How much stock do you put in reviews? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

How much stock do you put in reviews?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Webster
Dec 10, 2008 22:02:58 On the D&D General board, there's a discussion (Edging on thread war) on reviews of D&D 3e and D&D 4e on Amazon.

(Side note: It doesn't matter what the review scores are. 4e IS published. No amount of negative reviews will change that, nor change the fact that people enjoy all editions of the game. For me, it's just a mechanic issue- all editions are still role playing games and each is just as fun.)

One can never really trust "reviews" by random, annomous people on the internet. Many either have an agenda, or don't know what they're talking about.

Not only are public reviews unreliable, IMO, but it seems some "official" type reviews are questionable. Take the reviews of GTA4 for the PC. Yeah, the Xbox 360 game was fantastic and deserves high scores, but the reviewers shouldn't be rating the PC game based on the console games.

The PC games have major issues. This is acknowleded by the game company itself. We're not talking about minor bugs that can be overlooked until the next patch. We're talking game crashing issues. Issue that if it were any other game, or wasn't already reviewed for a console wouldn't get any score higher than a 3 or 4 (On a scale to 10) or a 1 on a scale to 5.

So now, not only am I not trusting the amature review, but I'm questioning some of the so called "professionals", the ones I go to FOR the review of the game.

Personally, I don't buy product based on someone else's review. I take a look at the game myself. People weren't big on GTA 1 and 2, and suddenly GTA 3 was the greatest game ever when it came out. But I KNEW I would like it because I liked the first two. I was on the bandwagon before there was a bandwagon.

Now Fallout 3 looks pretty nice. It's getting some high scores, but that's not what makes me want to look at it. Twilight is getting high scores as well, but there's no chance I even want to look at it.

But- I saw it played at a friend's house and they raved about it. So... should I consider that a review?

How do you take reviews?
#2
crazy_monkey
Dec 10, 2008 22:59:39 Monkey has gotten into the review writing business for Phoenix Lore online magazine. ;)

I do look at reviews as they are often more informative about the product than the official product blurb. Also, if there are a lot of well articulated negative reviews, I'll shy away from buying something.

That said, reviews are taken into consideration along with all the other information available on a product when I'm looking to buy something. ;)
#3
Lord_Ventnor
Dec 10, 2008 23:16:20 If reviews are only 1-3 lines, I generally don't pay them much heed, except maybe to laugh at them.

If the reviewer explains with detail why he/she liked or didn't like aspects of the subject being reviewed, I tend to pay more attention.
#4
ciaran
Dec 11, 2008 0:10:15 There's a popular local zine where I live and the movie reviews are (I'm generalizing here) always wrong and are never reviewed by a competant reviewer. In general the writer seems to love the movie way too much or doesn't have a single decent thing to say about it. Very little middle ground, which would indicate to me that the person weighs in more than his/her personal taste.

Critics are pretty much useless I guess. The best you can hope for is to find one with tastes similar to yours. You're better off asking your friends.
#5
calronmoonflower
Dec 11, 2008 2:10:01 I put very little stock in reviews unless I know the reviewer. I've seen multiple reviews that made outright errors and even made me wonder if the even looked over the material.

Heck while I'm here, here is a few tropes on this.

Fan Dumb
Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch (note the Pic)
Cowboy Bebop At His Computer
#6
ieattrollsforbreakfast
Dec 11, 2008 5:49:44
So now, not only am I not trusting the amature review, but I'm questioning some of the so called "professionals", the ones I go to FOR the review of the game.

It's always a good thing to question a review, whether its professional or not. Any number of things could shift the score of a game, or how a reviewer warms to or gets frustrated by certain aspects. If they're having a good day at the office they might look on things for favourably. Then there's the hype bandwagon, and the pressure to give big budget, high publicity games high scores.

Mostly, though, it's just about personal taste. Just because a reviewer (even a pro) finds something frustrating, doesn't mean you will too. I enjoyed Mirror's Edge just as much as Gears of War 2, for example. And I'm having great fun with Sonic Unleashed, despite the fact it got a 3.5 on GameSpot (compared to an average score of 6-7 from most other reviewers).

So rather than trust reviews, which can be shaky, I think it's better to do a bit of research yourself. Read the previews and features too, and check out the videos and play the demos.

