Does a perfect score mean a perfect game?

Oct 9, 2007

Should a perfect review score be exclusively reserved for perfect games? Can a flawed masterpiece justifiably be given top marks? Is there even any such thing as a perfect game? With BioShock and Halo 3 both recently receiving the highest numerical accolades possible from many critics, we thought we'd head into the treacherous review score mine field to canvas the opinion of some of gaming's most respected magazine editors.

So, should a perfect score mean a perfect game? Here's what The Editors have to say on the subject...

Rob Smith | Editor in Chief | PSM/PlayStation: Official Magazine (US)

GR: If a game gets a 10, do you feel that that reflects a perfect game?

Rob: No. A game doesn't have to be perfect to get a 10. No game is perfect. I guess that's the difference in the 10 scale vs. the 100 scale, where you kind of assume a 100 is perfect because you can get closer to that edge. With a 10, no. A 10 just says, really, that this is the game that anybody that owns a system should buy, almost irrespective of its genre and your general sort of areas of interest. So it’s almost like saying, if you're a racing game fan, this 10 in a different genre is still something that we'll almost guarantee you’re going to enjoy.