Coffee Talk #4: Game Review Scores and You

Posted on October 15th, by raymond padilla in Coffee Talk, PC Gaming, Today's Specials, Videogames. 257 comments

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, whether the Motorola Cliq will turn the company around, why the hell it’s raining in Los Angeles, or bellybutton lint, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

In Coffee Talk #2, reader rbee90 brought up the topic of game reviews, which led to a conversation about review scores. The discussion started to get interesting and reader RRODisHere suggested that I write about the topic in Coffee Talk. Well here it is!

I have a ton of problems with the way most — not all — game reviews work. Scoring is a huge pet peeve of mine. 100-point scales are just stupid. I’d love for someone to (intelligently) explain the one-point difference between a game that gets an 87 and one that gets an 88. Five-point scales — which I like a whole lot better — are a problem because of the way the business uses scores and how some consumers interpret them. Here’s a pro tip for you — three stars out of five is not the same as 60 percent. Yet that’s the way a three-out-of-five is treated by review aggregators (most of the time). What’s worse is that some publishers base royalties on aggregate review scores, which is completely unfair to developers.

Borat Thumbs Up Coffee Talk #4: Game Review Scores and You

Personally, I think there should only be three review scores — buy it, rent it, eff it, symbolized by thumbs up, thumbs in the middle, and a thumbs down (or Megan Fox’s thumbs). Isn’t purchasing, renting, or passing what it all comes down to anyway? I pushed for this system when I worked at GameSpy, but nobody was buying it. Oddly enough, my boss at GameSpy eventually went to Crispy Gamer, which uses a scale like the one I suggested. Anyway, the bottom line is that scores have become so important that the words behind them are often overlooked and sometimes ignored.

Then there’s the way some games are reviewed. Some publishers send code to reviewers days before they’re allowed to publish their reviews. For competitive reasons, everyone wants to get the review up the second the embargo lifts. This has the reviewer cramming a pint glass of gameplay into a shot glass of time. Another practice that bugs the hell out of me is when publishers have reviewers play the game off site. In these cases, a reviewer has to commute to a hotel suite or a conference room to play the game for a few days before writing the review. Again, the short amount of time introduces a problem, but it’s compounded by having to play the game in a completely unnatural setting. My issue here is that reviewers have to play games in a way that few consumers would. Do most people play 50-hour games in three days? Of course not. Do most people make daily commutes to play games in a conference room? No.

Okay, I’m getting angry about the whole deal. What I’d like to know from you is what you expect from game reviews. Do you like like 100-point scales or do you prefer five-star systems? What information is most important to you in a game review? Do you think that the unnatural way reviewers have to play games leads to an unnatural view of the game? Leave a comment and let me know (please)!

Coffee Talk PC Gaming Videogames

http://rpad.tv raymond padilla

@Everyone A word of advice — if you're every applying for health insurance on ehealthinsurance.com, make sure you picked the right plan before hitting submit. I spent a frickin' hour on the application last night, only to make a moronic error. Now I'm jumping through hoops to see if they can make the change.

*smackshead*

@tokz_21 Here are some articles from Lifehacker (great site!) on iPhone autocorrect.

http://lifehacker.com/search/iphone%20autocorrect…
Shockwave562

lol, oh slicky that's funny. I thought it was still exclusive. well that's a relief
SlickyFats

Mirrors Edge is only $20 brand new at Best Buy
Thundercracker

@shockwave

totally what im going to do

and i still have to buy assassins creed, the god of war collection and modern warfare 2
Shockwave562

@tokz. check your settings, you can disable this option for text entry.

I've been using the iphone since release so most of my friends are pretty impressed with how well I can type on it by now
SlickyFats

@Rpad

I tried to get health insurance because our company canceled our group policy, but when they ask what meds I am on and what for they tend to hang up on me, I mean really is a Blood Pressure of 220/112 THAT bad? lol (sadly this is the truth)
Thundercracker

infamous for 37 bucks

free shipping

SOLD!

that was one of my toys r us games too….

i know i know, i should have had this game already
http://rpad.tv raymond padilla

@SlickyFats This is my first experience getting individual health insurance. I was shocked at how much info was required.
Hrolf

I think MS points are the dumbest idea everl why cant a damn dollar mean a damn dollar.

As far as the cost of having gold goes, I pay for the service,I would of course prefer free, but MS went a different route with that. I would not be surprised though if within a year or so Sony starts to do the same thing. I dont own a PS3(yet) and dont have the money to get one. I wont anytime soon either as having kids drains the funds for anything other then them usually.

