A good or bad review?

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by SimianSquared, May 27, 2013.

  1. SimianSquared

    SimianSquared Well-Known Member

    Dec 14, 2011
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    Perhaps stars need to have a point. Learning from old classic magazines such as Zzap would probably teach most reviewers how to actually review. Having a star per category makes sense to me: a star for graphics+sound. A star for originality. A star for how long it lasts you. A star for sheer fun and a star, finally for value for money/reviewer impression. While it isn't important how the stars are layed out, it is important to have some form of consistency and sanity.

    Perhaps all reviewers should actually pay for the games they review out of their own pockets. This would certainly screw some publishers who are used to high scores for their iAP laden nonsense. Failing that, have the decency to bear it in mind for the public. I see some reviewers being this considerate, but others not.

    I grew up in the 8 bit era where reviews in magazines were not only vital but had a sense of responsibility. Demos were hard to come by, and there wasn't any kind of internet as you know today. Back then, it was important for reviewers to EXPLAIN WHY they marked a game as so and so, and even had second opinion box-outs from other staff members who didn't necessarily agree with the primary reviewer. This was much more fair and interesting for the reader and developer alike.

    The responsibility for a good game in today's day and age no longer rests with the developer. It is a shared responsibility of the player, the reviewer and the developer.

    The biggest issue I have is by far how influenced developers are by reviewers. As readers, you have the responsibility to judge the reviewers as the reviewers are judging the developers and can make or break sales, which directly impact the design of the next game you play. It is up to YOU, the readers to make your point clear that your spokesperson has a responsibility not only to you, but to the developers of the games you play.
     
  2. psj3809

    psj3809 Moderator

    Jan 13, 2011
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    I still like reading reviews to find out more about a game but i must admit nowadays i tend to watch a fair few youtube videos about a game or obviously like TA read posts from long time users.

    Obviously if a poster with their first post praises a game then i'm suspicious (and thankfully now have the power to see if its a true shill). But i dont take the reviews that seriously now on websites, i always find Pocket Gamer/Slide to Play very strict with their reviews (Specially after one of my favourite platformers Manos received some terrible reviews which were poorly written). After the Manos disaster i dont take their reviews seriously at all now.

    In the old days of Zzap (Or Crash!) i was a kid on low pocket money, games were often $12 or more for a game (not talking budget 1.99'ers) so those reviews i treated as gospel.

    Now on the app store when i earn more (and kids get more pocket money) and games are a dollar or two i'm not so worried if i buy a 'dud'.

    Same for app store reviews, its a shame as the intention is great but there seems to be SO many fake reviews on the app store i dont even bother now to look.

    Reviews were vital in the 8 bit days but with 1 dollar games nowadays i wouldnt worry so much if you did get some poor reviews, i use forum opinions much more now than site reviews.
     
  3. This is a response to the Poker Night 2 review, isn't it? That review was GOD AWFUL. I'll be honest, I have no idea to play poker, and I shouldn't know. But I can tell when a review is good or bad. Knowing Telltale, this game shouldn't have gotten 2.5. The review was just plain poorly put together. I also notice the reviewer was no one I recognized, so I think it should have a do-over with one of the veteran editors.

    Anyway, what you say is true, but most people have enough common sense to know not to use reviews from magazines and websites as their be-all end-all decision to check a game out. They read a review as a basic guideline to figure out it's pros and cons, they may check out some gameplay videos on YouTube, or even play the game themselves via a demo. But about the 8-bit era, I don't really know what to say about that, I wasn't even alive then.
     
  4. pat3ck

    pat3ck Active Member

    I have to agree with you. A star rating just for the overall rating seems not enough. Graphics, controls, presentation, gameplay, replay value should be given consideration as well. Reviewers could then just average the score to arrive at an overall rating or something.
     
  5. iPadisGreat

    iPadisGreat Well-Known Member

    Dec 10, 2012
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    #5 iPadisGreat, May 30, 2013
    Last edited: May 30, 2013
    The best gameplay reviews are the touchgameplay gameplay videos. I can tell whether I would enjoy the game after watching Sanuku play it for half an hour...

    If we are discussing the past, does anyone remember the old Computer Gaming World reviews? Those were awesome. I read the one about Indycar Racing, and there was so much detail and research done in that one review.
     
  6. Kamil_GoodnightGames

    Kamil_GoodnightGames Well-Known Member

    May 6, 2013
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    I definitely like the star system where it is given as a point for every category that is deemed good. Alot of review I see today have an inconsistent tone to their written review and the corresponding numerical rating (stars, 10 point scale, etc.) Alot of times I am misled by the written review expecting a really low rating but ends up with a 9. On the other hand, the opposite happens. As such I always take the written review to be more important as it sheds specific details that no scale can really show. But obviously we can't remain ignorant to the fact that many people out their simply glance at reviews and immediately look for the overall rating instead of reading.
     
  7. MidianGTX

    MidianGTX Well-Known Member

    Jun 16, 2009
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    Privacy-concerned folk would hate it, but I'd like to see the ages of iTunes reviewers. If everyone giving the next F2P game five stars is 11 years old, I'll know their opinion probably won't match mine very closely.
     
  8. Well, here's my thoughts on that:

    I almost never care for iTunes reviews, and I don't think many other people do.

    Getting ages would be going too far, and I don't really think it's necessary.
     
  9. Kamil_GoodnightGames

    Kamil_GoodnightGames Well-Known Member

    May 6, 2013
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    Thats actually an interesting idea. Although you can't base your judgement of a review entirely on age considering there are some insightful young individuals out there, but it helps. But then again, people could put any random age in so you might have to take those with a grain of salt.
     

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