Magazine Reviews are Confusing

Rodimus

Rodimus

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I've been comparing video game magizine reviews. (Mainly between EGM and Game Informer) and they're rarley ever consistant. I can expect a point maybe two point differance between a game, but the two magazines share the same rating scale. For example EGM gave Paper Mario 2 the "Game of the Month," but Game Informer gave it a 6.75 out of 10 which is far from "Game of the Month." There are other games that don't "add up" between the two magazines like Mortal Kombat: Deception which Game Informer gave it very high score and EGM was just "average." Is it just the magazine "Game Informer" or are the reviewers biased? I don't (and never) trust any of them but I'd like to see alittle consistancy among the magazines just to compare.

Also if anyone reads "Game Informer" do you relize that in almost every major review they have a "Second Opinion" section, where, I guess, another gamer scores the same game but with a diffrent opinion. However for some reason they always score it the same damn score. For example: someone rated X-Men Legends a 9 then in the "Second Opinion" they rate it a 9! What's the point of having a "Second Opinion" if it scores the same, and says the same crap you already told me?
 
I don't trust any game magazine reviews, I always check out gamerankings.com . I use gamerankings to look at average & median scores of reviews.
 
I don't bother with the scores they give. I do, actually, like to read the details they give about the game.

I'll read their dislikes about the game and see if they're similar to mine when I play the game, I keep that in mind, but I don't let it impact whether I like the game or not.
 
[quote name='Rodimus Donut'][quote name='Scrubking']
are the reviewers biased?
Click to expand...

Yup[/quote]

Then they shouldn't be reviewers.

But I'm not saying I should review games either. Cause I'm baised torwards any 2D figther.[/quote]

As long as you make that bias known I don't think there's any reason for you not to review games. As long as people can weigh any outside factors that affected your review into your critique of the game it can still be informative to some degree.
 
[quote name='Rodimus Donut'][quote name='Scrubking']
are the reviewers biased?
Click to expand...

Yup[/quote]

Then they shouldn't be reviewers.

But I'm not saying I should review games either. Cause I'm baised torwards any 2D figther.[/quote]

The fact is everyone has a bias. The problem is when you let it affect your ability to objectively scrutinize something - like a videogame. Good, objective reviews in magazines and many game sites are slowly becoming extict.
 
I've noticed in GameInformer that even if they give a game a shitty or average score, they'll still try to say nice things about it. I've also noticed at IGN that a game that gets a high review still has some flaws that they pick apart and it makes you wonder if the game is any good. Renting is the only way.
 
Grave, love the sig.

OP, they give a second opinion to say that another person agrees that the game is that good or that bad.
 
I used to read and some what take in reviewers scores, but after this Game Informer fiasco I think I'll look on any review in a totally different light. Yes they are biased and if they do then they tend to let you know (e.g. Nintendo Power) but a magazine that is supposed to be multiplatform should not have any biases and should rate a game with their honest and just opinion. They are supposed to be third party reviewers who are proffesionals, not the reviews that you can read off of GameFaqs.
 
I've always trusted EGM's reviews more than any other mags, but I sometimes disagree with their scores, but everyone has their own opinion. Personally, if I don't know if a game is good, I rent before I buy. That's the best way to go.
 
[quote name='Trakan']Grave, love the sig.

OP, they give a second opinion to say that another person agrees that the game is that good or that bad.[/quote]

They only give a second opinion so that it canlook as though the first score is quantifiable. As was said by that idiot douche of a reviewer over at GI, it's sort of thier policy just to give scores by "what their readers want to hear" and not based on fact. Basically they just come up with a number they think people want to hear.
 
We could ask every person on this board what they thought of a specific game with scores and you'd find every concievable score covered. Just because one magazine thinks a game is a great, doesn't mean another will. MK Deception: GI like it, EGM sorta liked it, XBN didn't. Everyone has an opinion and just because they don't "match up," doesn't make any one of them wrong. So what if the second opinion is the same? Two people can't like the same game??? It happens just like two people may hate the same game.

