They aren't decreasing the quality, they are decreasing the number of games released as time passes by, that's what's making the list look so empty. I mean, have you seen their Q1 release schedule, of course there's not gonna be another 90% game in there. IMO they need to start releasing more games, not stop making casual games.

You caught me before the edit. No biggie though: the substance remained unchanged.

I'll agree that critics can do better, but I don't think they'll ever really do well enough to use their opinions with any particular accuracy. What objective standards are there in games (or movies, books, etc.)? I suppose we could have them examine games on their technical merits, but that would lead to awesome but technically flawed games (e.g. Mega Man 9) being seen as crappy, while technically fantastic turds (e.g. Lair) are voted up. In the end, I think tastes just vary too much for us to rely on critics. Look at the movies, for instance. Most 4-star stuff bores me to tears, but the 2-3 star stuff I sometimes find quite entertaining.

Unless you mean a system in which the critics lay out the good and the bad, in text, and let the reader decide the final score? Even there, though, we'll have problems. Critics who don't like a certain genre will be slanted against any such game they have to review, with the reciprocal being equally true. I dunno, I just don't see it happening.

I agree with your ultimate conclusion, though. It fits the current situation to a T.

Yup and metacritics are still taking into account the opinions of maybe up to 40 professionals which only care about things that the buyers of those games do not.

Hell, it might be fairer to let the sales of a game affect its overall score, just like how the phone-in voters in conjunction with the judges' opinions determine a contestant's standing in certain shows like the X Factor.

PLEASE no more of this topics PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD enough of these topics! How many times do we have to explain this? AAAAARRRGH! *foaming in the mouth*

Meh, I feel this is actually the best topic on the subject yet. He made some points which can be discussed.

To be frank I feel that in almost all the previous times which someone has explained it, it has just turned into 10 Wii owners listing the same 15 Wii games.

Well i look at this way.

Lets look at movie Critics.

Movie critics just don't wake up one day and get hired cause someone is like "Hey you like movies!"

They go through extensive training on exactly what a movie should and shouldn't be.

So in that way.  You can at least say they have reliability.

Often times movie critics won't rate a movie based on how they like it or not... but if it did what it was supposed too... and if it didn't, if the changes made sense and worked.  Most people, can see why movies they don't like that are highly reviewed... are highly reviewed... even if they don't like it.

While game critics?  What's the qualifcastions for that?

Liking videogames... and knowing someone who hires people to review videogames.

There is no classical training, or training of any kind.  Hence no guidleines.

They have no reliability... they just go "Hey lets see how much did i like this on a scale from 1 to 10... and throw up some data.

It's like the difference from gathering research from a detailed questionare and gathering research by just saying "How much did you like this."

One is scientific and has training and guidelines.

The other, you might as well drag people off the street to review your games for free.

07 was a really stellar year, so I could care less. Plus brawl and kart were pretty much enough for me, though holiday games would've really been nice.

07 had Metroid Prime 3, Super Paper Mario, Battalion Wars 2, SUPER MARIO GALAXY, and Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn. Now thats what I call an amazing year for one publisher.

Sorry I didnt read the OP post the title alone makes me rage<insert vdoesntforgive avvy here> but atleast its not a flame or troll topic...

is this one of leo-j's alternate accounts? He seems to be hung up on meta critic too.

Games that are not made with the reviewers in mind dont get good reviews. Casual games are not made with the reviewer in mind, because the people who play them dont read reviews... they buy it because there friend says its fun.

LOL you want me to believe you?

Castlevania Judgment deserves around an 8

it got around a 5

and you want me to believe that crap?
because gamerankings/metacritic says so a game IS bad or IS good

no thanks..I'll pass