Importance of Review Scores? - RaychelSnr's Blog

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RaychelSnr's Blog

Importance of Review Scores? Stuck

Posted on November 25, 2008 at 02:35 PM.

(5)

One comment I see around the community is how unimportant review scores are. Some people say you are just splitting hairs when you decide between, say, a 7.5 or an 8.

However, from the conversations I have personally had with the guys who are making the games, review scores actually do mean quite a bit to many of them. Just as with any well-ran sports team, a development team typically has a few goals they would love to achieve each year and one of those goals is usually to receive a certain score with reviews.

Something has definitely happened in regards to the consumer base in sports gaming though, as advertising dollars no longer are a good indicator of how a game will sell. NBA Live/NBA 2K9 are great examples of this in action this year.

Obviously, Quality matters. As for review scores?

I would say they matter a whole lot in most people's purchasing decisions in some way. So my question is, how much do review scores matter to you? If they do matter, what's the lowest rated game you have willingly bought? Be sure to sound off!

Comments

# 1 CM Hooe @ Nov 25

Numerical review scores, IMO, don't really hold much weight. On a 10 point scale such as this sight uses, the difference between say a 7 and a 7.5 isn't really defined, and there isn't really a tangible difference to the reader about what that extra 0.5 points means (as you mentioned).

Obviously personal preferences matter as well when purchasing games; I for one got plenty of fun out of Twisted Metal 3 on the original PlayStation, a game which is widely regarded as the worst game in that series and (if I recall) received a score of around 2/5 in PlayStation Magazine.

Another note related to both personal preference and numerical scores: inconsistency of numerical scores also bugs me. I realize the following is largely influenced by my own personal preference, but I still have no idea why College Hoops 2K8 scored only a 7 / 10 on this site. It's easily the best collegiate basketball game I've played, and probably the most fun I've had with a basketball game overall. According to this website's reviews, however, it's the worst game in the 2K's college basketball series, and is on par with the original bug-plagued PC NFL Head Coach (which I never even got to work on my PC), a Texas Hold-Em game (really?), and
the shallow next-gen Madden NFL 07 game (the disappointment that was next-gen football, which lasted up until the 08 iterations IMO, is what kept me from making the next-gen jump for as long as I did).

I for one would propose getting rid of the numbering system and replacing it with some sort of simple, to-the-point final verdict, i.e. "Must-Buy, Buy, Rent, Avoid". This spells out quickly and effectively whether the game is worth the money a consumer will spend for it.

# 2 matt8204 @ Nov 25

I actually rely more on customer reviews and game impressions on websites like these when deciding what to buy. User reviews are much more honest and direct. I think a lot of times, reviewers from websites like IGN and magazines like EGM or Game Informer are a bit shy when it comes to really ripping into a bad game for fear of backlash from the developer who advertises on their website or in their magazine. There are no such concerns when it comes to the user community. They tell you exactly how they feel about the game.

# 3 statum71 @ Nov 25

Review scores do matter to me. Mostly because I want the development teams to put a lot of thought into their short comings for the next season.

But as far as which one I buy, I still have to read about the features to determine that. NHL 09 got a much higher review than NHL 2K9. But I went with 2K9 because EA was one team dynasty. Thats a killer for me.

Unless its college hoops where we have no choice.

# 4 matt8204 @ Nov 26

Good point statum. A lot of times, it comes down to specific things you're looking for in a game, especially with sports titles. Just because a game got a 9.0 doesn't necesscarily mean it's right for you.

# 5 RaychelSnr @ Nov 26

So my next question is...has anyone here ever bought a game that...say, is getting 5.0s just because the features seemed to be more right for them?

Personally, my buying mentality is, if a game isn't above a 7.0 I won't even consider buying it, and anything in the 7-8 range has to be incredibly intriguing for me to buy it.