250 réponses à ce sujet

[CybAnt1]

As we noted some time ago, those scores do not appear to be quite objective:

http://www.brainygam...metacritic.html

While reviews can help one discover strengths & weaknesses, subjective grading from users and non-users are not helpful to me. Still passing on metacritic.

OK. Definite limitations. Ones I were not aware of, so I thank you for that. That they basically give numeric scores to reviews based on pulling them from their ass, rather than asking the reviewer themselves to score from 1 to 100 (if they didn't already) ... bogus. 

That said, I should have also noted it's only a place where I start, not where I end. 

If something has a high or low Metacritic score, I then proceed from there to see who likes it or who doesn't, and then I examine why. If they hate it for some of the reasons I would hate it, that starts to sway my opinion. If they hate it for the reasons I wouldn't ("not enough finishing moves 1111!!!!!") I ignore their views.  The good news is I'm already then apparently following some of his advice. 

At the end of the day, the only person who likes 100% of what you like is you. Ideally, the best way to know about a game is:

a) play the free demo, but hey, demos are far and few between these days. 
and
play the game and return it if you don't like it (*)

I guess you can also
c) watch real game-play videos from players once the title is out (not "proof of concept" etc. alpha/beta videos from before its actual release). Hope their play-videos show you what it is you want to know. 

Or
d) ask the people that make up the BSN (or other forums, etc.) "What did you like, what did you hate!" (And utilize same personal weighting system.) 

(*) Of course, the no-return policies of box-store-software places, and the no-refund policies of digital-download-places, make this increasingly difficult to do. 

[kheldorin]

hah. People actually use metacritic user scores to determine whether the game is good? That's as unreliable as online polls. It can be rigged as hell. Don't own the game but still hate EA? Post a review anyway. Didn't the ME3 user score drop to 2.0 at one point because outrage of the ending?

If you've been playing games for a long time, you should already have a couple of reviewers whose taste align with yours. I've never understood just reading general reviews. It's like asking a librarian to recommend you a book without knowing what your taste is. What about music? Do people actually listen to general reviews about albums before buying them. Are you really going to rely on user aggregated scores which caters to the lowest common denominator to determine whether you'll like an album. Mindless sheep....baaa..baaaa

[Martyr1777]

Mdoggy1214 wrote...

I recently replayed Dragon Age 2 and gave it another chance. I wanted to be completely fair and judge it on it's own merits. The truth of the matter is as a sequel to DA:O it's pretty damn lousy, but if you look at it as it's own separate thing, it's just average at best. The writing wasn't that good, combat was dull despite it's Hollywood approach, the characters weren't that interesting, and the music was a huge step down to the beautiful and atmosphere soundtrack we had in DA:O.

When I first completed DA2 I was absolutely shocked that it was getting such good reviews across the board. There was no doubt in my mind that there was more than one review site being a little dishonest with their readers. I mean I know some people still found enjoyment out of DA2, but out of all those people i've probably seen 2-3 of them actually say they liked it better than DA:O.

Wwll yeah, lets be real when was the last time a AAA game got anything less then an 8/10 from a lamestream site. They aren't all that good, hell there are alot of little indie games that can be more intersting then stuff from a big publisher but those bigger games get still get pretty high scores.

I was honestly surprised when the new X game got as many terribles score. But even though anyone with half brain knows it was **** there were still some good scores for it, go figure.

[CybAnt1]

I'd just like to reiterate that when it came to DA2 and that I noticed that the user scores were lower than DA:O, THEN I started investigating WHAT people were disliking.

At the end of the day, I gave in, bought it, played it, and all I could say is "Yep. Now I know exactly what they were complaining about. That DOES suck." Now, to be clear, I didn't HATE it like I do **** on a shingle, at the end of the day it's still the kind of game I like, but I'm constantly saying ... why is it like this? It doesn't feel right.

... that said, I can see from these very forums that many of the things I hated, others loved, so yep, this is why I don't ONLY use Metacritic, just find it the best first way to get a sense of things.

[Elhanan]

Martyr1777 wrote...

Realistically the score are more a guide to determine if you should spend the time investigating more. I mena if its a game that sound mildly interesting and it gets good scores then I read some of the middle reviews to see those strengths and weaknesses. If its got a bad average I dont waste any more of my time.

Not quite my perspective. As the stats are seemingly skewed, biased, and flawed, actual reviews informing of strong points and weaknesses in a game are more important to me; simply do not use Metacritic to get them.

[Elhanan]

Mdoggy1214 wrote...

