The "REVIEWS DON'T MATTER" narrative EXPLAINED.

Clear cut, to the point and historically accurate.

Hard for most to deny and harder yet for others to swallow

Honestly, tgob... You need to shut your gob. You're running on fumes with this board already.

I thought everyone knew that the game industry journalism is corrupt and basically just a marketing wheel

Play games once in a while dude.

Reviews do not matter to me at the end of the day, regardless of system or type of game. I pre-ordered Detroit a while ago, and I have never even played a David Cage game before, and I could not give a shit what scores it was going to receive.

Reviews have their value and I read them, they are a useful tool and I love it when a favorite game of mine gets critically acclaimed as it will help the game sell, but most of the time I make the decision to buy a game long before any reviews are published. Some of my favorite games in the past do not have high Metacritic scores, I feel sorry for you TC if you use the MC number to justify your decisions, you seem quite obsessed with this.

People, including myself, could sometimes have a knee-jerk reaction of saying reviews do not matter when a highly-anticipated game comes out to mixed reviews, it's just a way to say "I'm still excited for the game regardless". So many critically acclaimed games I have played in the past that did not meet my expectations, it certainly helps, but is absolutely no guarantee I will enjoy the product.

I certainly think scores matter, which is why I appreciate PC having a significant lead in 9+8 games at GS and MC over any other system this gen.

But be weary of aggregates, and using that data to the exact decimal point. For example, I'm not going to be a troglodyte and think multiplatform titles are better on PS4/XB just because several of them have lower scores on the PC version (due to dedicates sources bumping up average).

Basically use them, but understand the logic behind the aggregates.

Reviews has always been about opinions, this isn't rocket science, they don't force you to buy/not to buy a game, they give out what you need to know before you buy.

Having said that, if I see a game that I like, I'm gonna buy it, reviewer can say whatever, but at the end of the day, I make the damn choice.

Yeah that's one thing I have an issue with, when a reviewer rates console versions to PC versions and saying this console version is best played over PC, then something is very wrong here. It's even bad when a reviewer never bothers to review the PC version of the game, that's the problem.

I promise to watch the video 2100.

Honestly lundy86_4 you need to check your emotions at the door and keep your triggered emotions to yourself.

You're on a video game forum called "system wars"!

If you can't deal with someone posting a video with out lasing out and attacking people personally then you don't need to be posting on this board. Talk about running on fumes, get a life dude.

Get your emotions in check and stop lashing out at people like they attacked your family or find another broad to post on where you don't fly into a rage because the material someone posts isn't flattering to for favorite plastic toy.

@tgob89: lol, clearly you haven't been here long. Most regulars don't feel the need to post paragraphs. The new guys do.

The irony is that your response is more emotional than his.

Well if this isn't the pot calling the kettle black then I don't know what is...lmfao. Emotions in check? You were the one that started lashing out at @drlostrib and I over in that God of War Hype Thread and then after your meltdown you went head and messaged him personally...lmfao. Once again, you're the saddest clown on this forum since Dakur.

Review scores matter, but your enjoyment of the game doesn't hinge on it.

tldw ;

While reviews matter to me they are not the end all be all, they are just another resource for me to use to decide if a game is worth playing. I have enjoyed games that have scored low and been dissatisfied with games that have scored highly.

Do you also dream about me at night and fantasize about how you'll use your pent up aggression and feeling of hatred towards a user on a video game forum to dish out your righteous justice?

lol tell me more.

consider the replay I gave to the other poster 2x for yourself.

You're showing the characteristics of a maniac who holds personal grudges on users on a video board. That's a sign you aren't mature enough to post on a public forum called system wars.

This board is for shits n giggles but a fair lot of you guys take it seriously and want to get personal with other users because your feelings get hurt. Grow up and take it on the chin or find another board to post on where you aren't so emotionally triggered that you lash out at users like a child.

In the grand scheme of it they only help when you want the bare bones facts about the game as in length, performance and what the gameplay is. Now if you want to listen to the persons opinion on said game itself thats another story.

I like reading well-written reviews, but it's always a bit of a crapshoot whether the reviewer's tastes and opinions are going to tally with mine, and personally, that's what I'd want from a review score. And taking a whole bunch of disembodied scores from approved review sites, averaging them up, and mixing in a pinch of weighting factor doesn't make that new number any more useful to me, or probably to anyone in particular. The saying goes something like Mr. Average is nobody, but thanks in part to the selling power of meta-scoring sites, that's exactly who future investment gets targeted at.

What I find more instructive is watching actual gameplay, from a known quantity, with some candid, off-the-cuff criticism while the game's being played... like a lot of what Giant Bomb does beside their reviews: same people (so I've got context), lengthy discussion of the mechanics and straight gameplay footage. That's more than enough to give me an idea of whether I'm likely to enjoy the game. Later I can read some reviews to see if there's anything I should watch out for.

