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This is one reason I like the site GamersInfo.net. (Caveat: I've written a few unpaid (beyond a free game) reviews for the site.) They specifically avoid numbers for ratings and have a small reviewer bio at the end of a review. They also cover a lot of the smaller games that don't have a lot of hype; you can find some real treasures. They also cover kid's games, so it's a good resource for parents. In short, they do everything that should be done for game reviews.

As a game developer, I agree that a simple numeric score is really useless. A fan of FPS games might think an RPG is slow and boring and thus rate it low, but as an avid fan of RPGs I might think the game is just right. Or, if a reviewer is gets hung up on some point I don't care about (hates 2D graphics, only wants 5.1 sound, etc.), then the review score is even more meaningless to me.

Anyway, there are a lot more issues than just using numbers for reviews. The whole incestuous nature of reviewers and large companies means that a game with a high advertising budget is going to get shining reviews. As someone pointed out in another comment, Halo 3 got a lot of "perfect" scores despite having a single-player experience most gamers would agree is sub-par. The problem is that if a reviewer gives Halo 3 the review it "deserves" (in their subjective opinion), then that reviewer/site will: a) look foolish for not agreeing with everyone else, and b) not get much friendly advertising dollars (at least from Microsoft) to keep the site up (and the reviewer fed) in the future.

Most reviewers also don't understand games that aren't what they are used to. Specifically for online games, it took a long time for reviewers to "get" even the basics of online games. Of course, most magazines and sites still act like an online game remains the same as when they reviewed it at launch, and only re-review online games when an expansion comes out in stores. All that free content that many game developers provide often goes unnoticed by reviewers. Showing that they do get games, GamerInfo.net has blogs of MMO players to show what playing a game is actually like from a long-term player's point of view.

Sadly, the original article is correct in that we need critical analysis of games to help them be accepted as art. So, we need "reviews", but the current system is largely failing us. The exception is small sites that do honest reviews but that have a hard time getting the funds to stay running.

This is one reason I like the site GamersInfo.net. (Caveat: I've written a few unpaid (beyond a free game) reviews for the site.) They specifically avoid numbers for ratings and have a small reviewer bio at the end of a review. They also cover a lot of the smaller games that don't have a lot of hype; you can find some real treasures. They also cover kid's games, so it's a good resource for parents. In short, they do everything that should be done for game reviews.

As a game developer, I agree that a simple numeric score is really useless. A fan of FPS games might think an RPG is slow and boring and thus rate it low, but as an avid fan of RPGs I might think the game is just right. Or, if a reviewer is gets hung up on some point I don't care about (hates 2D graphics, only wants 5.1 sound, etc.), then the review score is even more meaningless to me.

Anyway, there are a lot more issues than just using numbers for reviews. The whole incestuous nature of reviewers and large companies means that a game with a high advertising budget is going to get shining reviews. As someone pointed out in another comment, Halo 3 got a lot of "perfect" scores despite having a single-player experience most gamers would agree is sub-par. The problem is that if a reviewer gives Halo 3 the review it "deserves" (in their subjective opinion), then that reviewer/site will: a) look foolish for not agreeing with everyone else, and b) not get much friendly advertising dollars (at least from Microsoft) to keep the site up (and the reviewer fed) in the future.

Most reviewers also don't understand games that aren't what they are used to. Specifically for online games, it took a long time for reviewers to "get" even the basics of online games. Of course, most magazines and sites still act like an online game remains the same as when they reviewed it at launch, and only re-review online games when an expansion comes out in stores. All that free content that many game developers provide often goes unnoticed by reviewers. Showing that they do get games, GamerInfo.net has blogs of MMO players to show what playing a game is actually like from a long-term player's point of view.

Sadly, the original article is correct in that we need critical analysis of games to help them be accepted as art. So, we need "reviews", but the current system is largely failing us. The exception is small sites that do honest reviews but that have a hard time getting the funds to stay running.

Oh, it's a gay joke.. no.. no, I get it. Funny. Yeah.

Wait.. perhaps you actually don't know what "twink" means in terms of MMOs, and the homosexual slang is your only reference. That seems quite likely given your "Porn is free as far as I'm concerned" comment.

