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Do you rate/review games?


HamiTosh

Do you rate/review games?  

21 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you rate/review games?

    • Yes
      12
    • No
      9
  2. 2. Do you trust others ratings/reviews?

    • Yes
      4
    • I try to get both sides to create my opinion
      11
    • No
      6


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Are others opninons a hint for you about how "good" or "bad" a game might be for you?

What criteria do you use for rating games?

Tell me your biggest  Yay or Nay for a game which has a big impact on the rating.

What makes a rating or review authentic for you?

 

I myself rated a lot of games and love reading through others impressions.

Said that, I take the highest and lowest rating and compare them.

The biggest Yay for me in a game is nice thought-through content with a variety + endless mutiplayer experience

About the biggest Nays multiplayer trophies bundled with a poorly maintained mutiplayer part+ "optional microtransactions"

For me authenticity defines itslelf through when a person tries to give word to different aspects of the game like: graphics,audio,content,performance(FPS/glitches/bugs),controls etc

Screenshots and Video Clips are a bonus on top.

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2 hours ago, HamiTosh said:

Are others opinions a hint for you about how "good" or "bad" a game might be for you?

What criteria do you use for rating games?

Tell me your biggest  Yay or Nay for a game which has a big impact on the rating.

What makes a rating or review authentic for you?

 

Opinions from others are a mixed bag for me when it comes to saying a game is "good" or "bad"; however, I played games solely based on interest alone which other have said are "bad" and my perspective (or experience) was actually quite enjoyable. One example is The Witch and the Hundred Knight which is actually, and surprisingly, an underrated gem of a game that is barely noticed due to the characters in the game.

 

My own criteria for rating games is solely based on my own enjoyment as the usual "/10" scale is (as I feel) a bad way to gauge a game's difficulty; although, it can be a good judgement for some - it can be wonky if you give a some games a low score, yet it is difficult due to a lack of honesty from the player who played it to someone who may have an interest in that title, for example.

 

My biggest "Yay or Nay" comes from again, experience while going for the platinum. Their are games that I have enjoyed the whole way while others I felt were an absolute slog the whole way through. One example of one game which was a pain to get through (and yet is unfinished) in my opinion was Resident Evil: Revelations back on the PS3; despite having only 10k kills and level 50 left until the platinum, I just do not care for the game. As for one I enjoyed, Star Ocean - The Last Hope - International comes to mind and while it takes a crazy amount of dedication (and time), I liked it (also FFX, and P5 / P5R). So ultimately, if you do not think you will enjoy a game, then just do not that genre of game. 

 

Rating and reviewing a game is something I think everyone should do - from time to time - to give other players sorta a scope on what to expect from a game. Games are meant to be fun, some challenging, hard, stupid hard, etc., but mostly the former. In any case, I feel like the authenticity of reviewing a game lets your voice heard about either what you liked, disliked, what could be better (and so on) about a game and even seeing how others felt, or if they felt the same way about the game as you did when going through it. Why - when going through Final Fantasy VII - Remake, the entire journey was great and even Hard mode was a blast, but despite it being fun, the reviews (or opinions) that others suggested about the mode were all but true as it was challenging; especially the VR missions, which are meant to see what you learned while playing the game and seeing if you can master it.

Edited by x410xDragon
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2 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

 

Yes, in context. 

If it's a professional review, then I try to put stock in what I know that person likes / dislikes, and what personal preferences they are bringing to the table, and adjust my own interpretation of their opinions based on that. You kind of have to get to know a reviewer over time, to figure out what their own preferences are before you can use their opinions to make your own judgement call.

 

Same with the hobbyist reviews on this site really - I look at their old reviews, to see what they have liked and disliked in the past, to see where we overlap or digress in our tastes.

 

That doesn't necessarily mean you have to always agree with them (some of my favourite reviewers I actually agree with less than 50% of the time) - but as long as I know why they dislike something, and I know that's something that doesn't bother me (or vice-verca) the review is still very useful.

 

 

I hate X/10 scales, because they simply don't work in videogames.

