Honestly why do you? So you can choose where to spend your money? To look at a # and decide whether that # is good enough? Or do you never even read reviews but look at # on Metacritic and Gamerankings and let that # decides whats good for you and ammo on forums?

Craig Harris from IGN had a good point when he said some people read reviews to basically back up their opinions and how they feel about X game. I'll admit this is why I read reviews.

A review has NEVER sold me on ANY game. I make my decision on gameplay video and text about said gameplay. If I think a game looks good from its gameplay or has something fun to offer then I'll get it. I'll read a review to see if anyone else would agree with my opinion.

Ive like plenty of games that the critics have hated. The latest being Onechanbara Bikinie Zombie Slayers and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. I could care less if the entire industry thought these games were pieces of shit I would get them regardless.

A little point I wanna prove is that if a game like Final Fantasy XIII, God of War III, Killzone 2, and Zelda Twilight Princess got shit reviews you would insult the reviewer and buy the game regardless. You would also very likely enjoy the game.

So why would you call a game like Wii Music shit or Legendary (Its an FPS) terrible games because everyone in the media hates it?
But if they were to shit on a game your looking forward like the ones I mentioned above you would insult them and not beleive them and still call your shitty reviewd FF,GoW,KZ, or LoZ "OMG AMAZING"

I only use them for a game that I'm not sure about and that has happened...3 times ever...

I read them because they pack important information about the game and because I can't be bothered to keep track of every game coming out for all of my platforms. Reviews have led me to play games, especially on my DS, that I didn't even know existed. I don't necessarily agree with all of them, but I find them invaluable.

because I don't want to waste my time/money on lousy games.

I know reviews aren't perfect because they're peoples opinions. And everyones preferences are different, but its nice to see what other people think of it.

i read them, I tend to ignore the score.

Because the reviewer has played the whole game, and if he's good, learned to be objective when reviewing.

A game like God of War III, I would buy if it got bad reviews, because I know it's good. I've played the other three games, and loved all of them. Although no God of War has below 90 on Metacritic...

A game like Wanted: Weapons of Fate is different. I enjoyed the demo, but I know that a demo is not an accurate representation of the quality of a game. If it gets at least 8.5 from IGN, I might buy it, otherwise, I'll spend my money elsewhere, like on Valkyria Chronicles or Fallout 3.

usually to check the replayability of games and other stuff such as, if there's multiplayer, what modes are available (if I can't find elsewhere). I'd say this is how I use them for games.

but I read a lot of reviews, even if I don't have the console, only to see what "critics" are thinking about new games, especially if the game confirmed expectations or not.

I also read DS reviews from IGN so I can complain about them, because usually the reviews suck.

How do you know the reviewer is any good?

How do you know the game is good if its not finished or you have not played it? You are already sold on a game thats not finished and you have never played and if it were trashed by reviewers you would still get it.

Yet a game you have played "Wanted" which you said to have enjoyed gets trashed by reviewers you will not get it?

I read only the final scores, review score averages and the summary. Metacritic is my game review site of choice. Why should I waste 5 or 10 minutes of my time reading pages of some bozos opinion on a game and possibly spoiling the game?

The final score and summary are the most important things in a review. Final scores of 75% and above are the only games I would even consider looking at. The games scoring less are not worth my time.

I use them quite often to see the particular features of each game. For example, to see if a particular DS game has local single card multiplayer. I used to pay attention to the score previously, but this generation has left a sour taste in my mouth in that respect. I usually read the content of reviews, to obtain more information, but I take it with a grain of salt nowadays, after a few unprofessional reviews I've read.