As for RROD, I think anyone who has owned an Xbox knows how badly it sucks, I have had the RROD many times, and I hate it, but I am not going to go to gamestop and dump all my games off for a PS3 and a few games. so long as they fix the problem, I will continue to play my Xbox.
oOcornflakeOo

@slickyfats…

umm… you might wanna get that checked out.. dude even a brisk walk around a park or on a treadmill, yoga, meditation or something… wow.
RRODisHere

@Shockwave

I just read your comment about Xbox owners sometimes defending things that they shouldn't and I couldn't help but be reminded of some really moronic defenses. As RedRingOfDeath, when I baited the Xbox fanboys I founded it hilarious how some of them defended the RROD situation when it was at it highest point. In all seriousness, that should never have gotten defended and M$ should have never have gotten a pass for that.
SlickyFats

@RPad

Yeah it is a copious amount of information, some of which I don't know why they need i.e. the name of my 4th unborn son?!?

Also be prepared to pay out the A$$! Individual is a ripoff
tokz_21

@Rpad

Thank you very much for the info, it seems like a hassle to add the z or just enter the word in the seach google field on my safari browser but i guess this will have to do, unless you have any info on jb apps that can help.
RRODisHere

@Thundercracker

You didn't have Infamous already?!
SlickyFats

@cornflake

No its in check now. Its not that I don't exercise. Hypertension runs in my family. It had more to do with cutting out Salt and caffeine. Its now down to typically 110/65. That was hard to get used to. I had no energy for nearly a month.
Thundercracker

@rrod

i know, im ashamed

although i have already played the hell out of it
Shockwave562

haha, RROD. it's true. some people are blindly in love with a company that only cares about their dollars. let's face it. every corporation is only concerned about our dollars and theirs. though I love my PS3 and my 360 I can't think of a single console I've ever owned without its faults
Thundercracker

@rrod

i think its cause i didnt wanna pay 60 bucks for a game with no multiplayer, now i got it for 37
oOcornflakeOo

@Hrolf

hmmm talk to me when that warranty runs out.. and where did that diff route take M$? and xbots (not calling you one) have been saying "oh i bet PSN will cost within a year from now" since the PS3 came out
Thundercracker

lol

i need to do this more often

just got arkham asylum for 30 bucks
http://rpad.tv raymond padilla

@SlickyFats Actually, the plan I had at work was the worst and most expensive plan I've ever had in my life. The stuff on ehealthinsurance has better coverage for way less.
Thundercracker

only good thing about working at ups

free and amazing benefits
RRODisHere

@Hrolf

o0cornflake0o made a good point. What will you do when the RROD warranty runs out?
Smartguy

@Thundercracker

Gratz on AA for cheap. Though I wish you would have bought it full price to push their units sales up lol. WWE Legends is quite a treat if you are an old school fan. The game suffers from bad controls in my opinion. The game isn't unplayable, it 's just that if you fight another person don't try and throw them or anything. Just spam punches.

HOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! USA USA USA
Shockwave562

@RROD, if my xbox breaks out of warranty (next year) I'll probably just get the arcade. I've already got the HDMI cable, and 120 gig HDD.. so 200 bucks isn't too bad. or MS will fix RROD for $100 (but I'd probably rather have new)
oOcornflakeOo

i haven't had health insurance since i've been outa high school. health insurance is for the weak!! hmmph! B-)
Hrolf

The route they took was right up the consumers ass without lube lol. As for PSN I am surprised they dont charge, though they dont use their own servers for other companies games do they?
http://rpad.tv raymond padilla

@oOcornflakeOo Ha! You'll think differently when torn cartilage is floating around in your knee area, sometimes causing crippling pain.

:P
RRODisHere

@Shockwave

Yeah, you're probably better off getting a new arcade if they really are supposed to be of better quality. I truly think M$ wanted to make the arcade SKU that cheap because they knew people would have to buy multiple systems.
Smartguy

@Everyone

There is no fault in Hrolf buying an xbox. If he has to buy a new one then he buys a new one. I bought more than one PS2 and 2 PS1 units. Oh yeah, 2 gamecubes. Things happen. Oh well. One of the downsides of mass production. I own all three current machines. I choose the games for it by these criteria: 1) are my friends getting it and for which system? 2) which controller would be better for this game? (FPS for 360). It's as simple as that.

Hrolf has said more than once that the price for a PS3 isn't in the cards. I understand that and can't begrudge anyone for it. I sure as hell didn't buy one when they were 600 bucks.

So it seems that my classes are being cut short and outright cancelled since the king…I mean POTUS is here in our area today. Fringe benefit I guess.
Hrolf

What shockwave said. Ill stick it out till next generation systems, but they wont have my money next time around. I never owned a PS2 and still regret that decision. I will have a PS3 next year, hopefully early on so I can enjoy the games I have wanted to play(LBP, Infamous, Uncharted 2, KZ 2) to name a few.
oOcornflakeOo

ughh..