Reviews are there to guide you. Read the review, not the score.
 
I dunno...am I the only one who thinks GI gave PM2 a low score just to cause controversy on purpose? I picked up the game when I was in Japan and I have played it to death and loved it. I think GI knew it would cause a backlash and in turn get people to buy magazines just to read the review. I mean, if mortal kombat gets a low score, who cares? That's expected from MK but for it to get a higher score the PM2 would cause great controversy and get people to buy the mag so they won't miss it. That's what I think anyway.
 
[quote name='gamereviewgod']We could ask every person on this board what they thought of a specific game with scores and you'd find every concievable score covered. Just because one magazine thinks a game is a great, doesn't mean another will. MK Deception: GI like it, EGM sorta liked it, XBN didn't. Everyone has an opinion and just because they don't "match up," doesn't make any one of them wrong. So what if the second opinion is the same? Two people can't like the same game??? It happens just like two people may hate the same game.

Reviews are there to guide you. Read the review, not the score.[/quote]

Read my first topic more carefully. It's not just one review, it's every review with a "Second Opinion." gets the same score. Look at this months Game Informer and their's your proof.

Like I said, what's the point of a second opinion if it's the same thing you already told me.

I really miss Ultra Game Player. That was the best Magazine ever.
 
I think it's fine if a second opinion has a similar score, but every second opinion GI goes is always around the score the main review got. GI is basically telling us that every reviewer there as the same tastes in games and that there are no has a conflicting opinion. Personally, that's a load of horse shit. Even my friends and I don't agree on how good a lot of games are (especially when one friend thinks that Halo was more dissapointing than Fable).

Personally, I get both GI and GMR, but if I didn't get the subs from memberships at their respective stores, I wouldn't get either of them.
 
I'm truly sick of gamers accusing reviewers of bias. First off, I don't think a lot of them even comprehend what the word means (this isn't directed at people in this thread), but more importantly, it's just an absurd statement. Of course reviewers have types of games they like and dislike, and companies that they prefer or aren't fans of. That's natural; they're gamers, just like you.

However, most are professional enough to review games with a clean slate. Also, managing editors or similar employees have the job of making sure the right people are reviewing the right game. When Halo 2 comes out, I doubt you'll see a big review by someone who says, "I don't like first-person shooters, so this sucks" nor will you see a Metroid Prime 2 review that says, "It's great cuz it's NINTENDO!! I LOVE NINTENDO!!!11"

I'm not saying all game mag editors are the best writers, or the most knowledgeable gamers. I am saying that every effort is taken to ensure fair and honest reviews. I know I take the reviews I write very seriously. But at the end of the day, it's still just someone's opinion -- which means you may or may not agree with it.
 
I don't think I have a big problem with reviewers being biased. (Even though sometimes it looks like they are.) It's just that I really like the "Second Opinion" idea, but GI doesn't use it correctly.
 
You shouldn't trust magazines with your hard earned money. Many times, magazines will tear a game apart, but you find yourself really digging the game. Your best bet is to wait till the games are cheap (CAG?).
 
[quote name='Rodimus Donut']I don't think I have a big problem with reviewers being biased. (Even though sometimes it looks like they are.) It's just that I really like the "Second Opinion" idea, but GI doesn't use it correctly.[/quote]

As someone who wrote for Game Informer for four years, let me enlighten you a bit about the second opinion system. First off, GI used to have 3 guys review most games -- all the same size. It got to be too much work, so in the December 2000 issue, I believe, they switched it.

I don't think that just because a lot of scores are similar, it means the second opinion system is flawed. Often times they play the games together (though they write/score reviews separately and in secret), so it's not outlandish to think they emulate each other's thoughts sometimes. Also, if you go to metacritic or gamerankings, you'll see scores that are usually pretty similar across the board, so it's only natural that GI reviews would sometimes come pretty close to each other.

