Does anyone still read or care about written reviews at all?

I'm asking because yesterday I took part in a discussion about the purpose of game reviews, a lot of gaming journalists and other people connected with the world of video games were engaged in a discussion, including Adrian Chmielarz from People Can Fly.

Anyway, long story short, the catalyst for the discussion was me writing a Far Cry 4 review that was 28 thousands characters long, and 34k if you included spaces. I have a problem in that I think I write too lengthy reviews and I can't help it. On the one hand, a journalist friend of mine once said that in this business you have to be able to perceive more layers of reality than a normal person would and thus it'd make you more appealing than the other critic, and to me being informative and dilligent is the greatest good about writing. Especially that so many reviews these days are extremely superficial, written prior to the game's completion, as superficial as the bullshots that are used in them and also catered towards publishers themselves. In fact the words "bullshots" and "bullshit" have never been any closer to each other before.

On the other hand, though, people seek for instant gratification and might prefer let's play videos on youtube or video-reviews.

In some cases people are still old-fashioned, however. Eurogamer made a look-back on Alien Isolation the other day and they did it in the form of a video, and actually a lot of people in the comments were enraged that they're becoming IGN-like, and actually preferred a written word.

Anyway, what's your take on this?

All the time. Playing Freedom Wars right now and was diving into written reviews to see what to expect. That and Vita games generally have no video reviews

I prefer video reviews

I'll be honest, I'm usually more prone to checking out a video review.

Partially because I'm just being lazy. Partially because hey, I want to see the game in action while listening to the opinions of someone who played it. The biggest kicker though? So many reviews are written so poorly.

I can always appreciate a well written review and often times I'd rather have that than a video. They're just increasingly difficult to come by these days.

Read a review is better than just get a score/number. But the review need to be written good, informative.

Well written reviews are hard to come across so I usually tend to watch video reviews more because I like seeing the game in action and judging for myself whether I would like it or not. Greg Kasavin and Jeff Gerstman had quality written reviews here on GS but ever since them I tend to simply watch reviews now.

I rarely watch video reviews unless I'm on gametrailers. I prefer written.

This is actually a good point. The score alone abstracts the actual process of evaluation. Some of the best film reviews don't even have ratings. Why doesn't this happen for video game reviews? Oh yeah, similar to film reviews, the review industry is heavily under the sway of cash from devs/publishers/partners etc.

"Review Embargos" "Relative Standards" "The Bar" etc. more bs from all big game companies today.

I prefer video reviews. I don't like to read for some reason, except when I'm playing the game. I don't like to read but that doesn't mean I hate it all the time. When no video reviews are available, I can read it instead but I want it short, precise and to the point.

I never gave much weight to reviews, normally I watch a few gameplay vids and articles on the game to get a general idea of whats on offer and if I'm interested will get the game(s)..

The only part of reviews I generally read is the short Pros & Cons bullet points section... Personally i believe reviews' scores primarily grab the interest of fanboys rather than gamers..

to be honest..... I never gave a shit about written reviews, the last time I read one was like in 2005.

I do read articles and things that are happening in the gaming bizz and what not but I've read less and less since everything you need to know seems to be done in video format or podcast. And its easier to have a video or podcast playing while you are multitasking.

Same goes with game reviews, I just go by what people are saying (either a multiple of vidoe reviews, gaming youtube channels podcast etc.), than what people are writing (which most time is the same).

Do I think a video review is better? or are the great ways to take a stand on a game? no. Do I think a collection of reviews is a solid way to make you mind on a game, yeah sure. Im not gonna go with just GS video review for a game, however will go with a combination of 4-5 video reviews from multiple sources before reading a written review tho.

I strongly prefer written reviews as I can learn a thing or two about the game that the reviewer mentioned. However, if I prefer video reviews, it would be gametrailers.com because I like the narrator's voice.

@Salt_The_Fries:

I find with school, I have less time for games and reading reviews or news than I used to. I know the series I like, the developers I like and usually give them the benefit of the doubt.

Two reviews stood out to me this year. Destiny because I had a lot of fun with it, but it was weak in the story sense. But I don't think the devs were going for that in this game, of course I could well be wrong because I am not an employee of Bungie. Next Master Chief Collection because I had little trouble with the game but totally understand that I was in the minority. I even posted about the possibility of some servers in certain areas working better and other posters here agreed. So I understand and agree with the mediocre to weak review the game got.

