Which game review website do you frequent?

[DannyLove]

I suck in finding review websites, and I've used the same places since day 1, which are gamespot and IGN for my game purchases.....

Are there any better websites out there that really tackle down the issues in details and aren't reviewing based on some biased reason?

Your input is appreciated, thanks

danny~!

 

[potato28]

I use Xplay(G4 on demand), IGN, Gamespot, 1up(sometimes), and I'll rent it if I can't make up my mind.

 

[MarcVenice]

I don't like IGN to much for reviews. Some are pretty much spot on compared to my own reviews, some other reviews are indeed based way to much on 'biased reason'. The writing style of IGN reviewers also is pretty fun to read, but often I feel like they want to write something funny instead of something consumers can really base their opinion on.

Theres this one website that basicaly has a list of like 20+ pretty well known reviewing websites, then you can look at the lowest and the highest scores and of course the average. That way you can also get a lot of comments from different people concerning the game in question.

Btw, I find GamersHell to be really to the point, in fact the reviewers don't even seem to have to much fun reviewing the games, they just write down the necesary stuff and give it to you raw, just the way I like it. They don't review to often tho, and the scores might be a little high sometimes, but the reviews do give the information you need.

 

[imported_EmreNU]

Originally posted by: MarcVeniceTheres this one website that basicaly has a list of like 20+ pretty well known reviewing websites, then you can look at the lowest and the highest scores and of course the average. That way you can also get a lot of comments from different people concerning the game in question.

One such website is http://www.gamerankings.com. I check out that place pretty often and then go to review sites through it. Sometimes you can get different perspectives by being exposed to reviews by smaller guys.

I usually check out IGN and Gamespot for the latest hype and video reviews, not necessarily for the reviews themselves.

 

[CP5670]

At this point, I don't trust any of them by themselves. I generally go by Metacritic, which is another of those sites that simply takes an average of many others' scores.

 

[MarcVenice]

Thing is, game reviewers won't give games high scores, because otherwise the developers/publishers might get pissed, I very very much doubt it happens on any gaming website. This is simply because usually developers know what game they are putting on the market, and they'll know wether it's gonna make big bucks, get raving reviews, or not I've burned down games down to the ground, from a publisher we have a pretty good relation with. They knew it would happen though, and they will still give out review copy's, lol.

So in that way, reviews should be somewhat objective, but some reviewers don't like this, or they love that game, and the game they are reviewing doesn't have it, etc etc, and thus games get different ratings all over the place. Getting different kinds of perspectives is thus a good way of forming your own opinion about a game. And there will always be fanboys so you've gotta weed through those comments as well.

In the end btw, I really doubt gamers get influenced much by the reviewers opinion. They care mostly about what they can expect from a game, and wether it will be right up their alley, or not. System requirements are usually important too, and they can get a good feel of the graphics through reviews. Wether the gameplay will be something for them, is usually not influenced by the reviewers opinion. And if the game is buggy as hell, they often decide to wait for more patches and see if it fixes stuff, or not.

 

[Schadenfroh]

I just ask about ones that interest me here on AT.

 

[Cutthroat]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Thing is, game reviewers won't give games high scores, because otherwise the developers/publishers might get pissed, I very very much doubt it happens on any gaming website. This is simply because usually developers know what game they are putting on the market, and they'll know wether it's gonna make big bucks, get raving reviews, or not I've burned down games down to the ground, from a publisher we have a pretty good relation with. They knew it would happen though, and they will still give out review copy's, lol.

So in that way, reviews should be somewhat objective, but some reviewers don't like this, or they love that game, and the game they are reviewing doesn't have it, etc etc, and thus games get different ratings all over the place. Getting different kinds of perspectives is thus a good way of forming your own opinion about a game. And there will always be fanboys so you've gotta weed through those comments as well.

In the end btw, I really doubt gamers get influenced much by the reviewers opinion. They care mostly about what they can expect from a game, and wether it will be right up their alley, or not. System requirements are usually important too, and they can get a good feel of the graphics through reviews. Wether the gameplay will be something for them, is usually not influenced by the reviewers opinion. And if the game is buggy as hell, they often decide to wait for more patches and see if it fixes stuff, or not.

You managed to say pretty much what I was thinking. I often just look at Gamespot to see what is popular, or if upcoming games look interesting. But I'm really not interested in the reviewers score or anybody elses score either. I'm more interested in learning about the genre, gameplay, graphics, features, etc.

 

[DannyLove]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
I just ask about ones that interest me here on AT.

yea, but when you have such a large audience that play WOW and think thats the greatest MMORPG then I think that falls into the 'biased reason'

 

[imported_Imp]

None, but I just frequent gamerankings. If something catches my eye, I look at reviews from the big 3: gamespy, gamespot and ign. Then I pillage the game's forums for reviews/b!tching.

