How broken is the current Game Review process?

GWAVE - 324 days 19 hours ago

The problem is that there isn't anyone to hold reviewers accountable. Worse yet, a "controversial" review gets as many site hits as a legitimate review, and sometimes it generates even MORE hits.

But no one holds the media accountable. That's just how it is.

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Aaron Greenterd - 324 days 19 hours ago

Gaming "journalism" is in a very sad state. There is absolutely no consistency from game to game, review to review. There is no standard, and reviews are no longer about "reviewing a game for what it is", it has now become "review it for what it's not".

Ratchet and Clank: ToD - no multiplayer, too much variety
Uncharted - no multiplayer
MGS4 - cutscenes are long
Killzone 2 - no co-op
Warhawk - no single player campaign

yet

Gears - 10
Halo - 10
CoD 4 - 10
GTA 4 - 10

etc etc

The list goes on and on, and the point I am trying to make is reviewers these days will forgive 360 exclusive games because of bias (i would know), forgive multi-platform games because they are multiplat, but ps3 exclusives get crapped on.

Every generation there are those that want Sony to fail. Yet this is exactly why Sony will succeed, because eventually people start to see this type of behavior with outlets they've always trusted, and aren't willing to accept it anymore.

Sony must be doing something right if reviewers consistently feel the need to be so inconsistent.

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cmrbe - 324 days 18 hours ago

Add

Heavenly Sword - Too Short.

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N4360G - 324 days 17 hours ago

The current game review process is very broken.How can great exclusive games on the PS3 get such low scores? If they were Xbox 360 exclusives they would all get 10's like crazy.This has got to stop now!!

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Sarcasm - 324 days 17 hours ago

Yup and the ones who complain "Killzone 2 is only 8 hours" disregarding the 4 hour campaign of COD4 and 5-6 hours of Gears of War.

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aebriscoejr - 324 days 17 hours ago

The gaming industry is broken as a whole not just reviews. The biased media and journalist, the overwhelming fanboys, and overall hate is ruining the industry. Its being broken down bit by bit, and what makes it so sad is that instead of being positive about everything we have, we find something to complain or argue about with one another while everyone else bandwagons right along with it.

Its gotten to the point where I rarely check the comments on articles, or read article for that matter, because a majority of them are negative, and used just to get hits.

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Chubear - 324 days 17 hours ago

There's a poll about this very matter on there. Check it out and post a comment or just participate in the poll.

http://www.hiphopgamershow....

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pswi60 - 324 days 17 hours ago

"When will this madness end???"

right around the time you buy a ps3 and get Killzowned!!!!!!

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trancefreak - 324 days 17 hours ago

agent vx it really baffles me how you get away with being such a flaming ahole in the gamer zone calling out sony fans with ever post.
you really belong that way >> but for now u can suk my azz

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Sarcasm - 324 days 17 hours ago

Agent VX, go please your wife instead of complaining about PS3 fanboys when you're one of the worst 360 fanboys ever.

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DeadIIIRed - 324 days 16 hours ago

Shes finding attention elsewhere ;)

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soxfan2005 - 324 days 16 hours ago

I don't get it. Many people who claim that the gaming media is biased are the same ones who proclaim a game to be "greatest game ever", even though they have NEVER played the whole game, while the reviewers have played it.

I know this may sound crazy, but before you form an opinion, or criticize other's opinions, shouldn't you actually play the game first?

Hype seems to bring about a sense of entitlement among fanboys.

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FrankenLife - 324 days 14 hours ago

@soxfan:

It isn't about a good score bad score. It is about consistency. Keeping their standards, standard. If one game is going to get knocked for no co-op, then other games in the genre should get knocked just the same. Be honest in story critique. Giving Halo 3 high story marks is BS. Say what you will about the gameplay and the multiplayer, the story was mediocre at best. But it is ok for it to have a forgetable story. FPS aren't known for their stories. RPGs on the other hand, have to have a great story. One of the recent complaints that I am tired of is the color pallet. Urban warzones aren't known for having flashy colors. What do they want, magenta buildings? If a game is trying to look realistic, then they are going to stick a color pallet that is realistic for the setting. Bright color pallets are used as eye candy. They make the game more enjoyable to watch. If the developer used other techniques to make the game pretty, then what is the problem? Then the reviewers don't ding all games with the same color pallet the same way.

As somebody on here already said. The reviewers don't necessarily review PS3 games overly poorly by default. It is more like they have "beer goggles" for 360 games.

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Apone - 324 days 14 hours ago

Heavenly Sword - Too beautiful

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BobDog - 324 days 14 hours ago

yes but those stated ps3 exclusives have all been released, some of them received average scores, and the people who bought those games all thought they were fantastic

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Jenzo - 324 days 13 hours ago

Yeah, cause it's not that you are blind fanboys. It's the Internetz that is teh biased...

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Rampant - 324 days 11 hours ago

Weren't MGS4 and LBP the highest scoring exclusives of last year?