So, to answer the question "How do you take reviews?"
I'd say "A varyingly useful and generally small part of the decision making process."
#7
aotrscommander
Dec 11, 2008 11:18:29 Some, but I don't generally let them rule my decision making. I've found Gamespot to be a reasonable benchmark for me. Now, I know that it does have a reputation for sucking up sometimes, but to be fair, I don't play the sort of games it's said to have done that too. (I'm soley an RTS and single-player RPG Lich).

Even then, I add it as part of my decision process. I've had quite a lot of fun out of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3, Avatar (the first game) and Star Ocean 1 which had mediocre to poor reviews from Gamespot. (Star Ocean 1 in particular got a very undeserved rating, but then again, Star Ocean 2 did the first time around).

I generally will have a look at other places (IGN for one) and look around to see what other reviewers said if I'm borderline. But usually, Gamespot is reasonably accurate for my tastes and I know whether I'm going to be interested enough to put the game on my to get list.

If I'm not already half or more convinced by a game (by, for example, any game with 'BioWare RPG', 'C&C' or 'Final Fantasy' on the side), I concentrate on the technical side, rather than the plot/story side of a review. I can cope with moribund plots if something's entertaining enough otherwise; and those aspects are most subjective anyway.

(Some might accuse me of low standards, as my standards include Pokemon, Naruto, the prequel Star Wars trilogy and Harry Potter. I might accuse them of having a large rocket hole in their lower abdoman, to which they might reply, wait, what I don't have a fwoosh boom aaargh.)

The other reviewer, of course, of note that I use is Zero Punctuation's Yatzee. I watch his reviews as much for amusement as anything else, since he and I have nearly diametrically opposed tastes in games and he doesn't uaully review anything I'd be interested in playing even if if was the best thing ever. Still, on the occasions he's reviewed a game I've actually played or intent to play he's been fair (well as fair as he gets!) (His review of Mass Effect springs to mind, since he was absolutely right - everything he disliked was pretty much what attracts me to RPGs.)

Like everything else, some sense should be read into reviews. I will always take into account any reasonably impartial, well-constructed argument (or at least one that's bloody funny). Ultimately, they're very useful, but I don't rely on them totally (or at least not on any one reviewer totally).
#8
Phobos
Dec 11, 2008 11:29:29 I often use reviews over sales material any day, and I often try to find multiple sources, esp from average people, rather than some paid source that is reviewing the product.

Last and never least, when it comes to D&D books, I go spend an hour at the book store having a coffee and reading them.
#9
Cpt_Micha
Dec 11, 2008 12:40:33 When it comes to electronic entertainment (Read videogames ((GASP! ))) I tend to find someone that can understand what it means to objectively view and look over something. That's criteria number one.

If I discover the person has an agenda (like how I suspect quite a few EA games get good reviews) then the credibility is diminished.

The next step I take, is I take a known "good product" in my eyes.
Then, I weigh it next to how they viewed it. See how well our opinions match up.

If they match up well, consistently with known products, then I will trust the source.

If they don't I ignore them.

For example if someone tells me Cygirls or Dirge Of Cerebus are good games I'll just walk away while I still can before I start laughing.

With Pen and Paper Products, my review acceptance process is a very similar thing, except since I don't have any mags that I currently trust (magazines for the abbreviation impaired) for P&P needs, I ask people I know on various boards, messangers chat rooms or what have you. If I see enough good things said, I'll probably at least look into it. (legally or not) If people I'm more than likely agree with say something's good I'll at least look into it.

For books it's much the same way though I have been known to just reach on a shelf and pick one in a seeming random fashion(unless it's a series.. then I look for the first in the series).

To see how well a product is doing in it's given community though all I pay attention to are sales.

Generally speaking with gaming, if it sucks it doesn't sell.(Knows I'll get flamed for this probably. Call of Duty 4 aside) Books, Movies, Comics and Music on the other hand. I ask people I know first.
#10
batshido
Dec 11, 2008 13:18:16 I don't trust what are effectively annonymous reviews. If it's got an actual name attached to it (not just something somebody typed in, but a byline on a site or in a publication) I tend to give it a little bit more weight. I probably trust online sources a little too much, but I only trust other posters on forums that I recognize, so that I can backtrack their preferences and see how well their feelings on a given product are going to mesh with mine.

