Do You Still Buy Games With Low Reviews But You Think Youll Like?

And how far low of a score do you still find acceptable?

yes... a lot.

most games I buy get bad reviews because they are not mainstream, and they "suck" because they are not a FPS... I am not a big fan of mainstream, so I commonly ignore scores...

another thing is, if it got a bad review, that does NOT mean its a bad game... it all really boils down to the reviewers opinions, and everyones got a different opinion, so I tend to ignore just about everything in a review, and just read the stuff thats fact, as most is just opinion...

Trey.

yes... a lot.

most games I buy get bad reviews because they are not mainstream, and they "suck" because they are not a FPS... I am not a big fan of mainstream, so I commonly ignore scores...

another thing is, if it got a bad review, that does NOT mean its a bad game... it all really boils down to the reviewers opinions, and everyones got a different opinion, so I tend to ignore just about everything in a review, and just read the stuff thats fact, as most is just opinion...

Trey.

TreyRust

Depends on the game and the price.

For example I bought Tenchu Z which got 4.9 on GS. Wasn't going to get it, but friend convienced me and 2 other guys to get it so we can LAN it during the summer.

yes... a lot.

most games I buy get bad reviews because they are not mainstream, and they "suck" because they are not a FPS... I am not a big fan of mainstream, so I commonly ignore scores...

another thing is, if it got a bad review, that does NOT mean its a bad game... it all really boils down to the reviewers opinions, and everyones got a different opinion, so I tend to ignore just about everything in a review, and just read the stuff thats fact, as most is just opinion...

Trey.

TreyRust

Wow, couldnt have said it better myself. Ya I buy whatever looks good to me. Only thing I use reviews for is to see if a game has any technical problems like glitches and whatnot.

yeah, I think i have one or two thta got bad critic reviews that I really enjoy. Howver, if a game has a lot of bad reviews from critics and users, I'll reconsider.

Depends what you mean low reviews. On this site people have a hissyfit if a game gets a 7 without actually looking into what that number means and forgetting that its a 10 point scale. I play lots of games that get 6s or 7s and enjoy them.

I don't really worry about scores. If a reviewer talks about game design/gameplay stuff thatmatters (poor AI, little enemy variety, sloppy combat, bad camera, etc) then I give weight to what they say, but if reviewers talk about meaningless stuff (talking about loving the butt of the character in PN03 for two pages or spending one's review talking about one's dislike of Kratos) than I disregard what they say.

Also, reviewers sometimes either dislike or don't get certain genres. Most reviewers kicked Carnage Heart (an exceedingly original strategy game where one built and programmed mechs) for not being an action game.

I know their are gamers who talk about metacritic numbers as if they are badges of honor (or shame) and publishers that hand out bonuses based on metacritic scores, but that strikes me as a strange way to run a railroad.

Well, the lowest rated game I've bought this gen is MAG, which is currently at 75%. But tbh, I would've bought it even if it was rated 50%. I played the beta, loved it. Then watched some vids of the gaf clan playing the game on youtube, and was impressed enough to go out and buy it then and there. I did read almost every major review for it, but only because I am interested in knowing what others think about the game.... whether I agree or disagree with them. I view reviews mainly as entertainment or opinion pieces, and sometimes as a lenghty ad for it. That's one reason why i like how Gametrailers does their reviews. They spend a good 7-10 minutes pointing out the features of the game with corresponding video footage.

Story is currently the most important aspect of a game for me, so when I look at reviews I don't look at the overall score right away, but instead the presentation score on IGN and the story score on GameTrailers. If the story is scored somewhere around an 8, I'll most likely be looking forward to it. I don't always agree with reviews though, so I usually go by my own impressions on gameplay videos

Depends on the price and as long as it atleast got above a 6.4

If BioShock 2 got like 50 or 60 at Metacritic I wouldn't buy it even though the first one was one of my favorite games. I'm not that way with movies though because I've liked so many movies that got panned by critics but movies are a lot more personal and also they don't leave me 80-100 dollars poorer (games are expensive in my country). Games usually get low scores because of generally low quality which is a lot less subjective than quality is in movies or bugginess and I have a really hard time overlooking big flaws or a lot of small ones and if all the critics agree it's poor my money's too precious.

Absolutely. The only time I trust the press any more is for advice that is basically incontrovertible, like the game has massive bugs that cause it not to work, or that there's planned day one missing content being sold as DLC -- stuff like that. The opinion of the press at large has become so myopic and so transparently corrupt that I'd rather watch politicians speak. I read forum impressions and rely on demos for my information now, and there have been plenty of games that scored low that I've bought that were dynamite experiences.

But then again, I don't buy games based on reviews anymore, good or bad, so I'm not really in a position to say either way.

