I Agree. Too many people these days simply go with the ratings a game recieves. Yet what they don't consider is that a games review is an opinionated piece of text which represents one persons outake on a game. Now, when it comes to games, I do look at reviews. In the U.K games sell at a retail price of £50 which is roughly $90. So, for me, a student of 17, this is simply far too much to be wasting on a bad game. However, I don't take one review on a game and I will visit many sites to get a more broader picture. I do account for biased opinions, and I also know that some sites are more, should we say, 'in favour of' certain games/developers, so reviews therefore must be taken with a pinch of salt.
Obviously the internet has made it a lot easier for the consumer to make a purchase without buying a poor product. Recently I have brought a Toshiba Regza 37" 1080p HDTV and a Toshiba Laptop on the back of reviews. Thankfully, these reviews have been spot on and I am extremely happy with my purchases. If it wasn't for the reviews, I would have spent a lot of money on say buying a Samsung HDTV just because it was a Samsung product. So, by using many sites, reviews are helpful.
However, with gaming, a lot of people simply go with whats popular. For me GTA IV was a grossly overrated game. I mean, yes, it was good but to get a 10 from all major gaming sites is extremely poor. It was hardly innovative and although I liked the choice of main character, the story was somewhat lackluster and did not compare to previous GTA games in the series. Yet these sites undoubtadly convinced people to buy the game (maybe not GTA IV as the series is extremely popular anyway but for other games they certainly do sway opinions).
Gaming sites however cannot be blamed for everything and sometimes publishers simply don't do enough to promote good titles. I see a lot of 'sleeper hits' that recieve rave reviews but don't sell so well. There are ways in which to play a game without actually purchasing it. For instance demos offer an insight to the rest of the game and can sometimes help promote them to people who were sceptical beforehand. Also, many companies such as Blockbuster rent games and this is also a cheap way to try a game before you buy (fully).
All in all, buying any game is a gamble as it is down to the actual gamer wether they like it or not. Me and my big brother are keen gamers and we both have different opinions on the games we play/buy. I rate Gears of War as my favourite game and I've spent days/weeks/months maybe playing multiplayer. Although my brother appreciates the game for what it is, he feels Gears of Wars multiplayer is not as good as it should be because the game is meant to be a 'tactical shooter' yet no-one online plays this way. His favourite game is Halo 3 and he loves playing online. However, while I appreciate Theatre and Forge, I am not a huge fan of the multiplayer and I feel as if the game is overrated.
From this alone you can see that regardless of what anyone says it is up to the person playing the actual game to make up their mind. By purchasing a game there is always a slight chance that one might not like it. We live in a world were opinions are always conflicting and each person is entitled to their say. My advice? Use all resources at your dispensal. Read reviews, ask other gamers in forums, rent a game, download the demo. If all fails? The game is not for you.
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