Runa216 said:
You know there's more to review than "Agreeing with them." AS a reader, you're expected to be able to sift through what the content of the review says and weigh that out against your own tastes and opinions. I can say "Call of Duty is Stagnant" and give it a 6.2/10, but you can look at that and say, "I don't mind that it's stagnant', and realize that the rest of the review may have been right up your alley! you may LIKE that there's a steady stream of action set pieces, or you may LIKE that the focus is on a fast paced multiplayer mode. I did not, and it's up to you as the reader to discern between what criticism applies to you and what doesn't. I have enough respect for my readers to assume they know this much.
Sadly, evidence would lean towards most viewers NOT having this common sense, which is sad.
|
When I say agree, I mean I don’t see the same value they see in their review after playing, or I don’t find the issues raised to be issues at all. The thing with reviews, I would often walk in with an open mind and expect there to be flaws. I’ll take inventory of everything and do some weighing and If I like the positives and they overshadow the negatives I’ll make a purchase. The score has very little influence on me. I take chances with my money with respect to purchasing video games, so when a reviewer places a few caveats or seems ambiguous, I’ll try it – providing it didn’t come off as totally awful in the reading. The problem I’m having, especially last gen, is that a lot of the pros and cons in reviews I read are often not positives or negatives for me, respectively. After playing a game, in hindsight, I often find the issues highlighted are too trivial or overblown. Likewise, the reverse is true too. Many of the reasons why people and reviewers loved MGS4 so much are why I dislike it (story related). I’m VERY skeptical of 10s these days.
I recall one reviewer being very harsh on W101 for its “difficulty”, and yet when I played it I found it quite simple – through to completion. That person scored it poorly as a result (for which I found quite unfair). I had a similar issue with Knack when I played it by my cousin as well.
I’ve noticed most gamers, especially the 2K generation, would purchase a game based on the score. They go to IGN, scroll down to the bottom, and their purchase depends on if the game has a 7 or 8. And then they complain after.lol
Walkhrough have been a better indictaor for me, but I still use reviews since WTs don't furnish you with some details.