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How Metacritic rules the games industry
It puts every review in the world at your fingertips – but is Metacritic ruining videogames?
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56 Comments
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Jbo87
- 9 months 25 days ago
@ cart00n
"Uh, a 5 is STILL the average score in the eyes of critics - it is only the READERS mistakenly assuming that anything under an 8 means the game sucks".
That's not really true is it? The 10/10 review system has effectively made 7 the average score.
If my memory serves me Gamesradar did a feature recently about the worst games that scored a 7, suggesting to me that 7 is the standard by which a half decent game is judged.
Also on Metacritic if a games score is below 70 then it falls into the lesser category..
Say what you want about the READERS making these assumptions but the evidence to the contrary is there to see.
"Uh, a 5 is STILL the average score in the eyes of critics - it is only the READERS mistakenly assuming that anything under an 8 means the game sucks".
That's not really true is it? The 10/10 review system has effectively made 7 the average score.
If my memory serves me Gamesradar did a feature recently about the worst games that scored a 7, suggesting to me that 7 is the standard by which a half decent game is judged.
Also on Metacritic if a games score is below 70 then it falls into the lesser category..
Say what you want about the READERS making these assumptions but the evidence to the contrary is there to see.
Shifty1001
- 9 months 25 days ago
I must say that I agree with everyone's statements about user reviews being mostly unreadable trash. You know how you can figure this out easily? Go on, let's say... IGN. A lot of the time, they have reviews up before the release date. Sweet. Then you see an actual number in the "Average User Score" section, and I do a facepalm. User reviews--especially those specific ones that I have just mentioned--are absolutely worthless, based entirely on expectations, bias, and fanboyism. I actually once read a review that said something like "I hurd dis game guna have . Dats so kool dis game guna destroy Halo and Gears 9/10!"
Fail.
Fail.
Red
- 9 months 25 days ago
I've pretty much given up on review scores. In the end, my opinion is what really matters. Go in expecting the worst, and maybe you'll be surprised when it doesn't completely suck dick. If all else fails, take the game back to GameStop and threaten to kill the clerk if you don't get your money back.
Major_Wuss
- 9 months 25 days ago
I don't rely on Metacritic when i make a game purchase, but look to it for things such as what people thought of it. It is however, very unreliable.
Read this review for Gears of War 2-
The Truth gave it a 0:
I thought this was a racing game. I mean, "gears"... doesn't that sound like a racing game to you? But it was really just a bunch of weird looking creatures running around blowing each other's skulls off. Not a face car to be found. They should have renamed this "shoot the screaming beast in the face 2" or something. Typical Microsoft false advertising. I suspect this game is only played by teenage bed-wetters who cannot read. Worst ever! Shame on you Microsoft!
Read this review for Gears of War 2-
The Truth gave it a 0:
I thought this was a racing game. I mean, "gears"... doesn't that sound like a racing game to you? But it was really just a bunch of weird looking creatures running around blowing each other's skulls off. Not a face car to be found. They should have renamed this "shoot the screaming beast in the face 2" or something. Typical Microsoft false advertising. I suspect this game is only played by teenage bed-wetters who cannot read. Worst ever! Shame on you Microsoft!
friedpork
- 9 months 25 days ago
Metacritic is absolute trash. Aggragated scores for games from several different outlets? I can already smell the shit oozing from it. Face it, most people will not have your particular taste in games, so why trust the mashed up views of many?
Best to find a particular outlet that tends to favor your type of game. I mean, face it. You are NOT going to read PSM for you review on a 360 version of any game or vise versa.
As far as user reviews go, anyone who is on any forum boards can tell you 75% of "reviews" from forum users is typically fanboy troll trash. I'm just waiting for someone to say "oh yeah, my big brother will beat the shit out of your big brother if you don't agree with me!" Fucking useless.
Best to find a particular outlet that tends to favor your type of game. I mean, face it. You are NOT going to read PSM for you review on a 360 version of any game or vise versa.
As far as user reviews go, anyone who is on any forum boards can tell you 75% of "reviews" from forum users is typically fanboy troll trash. I'm just waiting for someone to say "oh yeah, my big brother will beat the shit out of your big brother if you don't agree with me!" Fucking useless.
skyguy343
- 9 months 25 days ago
risking a fanboy statement but here we go:
i think one of the best reviews around is Zero Punctuation by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw.
He is brutally honest and definetely not afraid to beat a game into a pulp. He also doesn't use numbered scoring, something I personally like as a simple "yay" or "nay"
would do the trick for me.
i think one of the best reviews around is Zero Punctuation by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw.
He is brutally honest and definetely not afraid to beat a game into a pulp. He also doesn't use numbered scoring, something I personally like as a simple "yay" or "nay"
would do the trick for me.
Jbo87
- 9 months 25 days ago
@ skyguy343
FANBOOOOOOOOOOOOOY, just kidding. I really like watching Yahtzee's reviews and it is true he never flinches from bashing a game. However I rarely use his reviews to decide whether or not I'll buy a game as he has slated a number of games that I love.
For the most part even if a game is technically bad, if you approach it expecting it to be enjoyable it very often will be. If you have been following a game's development and buildup and have been looking forward to it then you are much more likely to overlook any flaws it has. Farcry 2 is the perfect example of this as it was probably my most anticipated game of last year. While it wasn't as good as I thought it would be it still amazed me and I loved it from start to finish.
FANBOOOOOOOOOOOOOY, just kidding. I really like watching Yahtzee's reviews and it is true he never flinches from bashing a game. However I rarely use his reviews to decide whether or not I'll buy a game as he has slated a number of games that I love.