 

Too many folks have been conditioned to think of 7/10 as bad, and everything below as terrible, but never want's to give a 10/10 unless the game is truly exceptional...

... so really a X/10 scale is actually an X/2 scale.... since 90% of games end up falling in the 8/10 or 9/10 bracket :blink:

 

I prefer to gauge games against one another - when I review games in my checklist, I put them on a complete ranking - a list of most to least awesome with every game on it. 

 

That way, I don't ever need to get into a debate about "what does an 8/10 really mean qualitatively...?"...

....I can just say "It was better than these games, and worse than these other ones"

 

 

There's not much in the way of mechanics that are guaranteed to reduce a game in my standing - I think most mechanics can be done well, it's a matter of execution.

 

The main things that are pretty much guaranteed to raise a game in my estimation though, looking at my own rankings, would be:

 

  • Originality
  • Replayability
  • Variety
  • Variability of play style/ builds / path through the game
  • Interdependent systems
  • Games that work on application of core mechanics to solve problems, rather than simply having cinematic linear sections
  • A strong, unique art-style
  • Good narrative
  • A good soundtrack or original score

 

 

If the person reviews that game on it's own terms, rather than trying to fit every review into a cookie-cutter template. I hate seeing reviews where people assign values to individual components.

 

You know what I mean:

 

Graphics:  8/10

Music: 6/10

Story: 8/10

Gameplay: 3/10

etc.

 

because it results in flattening of scores, and ignores the fact that games aren't just the sum of their parts. A game can have all the good aspects and still be mediocre (often seen in the "Triple A" space,) or a game can be lacking a lot of polish in many areas but still be amazing (more often seen in the lower budget indie space.)

 

I like a review to really talk about why the game works, or doesn't work, as a whole - and discuss the overall experience like a person who actually likes videogames as a medium, rather than just breaking it down to individual components like a computer might.

 

 

I 100% agree with your opinion on the 1/10 scale. It sucks. Too many people give every game a 7, 8, 9, or 10 because they don't want to offend others or try to fixate on the good more than the bad. Inherently, there's nothing bad about doing that, but it does inflate scores and makes people believe 7/10 is a bad game no matter who rates it, and just makes it more difficult to truly differentiate between a good and bad game.

 

To me, 5/10 is average. There are plenty of games I would give a 5/10 that would drive people nuts. Granted, most games for me would fall between 5-8, but you would definitely know if I disliked a game at least because I wouldn't be afraid to give games 2/10, 3/10, 4/10s and would definitely let you know why I gave it that score.

 

I think TLOU2 fits your description of why the individual components don't work for most people. ?

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3 minutes ago, Beyondthegrave07 said:

I think TLOU2 fits your description of why the individual components don't work for most people. 1f602.png

 

You mean because the first one is awesome, and the second one is twice as good in every individual component...

...yet 10 times better overall? ?

 

I agree. ?

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9 minutes ago, Beyondthegrave07 said:

I 100% agree with your opinion on the 1/10 scale. It sucks. Too many people give every game a 7, 8, 9, or 10 because they don't want to offend others or try to fixate on the good more than the bad. Inherently, there's nothing bad about doing that, but it does inflate scores and makes people believe 7/10 is a bad game no matter who rates it, and just makes it more difficult to truly differentiate between a good and bad game.

 

To me, 5/10 is average. There are plenty of games I would give a 5/10 that would drive people nuts. Granted, most games for me would fall between 5-8, but you would definitely know if I disliked a game at least because I wouldn't be afraid to give games 2/10, 3/10, 4/10s and would definitely let you know why I gave it that score.

 

I think TLOU2 fits your description of why the individual components don't work for most people. 1f602.png

Thats why I like to put an extra line under my reviews, stating this is just my personal view and "I hope to have given a rough overview"  of the game

 

I m honest with my reviews for example I love GTA V but they over the years how rockstar half-assed the multiplayer I reduced my initial 4-5 Stars down to 3 as I weigh the singleplayer more.

I agree that x/10 scales are kinda rubbish a 1-100 scale would be better, but then again everyone has a different taste.

