I miss the N64 days and not being influenced by reviewers [Archive]

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chicnstu

11-22-2005, 05:00 PM

I used to be able to go to the store and just pick out a game that looked interesting and I would like it. I would like any game I brought home or rented unless it was something like a barbie game or a sports game. I even liked all of the Army Men games.

But now, I get magazines every month and read the reviews to see what games I want. I think the reviews influence me too much. I can look at a game that got a bad review and go out and get it and not like it.

I can't seem to stop reading reviews though. Sometimes I'll think "I'm going to just stop going to the review sites and cancel my subscription to GameInformer" but then I'll see a game that looks good and I'll say "Well, I'm just going to see how well this did just in case I don't like it".

Is it like this for anyone else?

devilman

11-22-2005, 05:10 PM

Personally I ignore reviews from magaazines or web sites. I'll browse around and often price is a major factor. I've picked up games on Ebay that have looked interesting for a pittance (Xbox games at �2 each.. nice!). However, if someone has strongly recommended a game on a forum somewhere or had a thought-out rant about a game then that will often affect my buying decisions.

jajaja

11-22-2005, 05:13 PM

Its not like this for me. Theres been reviews since the start of videogames afaik. I remember having a subscription for the official Nintendo magazine that was released here. Was always cool to read the reviews and look at the pictures :) I miss those days. The last videogame related magazine i bought was like 10 years ago (what I can recall atleast).

Pre/reviews is only one (or more) person opinion. Never trust a review 100%. I so to say never read reviews today, only looks on screenshots.

kevin_psx

11-22-2005, 05:25 PM

I read reviews in Atari Age - obviously every game got an A+. LOL And later RUN magazine for Commodore. Remember reading the Pirates review & loved the game.

Now I'm opposite. Cynical. I hate what most people love. Like Zelda Wind Waker.

YoshiM

11-22-2005, 05:30 PM

I miss the days when all the information you could get on gaming came in magazine form. Or when reviews actually did a proper review of the game (as in how it played, what you did, etc.). These days it's easy to happen across a "professional" review only to not get any real data on the game. IGN's Xbox review of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (http://xbox.ign.com/articles/659/659639p1.html) is a good example.

Sothy

11-22-2005, 05:32 PM

I wish I had read a review when I spent all my Birthday money as a kid to buy Home Alone for SNES.......

Kejoriv

11-22-2005, 05:48 PM

I dont really take into account reviews for games. I will try a game though before I spend full price on it. I take everything reviewers say with a grain of salt. This also applies to movie critics.

sabre2922

11-22-2005, 06:19 PM

I agree that those days never trully existed

The first magazines where I started reading reviews was in "Nintendo powerclub or fanclub or funclub magazine" or whatever it was called I have like 6 issues of it before they started sending me Nintendo Power and I remember it was kinda like the old atari magazines meaning that very few games got bad ratings but you could get an overall feel of what was good and what wasnt.

Hell if it werent for that little magazine that nintendo sent me I wouldnt have ever giving Metroid or ZELDA a chance back then I was a kid and just learning what GREAT games were all about.{I have those magazines burried underneath a whole pile of old Gamepros and EGMs but dont care to scavenge through all of it just to find out the name @_@ }

I know how it is though many reviews ruin the feeling of PLAYING A GAME FOR THE FIRST TIME and what really gets my ass burning is many of the so-called professional reviews on the net that are soo faaar off of what is good and what is bad they dont know their head from their asses most of the time.

I skim over reviews on the net and only read the full reviews if its a major game or a game that I MIGHT ACTUALLY PAY FULL PRICE FOR just to be sure other than that I still enjoy the print magazines much more than the net site reviews such as IGN or Gamespot.

Its just that years ago you could get hyped about a game and see a few cool pix in your favorite gaming magazine and THEN GET IT AND PLAY IT to decide for yourself THAT WAS PART OF THE THRILL but now in the information age that part of finding out for yourself (for better or worse) is taken from us if you jump on the net for a few minutes you bascially know everything about the damn game before youve even seen it in the store :(

Honestly I feel it was THAT MUCH MORE EXCITING TO FIND OUT FOR ONES SELF especially if it turned out to be as great or BETTER than you expected and if it wasnt you had all the right to go around bitching to your friends how THE GAME SUCKS I CANT BELEIVE I SPENT ALL THAT MONEY ON IT WHEN I COULD HAVE GOTTEN THIS OR THAT LOL , and hell I guess even that is taken from us now since all anyone would say is MAN DIDNT YOU READ THE REVIEWS FOR IT ?

