GH WT got an 8.8 on the Wii and a 7.9 on the PS360 becuase it was impressive that it matched the other two in features.

Why did Motorstorm get a higher review that Motorstorm PR even though that is a better game. Why did Bioshock PS3 get a lower score than Bioschock 360 even though its a better game.

The obvious answer is that an original game seems to be fresher. And wiht your geometry war example you're comparing a 10 dollar DL game to a 30 wii release. One was released first and cheaper it was more original and less expensive. That happens a lot.

@Zucas: Oddly enough, you don't hear nearly as many people bitching about MSG4 getting a 10 from them. I'd guess it's because the game was the last of a previous storyline and Kojima's epic finale, while every GTA game has had a different character and plot involved. I agree that the reviews were based too much on hype. Also odd is Halo 3 had just as much if not more hype going for it yet that game scored 9.5, but that's probably due to all the Halo haters out there.

Geometry Wars is like a $10 demo of Geometry Wars: Galaxies which was a $30 game ...

The point which you seem to get is that reviewers are taking into consideration factors outside of a raw mechanical process to determine the "value" of a game. What is wrong with considering other factors like the target demographic of a game?

Personally, I don't see comparing review scores across platforms, across timeframes, and across genres particularly meaningful ... What's wrong with taking a game like Wii Music and considering it in the context of its genre at this exact moment of time on the Wii? What is wrong with saying that it is a game that is good at what it tries to do but may be an aquired taste and is certainly not for everyone, and giving it a fairly moderate score like 60% to 80%? Why should I trust a reviewer who constantly said he hated everything the game stood for and was going to give it 30% before he even played it?

 Well be glad about that one. Halo 3 in no way deserved a perfect score, so seeing as how it did not get one from IGN you won't need to hear people whine about it.

Yes I did play the game in its entirety, check my Gamercard.

I agree with you, but I must ask now if you believe MSG4 deserved its 10 and why (don't ask me, I've not played it yet).

If a horror movie buff reviewed, say, The Godfather on the basis of whether it was scary or not, they would probably hate it.

If a student of classic literature reviewed a children's book on the basis of whether it could be read at an adult level, they would probably hate it.

If a hardcore gamer reviewed a game not targeted at them on the basis of whether it was good by their hardcore standards...

...do you see where I'm going with this?

What has brought this about is Matt's "review" of Wii Music on IGN.
It was not so much that he did not like the game that got people. But he posted a video to show the game in about the worst possible light about the same time (prior to if I recall correctly) his review.

Most scores are centered around 6s and 7s for the game, with the 1 Up score of A- being an outlier on the high side. On the low side, there is (Variety's 40% (not listed in the review but on Metacritric) and AP's 37.5% (1.5 stars out of 4). However, the average 64% is higher than the 61% currently held by Disaster Day of Crisis (admittedly based on just two reviews -- it is about 10 points higher on Metacritic).

Mike from Morgantown

Brilliant! A revelation!

So how is it fair for a Hardcore player to be reviewing games not meant for them and dev's know they won't like them. Yet its not ok for a casual to review the hardcore games.

They need to get reviewers in for each type. I don't care if Wii Music gets a 3 or 10, I ain't gonna buy the game. But every game whether it is Resistance 2, or Imagine Pets deserves to get an honest review.

How does giving Imagine Pets a 4 vs. a 9 make you hardcore gamers feel any better. You are not gonna buy or even think of the game at all, even if it got an 11. But for the people out there that like those types of games, and do look at reviews (who knows how many do). Don't they deserve an honest and meaningful review for themselves and not have to look at all these games they like and see 2-5's.

very few 10's given recently by the biggest sites.  At IGN, MGS4 may well deserve it, GTAIV probably didn't.