Final Fantasy XIII-2 gets 5.4 on Gamrreview - how is that possible?

[Khuutra]

Soleron said:

Khuutra said:

That is not what a review is "meant" to be. A reviewer must necessarily speak to his own values first; one cannot presume the values of other people.

And I wouldn't have figured you the sort to actually buy this game. I mean, not that the review itself suggests the game isn't competent or entertaining, but this game just seems way, way outside your comfort zone.

If I was reviewing a CoD game, which I really don't like, I wouldn't give it an automatic 5/10. I'd try and imagine how well the balance, gameplay flow, sum of presentation, etc would appeal to the typical shooter fan.

Are you saying I should give it a low score? Or that only reviewers who love that genre should review it, because I think that's the source of all of these "AAA" 9/10s.

You should give it a low score. If your review doesn't reflect your values then you're not actually reviewing anything, you're pretending to be someone else whose tastes you literally cannot understand. It's dishonest, disengenuous, and worse-than-useless in the context of talking about the merits of a game within the context of different value sets. It does nothing more than build upon the idea that "gamer culture" is a monolithic and homogenous force of synchronized personalities which don't know how to speak their own minds except so far as they're able to match the minds of htose around them. Despicable.

You review a game you don't like, rate it low. Give good reasons, stay away from hyperbole, explain your views, but be honest first. Worry about what other people think sec-....never worry about what other people think of the game.

Reviews are not buying guides. THey are single statements in the larger context of the dialogue that surrounds the merits of games according to different value sets.