OK rant over ....im tired and I wanna go to bed....

chicnstu

11-22-2005, 06:25 PM

That's not what I meant.

I meant that me not reading reviews existed. I'm not saying that influencing reviews didn't exist.

Xizer

11-22-2005, 07:07 PM

kevin_psx

11-22-2005, 07:20 PM

That's not what I meant. I meant that me not reading reviews existed. I'm not saying that influencing reviews didn't exist.
???? I don't spend money 'til someone tells me if it's good. I'd ask the Sears employee "Is Space Invaders any good?" before I handed over my $25.

COLLECTED WISDOM OF THE XIZER -

anyone who ignores reviews and goes and buys games randomly, you are a dumbass.
The PS2 controller sucks. Any game released for the system will instantly have shitty controls.
The PS2 version sucks. It looks and plays like shit, with worse graphics, a terrible control scheme.
All Sony does is make a system and whore it out to casual gamers, they don't even develop many games
Sony is the one who deserves a $ sign - with their constant shitting out consoles
What? The PS2 did suck ass.
The PS2 sucked cock, just like the PS1.

The PS3 will suck.

MegaDrive20XX

11-22-2005, 07:42 PM

Here's a whacky idea, how about we stick with those old methods and judge games for ourselves instead of reading a magazine? Isn't that what Rental places are for or going over to a friend's house to borrow the game? That's the way I was raised before many of today's magazines were everywhere. So that way you feel better about your judgement about which game you wanted the most.

chicnstu

11-22-2005, 07:44 PM

Wow, that dude sure aint a fanboy.

I was planning on stopping reading reviews, so am I going to become a dumbass?

EDIT: Thanks GNG!

davepesc

11-22-2005, 08:09 PM

Reviews are awesome. Thanks to reviews, I can compile a list of around 30 titles for each system and work on collecting those titles.

I haven't bought a shit game yet. For anyone who ignores reviews and goes and buys games randomly, you are a dumbass.

If you "haven't " bought a shit game yet," then you are a tool. Much like with music, if you don't hit some shit every once in a while, you aren't digging deep enough.

I remember going to Toys R Us as a kid and picking out a game based on the boxed plastered on the wall with the tags underneath. Then, my brother and I would thumb through the enclosed catalog and think about what to get next.

Now, I read reviews, but mostly just to find out about what is coming down the pipeline.

LOL @kevin_psx Way to maintain the archives!

Snapple

11-22-2005, 08:14 PM

COLLECTED WISDOM OF THE XIZER -

anyone who ignores reviews and goes and buys games randomly, you are a dumbass.
The PS2 controller sucks. Any game released for the system will instantly have shitty controls.
The PS2 version sucks. It looks and plays like shit, with worse graphics, a terrible control scheme.
All Sony does is make a system and whore it out to casual gamers, they don't even develop many games
Sony is the one who deserves a $ sign - with their constant shitting out consoles
What? The PS2 did suck ass.
The PS2 sucked cock, just like the PS1.

The PS3 will suck.

Ha, I can't believe you spent the time to gather that. Funny stuff, though.

I guess I agree that I've also been influenced by reviews. But only bad reviews. Sometimes if I've made up my mind that a particular game doesn't look like it's for me, good reviews won't let me get it. Or if I do get it, I can still be disappointed. But bad reviews can definitely discourage me from looking at a game that I might've been interested in, sadly enough.

PDorr3

11-22-2005, 08:57 PM

i used to be the same way, I would buy games that looked appealing, never reading reviews. I wouldent say reviews dominate my gaming pruchases now, but if I see a game I was interested in get really low scores, Im not gonna buy it.