So, I searched for "everquest twink" in Google (a risky search, I grant you) and the first result defined it. I've seen it used in other MMOs, including WoW.

I have no idea where the slang came from either. It may be a stupid term but it's used quite commonly in MMOs without particularly derogatory meaning.

The poster is correct about the relationship between reviewers and game publishers. Scores get inflated artificially in order to maintain their connections within the game industry. Reviewing games gets expensive when you consider that new games cost $50, and that dozens of mainstream games (and several more smaller scale games) are released every month.

Some sites try to buck the trend, such as GamersInfo.net (full disclosure: I've written reviews for them without direct compensation), but it's hard when you aren't taking publisher "advertising dollars" to supplement the site's income. And, if you have any seriously negative opinion about the game, the publishers get very angry with you.

I'm also a developer, so I've seen it on the other side. My game, Meridian 59 (M59), is a classic online game that launched back in 1996. We bought the rights to the game in 2001 and have worked hard to update the game. We did a rendering engine upgrade (comparison shots at the bottom of that page) about a year ago and tried to get a blurb in a print magazine. Now, M59 isn't the prettiest game, but it has some historical significance in being the first online game available at retail and having a monthly subscription fee. Anyway, we went to a magazine to show off the new engine, and we barely got a mention in the MMO issue of the magazine. Our game was called a "throwback" even though we had poured quite a bit of effort into improving the game. It probably goes without saying that we can't afford to buy print ads in these magazines, and the MMO games that did buy advertising got large articles dedicated to them. (To be fair, more recently we did get a half-page blurb about Meridian 59 in that same magazine recently, but this was quite a while afterwards.)

What's interesting is that while I worked at a game company, they repeatedly said that game reviews are largely meaningless, but that favorable game previews are what really drive sales. You'll notice that just about every game preview you ever read is very favorable, too. Since games are a hit-driven business, most of the sales happen right after launch. In other words, people will buy a game based on very little information. Few people really wait for reviews, but a good preview will give people a desire for a certain games. Something to think about.

So, yeah, there's a few troubles in the reviewing of games. :)

While your at GamersInfo.net, check out the other articles and reviews that have been put up about E3.

Especially the Game reviews.

They can be found at http://www.gamersinfo.net/e3/

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,

It's about time to show these corporate bullies that we will not take this any more.

The problem is, as other people have pointed out, that hype sells. People get excited about hype, and unfortunately gamers don't cut through the bullshit very often. "FANTASTIC MULTIPLAYER!" is a check box that developers and publishers check in order to sell more units.

The problem is, if you don't hype you don't sell units. I run an independent online RPG, Meridian 59. We don't hype our product. What little advertising we've done has been focused on trying to get our name out. We have great PvP, an aspect which appeals to a niche. But, other PvP games have come out with giant hype and so our game gets lost in noise. It's hard to compete with "OMG 100% ORGASMS!" when you try to stick to honest advertising. (Of course, those other PvP games quickly prove to be overhyped and full of bugs. But, still, people buy into the hype.)

So, what can a game player do? As the parent suggests, start doing a bit of critical thinking about the game you want to buy. Unfortunately, it's really hard to find good information about games. The sad reality is that most reviews are forced to be good in order to guarantee advertising income and to meet a deadline. A few sites, such as GamersInfo.net try to give honest reviews of games. (Full disclosure: I've written reviews for the site.) But, how do you really find out how good multiplayer is in a game, or if it even exists?

My personal soapbox is to speak in favor of independent games. Garage Games has a good selection of indie games, including the quite original game Gish. Indie games tend to be more honest, because they often have to rely on great gameplay instead of super-spectacular graphics and production values. You won't see much hype for these games, because they can't afford the carpet-bombing advertising campaign in print magazines. Unfortunately, this means you'll have to work a bit harder to find out about them.

I'd recommend that instead of trying to "stick it to the man" in court, spend that energy in finding indie developers to support. Most of us just want to create cool games which people enjoy. We're not concerned with hype or lying about our product. We do the best we can, and try to get an honest word out about our games. We're not looking to sell millions of copies, just enough to feed ourselves. Honestly, I cared that much about money, I would have gone into some other line of work.

Some thoughts from an indie developer.

Have fun,