In the end, though, I'll generally make the call based on a combination of reviews and my own personal research into the product. I'm not going to rush out and buy something because a guy whose tag I recognize on a forum said it was awesome, and I'm sure not going to trust driveby reviews on places like Amazon.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Webster Dec 10, 2008 22:02:58	On the D&D General board, there's a discussion (Edging on thread war) on reviews of D&D 3e and D&D 4e on Amazon. (Side note: It doesn't matter what the review scores are. 4e IS published. No amount of negative reviews will change that, nor change the fact that people enjoy all editions of the game. For me, it's just a mechanic issue- all editions are still role playing games and each is just as fun.) One can never really trust "reviews" by random, annomous people on the internet. Many either have an agenda, or don't know what they're talking about. Not only are public reviews unreliable, IMO, but it seems some "official" type reviews are questionable. Take the reviews of GTA4 for the PC. Yeah, the Xbox 360 game was fantastic and deserves high scores, but the reviewers shouldn't be rating the PC game based on the console games. The PC games have major issues. This is acknowleded by the game company itself. We're not talking about minor bugs that can be overlooked until the next patch. We're talking game crashing issues. Issue that if it were any other game, or wasn't already reviewed for a console wouldn't get any score higher than a 3 or 4 (On a scale to 10) or a 1 on a scale to 5. So now, not only am I not trusting the amature review, but I'm questioning some of the so called "professionals", the ones I go to FOR the review of the game. Personally, I don't buy product based on someone else's review. I take a look at the game myself. People weren't big on GTA 1 and 2, and suddenly GTA 3 was the greatest game ever when it came out. But I KNEW I would like it because I liked the first two. I was on the bandwagon before there was a bandwagon. Now Fallout 3 looks pretty nice. It's getting some high scores, but that's not what makes me want to look at it. Twilight is getting high scores as well, but there's no chance I even want to look at it. But- I saw it played at a friend's house and they raved about it. So... should I consider that a review? How do you take reviews?
#2 crazy_monkey Dec 10, 2008 22:59:39	Monkey has gotten into the review writing business for Phoenix Lore online magazine. ;) I do look at reviews as they are often more informative about the product than the official product blurb. Also, if there are a lot of well articulated negative reviews, I'll shy away from buying something. That said, reviews are taken into consideration along with all the other information available on a product when I'm looking to buy something. ;)
#3 Lord_Ventnor Dec 10, 2008 23:16:20	If reviews are only 1-3 lines, I generally don't pay them much heed, except maybe to laugh at them. If the reviewer explains with detail why he/she liked or didn't like aspects of the subject being reviewed, I tend to pay more attention.
#4 ciaran Dec 11, 2008 0:10:15	There's a popular local zine where I live and the movie reviews are (I'm generalizing here) always wrong and are never reviewed by a competant reviewer. In general the writer seems to love the movie way too much or doesn't have a single decent thing to say about it. Very little middle ground, which would indicate to me that the person weighs in more than his/her personal taste. Critics are pretty much useless I guess. The best you can hope for is to find one with tastes similar to yours. You're better off asking your friends.
#5 calronmoonflower Dec 11, 2008 2:10:01	I put very little stock in reviews unless I know the reviewer. I've seen multiple reviews that made outright errors and even made me wonder if the even looked over the material. Heck while I'm here, here is a few tropes on this. Fan Dumb Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch (note the Pic) Cowboy Bebop At His Computer
#6 ieattrollsforbreakfast Dec 11, 2008 5:49:44	So now, not only am I not trusting the amature review, but I'm questioning some of the so called "professionals", the ones I go to FOR the review of the game. It's always a good thing to question a review, whether its professional or not. Any number of things could shift the score of a game, or how a reviewer warms to or gets frustrated by certain aspects. If they're having a good day at the office they might look on things for favourably. Then there's the hype bandwagon, and the pressure to give big budget, high publicity games high scores. Mostly, though, it's just about personal taste. Just because a reviewer (even a pro) finds something frustrating, doesn't mean you will too. I enjoyed Mirror's Edge just as much as Gears of War 2, for example. And I'm having great fun with Sonic Unleashed, despite the fact it got a 3.5 on GameSpot (compared to an average score of 6-7 from most other reviewers). So rather than trust reviews, which can be shaky, I think it's better to do a bit of research yourself. Read the previews and features too, and check out the videos and play the demos. So, to answer the question "How do you take reviews?" I'd say "A varyingly useful and generally small part of the decision making process."