I recently replayed Dragon Age 2 and gave it another chance. I wanted to be completely fair and judge it on it's own merits. The truth of the matter is as a sequel to DA:O it's pretty damn lousy, but if you look at it as it's own separate thing, it's just average at best. The writing wasn't that good, combat was dull despite it's Hollywood approach, the characters weren't that interesting, and the music was a huge step down to the beautiful and atmosphere soundtrack we had in DA:O.

When I first completed DA2 I was absolutely shocked that it was getting such good reviews across the board. There was no doubt in my mind that there was more than one review site being a little dishonest with their readers. I mean I know some people still found enjoyment out of DA2, but out of all those people i've probably seen 2-3 of them actually say they liked it better than DA:O.

And I have replayed it several times, and still find it to be far more entertaining than this. While I did enjoy DAO more overall, there are plenty of DA2 implementations I prefer over the prequel. And from what little I have seen of DAI, it appears that many of the drawbacks I did have were addressed.

[Sanunes]

kheldorin wrote...

hah. People actually use metacritic user scores to determine whether the game is good? That's as unreliable as online polls. It can be rigged as hell. Don't own the game but still hate EA? Post a review anyway. Didn't the ME3 user score drop to 2.0 at one point because outrage of the ending?

If you've been playing games for a long time, you should already have a couple of reviewers whose taste align with yours. I've never understood just reading general reviews. It's like asking a librarian to recommend you a book without knowing what your taste is. What about music? Do people actually listen to general reviews about albums before buying them. Are you really going to rely on user aggregated scores which caters to the lowest common denominator to determine whether you'll like an album. Mindless sheep....baaa..baaaa

Yeah, they had to look at the reviews for Mass Effect 3 and remove a bunch of the votes for they believe those accounts violated their rules. 

Link

[Bayonet Hipshot]

Journalism is not what it used to be. So is advertising. This applies to real life as a whole, not just games.

It is the responsibility of people who are living in today's world to be able to do their own research, separate bull**** from facts and make up their mind.

Just because we are crying foul does not mean this will stop. At the end of your day, its your money and your resources. Use them wisely.

[Deadmac]

Elhanan wrote...
And I have replayed it several times, and still find it to be far more entertaining than this. While I did enjoy DAO more overall, there are plenty of DA2 implementations I prefer over the prequel. And from what little I have seen of DAI, it appears that many of the drawbacks I did have were addressed.

Do you know the irony? 98% of my past posts about "Dragon Age II" have been negative. As the game slowly matures over time, I have found myself enjoying the first two acts. Once I bought all the dlc, the game started to feel a little more entertaining.

I bought "Dragon Age II" for $19.99.
I just bought all the remaining dlc for $20.

Over the past two years, I have been playing "Star Trek: Online". Perhaps it was my experience with "Star Trek: Online"? I do not know. What I do know is that certain aspects of "Dragon Age II" are slowly winning me over.

As we are getting closer and closer to a release date, my perspective of "Dragon Age: inquisition" is slowly turning. I might go into this game blindly; therefore, the expectations I have are almost nonexistent.

I want "Dragon Age: inquisition" to surprise me.

Modifié par Deadmac, 23 janvier 2014 - 04:18 .

[DPSSOC]

kheldorin wrote...

hah. People actually use metacritic user scores to determine whether the game is good? That's as unreliable as online polls. It can be rigged as hell. Don't own the game but still hate EA? Post a review anyway. Didn't the ME3 user score drop to 2.0 at one point because outrage of the ending?

If you've been playing games for a long time, you should already have a couple of reviewers whose taste align with yours. I've never understood just reading general reviews. It's like asking a librarian to recommend you a book without knowing what your taste is. What about music? Do people actually listen to general reviews about albums before buying them. Are you really going to rely on user aggregated scores which caters to the lowest common denominator to determine whether you'll like an album. Mindless sheep....baaa..baaaa

Probably not but there's this thing called radio.  You can listen to music, largely for free, and if a band puts out a song or songs you like you can buy the album.  We don't get that with video games.

That's why I don't get the "just buy it and decide for yourself" comments I'm seeing.  The whole reason people wait for reviews, and hope for honesty in them, is to decide whether or not they should spend their money on the game.  Keep in mind games are $60-80 and that's pretty steep for a hobby, especially if you end up not liking it.  Commercials are useless because 9/10 game ads contain nothing from the actual game, and rentals (where I live anywhere) are all out of business.

[Hazegurl]

Angry Joe is probably the only reviewer I trust because he actually shows you what the issues are through footage which is very helpful. Overall, I just buy what I think I'll like and if it was a mistake I trade it in for something better.

