It's bad that everyone relies on reviews to buy games. Reviews are such checklist affairs that TONS of great, fun games get ignored because it got some 7/10s, so someone buys the stale, safe-bet title instead. I've had more fun with mediocre reviewed games (NiGHTS, Ghost Squad lol, Chromehounds, Sega Superstars tennis) this gen and been disappointed by almost every AAA title (outside of Mass Effect, Valkyria Chronicles, Dead Rising)

At least XBLA allows people to take chances on cool-looking games easier, cos they're so cheap.

That's pretty much how Wii Ware works. Unless you actively look for info online for a particular game, you pretty much go in there blind. I'm scared to buy Wii Ware titles as a result. Those things are pretty "hit or miss".

This seems like a stupid thing to miss. If you want to relive those days then stop subjecting yourself to the information available on the internet and through magazines. Just go to store, look at the boxes and pick out a game. People don't do this anymore because they care more about wasting money than getting pleasantly surprised once in a blue moon. No one here I think misses it enough to go back to doing it.

I'd disagree; there are plenty of reasons to look at videogame information on the web (upcoming release dates, new game announcements, etc.) that subjects you to reviews, impressions, etc.  I don't think it's reasonable to cut out the community and other features the internet offers just to try to avoid reviews.

That being said I *do* agree with the op...I remember playing games and enjoying them because I liked them, NOT because they had "motion blur", or "vertex shaders" or "emotion engines".  Did I pick some stinkers?  Sure, everyone did, but I'd bet there would be a LOT more fans of Haze and Too Human, if they hadn't been inundated with people telling them how bad those games were before they played them.

You're talking about having your cake and eating it too. However you didn't have online communities and websites updating 24/7 back when everyone was doing this. So cut out the net, and maybe just go back to reading magazines and skipping over the review sections.

I do that quite often - and it's netted me quite a few gems

This is exactly it right here.  Whether it's a movie or a game or a book or whatever, if enough people tell you something is terrible, you're not apt to try it at all.

I miss the joy of buying a random game and discovering it to be very good.

However, I do NOT miss buying a game that turned out to be bad. It ruined my day.

Back before I turned 14 and started reading reviews, I always loved going into game stores to look boxarts and reading them. So yeah, I guess me too.

I agree with you it was nice not knowing a game was bad because oftentimes you wouldnt know it was bad and it was actually fun