@shockwave..

its consumers like you that encourage american corporations to short stick its costumers and continue to mass produce shiz in a box. you know, we as a people have forgotten how to hold ppl and companies accountable for what they say, sell, and claim. it makes me sick
Smartguy

I wish Sony would invest in more bandwidth for PSN. Took me 25 minutes to download a 256mb patch for a game last night. That is crazy. I did find something great about PSN last night as well…Venture Bros is $2 per episode! WOOT
Smartguy

@cornflake

American corps huh? I'm sure the QC at Euro corps, Japanese corps, and Chinese corps is no better. We get inferior goods because we choose to spend our money on inferior goods. All about spreading the money around we have and making it last.
http://rpad.tv raymond padilla

@Shockwave562 That's actually the first good reason I've heard for buying the Arcade SKU.
Shockwave562

you may have a point cornflake. but I'm not the one taking a stand against corporations, I'm way too lazy to do that. truth be told I bought a couple of PS2s because of the Laser read problem. I really hate what happened with MS but I love good games more. to me the console isn't about MS or Sony. it's about developers who put their heart and souls in to these games. to me the console is just the means to that end. nothing more
Shockwave562

haha, RPad, well if it didn't have HDMI I would have to think more about that. let me be the first to say Finally!
RRODisHere

@Hrolf

There will be a big backlog of good PS3 exclusives waiting on you when you buy a PS3 next year.
oOcornflakeOo

@Ray, thats what drugs are for.. i'll be a nurse in like 8 months so.. ::crosses fingers, knocks on wood, etc::
Hrolf

Yea. unfortunately I wont be able to grab a backward compatible system and get some PS2 games to play. I played GTA SA on the PS2 and that was it. SO many games I missed.
http://rpad.tv raymond padilla

@oOcornflakeOo I'm on meds, but that can't control where the floating bits of cartilage go. Ha! My mom's a nurse, so I'm totally down with your endeavor. Nursing is a great profession that's in high demand today. Good luck!!!

@Everyone Your interview questions are wanted! Please check this out and leave some questions if you have time:

http://rpad.tv/2009/10/15/questions-wanted/
Shockwave562

well Hrolf at least they'll be available on PSN sometime in the future. personally I'd rather grab a copy used on Amazon or Ebay but hopefully the PSN price for PS2 games will be reasonable enough
http://www.gamerswishlist.com/ Nightshade386

I went through 3 PS2's and 2 XBOX's last gen. I've also gone through 2 360's, although only one of them was a RRoD. The other was a disc drive faliure. I also had a 36" TV burn out on me in less than 5 years. I'm shocked my PC has lasted 6 years with only one visit from the computer DR to make things "mostly" alright. It's unfortunate, but nothing expensive is made to last anymore.
RRODisHere

@Hrolf

Dude, I hate that lack of BC topic. If you want to play PS2 games then get a PS2.
http://www.gamerswishlist.com/ Nightshade386

I tend to think that there should be some sort of way for PS2 game owners to put their UPC codes in and download the game for free rather than having to pay for it a 2nd time. I feel the same way about the Games on Demand on XBL honestly.
Shockwave562

that's actually a pretty cool idea Nightshade. using the upc could prevent piracy too
Greg Brown

I don't agree with any point system. What if the gamer is an RTS fanatic? He's not going to buy an FPS game like Halo 3 or Modern Warfare 2, even though it might get high scores from reviewers.

I'm not sure if everyone thinks that the ratings are competing against every game, or just the genre that it's in, or maybe they should have two ratings. I mean a 4.5 on Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and a 4.7 on Call Of Duty 4 doesn't exactly mean one is better then the other. You can compare apples and oranges to get the differences and see which one you like more, but this is completely different.

All in all, games should have three ratings, although Story can be replaced by another factor, I think it would do well.

Story – Does it have a good story, or is it just bland?

Replay Value – Can you play this over and over until your thumbs bleed?

Multiplayer – Is this game really awesome for you and your friends?
http://rpad.tv raymond padilla

@Greg Brown I mostly agree with you. The system I like isn't based on points. However, I don't think that the three criteria you listed is enough. A lot of enjoyment can be derived from graphics and sound, for example.
Shockwave562

@ Greg – see a lot of that preference stuff comes down to the education of the individual. I am almost certain the new FF will probably get a 9. something on metacritic but JRPGs are just not for me. you have to be an educated buyer to know whether or not you might like a game. and genre is a good place to start
Greg Brown

@Ray Oh right, I totally forgot about the media of the game itself like sound and graphics.

Ha.

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Coffee Talk #4: Game Review Scores and You

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