Reviews for GC games: How much do you depend on them?

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David G:
I really only go by reviews if I am renting the game. Once that is done and it's proven that the game is a must buy, i go out and get it.

Biohazard:
I don't care about reviewers opinions, look what they gave RE2-3. Such great games with little scores due to what...price? I mean come on now, I don't read any reviews at all and don't care what the editors think.

Kellk:
I'm in the same boat as Sean (post above). I love just reading all the game sites and that includes the reviews. I use them for corroboration of my own feelings on certain titles based on what I've seen and heard of them. However, the most important thing reviewers do for me is playtest. If they tell me the control is awkward, or there are graphical glitches like clipping, pop up, framerate problems, etc. that factors heavily into whether I will get a game, even if I really want the game and like everything else about it. At that point, I look to see if there is an alternative -- maybe a port for another system, or a similar game in the genre that doesn't have these problems.
Reviews are always subjective. And even when care is taken, sometimes you're gonna get a guy that hates RPG's and likes fighting games reviewing some tactical strategy game set in a fantasy world and they just won't understand what's to like about it. That's when you look for more reviews or public opinion to straighten things out.

I like the IGN reviews best, and generally go to them first. Then I'll check Gamespot. Then I'll go to Gamerankings and get a general feel. Nintendo Power has multiple reviewers for each title, and I like that in principle (and I especially like how they rank the reviewers' preferences of genre) but for some reason their reviews don't work for me. Maybe it's because they don't devote enough space to explain their thoughts, or maybe they just suck. /shrug. I love reading Penny Arcade and like their opinions, but I don't tend to like the same things they do. For instance, MoO is a whole big pile of boredom to me. OPM seems to do a better job than Nintendo Power, but of course, they review different games. I get a sense that they are given more leeway for independent thought than the NP guys.

Ian Sane:
Most of my Gamecube games are first and second party titles and those are consistently good enough that I usually buy them on release day. Sometimes I get to look at some reviews first sometimes I don't. I do usually check out reviews afterwards just because I'm curious to see what other people felt about the game. Third party games I usually check out reviews first as they're not quite as consistently good. So in those cases I might wait a few days after release to buy them if I have to in order to read some reviews. A lot of games (unfortunately) don't get released in my area (BC) until a few days after the American release date so I often have time to read reviews beforehand. For titles that I'm quite sure I'll buy on or close to release I'll usually just check Gamespot and IGN (and PGC if they have one up in time).

There are of course titles that I'm only sort of interested in and I always read reviews ahead of time for those. In those situations I'll usually check a lot of reviews just to make sure the title is worth owning. In those cases the average score on GameRankings.com plays a big part in my decision. Something like Tube Slider for example is a title I'm interested in but I don't know much about the game so I'll check out every review I can when it comes out.

The final score does play a part in my decision but it's usually the content of the review that really helps me decide. Now if a title gets like a 3/10 I won't even bother to read the review but if it gets like a 7.5 or an 8 I'll read the whole review just in case what the reviewer didn't like I'm willing to overlook. It's the same thing with a high score like a 9. Resident Evil got pretty high scores but I didn't buy it because of the controls. Most reviewers were willing to overlook that issue but I wasn't so I didn't buy it. I've learned to do that ever since I bought Jet Force Gemini (which got good scores) and realized that the aiming was just too irritating and I couldn't enjoy the game.

There are other factors that play into things. My birthday is in December so I don't buy many titles that are released late in the year because I can instead ask for them as birthday or Christmas gifts. In those situations I'll read many reviews because often I'll have a good period of space between the release date and the time I recieve the game as a gift. In those situations I read the reviews more to hype me up for the game rather than to tell if it's worth buying. Another factor is that I rarely buy two brand new games in one month so if two games I'm really interested in come out at roughly the same time I'll likely read a lot of reviews for the title I don't buy with the intent on buying a used copy down the road.

One thing worth mentioning is that if I didn't read reviews I never would have even tried Super Smash Bros Melee. I hated the first game and assumed I wouldn't care for the second but every review I read said it was the best Cube game released yet so I gave in and rented it for a friend's birthday. I absolutely loved it and it's one of my favourite Gamecube titles. I never would have given it a chance if I hadn't read reviews beforehand.

WhoDey:
I think almost everyone who is knowledgable of the gaming industry depends on reviews to some extent. Why would you not want to? Back when I started playing the NES there was no internet and very few game mags to check up on games with. I remember going to a store plenty of times with $50 in my pocket having no idea what to get. I'd judge a game solely by looking at the back of the box. That's all I had and often got burned by doing this. Fifty bucks is a lot of money to get burned on, especially when you didn't have a job.

Reviews are cool because it gives you an idea of what the game is like. Now just because some game gets 9's and 10's across the board doesn't mean I'll go buy it. I still don't have Smash Bros' because I don't like fighting games. And just because someone gives a game a 5 or 6 doesn't mean I won't enjoy it.

We all know what kind of games we like. It's stupid not to use reviews to make sure it's what you think it is. Even if you just listen to a friend, he's still giving you his review so really you are using reviews. Use common sense and looking at reviews can't hurt.

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