Mummelmann said: Excuse me? Were you alive during the 7th gen? That was the most ridiculous generation ever, as far as scores and reviews are concerned.

Yeah, just about every game got a 90% that gen, I really hope it doesn't happen again.

Opinion, what can i say. :S

I agree with the thread title, but not your reasoning. In fact, I think it's this kind of reasoning that helps contribute to the problem with video game reviews.

To the first point, yes, video game reviews and game journalism in general is a mess. The industry and the media are too closely connected, personally and financially. Journalists, if they can be called that, attend industry events, accept gifts and complimentary merchandise from game companies, and share their physical and electronic space with advertisers who possess a good amount of financial leverage over their work. It doesn't help that so many video game journalists are untrained and uneducated; some of them are simply fans with a byline.

Now, not all video game journalists are part of the probem. Many are independent, ethical writers who are in now way embroiled with the runwaway nepotism and commecialism that defines the mainstream video game media. And it's these critics who, I think, suffer most from the reasoning you provided in your opener. I've said it a hundred times and I'll say it again: video game critics, like all critics, are there to inform public opinion, not reflect it. We look to critics to provide a comprehensive and, if possible, entertaining review of a particular product. They tell us what works and what doesn't, because they have access and experience we as consumers lack. If 99 out of 100 consumers like a product, they're not obligated to like it too. They're obligated to be honest with themselves and with their audience, no matter our expectations. In fact, I think this fan criticism -- that reviews are illegitimate because they disagree with popular sentiment -- distracts from the real problems, which I outlined above. As long as fans of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo continue bickering over which games scored better on Metacritic, the underlying problems in the video game industry and in game journalism will persist unabated.

Ya I second this

Samus Aran said: Mummelmann said: Excuse me? Were you alive during the 7th gen? That was the most ridiculous generation ever, as far as scores and reviews are concerned. Yeah, just about every game got a 90% that gen, I really hope it doesn't happen again.

Well the 7th gen had tons of great games.

Yeah, I'm going to disagree on that. I have to laugh at all those games that scored 90%.

And what games do you speak of?

About 90% of the games that scored 90% that gen. Best game last gen GTA IV? Haha, good joke. And all those sport rehashes that got 90%... Jeez. Rock Band?Rofl! Wouldn't even get 80% this gen.

I loved GTA 4 so ill have to disagree with that but you're right about the sports games.

I'm more surprised at how comparatively mediocre Evolve has turned out. Wasn't it like "the game of E3" or something, the one that the critics were most hyped about afterwards?