#7 aotrscommander Dec 11, 2008 11:18:29	Some, but I don't generally let them rule my decision making. I've found Gamespot to be a reasonable benchmark for me. Now, I know that it does have a reputation for sucking up sometimes, but to be fair, I don't play the sort of games it's said to have done that too. (I'm soley an RTS and single-player RPG Lich). Even then, I add it as part of my decision process. I've had quite a lot of fun out of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3, Avatar (the first game) and Star Ocean 1 which had mediocre to poor reviews from Gamespot. (Star Ocean 1 in particular got a very undeserved rating, but then again, Star Ocean 2 did the first time around). I generally will have a look at other places (IGN for one) and look around to see what other reviewers said if I'm borderline. But usually, Gamespot is reasonably accurate for my tastes and I know whether I'm going to be interested enough to put the game on my to get list. If I'm not already half or more convinced by a game (by, for example, any game with 'BioWare RPG', 'C&C' or 'Final Fantasy' on the side), I concentrate on the technical side, rather than the plot/story side of a review. I can cope with moribund plots if something's entertaining enough otherwise; and those aspects are most subjective anyway. (Some might accuse me of low standards, as my standards include Pokemon, Naruto, the prequel Star Wars trilogy and Harry Potter. I might accuse them of having a large rocket hole in their lower abdoman, to which they might reply, wait, what I don't have a fwoosh boom aaargh.) The other reviewer, of course, of note that I use is Zero Punctuation's Yatzee. I watch his reviews as much for amusement as anything else, since he and I have nearly diametrically opposed tastes in games and he doesn't uaully review anything I'd be interested in playing even if if was the best thing ever. Still, on the occasions he's reviewed a game I've actually played or intent to play he's been fair (well as fair as he gets!) (His review of Mass Effect springs to mind, since he was absolutely right - everything he disliked was pretty much what attracts me to RPGs.) Like everything else, some sense should be read into reviews. I will always take into account any reasonably impartial, well-constructed argument (or at least one that's bloody funny). Ultimately, they're very useful, but I don't rely on them totally (or at least not on any one reviewer totally).
#8 Phobos Dec 11, 2008 11:29:29	I often use reviews over sales material any day, and I often try to find multiple sources, esp from average people, rather than some paid source that is reviewing the product. Last and never least, when it comes to D&D books, I go spend an hour at the book store having a coffee and reading them.
#9 Cpt_Micha Dec 11, 2008 12:40:33	When it comes to electronic entertainment (Read videogames ((GASP! ))) I tend to find someone that can understand what it means to objectively view and look over something. That's criteria number one. If I discover the person has an agenda (like how I suspect quite a few EA games get good reviews) then the credibility is diminished. The next step I take, is I take a known "good product" in my eyes. Then, I weigh it next to how they viewed it. See how well our opinions match up. If they match up well, consistently with known products, then I will trust the source. If they don't I ignore them. For example if someone tells me Cygirls or Dirge Of Cerebus are good games I'll just walk away while I still can before I start laughing. With Pen and Paper Products, my review acceptance process is a very similar thing, except since I don't have any mags that I currently trust (magazines for the abbreviation impaired) for P&P needs, I ask people I know on various boards, messangers chat rooms or what have you. If I see enough good things said, I'll probably at least look into it. (legally or not) If people I'm more than likely agree with say something's good I'll at least look into it. For books it's much the same way though I have been known to just reach on a shelf and pick one in a seeming random fashion(unless it's a series.. then I look for the first in the series). To see how well a product is doing in it's given community though all I pay attention to are sales. Generally speaking with gaming, if it sucks it doesn't sell.(Knows I'll get flamed for this probably. Call of Duty 4 aside) Books, Movies, Comics and Music on the other hand. I ask people I know first.
#10 batshido Dec 11, 2008 13:18:16	I don't trust what are effectively annonymous reviews. If it's got an actual name attached to it (not just something somebody typed in, but a byline on a site or in a publication) I tend to give it a little bit more weight. I probably trust online sources a little too much, but I only trust other posters on forums that I recognize, so that I can backtrack their preferences and see how well their feelings on a given product are going to mesh with mine. In the end, though, I'll generally make the call based on a combination of reviews and my own personal research into the product. I'm not going to rush out and buy something because a guy whose tag I recognize on a forum said it was awesome, and I'm sure not going to trust driveby reviews on places like Amazon.