Opinion// Game Reviews, Uh? What are they Good For?

Posted 14 Sep 2010 14:22 by
Then there is the ever-present temptation for critics to be as savage as humanly possible. Everybody knows it’s easier to write a bad review than a good one. Scorn and bile are more entertaining to read than gushing praise: fact. The success of Zero Punctuation shows that there is a market for snarling game criticism.

But this is as much the fault of the audience as the reviewer. Yahtzee, the creator of ZP, has admitted on a number of occasions that he emphasises the bad aspects of games because that’s what his audience wants. But it’s hardly fair on the game developers to simply focus on a game’s bad points. As hilarious as that can be, it doesn’t help the industry to improve by screaming “THIS GAME’S NOT PERFECT, THEREFORE IT’S SHIT AND I WANT THE DEVELOPERS TO BE RAVAGED BY ELEPHANTS ON A BED OF SANDPAPER!”

The Great Hype Deflators
Nevertheless, reviews do serve a purpose, regardless of their flaws. I don’t have the time (or funds) to play every single game and form an opinion on each of them. At the most basic level, reviews help us to make informed decisions about what products are worth our hard-earned money. As a tight fisted Yorkshireman, I religiously check review sites before even considering lifting up the family’s sole mattress and parting with my money. To do otherwise is just plain daft.

Reviews are great hype deflators. In theory, all that should go into making a game review should be the game and the reviewer. When this works, it works beautifully.

Naughty Bear is an excellent example of when reviews get it right. When the trailers emerged on Youtube, I was in love. All the components seemed to be there: a twisted sense of humour; a narrator who sounded like Rik Mayall; and a truly original premise. I almost did the unthinkable and pre-ordered it. Thankfully I didn’t. When the reviews came out, it soon became apparent that it was terrible. A classic example of ‘good idea, piss-poor implementation’. Were it not for games reviews, I would have had myself a 40 quid coaster.

Democracy in Action
In theory, (notice I’m saying that a lot), reviews are also very democratic. In an ideal world, it doesn’t matter about the size of a game’s PR budget. What matters is the game itself. All games start out on an equal footing and are judged on their merits. This has enabled exemplary games to get more exposure than their humble budgets would allow.

Look at two recent breakthrough hits from small developers: Braid and Limbo. On paper, they don’t look promising. 2D platformers? Who’s thought that they were any cop since Donkey Kong Country 3? Well, reviewers did. They played these games and drew our attention to the staggering levels of creative thought and originality that went into these indie gems. Whilst they deserve every bit of their popularity, they owe a great deal of this to the glowing reviews that they received.

Constructive Debate & the Fanboy
Reviews can also stimulate constructive debate. I’m not talking about tedious fanboy squabbles here, but informed and reasonable debate. With online reviews, you often have the chance to leave a comment. By doing this you can engage with not only the review, but also with other readers and the author.

Perhaps you thought that a reviewer was too generous in their appraisal of Red Dead Redemption’s ending? Leave a comment. Wish to point out that you thought Halo 3’s Warthogs handled like four space hoppers strapped to a plank of wood? Leave a comment. I have a dream that one day the comment sections of the internet will be used for courteous and exciting debate, and that bell end fanboys everywhere will have had their IP numbers permanently blocked.

Imperfection
Reviews aren’t perfect, and you’re never going to agree with all of them. But they have a purpose, and they serve it well. Games reviews are no exception. When reviewers are allowed to write their opinions, free of external interference, the outcome is always good. Reviews aid us in separating the wheat from the chaff, but they don’t force us to agree with them. They provide informed opinions in concise and readable formats. Without them, we would simply be overwhelmed.

Plus the comment sections of games reviews give spambots a place to advertise $20 Nike Airs. And where would we be without them?

The opinion expressed in this article is that of the author and does not reflect those of SPOnG.com except when it does.

Want to vent your gaming spleen? Send 900 words max of well thought-out, deeply analysed opinion and we may even run it. Send in 900 words of incisive but mostly brutally angry invective, and we almost certainly will.

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Comments

miacid 14 Sep 2010 16:18
1/10
How many of you look at the name of the individual reviewer and say “Ben Jones gave this game 75%”? I know I don’t. I say: “SPOnG gave this game 75%”


Maybe I'm in the minority here but I quite often look at who reviewed a game and I think it would be a nice feature to be able to quickly see which other games they've reviewed along with the scores.

That way there is chance you might have played some of these games and you'd be able to compare the reviewers score/review with your own experiences. Giving you a better understanding of the current review.
config 14 Sep 2010 17:02
2/10
Thanks for the feedback.I'll stick it toward to top of the pile, because it's far less complicated then some of the other stuff people want adding ;)
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Dreadknux 14 Sep 2010 17:05
3/10
miacid wrote:
How many of you look at the name of the individual reviewer and say “Ben Jones gave this game 75%”? I know I don’t. I say: “SPOnG gave this game 75%”


Maybe I'm in the minority here but I quite often look at who reviewed a game and I think it would be a nice feature to be able to quickly see which other games they've reviewed along with the scores.

That way there is chance you might have played some of these games and you'd be able to compare the reviewers score/review with your own experiences. Giving you a better understanding of the current review.


That's a pretty nifty idea, that. I like it.
angryflatcap 14 Sep 2010 17:47
4/10
@miacid Definitely a good idea.

This is also the type of constructive commentary that I was on about in my piece. You've made an old and sentimental man very happy.
speedduelist 14 Sep 2010 22:58
5/10
most of the critics have the same opinions for some reasons. mostly because their are Elements in Each game that has high chances of being considered flaws or goodies.

you can see IGN and several other Web Sites rating mario galaxy 2 10/10 and most of the critics gives halo reach Between 9/10 and 10/10.

Metro id other m had 8.5/10 8/10 reviews.
its just about the majority of people's opinions, a player could either play the game or listen to what the majority thinks. personally if the review states why he/she didn't like the specific games and unbiased then I can take it into consideration.
oliread 15 Sep 2010 08:34
6/10
Good points Butler, I think the various podcasts have helped this a lot. Listening to someone explain why they like it and defending their point makes a big difference to over hyped games. I'd really like to see more of Capone Adam style Good Review: Bad Review 1) its really good to see someone both talk up a game and put it down and 2) Its a great way to engage with people (like me) sick of one sided reviews

Also love the idea of comparing similar rated games!
PaulRayment 15 Sep 2010 16:29
7/10
I give this feature 9/10. 8/10 for graphics.
config 16 Sep 2010 14:00
8/10
@PaulRayment that's so totally meta
gingineer 17 Sep 2010 22:17
9/10
@miacid i agree. whilst not with games so much i always listen to one reviewer (mark Kermode) for film reviews not because i agree with him but i can gauge how i will like a film based on his review. it is tricky with computer games as they take longer to review and the spread of reviews will be over multiple formats and genres. reviewers just have to work hard to concisely convey the reasons for liking or disliking a game and avoid the Yahzee effect of just slagging it off for the sake of it
Weefz 21 Sep 2010 12:16
10/10
@config Yup, I'd use it too! Would be great to easily see if the reviewers opinion on games I know meshes with mine. Should I find out that s/he rated, say, Fallout 3 as a lowly 6, then I'd know to dismiss him/her as an imbecile ;)
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