However, I can think of many times that the two scores were VERY different. I gave Final Fantasy Origins a 6.5 or so, while Chet gave it a 9. Matt gave Pokemon Pinball GBA around an 8-9, and Andy gave it like a 2-4. Jeremy gave The Suffering about an 8.5, while Lisa gave it a 5.5.
 
[quote name='ViolentLee'][quote name='Rodimus Donut']I don't think I have a big problem with reviewers being biased. (Even though sometimes it looks like they are.) It's just that I really like the "Second Opinion" idea, but GI doesn't use it correctly.[/quote]

As someone who wrote for Game Informer for four years, let me enlighten you a bit about the second opinion system. First off, GI used to have 3 guys review most games -- all the same size. It got to be too much work, so in the December 2000 issue, I believe, they switched it.

I don't think that just because a lot of scores are similar, it means the second opinion system is flawed. Often times they play the games together (though they write/score reviews separately and in secret), so it's not outlandish to think they emulate each other's thoughts sometimes. Also, if you go to metacritic or gamerankings, you'll see scores that are usually pretty similar across the board, so it's only natural that GI reviews would sometimes come pretty close to each other.

However, I can think of many times that the two scores were VERY different. I gave Final Fantasy Origins a 6.5 or so, while Chet gave it a 9. Matt gave Pokemon Pinball GBA around an 8-9, and Andy gave it like a 2-4. Jeremy gave The Suffering about an 8.5, while Lisa gave it a 5.5.[/quote]

Well, alot of people are not very happy with it so it must be flawed in someway. just get a diffrent person to review it or something. Like someone with a "diffrent" opinion. That's all I'm saying.
 
I feel that EGM with their 3 person reviews do the best job. If they all agree, then normally they have a good reason to agree. If they disagree, then it is interesting to see why the do. The Game Informer 2nd opinions are worthless, though. I have never seen a 2nd opinion (or at least I can't remember) that has differed by more than .75 of what the main review said.
 
[quote name='Rodimus Donut'][quote name='ViolentLee'][quote name='Rodimus Donut']I don't think I have a big problem with reviewers being biased. (Even though sometimes it looks like they are.) It's just that I really like the "Second Opinion" idea, but GI doesn't use it correctly.[/quote]

As someone who wrote for Game Informer for four years, let me enlighten you a bit about the second opinion system. First off, GI used to have 3 guys review most games -- all the same size. It got to be too much work, so in the December 2000 issue, I believe, they switched it.

I don't think that just because a lot of scores are similar, it means the second opinion system is flawed. Often times they play the games together (though they write/score reviews separately and in secret), so it's not outlandish to think they emulate each other's thoughts sometimes. Also, if you go to metacritic or gamerankings, you'll see scores that are usually pretty similar across the board, so it's only natural that GI reviews would sometimes come pretty close to each other.

However, I can think of many times that the two scores were VERY different. I gave Final Fantasy Origins a 6.5 or so, while Chet gave it a 9. Matt gave Pokemon Pinball GBA around an 8-9, and Andy gave it like a 2-4. Jeremy gave The Suffering about an 8.5, while Lisa gave it a 5.5.[/quote]

Well, alot of people are not very happy with it so it must be flawed in someway. just get a diffrent person to review it or something. Like someone with a "diffrent" opinion. That's all I'm saying.[/quote]

How can you make sure a reviewer has a "different" opinion? That would be just about the worst thing you can do, and show more bias than anything else. Think about it. Editor: "I like this game, so I have to make sure someone doesn't like it for the second opinion." When you have multiple people review the same game, you have no idea what they're going to think, and that's how it should be.

Also, those guys have to review a dozen games each or so every month. They can't all play everything just to see if they feel differently about it than the main reviewer. They work mega-hours as it is.

I don't mean to play Devil's advocate here, nor am I trying to defend my former co-workers. I'm just sharing my thoughts on the subject.
 
I like it when reviewers tear the game apart; breakdown wise. go over the details with a fine comb. point out the flaws, but also the highlights. i also read 'other readers/players' reviews as well to get a better ballpark.
 
ahahahahaha
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