Why is the Review System Broken?

[scottie]

psrock said:

scottie said:
1) The average should be 5, I don't believe it is
2) Bribery should be illegal under national laws. Reviewers should be offered the chance to purchase games early, but should not be given them. Nor should they be given anything else by the developer, whether it be cash, the console to play the game on or whatever
3) I don't believe there is bias against console, but there is bias against certain genres. 99% of reviewers do not understand that you have to write a review based on the assumption that your reader is considering buying the game, and thus likes the genre. I've seen a football manager sim get points taken off because you couldn't actually play any football. Games should be reviewed based on how much their target audience would enjoy them, not based on how much the reviewer liked it

1. No

2. You have no proof of bribery, just think it exist because games you like doesnt get the score games you dont ike get.

3. The point of a review is not to please you or the audience but to state if the game is good or not.

 

 

1) That was the least important of my points so I'm not gonna argue it much, don't know why I put it as number 1. But it seems odd that the average reviews for movies and music are so much lower than for video games...

 

2) I have no proof? It is industry standard to provide a review copy of a game for free to reviewers. As for giving money, I have no proof, but it is not a crime, which is appaling. Giving consoles away to reviewers happens, Penny arcade get quite a few consoles gifted to them

 

3) That is one of the silliest things I have ever heard. Movie and music reviewers accept that they are part of a service industry. They tell us if a certain movie or song will be liked by a particular group of people. In exchange, we pay with page views. Video game reviewers see themselves as the sole arbiters of truth and quality. How can a review (subjective) tell you if a game is good (objective)?