Of Reviews And Such …

There was a thread over on the PlayStation boards about rating PSN content, which of course got me thinking and writing about reviews and rating systems. What follows is what I posted, which I think is worth a second look here.

On a 5 point/star system, I typically think of scores as meaning:

  1. = piss poor
  2. = poor, but may have some redeeming value epically to fans of the genera
  3. = average game, certainly worth a rental, but maybe only a purchase at a discount from full retail price
  4. = above average game, with something that holds it back from being the best of the best
  5. = great game; glad I own it, played it, may even play it again, well worth the money, etc

 

At one point in my reviewing days I switched to a “pass, rent, buy” system.

Ratings (and reviews) are so subjective that in my opinion they are meaningless unless you know who is rating the game. Do they typically rate higher than everyone else? Lower? In the case of PSN ratings, what percentage of down-loaders actually rate the games?

With all that said, I use the ratings as an “interesting” base point. So for example, if I am unsure or unfamiliar with something, I may look at the PSN rating and then head over to metacritic to get some general opinions on the game, what it is like, and what I may or may not like about a game.

These days most sites cannot get away with not rating a game with a score for fear of retribution – no listing in the various databases, which means no incoming links, and ultimately lower advertising revenue. And it is my opinion that the gaming masses are lazy; they probably just skip to the score. Of course I have no basis to prove this, but it is not as if my opinion can be wrong.

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