 

[effee]

Gamespot is quite accurate about reviews

 

[bigrash]

Gamespot is the only one I frequent

 

[Aikouka]

I usually go to IGN as they tend to list the glaring problems and the best features of a game. Then I take the price of the game and attempt to justify it based on those points, if the problems are too prevalent compared to the goodness, I knock down the price and in my mind, until it hits that price, I won't buy it.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
I just ask about ones that interest me here on AT.

Agreed.

KT

Edit: the main reason I do this is because I only play PC games and most review sites are so cluttered with all of the console crap, I just can't be bothered to sift through it.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Agreed.

KT

Edit: the main reason I do this is because I only play PC games and most review sites are so cluttered with all of the console crap, I just can't be bothered to sift through it.

How so?

pc.ign.com xbox360.ign.com wii.ign.com... if I wanna go to a system, I type it in front of ign.com and I'm there. I normally only go there for xbox360 stuff though.

 

[GundamSonicZeroX]

I go to GameSpot sometimes, but mostly I just DL the demo and play it. It really bothers me that most reviewers aren't really objective about games. I understand if someone valued sound over visuals, but the way some of the reviewers do it, it's insane! One guy on IGN gave Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault a little bit of a lower ranking, because it had a training mission in it. I usually encourage people to DL the demo and form their own opinion on it.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Aikouka

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Agreed.

KT

Edit: the main reason I do this is because I only play PC games and most review sites are so cluttered with all of the console crap, I just can't be bothered to sift through it.

How so?

pc.ign.com xbox360.ign.com wii.ign.com... if I wanna go to a system, I type it in front of ign.com and I'm there. I normally only go there for xbox360 stuff though.

But you have to understand I'm not that bright!

Thanks for the tip. :thumbsup:

KT

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: DannyLove

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
I just ask about ones that interest me here on AT.

yea, but when you have such a large audience that play WOW and think thats the greatest MMORPG then I think that falls into the 'biased reason'

i have been here long enough to know whose opinions reflect mine

i pay attention to their comments far more than the reviews .. and i can ask them questions about the game - i KNEW that i would love STALKER from reading the comments and asking questions of the people who were playing it - disregarding opinions of people i usually disagree with

of course, i glance at a few quick reviews to get an idea of the game and which questions to formulate .. but THIS is the ONLY place i need

 

[DannyLove]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: DannyLove

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
I just ask about ones that interest me here on AT.

yea, but when you have such a large audience that play WOW and think thats the greatest MMORPG then I think that falls into the 'biased reason'

i have been here long enough to know whose opinions reflect mine

i pay attention to their comments far more than the reviews .. and i can ask them questions about the game - i KNEW that i would love STALKER from reading the comments and asking questions of the people who were playing it - disregarding opinions of people i usually disagree with

of course, i glance at a few quick reviews to get an idea of the game and which questions to formulate .. but THIS is the ONLY place i need

says an Elite member, jk

Honestly, AT gaming forum has many groups and die hard fanbois of particular games or developers or types of games. I seriously throw out all those opinions out the window and come up with my own after reading up on the game and/or playing it myself. I've read some insane game reviews/comments on games I seriously enjoyed and it just amazes me the variety of biased crap I read sometimes.

I can come up with many examples. But yea, AT is definitely not my source for reviews. haha

 

[SoulAssassin]

maybe I'm old school but I still just read bluesnews

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: DannyLove

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: DannyLove

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
I just ask about ones that interest me here on AT.

yea, but when you have such a large audience that play WOW and think thats the greatest MMORPG then I think that falls into the 'biased reason'

i have been here long enough to know whose opinions reflect mine

i pay attention to their comments far more than the reviews .. and i can ask them questions about the game - i KNEW that i would love STALKER from reading the comments and asking questions of the people who were playing it - disregarding opinions of people i usually disagree with

of course, i glance at a few quick reviews to get an idea of the game and which questions to formulate .. but THIS is the ONLY place i need

says an Elite member, jk

Honestly, AT gaming forum has many groups and die hard fanbois of particular games or developers or types of games. I seriously throw out all those opinions out the window and come up with my own after reading up on the game and/or playing it myself. I've read some insane game reviews/comments on games I seriously enjoyed and it just amazes me the variety of biased crap I read sometimes.

I can come up with many examples. But yea, AT is definitely not my source for reviews. haha

elite member ? i got promoted to Mod [or 'demoted' - depending on PoV - considering it IS "video"]

the whole POINT of reading ATF PC gaming is to QUICKLY make up my mind BEFORE buying the game ... and after 7 years here, i can name the people who's opinions are similar to mine ... i haven't got a turkey game in years that way

i just won't name them so as not to embarrass them

BtW, SpellForce 2 is $5.90 at GoGamer's 48 hour madness
i didn't ask here - except in PM ... got a thumbsup from someone that i 'trust'

 

[secretanchitman]

ign, gamerankings (collection of reviews and user reviews), gamefaqs, joystiq, kotaku...

gamespot, not so much.

 

[GreenMidgetYoda]

i use ign.com and gametrailers.com