Editorial: With a Great Review Comes Great Responsibility

By: Ryan Gan, Reviews Editor

A problem has been brewing in the blogosphere regarding the usefulness of video game reviews. During the past year, I’ve come to realize that there’s a little uncertainty regarding how you should approach a video game review.

For example, my roommate lives and dies by the reviews he sees on Gamespot. He finds their reviews to be hard on games and only buys games that score above a 9 on their review scale. On the other hand, I have another friend who believes that game reviews are useless these days; he thinks that they only represent the views of the writer, not necessarily that of the readers.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a frivolous spender when it comes to games. In the past, I’ve been guilty of loading up Wikipedia on my Blackberry as I walk to the local video game store to quickly read up on a certain game’s reception section. I can understand what my latter friend says about reviews being unnecessary, but it’s so easy to plop down $40 dollars for a used game that scored a 95 on Metacritic. Reviews are the voice that talk me into buying games. I find it hard to stay away from them.

Are video game reviews dependable?

In the gaming community, it’s easy to fall to peer pressure. Are the opinions presented in a video game review relevant to what you want in a game?

The problem becomes more apparent when you see comment sections of game reviews turn into a war zone. Readers begin bickering and arguing amongst one another about the validity of a certain review.

All too often, you see people complaining about how terrible a review is, how a certain score (or letter grade, if you swing that way) is lower or higher than it should be, and that the writer’s opinions cannot be trusted. This is usually followed up by a dog pile of supporters and attackers of the writer and/or game. People then make fun of each other for making grammar and spelling mistakes. At this point, it doesn’t take long for someone to accuse someone else of being fat (which is one of the best things you can do if you’re arguing with someone on the internet, by the way , because they can’t prove you wrong). Clearly, there’s no such thing as a universal opinion.

A misunderstanding lies in what some readers think game reviews are. Some readers would benefit from knowing how they should actually approach a review. More importantly, they should understand that a review is not necessarily the judge, jury, and executioner of a certain video game. Readers have to understand that they (should) have a more active role in the review process than they think.

Video game reviews are never going to go away. Since restaurants, movies, and electronics are assessed and evaluated using reviews (and review scales), it’s in our nature, as consumers, to look for something that will either recommend or dissuade us from buying a certain product. This shouldn’t be any different in the video game industry.

Of Words and Numbers

Gaming is not a cheap habit hobby. At $60 dollars a pop, you want to make sure you’re making the right decision when you’re out buying a certain game on its launch date. You’ve tried the demo, and you’re still a little unsure as to whether or not the rest of the game will live up to your expectations. You want to make sure that purchase really counts. And it should, right? Your favorite gaming site gave it a 9/10, so why wouldn’t it be good? What could go wrong?

More often than not, everything goes according to plan, and you’re very pleased with your purchase. However, there are instances when people are disappointed.

“It got a 9. What happened?”

Unfortunately, the review (read: words) often takes a back seat to the score (read: number). It’s a shame because it takes a lot of time to write a coherent, palatable, and thoughtful review that keeps the reader/consumer in mind. Gaming sites that have review scores or compile these scores onto one post are helpful, but they unintentionally “glamorize” scores.

You should know that when you make purchases according to these scores, it’s easy to feel like you shouldn’t be held responsible for whether you enjoy the game or not. Therefore, the writer is unjustly held accountable for what you do. This is usually when forum fights occur.

Giving a game a score is a form of summarization. Summarization is also in our nature, as learners. However, you have to understand how these scores came to be and where they came from. A lot of information is lost when converting an 800-word review into a score. In skipping to the score, you miss a lot of important notes that the writer meant for you to read.

It takes between hours to a few days to write a good review. Once the review is written, it takes seconds to assign a score. It takes more thought for the reviewer to remember and write about the experiences he/she had with a game. Gamers have to do some critical thinking when researching a game by reading a review.

How Did this Review Get Here?

Of equal importance (and often overlooked) is the name that appears on the byline. When the writer goes to work on their review, they are making a collection of notable experiences they’ve had with the game.

Do you relate to these experiences? Do you relate to the writer?

It’s important to ask these questions because you have to understand where this review is coming from. This is where the reader should be taking a more active role in the reviewing process.

It’s not a matter of trusting the writer*. It’s a matter of finding a writer you relate to. This is especially hard for casual gamers because this often takes a lot of time; it involves finding a writer, listening to their podcast (if there’s one available), and keeping up with all the pieces they publish.

The goal here is to find someone who writes in a voice that you enjoy reading and enjoys the same games that you do. Once you find this person, you’ll find that it’ll be a lot easier to read what they have to say.

Of course, it’s important to note that sometimes there will be discrepancies between one of your favorite writer’s tastes and your own, so don’t take all of their recommendations as a “go ahead.”

For example, one of my favorite video game writers seems to love point-and-click adventures. Personally, I can’t stand them, so I don’t buy them. And that’s fine, because he’s always spot-on when it comes to other genres. Use your best judgment , be responsible.

You Know You’re Right

It’s worthwhile to be mindful of the reviews you come across and the scores that come with them. Since review scores are presented as numbers and letter grades, they appear to be objective. However, they were written by another human being and are full of opinions.

You, as the reader and consumer, have more power and shouldn’t act solely on a score. You should identify the writer and the gaming community you belong to as the judge and jury, respectively. In the end, it’s your job to execute on that purchase.

As consumers, we usually feel like we’re at the mercy of video game publishers. We should feel empowered when we decide to make a purchase or not. Therefore, when researching a game before purchase, read reviews, play demos, and look at scores , just don’t half-ass it.

As long as the writing is honest, video game reviews are dependable.

In fact, one of the only truthful things that can be said about a review is that it is written by another person. Can you relate to this person and the paragraphs they’ve laid out for you? After you’ve asked yourself this question, then feel free to act accordingly.

This is called being responsible, and responsibility is a very good thing.

* – We’ll leave the topics of reviews, trust, and bias for another editorial