 

I really only trust reviewers who give the aura that that guy played the game and knows what he is talking off, but game magazines i dont trust anymore at all since long time.

Its even happening on Amazon where bad reviews from certrain publishers get deleted or flooded with 5 star reviews.

 

I believe as soon as most people get paid or get something for free they tend to rate higher

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1 hour ago, HamiTosh said:

I agree that x/10 scales are kinda rubbish a 1-100 scale would be better, but then again everyone has a different taste.

X/100 falls into that same trap though. People rate everything as a 70 and higher and you can't differentiate between games when nothing is truly negative or not negative enough to bring the score down. These type of reviews gloss over flaws and amplify the good which is terrible when some depend on these reviews for purchasing decisions and end up hating it because the reviews still gave a meh or incomplete game 7/10.  I mean, how many reviews give it a 8/10, but say glitches held it back? Then, you play it yourself and think, "this is a freaking mess!" I've definitely felt this...

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3 hours ago, HamiTosh said:

Are others opinions a hint for you about how "good" or "bad" a game might be for you?

For me, only the people that I interacted with and know what kind of tastes they might have in videogames. I kinda avoid review sites because way too many times it was proven that the person doing the review had no idea what he was doing OR he played only 30 minutes of the game then branded it as awful/amazing. 

At this point I'd rather check the Trophy Checklist thread for a game rather than reading a professional review.

3 hours ago, HamiTosh said:

What criteria do you use for rating games?

Let me be the first one who is different here: I use numbers xD Yes the very mentioned scales that people hate, I use that scaling because...it's easier for me. It's a crappy type of rating stuff, it has massive flaws but it's the most convenient way of rating for someone who can't sit down to write for more than 5 minutes without being distracted by something else. 

 

For me, the game that does the bare minimum and is "functional" gets a 5, a pretty alright game gets a 7, awesome game gets an 8, a perfect game gets a 9.5 and the game that changed my view of videogames gets either a 0 or a 10, depending on the case :D . 

HOWEVER I have these rules when writing about a game (and grading it heh):

  • Game has to be finished and platinumed/100%. Since PSNP is the only place where I even bother writing, I am adding those as rules.
  • Trying my best to explain why I liked/disliked a game.
  • Trophies count as enjoyment factor ONLY if they have a massive impact over the gameplay (no hit kills, no death runs etc)
  • I try my best to call my writings "impression" or "experience" or "rambling", NOT REVIEW. Reason is because I do not try to write anything even remotely professional. Whenever I will sit down, actually proofread and write anything truly coherent that would make a Literature professor cry, that's when I will call it a review.

 

Also just to do an extra mention:

3 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

If the person reviews that game on it's own terms, rather than trying to fit every review into a cookie-cutter template. I hate seeing reviews where people assign values to individual components.

 

You know what I mean:

 

Graphics:  8/10

Music: 6/10

Story: 8/10

Gameplay: 3/10

etc.

 

because it results in flattening of scores, and ignores the fact that games aren't just the sum of their parts. A game can have all the good aspects and still be mediocre (often seen in the "Triple A" space,) or a game can be lacking a lot of polish in many areas but still be amazing (more often seen in the lower budget indie space.)

That is a great mention, I used that kind of split before and it ended up murdering my final grade. A fine example of this would be Shadow of the Colossus, which I almost rated it 8.something despite me absolutely loathing the game. So I dropped that nonsensical template and just used my "I feel this game is an x/10"

So yes, never use that template, it will mess up your rankings

 

3 hours ago, HamiTosh said:

Tell me your biggest  Yay or Nay for a game which has a big impact on the rating.

 

Biggest by far is gameplay. Bar none. I can handle crappy graphics or a meh soundtrack or even bullcrap story (look at all the AC games that I have) but if I am in a tight combat situation and camera and controls decide to go "lmao soooo random ecks dee", I will HATE the game. With a burning passion.

 

This also covers the situation where you play an action hack & slash game 90% of the time and right at the end for the rest of the 10% you have a shooting section or a platforming section or a RTS section that has NOTHING to do with your game. THAT is a big no no for me.