Sothy

11-22-2005, 09:29 PM

Mianrtcv

11-22-2005, 09:33 PM

Item given to Kevin_psx: one DK hammer from DP shop...
Why? For driving the point across and doing it well.

Milk

11-22-2005, 09:39 PM

MegaDrive20XX

11-22-2005, 09:45 PM

sabre2922

11-22-2005, 09:45 PM

without reviews who would know that this game isnt about balet?

http://img345.imageshack.us/img345/1994/rivalturf2pw.gif

Or that this game isnt about.... whatever.
http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/2439/phalanx9nk.jpg

Ha good one Sothy

I remember actually scratching off the front label on that Rival Turf SNES game it was so lame LOL but a good final fight rip off though

Xizer

11-22-2005, 10:32 PM

How can you even tell what a game's like if you've never read a review? You don't know whether it's going to be good or not. If you don't read a review about it, you could end up paying $50 for a pile of shit that you're stuck with.

Say what you will about me "trolling" (which is, by the way, a few quotes out of over 100 various posts), but that's pretty damn foolish.

Push Upstairs

11-22-2005, 11:50 PM

http://img345.imageshack.us/img345/1994/rivalturf2pw.gif

Because of reviews i found out that i don't get to play as those two happening dudes on the cover.

:(

EricRyan34

11-22-2005, 11:57 PM

I can see where he is coming from. Back in the day, I was happy to even GET a new game, because it was a rare occasion that only happened 4-5 times a year. I seriously didnt care about any reviews etc. When I got a new games, such as for SNES, N64, Playstation etc. I beat it from start to finish.

Nowadays however, I DO read reviews and spend my $ wisely.

KingCobra

11-23-2005, 12:04 AM

Paid Reviewer's in general suck these's days, why back in the day you could just risk a quarter or two and see what's up yourself. LOL

When the excluesive console only games start'd hit'n hard in the late 8bit-16bit days it was word of mouth off the streets or at school or the HOT seller, Now sales don't necessarily = quaity.

It's all about reader reviews on sites like this IMO :D

RCM

11-23-2005, 12:08 AM

I happen to review a game here and there whenever a company is wise enough to send it to me.

I wouldn't mind reviewers going the way of the dinosaurs though. Hopefully downloadable demos will replace the need. I know a demo doesn't represent an entire game but it atleast can give one a taste of what's in store.

I'm not easily influenced by reviewers. I do have a journalist or two that share my tastes for the most part so when they say a game is worth a look I look. Looking and buying are two different things though.

Ultimately I ttrust my instincts about the games I want and I think I want and i'm usually right.

sabre2922

11-23-2005, 12:35 AM

It's all about reader reviews on sites like this IMO :D

AGREED :D

Aussie2B

11-23-2005, 01:28 AM

If you've agreed with every review you've read so far, that's a pretty amazing thing. You do realize that a review is just ONE person's opinion, right?

Like RCM, I go with my instincts. When I was a kid, I'd just pull a game off the shelf and buy it if the cover and back text interested me (and usually it turned out pretty well), but once I got a little older I formed a good understanding of my own tastes and the video game industry as a whole. I've never really needed to have any reliance on reviews as far as purchasing decisions go.

However, I do love both reading and writing reviews. I regard reviewing as an art form, so when I read, I'm more concerned with the writing merit of the piece, even if I absolutely disagree with the opinions presented. Sadly, most professional reviewers couldn't write their way out of a paper bag, though, so I follow various fan reviewers online.

The Great Dane

11-23-2005, 01:32 AM

Yeah, I'm not a fan of reviews anymore either. Unless something I know I will love is coming out, I normally will rent it first just to see how it is. I don't even bother looking at reviews.

Lothars

11-23-2005, 02:30 AM

I agree that there's always been a reviewer of sometype or another

heck when i was young and saw the reviews for chrono trigger and super mario rpg I had to have them

but that was when i was younger now reviews are good reads but nothing that convinces me

you really have to look at all the sources before buying a game in general.

notoriusvig

11-23-2005, 09:03 AM

I usually ignore most mainstream reviews as they never end up being in-tune with my tastes anyway. I always disagree with their "analysis" completely. They always seem to be looking for the game to be something that I'm not looking for. For instance, a lot of shmups get comments in reviews about how short they are in duration but that's if you're continuining after you die. My goal in games like that is to 1-credit clear them thus extending the life of the game greatly. Dumbass mainstream reviewers never seem to take that kinda stuff into consideration.

jdc

11-23-2005, 09:09 AM

There seem to be a few changes that bother me concerning the reviewing of games.