Not really, no.

Sometimes I'll read some of GB crew's reviews. Or a review people consider "controversial", just to see what's up. People like numbers a lot more, which is why they should go.

Written reviews sound pretentious as ****, don't bother with them.

Most gaming reviews which are written are quick poorly written and only basically tell you there thoughts on it, I remember back in the day where reviews were about the game and not about the person opinion on it, that was a whole other section of the review, a review should be an unbiased take on how gameplay and story and graphics all work, and not on whether they liked it or not, which seems to be the case nowadays.

I like watching reviews, but I think the only true video review which is good are the ones from angry joe which can go on as long as half an hour talking about every aspect of the game and his own opinions but all mixed in which is a nice change.

I do love written reviews more just because they go into more detail than most video reviews on main gaming sites.

Angry Joe is a rambling, nonsensical oaf.

Angry Joe has some of the best and most informative reviews though. He not only gives his opinion, he then goes to show visual proof of what he is talking about and what made him form his opinion.

In that sense whether you agree with his final review score or not, you know the info he talked about in the game is not BS. I prefer this to most reviewers who simply give their opinion on how they feel and ignore flaws or strengths a game has when delivering their review.

I occasionally check what score games get and that's about all I can stomach when it comes to reviews. Critics have become so jaded at this point that I seriously can't trust them to help me make good purchases.

I like to read reviews after I've played the game, to see if I agree with them or not

This and this.

Honestly i DON'T usually look at video reviews before playing at game I am interested in because I can usually tell a quality game just from previously released game clips and I don't wont to get spoilers from incompetent reviewers spoiling parts of my game experience.

So, I do usually read a bit of what a reviewer has to say if there is "information" to be gained, but I generally ignore their overall opinion most times because their opinion probably isn't a reflection of what I may think if I have already identified interest in the game.

Nope. I like to see the game in action. Video reviews only for me. I dont read reviews since the old days when I bought gaming magazines

Not me.... those days are over.... but I will read indepth articles and of games and design concepts.... but I havent read a review in so long...

I'm in the business of writing reviews as well, and to be honest I think the question shouldn't whether written reviews matter. They do, because if they didn't exist they'd be no well-informed opinions to help people pre-purchase. The question for me is, do we really need quite so many people writing reviews? Is there really a market of readership for that the number of reviews being written?

Post Gamergate a seemingly huge number of small sites have popped-up to fill the reviews-for-the-gamer-everyman niche. So many opinions that the voice of writers has become diluted. They need a new angle, different games to cover, something. Otherwise all these writers will warble each other out.

I try to stick to covering things other outlets don't catch. Imports, extra-game material (novels, comics, movies), translations of things other sites miss or didn't think much of.

I only watch Angry Joe's video reviews because they are funny but I usually don't read or watch any kind of reviews because I don't need them. Most, if not all, games are repetitive and its gameplay very systematic. By playing a game for a few minutes or just watch some gameplay anybody with a couple of years of experience with games should be able to tell if they will like the game or not.

I usually perfer video reviews because it includes gameplay recordings so I feel like it gives me more time to see the game in actions. I'll read written reviews but it's based on the environment, example, I'm on a train and forgot my headphones.

For entertainment purposes, yeah. I prefer videos over reading but I normally watch the video first and read the text afterwards.

Yes I do. I don't think scores are indicative. The review tells you the right and wrong. Though writing a lengthy review isn't necessarily a good review. Much like speeches the best is to get your point across in a minimal amount of time so the message doesn't get lost.

I don't really care for any reviewers opinion. Written or on a video. Instead, I watch GiantBomb quick looks to get a taste of a game to see if it's something I would enjoy. I buy most games anyway, but if I'm on the fence and there is a quick look, I'm watching it.

I would rather have personal opinion removed all together. Joe's opinions are not his, but those of the Youtube comments section anyways. Joe waits a day or two, sees what the community is bitching about and then makes a rant video catering to his audience. It's a smart approach to take in an industry that relies on views. But I would NEVER use his videos for informative purposes.

I'll check out reviews but won't take everything they say to heart. My tastes don't match completely with a reviewer's and they may think somethings a con while to me it's a pro, or I may take offense more to a buggy mess than they do.