For the most part even if a game is technically bad, if you approach it expecting it to be enjoyable it very often will be. If you have been following a game's development and buildup and have been looking forward to it then you are much more likely to overlook any flaws it has. Farcry 2 is the perfect example of this as it was probably my most anticipated game of last year. While it wasn't as good as I thought it would be it still amazed me and I loved it from start to finish.
TanookiMan
- 9 months 25 days ago
I totally agree with you Craza, I just don't have the money to buy every game that looks kind of interesting, I need a little help cutting down the field. That's why I like to stick to sites where I know the reviewers, if they like the kind of stuff I do, etc. Then, it's more like getting info from a friend you can trust, rather than leaving it to the law of averages like Metacritic does. Also, the "Love This, Hate This" feature is indeed awesome, one more reason to keep coming back to GR!
Diosjenin
- 9 months 25 days ago
User reviews are generally crap, true.
Judging a game based on a single, normalized score is shortsighted at best. I find Metacritic useful, but more as an archive of other reviews. For any game I actually care about enough to bother looking up there, I also run through the list of reviews, see which places gave the game which scores, read the one-line excerpt, maybe read the full review if it looks intelligently written and a link is provided. It really does give a much more thorough look at what the critical reception really is - although I'm sure that process is a bit too much for some people.
Judging a game based on a single, normalized score is shortsighted at best. I find Metacritic useful, but more as an archive of other reviews. For any game I actually care about enough to bother looking up there, I also run through the list of reviews, see which places gave the game which scores, read the one-line excerpt, maybe read the full review if it looks intelligently written and a link is provided. It really does give a much more thorough look at what the critical reception really is - although I'm sure that process is a bit too much for some people.
zanthox
- 9 months 25 days ago
no one watches these watchmen.
I don't really care that metacritic exists, though it is annoying the weight put on it (especially by companies). What bothers me is the mindless fanboys messing with the score. why can anyone even vote as a user till the game is released? blarg.
I don't really care that metacritic exists, though it is annoying the weight put on it (especially by companies). What bothers me is the mindless fanboys messing with the score. why can anyone even vote as a user till the game is released? blarg.
Katana314
- 9 months 25 days ago
On the one hand, Metacritic allows people to have a quick way to base their buying instead of just getting whatever looks the shiniest.
On the other hand, we are putting a lot of power into reviewers; sometimes perhaps too much, as they can pretty much decide with some altered scores which games succeed.
We need to be sure we're not dismissing games just because they're below a certain score. Dead Space scored higher than Assassin's Creed, but I readily call Dead Space "Doom 4: Aliens Attacking Yet Again" whereas Assassin's Creed, while imperfect, was new and interesting. End of the line; to support your local developer, try to be looking past the Metacritic review. It's like using Wikipedia for reference; you never know.
On the other hand, we are putting a lot of power into reviewers; sometimes perhaps too much, as they can pretty much decide with some altered scores which games succeed.
We need to be sure we're not dismissing games just because they're below a certain score. Dead Space scored higher than Assassin's Creed, but I readily call Dead Space "Doom 4: Aliens Attacking Yet Again" whereas Assassin's Creed, while imperfect, was new and interesting. End of the line; to support your local developer, try to be looking past the Metacritic review. It's like using Wikipedia for reference; you never know.
GamesRadarEricBratcher
- 9 months 25 days ago
I'd suggest aggregators like MetaCritic and GameRankings are useful because they enable you to see multiple opinions at once. That can be very helpful no matter whose reviews you're reading. Games are expensive - you've got to choose carefully.
twishart
- 9 months 25 days ago
I MUCH prefer picking a specific site, getting to 'know' the reviewers (scores they typically give for genres, likes and dislikes, etc), and reading the ENTIRE review. Only focusing on the score doesn't tell me enough about the game - and certainly doesn't indicate whether the reviewer is a fan of the genre/series, etc. Bias is the wrong word, but certain reviewers just 'get' the genre better than others. I think Gamesradar has a pretty good grasp of which reviewer suits which game, and I certainly haven't been burned by a recommended purchase yet - except for that whole Killzone 2 thing. WTF MIKEL.
Spybreak8
- 9 months 24 days ago
I'm a sucker for a 10 anyday but I don't go ok now I'm buying this game. User generated scores can vary because games are subjective, like art or should I say because its art. Hey I use IMDB to check out scores for movies on DirectTV, I don't want to play PPV for a shitty movie. It's about the same with games although I put more thought into it since its a bigger investment to me and I need a game I'll play again and again. It really is a phenomenon, internet what would we do without you. Ultimately the best way, rent the game of doubt.
Romination
- 9 months 24 days ago
I think the biggest point is that the reviews are weighted. Alright, just because someone's popular doesn't mean that they have good reviews. If IGN gave something a 3, that 3 from them would weigh a lot more than a 7 from Giantbomb or something. It's just a bad idea, and it would be a lot better if it just got rid of THAT.
Sinosaur
- 9 months 24 days ago
While the number system does have its problems, I've more or less found a system that works for me by going through a few different reviews and avoiding any that hand out perfect scores. If I see a bunch of perfect scores, then a few 7s or 8s, I go straight for the ones that will tell me what problems I might expect. Then I read another review to see if they've got a different take on things.
Of course this is usually after I've asked my friends what they think of a game, which is probably the best place to get your recommendations (provided you have anything in common with your friends' tastes).
Of course this is usually after I've asked my friends what they think of a game, which is probably the best place to get your recommendations (provided you have anything in common with your friends' tastes).
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