tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967694277763110629.post4714639020766398512..comments2024-03-28T07:16:05.720-07:00Comments on Experience Points: Gaming by the Numbers: The Case for Dropping Review ScoresJorge Alborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04857765716032886965noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967694277763110629.post-67522180283603604132008-09-23T12:22:00.000-07:002008-09-23T12:22:00.000-07:00@nismoI share your unease with the preview/review ...@nismo<BR/><BR/>I share your unease with the preview/review cycle. I think the amount of hype behind games affects the way both "professional critics" and normal players react to a game. It's rare that a game can live up to our imaginations of how cool it might be.<BR/><BR/>@shane<BR/><BR/>Nothing wrong with a long comment. As you can tell, Jorge and I often struggle with our own leanings towards verbosity. ;)<BR/><BR/>Your point on classic games is an important one (maybe we should post on it...). As you say, the historical context in which a game is reviewed drastically affects its reception. Evaluating a game's current and lasting impact is quite a tricky business.Scott Justerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11775296635863850847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967694277763110629.post-91631041885012351992008-09-23T06:46:00.000-07:002008-09-23T06:46:00.000-07:00Warning: long comment ahead!I've been arguing this...Warning: long comment ahead!<BR/>I've been arguing this point for years. Here are some very good reasons why I agree with you:<BR/><BR/>1 - I love Super Mario Galaxy. From the moment I fired it up, I was absolutely awestruck. From the gameplay to the level design to the music, I was just absolutely entranced every time I played the game. By the time I was finished, there was no doubt about it, this was my favorite game. When people ask my opinion about it, I tell them one simple thing: Super Mario Galaxy is the game that I have been waiting for my entire life. To me, it is the definition of a perfect game, and well deserving of the many perfect 10s that it got. That said, despite how I feel, is it really a 'perfect' game? No. There are a few things I didn't like. Things I thought were bad ideas, or just plain boring. (I'm looking at you Purple Coin Challenges.) If I had designed the game, I wouldn't have put those in there. However, that in no way detracts from what a great game it is, and if we were to use a scoring system, I'd have to give it a 10/10. that itself implies perfection on a game that is perfect, but isn't. Figure that one out.<BR/><BR/>2 - I don't really care if Halo 3 got a 9.5/10. I don't like it. In fact, I hate it. In fact, I hate what it represents (in my mind.) I've never liked that style of game, so the high 'score' means nothing to me. The same goes with sports games. I don't care if Jesus himself endorsed Madden 09, I'm not going to play it. In that regard, the score is utterly useless.<BR/><BR/>3 - Reviewing classic games seems to be all the rage right now, and I can't figure out why. It seems that a numbered scoring system is even more arbitrary when applied to classic games newly reviewed. How can you give one game a low score because you don't think that it 'aged well', but give your favorite Zelda game a 10/10 still just because to do otherwise would be blasphemy? For a sort of example, look at the newly released Mega Man 9. IGN gave the graphics a 3/10 for being 'outdated'. Are you people complete freaking morons? THAT'S THE POINT OF MEGA MAN 9! It is a phenomenal game. This is what gets me about reviewing old games. Why would you go back and give it a lower score just because technology has progress 20 FREAKING YEARS LATER!?<BR/><BR/>That's just three reasons why a numbering system is bad. When I read a review, I just want to know about the game. Tell me what you think worked, and what didn't. Tell me reasons I should try it or avoid it. That's all I want to know. I have 0/10 interest in a numbering system.Shanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10393346323347948176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967694277763110629.post-49294027290550657852008-09-20T08:49:00.000-07:002008-09-20T08:49:00.000-07:00I understand why it happens but I have always foun...I understand why it happens but I have always found it interesting that people rely on and dare I say it, expect scores to be so important to their buying decisions or as ammunition for their arguments.<BR/><BR/>I have always read reviews with the intention of finding out about a game, what it does and doesn't do and so on and I have never really paid attention to the scores included with the review. Perhaps I am different than most readers, but actually reading about the game has always given me a better idea about the game than a simple number has.<BR/><BR/>That said, these days I find it hard to read reviews and to be honest, I think I am just over them. Not just reviews either but the whole preview/review process that most games go through. I can't exactly pinpoint why I am over them, but what I do know is that I definitely prefer reading the more in-depth stuff, be that an interview with developers that doesn't have the typical PR answers, a feature on a game or franchise or say a blog post that focuses on maybe one aspect of a game rather than trying to summarise the entire thing at one time. I rarely visit the big websites for gaming content these days, instead I stick to Kotaku for news and blogs and maybe even (some) forum impressions to give me an idea of whether I will like the game in question or not. I also love just watching people play (via Youtube or whatever)games as that can also give me a great idea of whether the game is for me or not (even if I don't realise it at the time).Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00626684107210848128noreply@blogger.com