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prowiew - 324 days 1 hour ago

This is one of the most ridiculous read I had in a long time. That why there are a tons of sites. A review is just an opinion of one person. If you really are buying based on reviews, then read different reviews. IGN, 1up, etc doesnt give scores based on every team member opinion. Is just one person. A game could be a 10 to you and a 2 to me or viceversa. People just complain for the dumbest things. And if you think a website is biased to you, then read another. Simple as that.

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Tiberium - 323 days 19 hours ago

What site are you talking about dude? Examples please.
Just because everybody isn't slobbering over killzone 2 or the other ps3 exclusives doesn't mean they are sony biased. Tell me something- what is so hard about RESPECTING OTHER PEOPLE'S OPINION. America still is a democracy right? If you don't like what one site has to say, go to one that you like, it's that simple. In the real world people disagree with you, deal with it.

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Jenzo - 324 days 13 hours ago

GTA IV is a sandbox game which handles huge drawdistances and a ton of objects on screen at once. At the same time in incorporates an advanced physics engine for both characters(natural motion) and cars.

On the other hand Killzone 2 sports meticulous detail, advanced smoke effects, lighting and overall polish. No FPS games come near it and no sandbox games have come near GTA IV.

I think both games deserve a 10 in the graphics apartment.

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scissor_runner - 324 days 7 hours ago

You know part of the problem is that you guys yes every one uses review scores and not the actually reviews to buy games.

Seriously these are all paid ads for each and every game. If they are not paid then their are phone calls made saying "come on man give us a break! We need one 10 from you.".

Seriously Fanboys give these reviews power. If USA today reviews a game I'm betting no one cries over it.

Another reason why reviews don't work is the simple fact that they don't take every one into consideration. Right now every one is saying casuals are killing gaming well elitism is actually what is killing gaming. Before the console wars was a bunch of kids now it's people over 21 who will hold grudges for a long time. The Idea is that their opinion is what matters. maybe this is a product of market expansion. Most game reviewers just don't know who is going to be reading their articles.

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komp - 324 days 19 hours ago

Killzone2 is just mentioned as it is one of the latest games to be coming out. It applies to all future games. It has nothing todo with the fanboy side of it. Reading past the headline usually helps empower the reader!

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bomboclaat_gamer - 324 days 19 hours ago

i know u wrote this after the review got on the site. if KZ2 got a 10 i dont think the writer would write that article. ur a fanboy and u dont even know.

@below.... lol. u made me laff to bomboclaat. good one, bwoy

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LTC - 324 days 19 hours ago

Bomboclaat gamer cussing ps3 boyz no? U is a pvssyclaat because KZ2 raas ya claat.

Blurrclaat tsk.

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Aaron Greenterd - 324 days 19 hours ago

Killzone 2 has a metacritic of 94 with 100 from X-play and 96 from gamesTM still outstanding.

The author makes a valid point, but a troll like yourself is too busy "smoking the green" and trying to attack readers for seeing the truth which obviously you aren't happy about.

Why don't you go back to your Sony Attack Force site (which I pay for by the way) and cry hardar

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bomboclaat_gamer - 324 days 19 hours ago

who gives a hell how much killone got???
if its a good game get it and form ur own criticisms.

it clearly shows what fanboys u r

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Aaron Greenterd - 324 days 18 hours ago

"who gives a hell how much killone got??? "

if it got a 7/10 you would be here telling us how much of a flop it is, the ps3 sucks, etc etc. the only reason you are here is because of its high scores, and you want us "fanboys" to suddenly believe the gaming media is no longer biased.

"if its a good game get it and form ur own criticisms."

it comes out the 27th noob, i have it pre-ordered just like the rest of the internet.

"it clearly shows what fanboys u r"

and your comments tell not only that you are a fanboy, but in fact what kind of fanboy you are, mr. eX Believer Of Truth.

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LeonSKennedy4Life - 324 days 13 hours ago

Could I get a reference to your formal education system?

I'm looking to settle down in a nice quiet place where my kids can grow up and "get teached English real good"!!!

You actually typed the word "boohoo". Who does that?

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bomboclaat_gamer - 324 days 8 hours ago

i dont see u making comments about guys who say the word noob. is noob a word?

no its not. which shows that u just want to attack me. i have no time for u tho

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pswi60 - 324 days 18 hours ago

call me old fashioned, but i think ElementX is a 360 fanboy.

one person writes an article about media inconsistency and these 360 fans cry even moar...you guys can't stand it when a ps3 game gets the high marks it deserves.

as someone stated in another thread, "your tears taste like 20 year old scotch"

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ElementX - 324 days 18 hours ago

LOL. I stated in a previous post that I used to like 360 but like PS3 more. Get over it. You try to smear someone on N4G? How sad is that? I haven't played my 360 in a while.

Read this:
http://n4g.com/NewsCom-2633...
Post #35

B!tch.

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pswi60 - 324 days 17 hours ago

defensive are we?

here is a link for you

http://www.youareabot.com

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Dmitry Orlov - 323 days 23 hours ago

@pswi60: C'on man! Remember the time when R2 and Gears2 were getting their reviews? EVERY ps3 fanboy on this site thought it was he right to go to Gears2 section and to spam on multiple accounts how the game 'sucked'. Nothing like that happened with R2.

