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I forgot where I read it and who was involved (I think one was GMR) but looking through Google suggests it's less clear cut than I thought, some dispute it, others believe it. The only hard evidence we have of such behaviour is the threat by Trip Hawkins but that guy is clearly not representative of the game industry.

One thing to keep in mind is that most of us here aren't "average" gamers. Hell, I develop games for a living so I'm automatically disqualified. Now, Katamari Damacy is well-known to the hardcore gamer crowd, but it doesn't really have mindshare with the more mainstream audience. However, a game like Half-Life 2 or Doom 3 are going to be covered in mainstream magazines. (One could argue this has more to do with the "realistic graphics" being more interesting to the average person than trippy Japanese games about rolling stuff into a ball.)

On the larger topic, I think that review scores are garbage for the most part. It's hard to find people that are unbiased and independent. It's well known that publishers brow-beat magazine editors, holding the threat of losing advertising revenue over their heads. (Okay, okay, 3DO is a bad example due to the fairly reliable lack of quality there, but rest assured other large publishers have paid money [directly or indirectly through "press junkets"] to have good reviews done of games that are real turkeys.) It's hard to find an unbiased source.

One site I really like that breaks the trend is GamersInfo.net. (Full disclosure, I've written a few reviews for the site, but that's mostly because I really enjoy and appreciate what they're doing.) The games don't have number scores, and every reviewer has a profile you can look at. You can find reviewers that like the same types of games you do and follow their reviews. Or, you can figure that the FPS review by the hard-core RPG fan might not be exactly the same as an FPS fan's view of the game.

I highly recommend checking the site out if you want good reviews.

Have fun,

You can be sure that at Gamers.com there are no bought reviews. In fact, in certain situations we've even received hate email by developers and publishers for not praising their game. We report what we consider to be fair and just, despite all the buzz.

The upside to that is if you don't get angry when a game is poorly-received, it means that you weren't passionate enough about making it. :) Of course, yelling at your reviewers may not work out so well in your favor, either. I'm always reluctant to contact reviewers asking them for more insight, but I do try to send a note of thanks.

From the outside, it seems that Rockstar did a good job in this respect -- the second-in-series, Grand Theft Auto II received low marks in various reviews, but they seem to have taken them as feedback, and produced a winner with GTA III.

Between reading a review and following up on other gamers opinions, one should have a rough idea if the game is worth purchasing.

I might twist that slightly -- given the number of games available these days, I'd say that professional and player reviews most often give me an idea as to whether it's even worthwhile to try the demo.
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Inago Rage - A demo worth downloading(!)

he's not going to win any points with anyone for his comments earlier this year

Read it a bit more carefully: The comments were made in a private letter 3.5 years ago; they were only published last month.

he's not going to win any points with anyone for his comments earlier this year

Read it a bit more carefully: The comments were made in a private letter 3.5 years ago; they were only published last month.

As well as that console fiasco, don't forget the fact that in 1996 3D'oh (as we used to call them) bought up and subsequently trashed Meridian 59, which is now widely accepted as the first commercial graphical MUD and a forerunner to the MMORPG industry. Trip Hawkins was handed a glimpse of the future and did everything he could to squeeze the service to destruction within around three years - completely handing their slice of the market over to the 'newcomers' - UO, EQ etc.. Ranting aside, this guy has done very -very- little to expand the industry and has experienced even less 'consistent product success'. IMHO people should receive honours and awards for outstanding achievements ONLY and not simply for being part of the scene for long enough.

Oh and let's not forget the way this guy handles his critics.

Trip Hawkins is an interesting choice, in that the other inductees were all heavily involved in game development, whereas he was more of a facilitator. There's also a great deal of debate on whether Hawkins is to be villified or celebrated. I'll throw in with the latter category, because he pulled together the "electronic artists" who created my favorite games of the early '80s.

An article written by the Dot Eaters does a good job of describing how I think of Electronic Arts when it was just a small studio. I'm still fond of those LP-style packages. And their toolbox-titles, such as Adventure Construction Set, Pinball Construction Set and Racing Destruction Set brought about my own interest in creating games with a strong building component to them. There was nothing in the world like M.U.L.E. before Dan Bunten/Danielle Bunten Berry created it. And I think it was Hawkins that made these things possible.

He may deserve the harsh scrutiny he receives -- and, certainly, he's not going to win any points with anyone for his comments earlier this year. But somehow I can't hate the fellow who brought together so many bright folks under one roof. Electronic Arts has recently published some of my favorite games, but it's the early ones I remember best.
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Inago Rage - Create and fight within your own FPS arenas.
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