look, the bottom line is GameSpot's review/scoring approach is a problem, in that final scores are not indicative of whether a game really is fun or not. Motorstorm, Lost Planet and Chromehounds are excellent examples of games that aren't well-rounded but perform very well in what they're good at...and if played for their strengths, are much better than their score would suggest.
so the question is: should every game have to be well-rounded? How much does "sound" really matter in a generation where people are replacing their in-game music with music off their HDD's?What if a dev wants to make a game like Chromehounds that is purely about the online experience? What about Virtua Fighter, which got docked for not having online?
I've been saying it for years: game reviews here are like beauty pageants. the prettiest contestant rarely wins...it's the one that's the most well-rounded. but is that winner may not be the one YOU want to take home.
Solution is simple: use reviews as your tool to help guide you into what to expect from a game. They should not be your final decision unless there is a unanimous flaw in a game and its in a critical place for you, relative to what kinds of games you prefer.
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