binary solo said:
Why are some people lambasting reviewers for reviewing and scoring based on opinion? All reviews of all entertainment forms are based on opinion and the personal tastes of the reviewer. That's why one reviewer's review is never the final word on a game. If a reviewer who thinks gameplay is the be all and end all reviews an interactive story i expect them to score it down because it's not to their taste. All i expect is transparency about a reviewer's preferences going in, so i can assess the review in a proper context.
the last thing i want is a reviewer saying "well its not my kind of game, but apparently people who are into this sort of thing will eat it up so I'll give it a 9.5/10 just to keep them happy." i want the reviewer's honest opinion and for their score to reflect that. If a game is only somewhat enjoyable because it does some things well, but those things are not important to my gaming experience then, and it does other things not so well, or they are deemphasized in the game which i see as pivotal to my gameplay experience the the score should reflect that mix.
having said that i think good reviewers are people with very broad tastes in gaming who like a wide variety of game genres and styles. If someone enjoys a particular type of game and says a game of that type is shit then their opinion has more inherent value to the reader in terms of buying decisions than a person who doesn't like that type of game and thinks the game is shit. But the second reviewer is still entitled to review and score a game according to their own views and not be trolled because their views and preferences don't match with yours.
there are plenty if things wrong with game review methodologies, but reviewers giving scores based on their own opinions and preferences isn't one of them
OT, Destiny in high 80s. I think the story will suffer from the open worldness and persistence of the game, and so the inevitable comparison to the halo story, and what made it so beloved, will see points lost for that. |
Well said. Video game journalism suffers not only from a general lack of journalistic integrity but also from the unrealistic expectations of fans. As I've said several times, reviews are meant to inform public opinion, not reflect it.
