i know im a rare case but i like game review sites and i like ign. i haven't considered them gospel for many years.

i don't go by any one site for a review though.

typically i'll first check ign. beyond just the score, i'll actually read the review and read their reasons for giving the score.

next i go to gamerankings.com and check what game review sites/magazines are saying on the whole. sometimes it matches up with ign, sometimes it doesn't.

however, i've been playing games long enough to know the type of games i'll dig. i know i wont be into games like the new dynasty warriors or mass effect. nothing against those games or people who like them, they're just not for me. i do happen to dig some games that may not even score too highly on the whole like mr mosquito and gauntlet legends: dark legacy. the reason i take a risk and get these lower scoring games is cause i read the reviews and decide that there is enough in these games for me to want them at a budget price. even then, i still see why the games generally got lower scores (6s, 7s).

so for my general gaming updates, i like ign. you may not always agree with them but that's why there are hundreds of review sites/mags because no two opinions are alike. that said, there are certain elements that help all games reach the point of being considered great by the majority of their target audience.

are the graphics good? are they're issues like framerate drops, clipping, fog, etc?
is the sound good? is there variety is the music, fx, voice clips, etc?
how are the game mechanics? are the controls responsive, is the camera reliable (if the game uses one), does the button lay out make sense, etc?
how is the game design? is it a reasonable length, are the load times short, is there a reason to come back to it after the main quest (if there is one) is over, etc?

so, since you've pointed out that ign gave NMH an 7.8, let's go with that.
in the review, bozon noted several times that he thought a good portion of the game was great. he also noted large issues like a poorly designed open world hub and lack of ability to restart missions on the fly. still, in the review and in the podcasts, statements made about NMH were generally positive. it's an example where people just see the score and don't read the text. he even said, (more or less) "if you're a hardcore gamer, buy this game."

anyway, that's my take.

Some people might not like a certain game but that doesn't mean its not good. Its just that person's opinion, that's why reviews are pretty dumb.

^^

i don't know if i've ever seen a professional game review where the reviewer said "if you like this, your dumb." people just like to put words in other peoples mouths.

I don't hate them. I regard them as a valuable source of free, professional information for gamers.

Also, the final score isn't everything. Most of the time I'm far more interested in the content of the review, the personal comments the reviewer makes about the game engine, the graphics, the gameplay etc.

Reviewers give gamers a taste of the experience of playing a game. When I see that one reviewer has actually scored a game poorly, and is going against the grain by doing so, it does raise some concerns for me if I have an interest in the said title. However, as with most information in life, it helps to take into consideration a few things. What purpose does the one reviewer have for scoring it so differently? Is it a shock tactic to gain publicity? Does the reviewer have a bias against the game? Or even, what purpose do the other reviewers have for scoring it so highly?

I still go on Gamespot but I don't really look at the score: R&C F:ToD

I agree with you Zen, 100%. Ratchet and clank got a 7.5 from gamespot and Twilight princess and 8.5 or something.

I enjoy lots of games that got bad reviews, and have disliked many critically acclaimed games. I'm sure most everyone has. I like the descriptions for learning what is in a game, and whether or not it's flaws will break it for me, or if I will be willing to overlook them for the games finer points.

I have said it a thousand times and I will say it again. The numerical aspect of Reviews are only used as fodder for fanboy wars. Go look in the topic "wii hit's 20 million sellers" it devolved into a flame war based on numerical ratings of games. That is the only purpose of reviews.

I don't really look at the scores much, but reading the reviews and seeing why they criticize a game is still useful.

I don't usually agree with reviewers but I still understand that they're our best bet into picking quality games. There are things they can reveal about games, like technical issues, that you would never hear about otherwise. The scores themselves are off many times, but if you look at the content of reviews and not just pay attention to the scores, you'll tend to see it's usually the same strengths and weaknesses adressed with different reviewers thinking they each deserve a different score based on the same qualifications. There's no critical medium that's going to get everything right, people have too many varied tastes for that. I will say though that overall reviewers deliver the goods and when you go to gamerankings and metacritic, you'll notice games like RE4 and Ocarina of Time are near the top and Bomberman: Act Zero and Fighting Force 2 are near the bottom. It's not perfect, but it's certainly not broken.

Game reviewers do a big service to us gamers. One, they are the place we get most of our info from, and two, they help us figure out what games are crap. It is like anything else you can't trust one completely, but it is definitely a good thing they are around.

It would be like not having IMDB or not having any movie reviewers out there. I know I use IMDB when I can't decide whether or not I want to watch a movie, and it is often a dealbreaker. It just saves time and money, and I honestly like reading reviews, good and bad.

As a jRPG fan, I've learned to stop listening to reviews a long time ago. 90% of the time, they are full of crap.

Take Lost Odyssey, for example. It's an excellent game.

However their reviews translated to:

"I hate reviewing stupid turn-based Japanese games, if it's not Final Fantasy. I need my Bald Space Marines. Give me back my Halo before I kill myself."

After seeing the sales charts for America, it's evident that word of mouth is spreading that these "professionals"are full of it.