Sorry, that's probably got nothing at all to do with your video, but unfortunately I did not watch it. :(

@Alucard_Prime: Reviews do not matter to me at the end of the day, regardless of system or type of game. I pre-ordered Detroit a while ago, and I have never even played a David Cage game before, and I could not give a shit what scores it was going to receive

And I say good for you. They don't matter much to me either. Was I always this way? No, of course not. Was I always a Rangers fan that could root for Ovechkin finally exorcising his demons and beating Pitt and getting to the finals this year? Hell no.

Recently I saw a couple of cows post "a 68 game is good now". LOL but I didn't rate it a 68. Why should I care if it gets a 68 if I am having fun? Remember having fun? Remember when you decided that for yourself?

See, some people actually grow. We evolve and make an effort to do so. I don't want to be the same guy I was 11 years ago when I made my account. As Ive grown I have seen through experience that I missed enjoyable games just because I didn't like the score they received when they were released. Fvck that. I'll experience my own life, and if it turns out a game I picked isn't enjoyable at least it was me that made this decision based on my experience.

My favorite music isn't whats popularly reviewed these days; my favorite movies aren't the big blockbusters. But I still go by what I want to buy not what rates high. I do the same with games.

I do think that reviews have an influence on the purchasing habits of some gamers, and has more of an impact in this medium than it does other artistic mediums especially music given how widely available music is.

Personally, I don't really follow them closely. I don't find them very useful.

LMAO!

I just use scored as a guide to filter out the bad from the good, so anything with an average less than 7 I'll ignore and anything with a better average I'll play if the genre is to my interest. There's so much corruption and bias in all forms of media these days that taking scores as gospel is just a illogical thing to do.

Name a game that didnt have either technical issues or lack options of enjoyment compared to what else is out as of the said game's release. (Edit- that scored lower than 7)

Reviews matter. Bring up self preference all you want but the general fact remains.

Destiny is one of most fun games ever becuase my style of play isnt hindered by the games many mishaps.

That being said i have enough common sense to see why a 6.4 to a 8.0 would be approximate for its score.

Metacric is balanced. Its has underaters , overaters and the well respected inbetweeners.

It seems to me, that outside of SW ***k measurement, these are "helpful" to orient one's choice.

You can still be bored to death with a 90ish game and enjoy like the 50ish ones. Largely depends on one's taste.

I used to try everything that falls into the genres I like, less now due to the lack of time.

Unless I find some neat prices, so even if the game ends up being horseshit...It doesn't bother me as much as if i'd have paid a full price for it.

I can't imagine letting someone's opinion take up this much space in my head.... C'mon.

@finalfantasy94: thats why i use them. I can't be bothered to spend time and money on a game the majority of people disliked it, it makes no sense.

According to lems reviews don't matter, sales don't matter, exclusives don't matter and SP games don't matter... All that matters to them is paying 60 bucks for an incomplete MP experience that rightfully averaged at less than 70 on MC.

In b4 triggered Xtho....DAMMIT!

@lundy86_4: sometimes I think the overly aggressive new guys who don't quite get the forum are old system warriors from a decade ago just coming in to stir the pot.

Quick question. What is this “Xthot” thing that I’ve been seeing posted lately?

@Archangel3371: a way to refer to Lems, I guess

Thot is a slang that means "that hoe over there" with the X being added to relate it to Xbox fans. It basically means basic bitch.

@recloud: Yeah I kind of figured that much but I’m curious as to what it is supposed to mean. For instance Xbots supposedly means that Xbox fans follow Microsoft in a robotic manner or whatever.

I pretty much ignore reviews, the most praised/high scored games are most of the games I don’t like like MGS, Zelda, GTA n’such.

@rafaelmsoares: Well now I know. Kinda wish I didn’t now but curiosity was getting the better of me. lol

I don't like the term either (thot or the Xthot variation). It's kinda bad and unfunny.

That one is kinda great and actually makes sense in the context of SW.

@rafaelmsoares: Agreed. On both counts.

@Heroldp813: plz delete your account and never post again

Your just saying that because PS4 is losing to PC, and will eventually lose to Switch (purely exclusives)

Then why doesn't it matter for GT Sport?

@kali-b1rd: Who said it doesn't? GT Sport is shit... But it's still better quality shit than what MS is offering lately, as noted by the score being 7 points higher than SoD2.

75 is still considered to be a generally favorable reception, while 68 is mixed or average.

PS4 won't lose to Nintendo Switch

In terms of exclusive games, it probably will. Switch will be getting, for the most part, exclusives where as the Sony library is largely propped up by multi-platform games. The Switch already has 4 Nintendo exclusives (2 are true Switch exclusives) and 4 multi-plats scoring over 90 on MC in just over a year. The PS4 has 7 Sony exclusives (3 are true PS4 exclusives) and 17 multi-plats scoring over 90, since it launched.

I'm a PC gamer and don't own a Switch, nor do I care much for it (Zelda is the only game I would like to play) but Nintendo know how to make really good games, for those who like them.

lol, someone took @lundy86_4's comment too seriously

When you accept diabetic gaming as a lifestyle, you also accept the idea that reviews don't matter at all and you receive mediocrity.