PS3 games have this beautiful habit of doing a stew of mechanics :P 

 

Also RNG is crap in any game.

3 hours ago, HamiTosh said:

What makes a rating or review authentic for you?

This is a hard one to explain, but its basically how "passionate" the review is. There's a ton of generic reviews out there so seeing personal experiences or struggles with a boss or some emotional section that the player encountered and decided to mention in his writing, that's what makes a review authentic to me.

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I listen to the reviews and opinions of people who know or share my gaming niches. I wouldn't trust the opinion of someone who leaned more into a casual gaming hobbyist mindset or someone who got hyped over every AAA game. I'd imagine it's the same for everyone, you trust people's opinions when they enjoy the same games as you.

 

My ratings are the x/10 template, but each of the individual points covers something I personally think is critical for a game. Example: Does the game respect the player (telling someone to use the controller's stick to move, would be an obvious no). Does the game loop get stale after 2 hours etc. Makes it hard for a game to ever get higher than a 4 but you'd know a game is good when it actually gets a high rating.

 

I think most reviews are authentic if they're coming from regular people. I'd never consider a review to be authentic if someone was being paid to write it, doing so on behalf of a business, or after receiving a review copy of a game. Too much incentive to play nice and not give an honest review. 

 

 

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Me giving out Gold Stars on sites is the closest I come to reviewing.

5 means I loved it

4 means I liked it

3 means it was okay

2 means I didn't like it

1 means I hated it

I don't usually give out 1s because I don't rate until I've beaten them and if I hated it, I'm probably not going to finish it.

 

I don't trust professional reviewers.  Too many times they complain about dumb shit.  Or just hate on something when they didn't pay attention to the story or mechanics.  And a lot of non-professional reviewers have a stick up their ass.  "Nothing's perfect so I can't give it a perfect score."  And just nitpick.  I just listen to friends and word of mouth.

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9 hours ago, HamiTosh said:

Are others opninons a hint for you about how "good" or "bad" a game might be for you?

 

When I see a review from a person I don't know - I take a mental note of positives and negatives, but that opinion doesn't matter much to me.

When I see a very high/very low average score on Metacritic - I assume that statistically there's high chance I will like/dislike the game, but I know I can still be in the minority, so it only matters a little.

When I see a review from a person whose tastes and opinions I'm familiar with - that review will likely influence my desicion on whether or not I should play the game.

 

9 hours ago, HamiTosh said:

What criteria do you use for rating games?

 

I often rate games using numbers:

10/10 = perfect

0/10 = horrible or unplayble

 

And everything in between:

9/10 would be "very good"

5/10 is "flawed" or "meh"

 

BUT. A number doesn't say much about a game. You can only conclude how much I liked it. You won't know what I liked or disliked. What mattered to me and what didn't. What resonated with me the most. What I felt while playing. So I usually write my full thoughts on the game in a form of a review post where I try to explain everything and lay out the details.

 

9 hours ago, HamiTosh said:

Tell me your biggest  Yay or Nay for a game which has a big impact on the rating.

 

The most important thing is if the game is boring or not ?.

 

It can have insane budget, cutting edge graphics, top voice acting, sophisticated gameplay systems, etc. But if it's boring, it outweighs everything. So you can expect a low score from me. Same thing the other way around. If it's total janktown, very simple, but very fun at the same time - I'll probably rate it pretty high.

 

 

Edited by Slava
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Being a Manc, we tend to have a very basic but effective way of rating a product. 

 

'It's f**king mint mate' Indicates that in terms of quality and experience you can't get better than this. 

'it's a bit half-arsed' Would indicate it has potential but doesn't quite make it. 

'Dog shit' Don't go near this product. 

 

And thats all we need for clarification. 

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As to if I review stuff, not as such. I'll try to come up with at least a paragraph long blurb when posting a completion note here, but that's normally about it. I've got a few reviews on Steam, but most are just me jackassing around for the hell of it (as an example) with a generally arbitrary score based on how I was feeling at the time.

