Reviews - Should Graphics Effect The Score?

[theRepublic]

Bodhesatva said: 

He's a sissy casual imo.

 

On that point, I've wondered for some time why it's the "hardcore" who seem to care about graphics. I mean, we're supposed to be the elite, right? With sophisticated tastes. So why are we the ones who care about superficial things like graphics?

As a similar example, special effects and CGI in movies are considered the "pulp" fanservice, and rightly so: critics are more concerned with believable characters and well told story, not with superficial issues like how cool the CGI looks, who want "epic" movies a la Spiderman or 300.

In some ways, the "hardcore" make sense -- I do generally believe they're more concerned than the layman with more complex mechanics, for example. But the graphics? That baffles me. It seems much more reasonable for the masses to be concerned with graphics and "epic" games.

My two cents...

I think part of the reason is that the industry still has a lot of maturing to do.  I think that once we hit the point where games can be photo-realistic, the race for better graphics will be pretty much over, and we can focus on other things.  Until we get there though, it seems to me like a lot of the video game critics are exactly the ones calling for better and better graphics.  As you point out they are more like your average "summer blockbuster moviegoer" than Roger Ebert.

As for the gamers, I think that many of those people out there claiming to be "hardcore" are actually quite casual.  It used to be that those people who only played Madden and Halo were seen as casual players in the gamer community.  Now they are considered "hardcore".  I don't agree with that new definition.  If I only ever saw two movies, I wouldn't know much about movies and would be a casual moviegoer.

@ Topic

Yes, I think that graphics should have some impact on the score, but not much.  Over time, graphics have aged much worse than other parts of games.  If you base too much of a review on how the game looks, that review is going to be obsolete in just a few years.