| If a game you really wanted just came out, what would you do. |
| Buy it right away. |
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12% |
[ 2 ] |
| Buy it right away. |
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12% |
[ 2 ] |
| Read a game review first. |
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37% |
[ 6 ] |
| Read a game review first. |
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37% |
[ 6 ] |
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| Total Votes : 16 |
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Seanybaby
Pileated woodpecker
Joined: Nov 12, 2005
Posts: 191
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 Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 2:40 pm Post subject: Game reviews |
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I used to like this one video game magazine called EGM. The thing I read most in their mags was their reviews. Since they've gained new and inexperienced editors, though, things have gone downhill. Some of you may remember their 3-score-review method. Well, guess what happened to Perfect Dark Zero here:
6.5, 8, 9
Is that confusing or what? I mean, a general opinion from editors can't just range from mediocre to excellent like that. It's like an average gamer's review that varies dramatically. If you think that's my only form of evidence, Mario Tennis got an 8, 8, and <b>4</b> (un)respectively.
In the end though, should we really trust the media to buy games? My brother recently bought Final Fantasy IV, and even through playing it once I knew it was going to be good. Heck even better thanks to the new translation. I admit I'm a score freak, but from this point I just shouldn't care anymore. Why? Because I don't want to blow $5 on some mag that isn't even worth that much. |
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AbominableSnoCone
Cybernetic Vampiric Werewolf Ninja
Joined: Jun 16, 2005
Age: 29
Posts: 1691
Location: Jersey
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| Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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I never buy print mags anymore... I just use the Internet to find out how games are being scored nowadays.
www.gametab.com
www.gamerankings.com
those are two sites that compile and average games' ratings. Of course sometimes all the mags are way off base like with Deus Ex 2, which everyone gave a score of 8, but from playing the demo i could see it was quite obviously a horrible game.
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CRACK
Phoenix
Joined: Nov 03, 2005
Posts: 897
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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| I always read reviews first at Gamespot.com. the user reviews, not gamespots review. They are too optimistic. I'll pick out the ones with the most # of trusted users and read 3 good reviews and 3 bad reviews to help decide. |
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Seanybaby
Pileated woodpecker
Joined: Nov 12, 2005
Posts: 191
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:20 pm Post subject: |
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| AbominableSnoCone wrote: | I never buy print mags anymore... I just use the Internet to find out how games are being scored nowadays.
www.gametab.com
www.gamerankings.com
those are two sites that compile and average games' ratings. Of course sometimes all the mags are way off base like with Deus Ex 2, which everyone gave a score of 8, but from playing the demo i could see it was quite obviously a horrible game. |
That is quite a good morale you've got on your sig. I'll keep that in mind.
Anyway, yes you're right about that. I played Gran Turismo 3 on a booth once. Maybe it was the easy difficulty setting, but I found it to be pretty blah myself. |
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AbominableSnoCone
Cybernetic Vampiric Werewolf Ninja
Joined: Jun 16, 2005
Age: 29
Posts: 1691
Location: Jersey
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 3:25 pm Post subject: |
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My basic feelings on the Gran Turismo series:
I'll never understand why everyone else in the known universe is so ga-ga over them, or racing games in general
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Seanybaby
Pileated woodpecker
Joined: Nov 12, 2005
Posts: 191
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:11 pm Post subject: |
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| AbominableSnoCone wrote: | My basic feelings on the Gran Turismo series:
I'll never understand why everyone else in the known universe is so ga-ga over them, or racing games in general |
Probably because they stink at Mario Kart and want to look for another alternative..... 
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PlatypusMan
Snowy Owl
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Joined: Jan 17, 2006
Posts: 167
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:20 pm Post subject: |
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| Seanybaby wrote: | | AbominableSnoCone wrote: | My basic feelings on the Gran Turismo series:
I'll never understand why everyone else in the known universe is so ga-ga over them, or racing games in general |
Probably because they stink at Mario Kart and want to look for another alternative..... |
Ahh Mario Kart. Tis such a fun game. |
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psych
Phoenix
Joined: Nov 23, 2005
Age: 35
Posts: 2665
Location: w london
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 5:26 pm Post subject: |
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http://www.pczone.co.uk/
havent read it in ages, but the reviews always used to be the best and most independant in the UK. Theres a LOT of back-handers in this industry. |
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Sanityisoverrated
Phoenix
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Joined: Jul 11, 2004
Posts: 1382
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 6:57 pm Post subject: |
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| AbominableSnoCone wrote: | | Of course sometimes all the mags are way off base like with Deus Ex 2, which everyone gave a score of 8, but from playing the demo i could see it was quite obviously a horrible game. |
Actually I quite liked Deus Ex 2. It came free with my computer, and I probably wouldn't have tried it otherwise. The beginning was kinda slow, but once you get into it it becomes fairly involving.