 

As for reading/trusting reviews, nah. There are people I know who I was take a 'it's good/bad' opinion on at face value, but lengthy reviews do nothing for me. Maybe prompt me to post the 'I ain't reading all that shit by you' meme image. I'm one of those dinosaurs who gets more use out of five minutes of gameplay or a short walkthrough of the first level than someone pontificating about QTE or whatever representation thing people are on about this week.

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I review games (hobbyist, not professional). I don't like assigning ratings, though. I figured out early on that it doesn't really work for me. There are more things that can go wrong than right when posting a review score or difficulty rating. Reviews posted to PSNP carry more weight for me than most other sources, as we're getting valuable input from people that have actually completed the game. Professional reviews are more likely based off a few hours of gameplay at best.

 

I do trust the ratings/reviews of others, but only when it's a friend, or somebody that I know I have compatible tastes with. There are users on the site that have zero (or even negative) interest in any of the niches I enjoy, so I would be missing out on a lot of games I came to love if I took opinions from incompatible sources to heart. An exception to that is when somebody's review serves more as a PSA to avoid a game due to a horrendous trophy experience, as warnings of things like ridiculous online trophies are pretty much universal.

 

A review is authentic enough for me as long as somebody has summarized the experience in their own words. Reviews here are valuable in helping me decide if I want to buy or play a game or not, so it's disappointing when a post is (Game Name) plus a couple of metrics, but I understand not everybody wants to, or has time to flesh out an entire review for a game.

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I rarely review games, as whenever I do, I notice I tend to excessively go into detail on what the game's core premise and gameplay mechanics are, what the pros and cons are, my general takes/opinions, etc. For example, I started writing a review on Cubivore just a little while ago, since I recently completed it. I noticed I had spent about an hour writing and my review was something like 15-20 hefty paragraphs. Even when trying to trim the fat, it felt far too needlessly long. So I ended up scrapping the whole thing. I've only ever reviewed for my own enjoyment anyway, nothing professional. I've written a few reviews on Steam over the years and at least half the time, it's told me I've exceeded the character limit and I have to trim some things.

 

I do "rate" games, as in, I'll give a 1-10 score on a game whenever I've completed it and marked it as complete on my HLTB account. I often find it hard to "accurately" rate things on such a limited metric though - there's been games I've given a 7/10 that I definitely enjoy a lot more than other games I've given a 7/10. I generally rate primarily based on enjoyment, but HOW I enjoy a game may differ: I may really like the story, maybe the gameplay is super addicting, maybe there's certain mechanics and gameplay elements I like (but not others), or maybe it's just the style or atmosphere that really hooks me in. So it's difficult to just be like "yeah this game is a 7/10, would recommend". It's far too vague for my liking, but I'm notoriously anal so that doesn't surprise me.

I prefer it when there's rating systems for different aspects of the game, such as the gameplay, music, story, art, etc. Still not a fan of the basic 1-10 rating system, but that does make it a tad better.

 

As for whether I trust other people's ratings and reviews, well, that heavily depends on a multitude of variables. If I come across some random review on Steam that just says "good" then, uh... Yeah I'm not going to take that seriously in the slightest. If the reviewer is good at explaining what the game has to offer and what its shortcomings are, interjecting their own personal thoughts but also maintaining some objectivity and impartialness (as much as you can in a review anyway), then I'm probably more inclined to take them seriously.

 

But ultimately I don't care too much about reviews, unless I'm very on the fence about a game. Usually seeing some gameplay is enough for me to decide if I want to check out a game or not. If something seems like it could be interesting, but I'm not sure, reviews could sway me one way or the another. I usually always try to find both positive and negative reviews, to see different perspectives and try to get a big of a picture as possible about whether or not the game is worth my time and money.

 

Also, I'm very much one of those people that will check out reviews for games after already playing them, on occasion. Just to validate to myself that X game is indeed just utter rubbish, or Y game is indeed the best shit to ever exist. Or, to try just and understand why X game is generally beloved, even if it's not my cup of tea.

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