The internet is the biggest culprit when compared to the days of the monthly magazine. With the internet, you don't get just one review prior to the game's release. You get daily updates, features and PREviews to the eventual reviews. By the time the game is released, we've had so much information shoved our way, much of it contradictory, that we don't know whether the final review is reflective of the game or just a final PREview.

If you check your stacks of older magazines, you'll find that graphics were touched on, but the meat of the review was on control and content. These days it seems that the bulk of a review seems to dwell on whether a game looks like ass or not, and very little is devoted to what the game is about.

I find that I myself tend to stick to buying known franchises with proven track records. Funny about this topic.....I'm buying a DS next week and have spent the last few days reading game reviews so that I have a general idea as to which 5 games to buy on that day. I guess that it never stops.

As for the Nintendo 64 days? I bought Nintendo Power religiously but would read the feature articles to learn the gist of a game, and not pay too much attantion to the review section in the back.

googlefest1

11-23-2005, 09:38 AM

i have noticed that reviews and magazines have changed and am very disapointed myself.

Although, i never paid any atention to the opion parts myself. I read them, but i paid more attention to the real decritpion of the game and always decided it was better to form my own opinion. I totally agree with the member that hoped demo disks will change or eliminate reviewers and alow people to form thier own opion. Unfortunatly, I don't think that would ever happen. Sure there will most likely be more demo disks, but for some reason most people need someone to tell them what to do or think. Thats why i think there will always be the reviewer and they will always have a strong influence on the selling strength of products. If a review says a crapy game is great there will be many dopes shouthing the same line. If a reviewer says that a good game sucks and you should take a dump on it and whipe it on the store clerks face - there will be a bunch of dopes that wish they could get away with it.

It always bothered me how much power reviewers had on products but it will never change unless people change.

I didn't want to rain on anyones parade or wishfull thinking, but i belive that what i said is the reality and that it will not change. My wish is that im wrong.

Oh yea - i beleve someone mentioned word of mouth. I have found that most of the time word of mouth is a repetition of what some reviewer said -- especially on brand new products.

As far as gameing goes - i have mostly been an older game or used game buyer and that has certainly worked to my advantage - 1) I think paying less makes a game more enjoyable
2) If a game is bad then its less of a big deal.

3) game has been around for a while and a great number of user opinions has formed on it

CYRiX

11-23-2005, 10:24 AM

I only read reviews to see if they say something like
"Annoying Camera Angels"
"Really Crappy Graphics"
"Glitchy"

Otherwise I disregard their opinions.

Kamino

11-23-2005, 02:44 PM

Here's a whacky idea, how about we stick with those old methods and judge games for ourselves instead of reading a magazine? Isn't that what Rental places are for or going over to a friend's house to borrow the game?

Not always practical. I love my Gameboy, but the rental places don't carry Gameboy carts. Renting or borrowing was also impractical back when I bought a Saturn a few months before it was killed out of the American market.
I tend to buy games on instinct. I never rent. It's become fairly simple. If the game looks like it involves guns, I look at screenshots. Not for graphical judgement at all btw. If it looks like the game play might not suck, I buy it.
Then again, I'll play just about any game involving guns, blowing shit up, or beating the shit out of people.
Renting always seemed like a waste to me. Most of the games I rented as a kid (dad rented me games occasionally) were games I rented because i knew they were too shitty to buy and i'd be done with em in 2 days...these days, i just pass on pissing away the time on those games entirely.
~~~Kamino

Famidrive-16

11-23-2005, 07:38 PM

Reviews were real iffy for me during the 64 days. Great games got great reviews and bad games got bad reviews sure, but everything that had mixed reviews I thought were good/bad. Like Aerogauge, that game got some below average reviews but I thought it was a good game.

Also, that Phalanx game's real fun, even with that oddball cover.