Reviews do not deter me from buying any game. Most of KOEI's Warrior games are getting 5s across the board for lack of innovation, and yet, I buy 'em anyway because I love 'em, and have loved 'em since Dynasty Warriors 2. Same goes for many games in the 5 or 6 range. I've even bought games in the 3s or 4s, and TBH, it doesn't really matter to me so long as I enjoy the game. I don't even believe a 5 is bad, and it's not. It's just not compelling, and most Dynasty Warriors games are mindless, not compelling, but I still play 'em. I don't care for reviews - these reviews aren't attuned to my tastes in gaming, and thus, I never listened to them. If I'm disappointed in a game I purchase, it's on me, and it's not because a reviewer gave it a 4 or 5 or 6. It's because it wasn't to my tastes.

I guess I am swayed by reviews when it comes to buying games. If a game is getting below average reviews, I usually don't purchase them. I may rent the game, but its very rare I'll buy a game that is getting below average reviews.

Well what do you consider a bad score? Every game I bought that had a score Diablo-B

I believe a bad score is a 4 or below. I'm of the opinion (relatively minor one) that a five is passable and works, its mechanics are not inherently broken, but it's definitely not cream of the crop. I agree with GamesTM's scoring method, in that a 5 is given to a game that simply performs to an adequate standard, but is not overall a magnificent title. I don't agree with many North American gaming publications and websites' scoring measures. A 7 is average? I believe a 7 to be a good game. A 5 is simply average, IMO.

[QUOTE="Diablo-B"]Well what do you consider a bad score? Every game I bought that had a score Cerberus_Legion

I believe a bad score is a 4 or below. I'm of the opinion (relatively minor one) that a five is passable and works, its mechanics are not inherently broken, but it's definitely not cream of the crop. I agree with GamesTM's scoring method, in that a 5 is given to a game that simply performs to an adequate standard, but is not overall a magnificent title. I don't agree with many North American gaming publications and websites' scoring measures. A 7 is average? I believe a 7 to be a good game. A 5 is simply average, IMO.

I consider a 6, 60% or a C to be an average game.

[QUOTE="Cerberus_Legion"]

[QUOTE="Diablo-B"]Well what do you consider a bad score? Every game I bought that had a score TheRaiderNation

I believe a bad score is a 4 or below. I'm of the opinion (relatively minor one) that a five is passable and works, its mechanics are not inherently broken, but it's definitely not cream of the crop. I agree with GamesTM's scoring method, in that a 5 is given to a game that simply performs to an adequate standard, but is not overall a magnificent title. I don't agree with many North American gaming publications and websites' scoring measures. A 7 is average? I believe a 7 to be a good game. A 5 is simply average, IMO.

I consider a 6, 60% or a C to be an average game.

Well, everyone is different. :) I don't, though. For me, a 5 is average and performs what it does adequately.

I prefer reviews that don't attach some number to the end. For example, Joystiq.

So on topic, yes. If it looks good to me, I'll buy it.

Review scores don't matter to me, it's the things they talk about in the review that I'm interested in. Sometimes if a game interests me I'll look at a few sites to see what the general consensus of the game is and check out what kinds of problems it may have. If the game's been counted down for problems that don't bother me (graphics, story, etc) then I'll head to the forums and see what other people think about it. After taking into account the pros and cons of the game I check to see how cheap I can find it and usually pick up a copy. There's been a lot of games I've played that haven't had good reviews but I thoroughly enjoyed (Dynasty Warriors, WET) and of course I'v played my fair share of games that have had great reviews that I found to be broken or way overrated (MW2 anyone?)

I like to rent a few games that don't do too well review wise.Yagr_Zero

Yeah I still buy them. If a game looks good to me I don't really care what score it has, I still will probably end up liking it. A lot of games I love have some really bad scores. I do the same with movies too. I don't care if critics gave it a bad score, has nothing to do with my personal opinion of it.

I try to look at the content of the review, rather than the score. If one reviewer after another slams a game's story, polish, combat, etc., then chances are they're right. The main two things I look for in a game are story and polish. I can forgive lackluster combat if those two aspects are good enough to keep me coming back for more playtime.

buying dante's inferno. This score thing is just so outrageous. If you watch gamespot's past reviews, you noticed that absolutely the most horrible games would get a 5.5-6.0 score, and this game scored at 6.5 is just crazy.

Yep. I'm playing WKC right now and really like it. One of my favorite games this generation is Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. I also love the Harvest Moon games as well.

usually a 7.5 is a good game. if I'm at all on the fence with a game, I'll rent it first... think the lowest scoring game I bought this gen was Mercs 2, and loved every second of it. I'm sure AvP won't score well, but I've got that pre-ordered already.