Do you base your buying decisions on game reviews?

[misterd]

Of course. It's not completely determined by that, but it is a factor.

Generally it works this way:

Be made aware of game through article, advert, etc and decide my interest in it based on the genre, developer, IP, and other factors.

If I have little or no interest in the game, I likely will never buy it, unless it starts to get phenomenal reviews.

If I do have an interest, I will usually wait for reviews before deciding on a purchase, including general feedback from other gamers. Excellent reviews can easily crank up my interst, as was the case with Half Life (which I originally had only a mild interest in). On the other hand, bad or mixed reviews can kill my interest completely (as in Rogue Squadron III or Luigi's Mansion).

If the game hits highly both on my initial interest and reviews (such as Super Mario Galaxy, or Knights of the Old Republic), I'll grab it as soon as I can. Otherwise, it will depend on my finances and time - if I'm looking for a new game and nothing else is standing out I'll get it. Otherwise, I'll wait for the price to drop to $20-30.

For example, right now I'm looking foward to Banjo Kazooie 3. Assuming I have a 360 at the time, I'll likely get the game as I was a huge fan of the first two installments. If reviews are in the 9+ range, I'll get it ASAP. If they're around 8, I'll likely grab it anyway, but not necessarily within its launch window. At 7, I'll wait for clearance, but anything less I'll skip the game completely.