5.33	53.3%	71.0%	-17.7%
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith	PS2	5.33	53.3%	63.9%	-10.6%
Godzilla: Save the Earth	PS2	5.33	53.3%	62.5%	-9.2%
		1
Batman Begins	PS2	5.33	53.3%	65.8%	-12.5%
Evil Dead: Regeneration	PS2	5.5	55.0%	68.9%	-13.9%
Killer7	PS2	5.5	55.0%	70.5%	-15.5%
Black & Bruised	PS2	5.5	55.0%	63.8%	-8.8%
Mystic Heroes	PS2	5.5	55.0%	62.7%	-7.7%
			1
MLB 06: The Show	PS2	5.5	55.0%	83.2%	-28.2%
2002 FIFA World Cup	PS2	5.5	55.0%	76.6%	-21.6%
			2
Disney's Stitch: Experiment 626	PS2	5.5	55.0%	63.2%	-8.2%
			1
Disaster Report	PS2	5.5	55.0%	71.3%	-16.3%
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II	PS2	5.5	55.0%	80.4%	-25.4%
Nightshade	PS2	5.5	55.0%	68.3%	-13.3%
Echo Night Beyond	PS2	5.5	55.0%	61.0%	-6.0%
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu	PS2	5.5	55.0%	60.0%	-5.0%
			139
Way of the Samurai 2	PS2	5.5	55.0%	62.2%	-7.2%
4X4 EVO 2	PS2	5.5	55.0%	52.5%	2.5%
Dino Stalker	PS2	5.5	55.0%	58.1%	-3.1%
			1
4x4 Evolution	PS2	5.5	55.0%	65.3%	-10.3%
Colosseum: Road to Freedom	PS2	5.5	55.0%	57.2%	-2.2%
Headhunter: Redemption	PS2	5.5	55.0%	64.1%	-9.1%
Firefighter F.D. 18	PS2	5.5	55.0%	63.1%	-8.1%
Hunter: The Reckoning Wayward	PS2	5.66	56.6%	68.7%	-12.1%
Pitfall: The Lost Expedition	PS2	5.67	56.7%	72.1%	-15.4%
Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home	PS2	5.67	56.7%	53.8%	2.9%
ShellShock: Nam '67	PS2	5.67	56.7%	60.5%	-3.8%
Driving Emotion Type-S	PS2	5.67	56.7%	62.7%	-6.0%
Bloody Roar 3	PS2	5.67	56.7%	71.8%	-15.1%
Shining Force Exa	PS2	5.67	56.7%	65.1%	-8.4%
Crash Nitro Kart	PS2	5.67	56.7%	66.1%	-9.4%
State of Emergency 2	PS2	5.67	56.7%	47.5%	9.2%
Lupin the 3rd: Treasure of the Sorcerer King	PS2	5.67	56.7%	66.4%	-9.7%
		1	177
All-Star Baseball 2002	PS2	5.67	56.7%	74.5%	-17.8%
ESPN MLS ExtraTime	PS2	5.67	56.7%	65.4%	-8.7%
Extermination	PS2	5.67	56.7%	73.1%	-16.4%
Cy Girls	PS2	5.67	56.7%	54.1%	2.6%
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon	PS2	5.67	56.7%	76.0%	-19.3%
EA Sports Arena Football	PS2	5.67	56.7%	66.8%	-10.1%
Sega SuperStars	PS2	5.67	56.7%	73.4%	-16.7%

Game Name	PLAT / Rating	Rating / Votes	Ratio / Hits	Avg. Ratio	Diff
Worms Forts: Under Siege!	PS2	5.67	56.7%	63.7%	-7.0%
Robotech: Invasion	PS2	5.67	56.7%	57.9%	-1.2%
			19
Armored Core: Nexus	PS2	5.67	56.7%	73.3%	-16.6%
		7	638
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3	PS2	5.67	56.7%	72.4%	-15.7%
R: Racing Evolution	PS2	5.67	56.7%	67.8%	-11.1%
Test Drive Off-Road Wide Open	PS2	5.67	56.7%	67.0%	-10.3%
Alter Echo	PS2	5.67	56.7%	64.6%	-7.9%
Fantastic 4	PS2	5.67	56.7%	63.1%	-6.4%
Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior	PS2	5.67	56.7%	67.7%	-11.0%
Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood	PS2	5.67	56.7%	49.6%	7.1%
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow	PS2	5.67	56.7%	54.1%	2.6%
Pac-Man World Rally	PS2	5.83	58.3%	58.0%	0.3%
America's Army: Rise of a Soldier	PS2	5.83	58.3%	70.7%	-12.4%
Batman: Vengeance	PS2	5.83	58.3%	71.8%	-13.5%
Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed	PS2	5.83	58.3%	62.6%	-4.3%
Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir	PS2	5.83	58.3%	68.4%	-10.1%
Beatmania	PS2	5.83	58.3%	70.5%	-12.2%
Auto Modellista	PS2	5.83	58.3%	66.3%	-8.0%
Kengo: Master of Bushido	PS2	5.83	58.3%	64.8%	-6.5%
Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel	PS2	5.83	58.3%	58.5%	-0.2%
Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo	PS2	5.83	58.3%	69.3%	-11.0%
		1	68
Okage: Shadow King	PS2	5.83	58.3%	72.0%	-13.7%
Musashi Samurai Legend	PS2	5.83	58.3%	65.2%	-6.9%
Conflict: Vietnam	PS2	5.83	58.3%	64.8%	-6.5%