yea i remember that..... its turned into a great show.... It takes three to do that show.... cause there all funny guys.... i wouldnt replace neither richard hammand, james may (captain slow), or jeremy clarkson in that show.... ive only seen one or two episodes of fifth gear.....

Fifth Gear is okay. It's worth watching when they review a car you like, and Tiff Needel used to be a part of Top Gear. He is also the emergency Stig. Top Gear US is better, and thats something.

IGN used to be a lot more reliable. Up until 2007, I think they were fine. I liked how Metroid Prime 1 & 3 scored above Halo 1 & 3, but MP2 (one of the worst) scored below Halo 2. Everything fit and was consistant. However now there is so much bias and competition between PS3/360 owners, the reviews just bounce around. It depends on the reviewer.

I just take a bunch of sites, which I know give consistant ratings. Gametrailers is usually spot on with their review IMO, and for different games different websites are accurate. e.g. Nintendo Power is good for Nintendo games, RPG Fan is good for RPG's, etc.

Also some of the more extreme websites (the ones that give 100's too easily and then 80's, but never a 90) like Joystick, Gamestop, GamePro, 1UP, Worth Playing, etc, are just fun to read.

I think word of mouth is the worst way to judge a game. I have friends who tell me "Uncharted 2 is one of the best games I've ever played" and others who tell me "Uncharted 2 is Tomb Raider with a dude, multiplayer, and more cinematics, nothing special." People tend to be very biased, and they always want you to get what they think is best. I never listen to word of mouth, except when people tell me "Killzone 2 has one of the best ending boss fights ever." Then it's worth checking out, but I don't judge the entire game on it.

I was watching top gear before you were probably even born...  "first season"?

It started in 1977, the current "style" has been in play since 2002.

I dont think a US Top gear will work in the same way a UK one does... not sure that the kind of acidic, non PC and irreverent humour works mainstream over there.

Yes, unless you know those spreading it generally share your tastes, but in this particular case (I should have specified it, I know) I was just meaning a very narrow use of word of mouth, specifically targeting negatively biased reviews and explaining why those reviews are flawed.

About review sites, as I don't bookmark them all (and even if I did, my bookmarks are a bloody mess) and I always forget some, I like VGC and GameFaqs games databases because they provide handy links to other sites reviews and other useful infos in a neat way. For older games, PCZone's archive online is still useful for me, but it's only one site and magazine, I can't guarantee they can meet someone else's tastes, and they are specialized on PC games.

There has already been a US one, in fact there is also an Australian one and the UK one and the Australian one did a crossover... it was like CSI... without the CSI bit

Yup and the UK series used the Aussie clip half a year after Top Gear Aussie used it to make an episode. Also I believe Top Gear Us prior to the most recent season, never aired. They made a pilot, and thats been suppressed by BBC.

Still, good shows.

GT5 jumped ahead of GT4 during the holidays, it didn't just match it:

As you can see, by Week 5 (during the holidays), GT5 was ahead of GT4 in total WW numbers and remained there the rest of the season (being as much ahead as 230k). In America, it was ahead of GT4 and in EMEAA it was WELL ahead (which is significant because that's GT's strongest region). Japan was the only blunder and GT5 still remained ahead. The overall significance is this; GT5's sales remain frontloaded during the holiday period, which is why it stomped GT4 in certain weeks of the first 10 weeks. It may trail it now, but those sales are leveling out, because we're out of the holidays. It's not like GT4's numbers completely destroy GT5's (which has been my point from the beginning).

With those facts out of the way, and me tired of repeating myself, I'll finalize this debate with you permanently (as in no matter how often from now until GT5 crosses 10 million you respond/quote me, I will not respond to you again - it's pointless): I didn't say GT5 would clear GT4 at the end of it's life (which it doesn't have to anyway). It doesn't have to stay ahead of GT4 the during it's market time to cross 10 million (especially when GT4 is WELL over 10 million).

GT5 could sell 250-400k less than GT4 overall, and still sell 10 million. Right now, it's not even close to being that far behind it. Japan would be the problem, but as of now, it's hardly holding GT5 back.

then how the hell does the forza partnership mean anything then? And how do you know about teh aussie clip? haha

I watch a lot of Top Gear.

The partnership between Forza and Top Gear US, is something to satisfy car enthusiasts. Top Gear US has an audience of 60 million people, Top Gear UK has an audience of 350 million peoples. These shows are massive, and I think it's fair to say people who play racing simulators at least know about these shows. Incorporating Top Gear into Forza or GT, is there to satify fans, and incorperate car culture into gaming.

I mean don't you think having the Top Gear Test track exclusive to GT5 helped boost hype? To me, it's the best event in the game. I've always wanted to test drive the track and see how it feels from an in car perspective to race around the track. Top Gear US isn't as big, but it has potential to grow, and it would still be cool to drive around the track.