In all honestly though, I'd rather listen to what a reviewer has say than read it. I'd love it if there were less video reviews showing gameplay and more reviews that were more like a radio segment that would then jump into a post-review discussion with a couple other people where they can share and compare their thoughts on the game.

Just video reviews from youtube, I have lost a lot of faith with reviews from gaming sites because they are full of crap I don't care about.

I do for games on the fence about getting, otherwise I know pretty early on if I want to buy a game day 1.

i prefer written reviews

I depend on "professional" written reviews to make a decision on whether I buy a game or not. Videos aren't ideal because I often have to rewind/advance videos several times to remember the salient points I'm looking for. Another factor is I may not like the voice/acting of the presenter on the video.

With written reviews, I can focus on a paragraph and leave it there until I deem it's time to move on.

I usally look at both. Written I can skim to read the points im looking for. After that I look at vid reviews to see how the game is.

Nope. It's proably been years since I've read a Gamespot article. They could fire the whole editorial staff and I wouldn't notice.

I skip over boring words and read numbers.

I should point out I hate literacy in general.

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lol.

As far as GS reviews...I honestly don't care about GS reviews at all. I knew this with their reviews in the 1990's and my opinion hasn't changed. I never joined this site for the reviews. I got used to them with the SW metagame, but that's all that ever was. GS likes or hates a game? Eh.

No, well not from gamespot at least. Reviewers like to either nitpick too much or go off on some philosophical tangent, when the only thing I want to know is whether a game is fun or not. So for me, I primarily stick to watching gameplay videos to form my opinion.

@Salt_The_Fries: The answer is no...

Personally im the reviewer of my games and noone else. I refuse to take some others guy opinion with the same or even less experience than me in gaming as a fact or as a way to buy games.. So to read a review which is even more time consuming ? Naaah i pass.

Im watching the critics reviews rather than reading mainly to get an idea of games i havent seen yet/ played myself yet since im the reviewer for myself and im deciding if i like a game , if its 10 or 9 or 5 and if it deserves my money. Noone else does and never will. Specially guys with less experience or years in gaming than i do.

I generally don't care about any opinion when it comes to subjective forms of entertainment other than my own.

I dot trust printed game reviews anymore.

I don't read reviews thoroughly, mainly because I don't care *that* much about someone's opinion on whether or not a video game is good. I'll give it a brief skim for the general vibe, that's all I need to assist in my decision making. Also, this alleviates any spoilers (even very minor ones, like the tone of a game) and maintains the mystery.

I appreciate reviews that focus on positive aspects of the game, and I really detest reviews that start sarcastically, cynically, or have any sort of baked in or opinionated conventional wisdom. What a waste of my time.

I suppose that's my feelings on reviews in general.

I prefer video reviews, but I still occasionally read a written review for games I'm unsure about.

Primarily people seem to care about the score first and foremost, if a game scores well I think people are less inclined to read about it but if it scores bad they'll read it to complain about what the reviewer complains about.

I prefer Youtube reviews. I find that individuals tend to be more honest and fair to games and play the whole game.

Often, review sites push out the reviews to be first so they miss things. Not to mention the possible ads for said game on said site my be influencing the score.

Writtens scores are dying because of video reviews, kind of how newspapers are dying because of digital news

No not really.

And while I would argue there is nothing wrong with writing something super long, the **** are you even talking about Far Cry 4 with for 28k words. That's a massive waste of the readers time unless the game legit has so many fascinating aspects that are worth dissecting. Otherwise here and there I'll read something from US Gamer, or honestly my boy Towers.

http://www.laserlemming.com/2014/12/08/this-war-of-mine-review-****-the-war/

http://www.laserlemming.com/2014/03/24/1954-alcatraz-review/

http://www.laserlemming.com/2014/01/23/metal-gear-rising-revengeance-review/

Every now and then he'll flex out a long ass review, but for the most part what I enjoy is how detailed he is about his criticism/praise, while also messing with his writing style from write up to write up. Usually going out of his way to match the tone and feel of the game. It's clever shit.

If I read reviews I would have never found out that I love Yakuza games.

I never really stopped to think about it but the quick answer is yes. I like to check out gameplay while they review so that eliminates reading. Plus my reading level has regressed to the point where i can only write. huh?

I still read reviews etc, but I won't base any of my purchases soley off of a review. I basically read to get as much information on the games that I'm interested in.