[CybAnt1]

Keep in mind games are $60-80 and that's pretty steep for a hobby, especially if you end up not liking it.  

There was a day where you could return most boxed software. Those days are over. Seal is broken, no return. Only if you can prove the medium is defective.

These days more and more are getting digital download. Now there's nothing physical. But boy oh boy, it's not easy to get a refund. Not unless they can send the NSA to your home to make sure it's deleted from your computer AND you didn't give a digital copy to a friend. 

"Try it, return it if you don't like it .... " but, of course, in almost every case you can't. I hear you. 

[spirosz]

The actual issue was related to Machinima, which had been addressed - but I still take their wording with a grain of salt. Plus, I've never trusted "professional" reviewers, I stick to word of mouth and friends opinions, since they have the same gaming taste as me. User reviews can be just as bad, but depending on the review, it's more than likely to be genuine, usually by the way it's expressed in the writing and if it's not just "****ty game, don't buy".

[spirosz]

Hazegurl wrote...

Angry Joe is probably the only reviewer I trust because he actually shows you what the issues are through footage which is very helpful. Overall, I just buy what I think I'll like and if it was a mistake I trade it in for something better.

I love Angry Joe as well, but I still avoid purchases based off those type of reviews anyway because when it comes down to it, it's all about your own personal taste.  Plus, with the specific game being a sequel and having the same developer - I'm basing my judgement on the previous two games and with that in mind, even though the game looks solid, I'll wait.  

[dreamgazer]

There are trustworthy reviewers out there.  You just have to find the right ones.

Lumping them all in the same "bought" category is enormously unfair.

Modifié par dreamgazer, 23 janvier 2014 - 04:49 .

[Sanunes]

CybAnt1 wrote...

Keep in mind games are $60-80 and that's pretty steep for a hobby, especially if you end up not liking it.  

There was a day where you could return most boxed software. Those days are over. Seal is broken, no return. Only if you can prove the medium is defective.

These days more and more are getting digital download. Now there's nothing physical. But boy oh boy, it's not easy to get a refund. Not unless they can send the NSA to your home to make sure it's deleted from your computer AND you didn't give a digital copy to a friend. 

"Try it, return it if you don't like it .... " but, of course, in almost every case you can't. I hear you. 

That is one thing I like about Origin if you buy an EA game (hopefully more publishers in the future) you have one week after purchase or 24 hours after you first start the game to return it for a full refund and there are hoops to jump through, but its not as bad as I thought it would be.

I get that some people games are expensive, but I went to the movies the other night with a friend and his family and their tickets alone were $60 for a 90min movie at least with a video game you can get many hours of enjoyment out of the one purchase, even though I am not a big fan of the ending for Mass Effect 3, I figure I have around 200 hours played between my three characters and the time I spent with friend in multiplayer.

Edit: Fixed quote issue.

Modifié par Sanunes, 23 janvier 2014 - 04:48 .

[Rusty Sandusky]

 You actually trusted reviewers?

[Br3admax]

Oh, people didn't like how DA ][ turned out? I hadn't heard. Well at least everyone loves the ME3 endings. Never heard anything bad about those.

[A Crusty Knight Of Colour]

Hmm...

[Seboist]

Professional gaming reviewers are totally legit.

[Inquisitor Recon]

8/10 topic, deep and insightful, endless replay potential, average sound, great when viewed using Mountain Dew Gamer Fuel.

[dreamgazer]

Seboist wrote...

Professional gaming reviewers are totally legit.

Have you played Imagine: Party Babyz to verify the veracity of this image, Seb?

[addiction21]

The Sin wrote...

Journalism is not what it used to be. So is advertising. This applies to real life as a whole, not just games.

No none of that has changed other then capitalizing on new technology. Its really all the same and the buck stops in my pocket.

[AlanC9]

DPSSOC wrote...


That's why I don't get the "just buy it and decide for yourself" comments I'm seeing.  The whole reason people wait for reviews, and hope for honesty in them, is to decide whether or not they should spend their money on the game.  Keep in mind games are $60-80 and that's pretty steep for a hobby, especially if you end up not liking it.  Commercials are useless because 9/10 game ads contain nothing from the actual game, and rentals (where I live anywhere) are all out of business.

Right. So watch a gameplay vid, if there isn't a demo. It should tell you what you need to know, to a first approximation.

[Paul E Dangerously]

Game "Journalism" in general is a joke. And no, I'm not just talking the "hurr hurr companies buy off reviewers to give them good marks" cases. It goes for both sides.