A World without Review Numbers
I don’t think I have ever scrolled down to the bottom of a videogame review to see how many out of ten it was awarded and based my decision on what game to by on that number. In fact, I think the only reason numbers are present in reviews these days is so fanboys can know which comment boards to flame.
Back in the day, I used to use scores as a basis for comparison–How good is the new Zelda in comparison to last gen’s version? How good is GoldenEye in comparison to Perfect Dark? How good is Halo 3 in comparison to Solitaire? You know, that sort of stuff.
The HDR Knowledge column on GameSetWatch about game ratings and reviews. The column tries to find the meaning behind review numbers in the world today.
While that may be nothing more than conspiracy, there is incongruency in the text of the review itself. Is a game that is not for everyone a bad game? Not every person enjoys action games like Halo, yet the series (deservedly in some regards) receives superb reviews. Why then does a game like Dodonpachi or Ibara receive disappointing reviews for the same reason? Does a small audience for a game mean the game itself is bad? This cannot be the case, as some “diamonds in the rough” such as Treasure’s Sin and Punishment, and Sega’s Panzer Dragoon Saga received fantastic reviews in their time, largely attributing their lack of success to either lack of exposure, or poor marketing.
Some good games do still go under the radar even after receiving very high reviews of scoring. Psychonauts comes to mind.
Scores are not terrible, but they are inherently flawed. Something is seriously wrong with attributing a numerical score to a subjective activity as reviewing, especially when, past graphical and aural prowess, the gaming rating criteria are in many ways, unexplainable. Not many can explain why Halo, a game series with uninteresting and often terrible single player level design is still so incredibly fun, nor can anyone explain why Super Robot Wars, a series that has largely remained unchanged for 15 years, is still so addicting in each installment.
I am a supporter of a world without numbers on reviews. Many top gaming outlets have tried at one time to do away with them, and I applaud the ones that have succeeded. Even if one reviewer absolutely hates a game, their comments and description may sound appealing to a reader who is a fan of the genre. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
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