Game Reviews : Should they be opinionated or not?

StarJet | June 01, 2008 | Blog | Misc

Sometimes, game reviews become a hot topic of discussion among gamers in forums and such discussion boards. Most people talk about game reviewers being biased. Does that indicate the fact that they have forgotten that reviewers are also humans?

If one were to browse the forums or comments areas of any game-related news site these days, it becomes quite easy to lose count of the comments saying, “Game X should have gotten better than a 9.6 because two weeks ago Game Y received a 10.0 and no way in hell is it better than this.”

The subject has many people questioning the state of the game media industry. Some are asking if there are publications or sites out there doling out the best scores to the highest bidder. Or is it simpler than that, could it just be that journalists or not, most reviewers are just as human as the average gamer?

Everyone has their own preferences, from first-person shooter to the racing genre, from Xbox 360 to the PlayStation 3, and so on; however, it seems like these days, publicly displaying any minute semblance of one’s personal preference is grounds for being instantly barraged and publicly humiliated online, resulting in being labeled a “fanboy.” If that person happens to be a journalist reviewing a game, they are chastised to no end and threatened with boycott. Are we as gamers taking this a bit too far at times? If we looked inward, would we not find that we all have our own likes and dislikes that, no matter how hard we try, are impossible to completely hide?

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68	New Game Reviews for Sony PS3 (2) September 2, 2008

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0 thumbs!
JayCat | June 01, 2008

d'oh steal my thunder! I was going to write something like this. when reading reviews the trick is to read them, not just look at the number. I (as a reviewer) may find certain things more or less important than either a) other reviewers or b) the buying public. But these sorts of things should be int he review. When I review a game, I look at it differently than a fan; I have to try to be as objective as possible.

Again: thanks for "stealing my idea" (j/k: great article)
1 thumbs!
Gothic Girl | June 01, 2008

I pretty much agree with JayCat. I enjoy reading the reviews, and tend to ignore the number at the end.

Too many people take weight in the number. A recent example of this is IGN's 9.9/10 review for MGS4. Alot of people said that IGN were being biased and just didn't want to give it a 10/10. But the actual review itself was decent. after reading the review, I found alot of sense in them marking it down (and, tbh, I'm surprised it got as high as 9.9 from them).
The same goes for the Eurogamer review - The reviewer obviously didn't like the MGS series, but ended up giving it a pretty high score (8/10) despite the flaws he found in the game as a non-fan of the series and genre.

I think an element of personal opinion must be put in reviews. I like reading reviews from both fans and non-fans. It gives a more general perspective on how good/bad a game is in the opinion of general gamers, rather than only fans.

I thought this comment in the source was a good one too:

quote
The reason why anyone reads a review is because they want the authors opinion. I think the real problem is some people have an expectation about a game, and when the reviewer says something they don’t like, they immediately are accused of showing bias.
qft.
- 1 thumbs!
  StarJet | June 02, 2008
  
  quote
  The reason why anyone reads a review is because they want the authors opinion.
  I think not. Many people go into reviews just to look at the score. (I know a lot of people who do just that.) When they see a game they like given a low score, they get all pissed and talk about the reviewer being biased.
2 thumbs!
Donnelly | June 01, 2008

WHat'sthe point in reading someones opinion ( a review) if you don't want it to tb opinionated.
- -1 thumbs!
  Final Blade | June 02, 2008
  
  _{I agree with this comment. If its someone's opinion about the game, if lets say they don't like that particular genre or game, than you pretty much know what they feel of the game.
  
  If im going to read a review of a game, it must be someone who has played the genre or past games, who is unbiased and notes everything other fans might want to know. Reviews nowadays hasn't been that.
  
  I agree with the Primagen. Sites like IGN and Gamespot should be unbiased and professional, while blogs and stuff should be a little biased and add opinions in their reviews.}
1 thumbs!
Gamesta100 | June 01, 2008

Jay hit the nail on the head.People should take notice of what's said, not really what score a game gets.

When I read reviews I read them to see if there's something in the game that I don't like.

Say I'm reading a review on a racing game, I like to know if the game is realistic or arcade style because I don't like realistic racing games.I'm not a big racing game fan but I do enjoy some of the arcade style racers because I can do good in them.

It's not particularly the score a game gets, it's the review itself that REALLY matters.
1 thumbs!
The Primagen | June 02, 2008

I think that big publication reviews such as ign should be unbiased, but its ok for like, blogs and stuff to give personal opinions.