Game Reviews and Aggregate Scores. Why Do You Bother?

[adriane23]

My original thread title was going to be, "Game Reviews Have Too Much Influence On The Weak Minded," but I felt it was a little too long winded.

I just have a few simple questions.

For the gamers that make purchasing decisions based on game reviews and scoff at any game that receives a MetaCritic score below 80. 

Do you do the same thing for movie reviews? If so, when was the last time you actually saw an entertaining movie?

How could you deprive yourself of The Goonies and The Dark Knight Rises?

For the gamers that throw a fit when a game in their favorite series scores below an 80 on MetaCritic.

Did you lose your shit when The Avengers scored a 69 on MetaCritic?

Did you go onto forums ranting about the incompetent movie reviewers?

Have you ranted to everyone within earshot about how no comedies get high scores even though you almost passed out from laughter watching them?

 

To the people that won't realize what I'm doing, let me just say that my questions are rhetorical, because there is only one answer for most people. The answer is, "I don't remember the last time I read a movie review before I actually saw the movie."

People rarely put any stock into what movie critics say anymore, which is why some of the worst reviewed movies make the most money at the box office. But why is it that game reviews get so much attention from gamers? Why bother putting so much stock into what another person says? I just don't understand it. I've seen comments on this site as well as other gaming sites stating that the person actually plans to wait on the review of a specific site (Machinima, IGN, GameSpot, Edge, etc.) before they actually make a decision on purchasing a game. Even the game they've proclaimed they were "hyped" for for the last X amount of months.

Just about evey game has a playable demo, previews, gameplay videos, and documentaries leading up to its release nowadays. If none of the things you can experience with your own eyes can persuade you, how does a number and some words from someone you've never met sway you one way or the other when it comes time to buy a game? Why bother?