The only thing I hated was the endings- I tried them all, but SPOILERS
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The earth and humanity kinda gets screwed up in all of them. There was no "everything stays the same" option, and that kinda pissed me off. It was like everyone gets a shared consciousness and loses all individuality, or everyone becomes identical cyborg robot things, or the world gets taken over by a constrictive facist society, etc etc ... no ending that I actually liked. |
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Seanybaby
Pileated woodpecker
Joined: Nov 12, 2005
Posts: 191
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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| psych wrote: | http://www.pczone.co.uk/
havent read it in ages, but the reviews always used to be the best and most independant in the UK. Theres a LOT of back-handers in this industry. |
Pretty good, though they are based in Europe their articles are quite different.
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Thagomizer
Phoenix
Joined: Sep 06, 2005
Posts: 752
Location: MA
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| Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 2:18 pm Post subject: |
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I also highly recomend gamespot. I find that many magazines these days have disappointing reviews written by a certain crowd of gamers I simply don't relate to any more. I hate PC Gamer's editor, for instance, and think he spends too much time being full of himself. When PC Gamer gave Arcanum a percentage rating somewhere in the 90's and said it was "Arguably better than any game in the Baldur's Gate or Fallout series", and ended the review with "If you don't find something about this game you love than throw your PC in the trash right now", I pretty much disowned the magazine. That's basically the equivalent of a movie critic giving Pitch Black 4 stars and saying it's arguably better than Aliens. Arcanum, IMHO, was a horrid game that was ill-conceived, poorly executed, had terrible graphics, and on my computer at least, wouldn't stop crashing long enough to let me play it. Also, although they gave good RPGs good reviews Planescape: Torment got a 93% or somesuch), they are so hot on stupid hack n' slash RPGs that appeal to munchkins, like the Diablo series (the most overrated games in existence), Dungeon Seige, Neverwinter Nights, and the like, while failing to point out any of those game's shortcommings. Their excessively positive review of American McGee's Alice (one of the most overrated games of 1999) and indifferent review of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (one of hte most underrated games of 1999) also made me cringe.
So overall, I recomend reading online reviews (these are a mixed bag) of games you already know and love, find some of the most well-written and insightful reviews, remember who wrote them, and refer to them frequently.
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Seanybaby
Pileated woodpecker
Joined: Nov 12, 2005
Posts: 191
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| Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Thagomizer wrote: | I also highly recomend gamespot. I find that many magazines these days have disappointing reviews written by a certain crowd of gamers I simply don't relate to any more. I hate PC Gamer's editor, for instance, and think he spends too much time being full of himself. When PC Gamer gave Arcanum a percentage rating somewhere in the 90's and said it was "Arguably better than any game in the Baldur's Gate or Fallout series", and ended the review with "If you don't find something about this game you love than throw your PC in the trash right now", I pretty much disowned the magazine. That's basically the equivalent of a movie critic giving Pitch Black 4 stars and saying it's arguably better than Aliens. Arcanum, IMHO, was a horrid game that was ill-conceived, poorly executed, had terrible graphics, and on my computer at least, wouldn't stop crashing long enough to let me play it. Also, although they gave good RPGs good reviews Planescape: Torment got a 93% or somesuch), they are so hot on stupid hack n' slash RPGs that appeal to munchkins, like the Diablo series (the most overrated games in existence), Dungeon Seige, Neverwinter Nights, and the like, while failing to point out any of those game's shortcommings. Their excessively positive review of American McGee's Alice (one of the most overrated games of 1999) and indifferent review of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (one of hte most underrated games of 1999) also made me cringe.
So overall, I recomend reading online reviews (these are a mixed bag) of games you already know and love, find some of the most well-written and insightful reviews, remember who wrote them, and refer to them frequently. |
Very detailed. I'm doing that already and I find it helps much more than the usual crap EGM puts on their mag. I'm finding EGM worth much, much less than $5, yet the only reason it costs so is not good writing, but flashy printing and a plethora of adds.
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