@all: KZ2 isn't getting 10/10 like Halo 3 because time passes by and demands rise up. When Halo 3 was released it was cool and awesome. If you look at it today (like it was released today) it would be 8-9/10.

But still, ps3 fanboys have lived the hype made around KZ2 (remember the article "KZ2 has better graphics than Crysis"?) and when the game doesn't score 10/10 everywhere, these pathetic people try to commit a suicide. Oh, wait.. There is still God of War 3 to hype..

My point is: you made the hype and expected an IDEAL game. nothing is ideal - there are always flaws somewhere. now, when you realise it by looking into the reviews, you cry.

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Dark General - 324 days 17 hours ago

I agree with the later half of your statement. I however do not think reviews are not "broken" per se. When it comes down to things reviews are little more than personal opinion. Now a way to maybe better scores would be if everyone judged games on universal criteria. But again it all comes down to 1 single persons opinion on a video game.

I do agree that reviewers have to judge a game on it's own merits though. And not comparing it to other games. What does the game set out to do, how well is it executed etc.

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Unicron - 324 days 17 hours ago

The problem is in people thinking reviews are indeed fact (the general public) or ammunition (fanboys). Opinions are great things, but once you start tacking on arbitrary scores, the concept of opinion collapses. It's almost like a contradiction, putting a quantifier on something subjective.

Reviews need to evolve, and how gamers VIEW reviews needs to evolve if we are ever going to get anywhere. Kotaku's methods/format and 1up's roundtable discussions I feel are the way to go, not some number.

I like you Dark General. Have a bubb. You always take the time to post good stuffs.

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Dark General - 324 days 17 hours ago

Well 1up got synced in with UGO and over half the staff was cut. So i'm not so sure on how that'll go moving forward. I do also love how Kotaku reviews games. Precise and pro's and con's of a game with no score. Then there's always Frankenreviews.

edit: Thanks Unicron i unfortunately can't give you any more bubbles (i've been bubbling you up) but i do agree more times than not with your sentiments. Or at least see where you come from. Bubbles to you too Kaim. It's good to get some real gaming discussion going not just wild conspiracy theories.

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Immortal Kaim - 324 days 17 hours ago

I agree about the score mate, the problem is a lot of gamers don't want to actually read a review but would much rather just have a designated number which they think represents the quality of the game.

Listening to Podcasts from many gaming outlets, it is clear they personally don't like giving an arbitrary score to a title. Unfortunately the review process (ie tacking on a score) is dictated by the general populace who 'need' a number to somehow validate a purchasing decision.

I just don't agree with this whole industry (Gamespot/IGN/Eurogamer etc) are bias, if I person doesn't like a game (or Vice-Versa) that is their prerogative, it isn't in anyway shape or form going to detract from my enjoyment.

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Unicron - 324 days 17 hours ago

Certainly. But still, when comments are tossed about, such as X-Play's unprofessional dig at PS3 fans in their KZ2 review, I really do have to call into question just how much the fanboyism does run things. They are still people, regardless of being "pro" or not, and are subject to the same bias as anyone else. Opinion and bias is a fine line.

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cmrbe - 324 days 17 hours ago

the problem is they lack conseistancy. If reviewrs lack conseistiency then readers will really wonder if say an 8 one reviewer gave to one game is equivalent to a 9 to another reviewer gave to another game. This is where the numbers rating is a big problem as people will generally take an 9 as a better game than and 8 rated game which is logical. I agree that different reviewers have different tastes and opinions but they should follow a strict guidelines in marking games so that they are fair and consistent with their final rating.

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Immortal Kaim - 324 days 17 hours ago

Would be interested in reading/viewing this X-play Review, do you have a link mate?

Yes, Opinion and Bias is certainly a fine line. Unfortunately a valid critique or even valid complaint of a product is often seen as an unsubstantiated attack in the minds of fanboys on both sides. If I was to make a valid complaint about MGS4 or Halo 3's downfalls, I would be attacked by the respective 'sides' and called a fanboy depending on which system the complaint was directed at (even though it has nothing to do with the system but the game itself).

That is the injustice here, we can't make valid comments because it will be seen as taking 'sides'.

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Dark General - 324 days 17 hours ago

That's definitely true that it's a difference between biasness and opinion. I think for the most part, most credible journo's try to handle things as subjective as possible while saying what they think. Biasness in reviews is one thing along with personal taste. It still comes down i think to the "human factor". People like different things and while some people will overlook some things, others will dig heavily into them. Even the best reviewers, enthusiasts or whatever you want to call them will have at least a little bit of personal sort of stream of consciousness writing coming out. It happens, weather it be a bad day, extra good day or something that's always knack that will have a impact on a review.

It boils down to opinion. Reviews are more of a personal opinion than anything. Round table discussions are things that i like and would farther like to see in the gaming industry. Which is why i miss 1up yours so much.

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