magerette
Hedgewitch
- Joined
- October 18, 2006
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Kotaku has an editorial up on the subject of game reviews and why they don't seem to work properly, their theory laying the blame on the common concept of the numerical score:
More information....But after reading countless video game reviews over the years,...it's become more and more obvious that the video game review system is dated, limiting and even, at times, unintentionally condescending....
...If there is no such thing as a perfect game, then why the hell are you scoring out of 100? It's not just PC Gamer that thinks this way—most publications, even those who do give out "perfect" scores, do so begrudgingly. It's as if the developer has somehow cheated and broken their system.
The movie reviewers solved this problem a long time ago. That's why most adopted a simpler rating system in which a 4-star movie didn't imply "perfection" but supreme excellence. In most cases, games are penalized through being divided by a sum that they can never possibly reach. What does that make a 94 or a 9.5 then...is that our mortal interpretation of perfection? Is that the closest we can fly to the sun before our wings melt and we're doomed to playing Spongebob Squarepants XVI for eternity?...
...The fundamental problem with game reviews is that they're analyzing products, not pieces of art. Or more clearly stated, art reviews decide if something is worth your time; game reviews decide if something is worth your money. Let's go back to our convenient film comparison for a moment. When do reviewers ever complain that a movie is only an hour and a half long? They don't, because length as a value proposition is generally never affiliated with art...
Games are viewed as consumable goods meant to entertain for X hours at X amount per X dollars. There's an interest in durability (replay value, multiplayer), functionality (controls, camera), interface (HUD, menus), sex appeal (graphics) and accessibility (difficulty level)...
We really do direly need the video game review industry because there is just too much volume for gamers to get prioritize[d] alone, even with word of mouth, message boards, etc. We need people and organizations that can plow through multitudes of games to pick out the gems and crap on the...crap.
But we need them to analyze the subject in a critical light, judging a game's intrinsic value over its dollar value.
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2006
- Messages
- 7,834