Who are your trusted reviewers?

Pac1Man

I know this is all subjective but which website do you head to first when investigating a new game? I have always headed to Gamespot first but they are losing me of late. I don't really like basing my opinions on Metacritic either because it compiles the bad with the good.

Manach

This forum.

MadYaker

I don't tend to read reviews that much, it's just 1 persons opinion. Id rather watch gameplay footage on youtube and make my own mind up. I almost never buy games on release date (steam sales ftw) so by the time I actually get around to buying a game the general consensus as to whether its good or not is pretty obvious.

Optimalprimerib

I usually go by ben yahtsee crossaw on zero punctuation. It is more comedy than a review as he slates every game, but with that he knows his stuff and does not be sucked in by the hype.

ShadowHearth

Trusted Reviews - Myself only.

I check gameplay videos mostly, see what few youtubers have to say about it. I do watch the reviews, but I never take them too serious.

Reviews lately became way too "personal". Reviewers put in way too much of their own preferences, instead of doing a neutral product review. Something that you like,love, might not be my cup of tea at all...

Robert ninja

MadYaker wrote: »

I don't tend to read reviews that much, it's just 1 persons opinion. Id rather watch gameplay footage on youtube and make my own mind up. I almost never buy games on release date (steam sales ftw) so by the time I actually get around to buying a game the general consensus as to whether its good or not is pretty obvious.

I have a similar attitude, but not all reviews are entirely bad. It depends on the game. If it's a fighting game, RTS, or anything on PC being reviewed by a console & ad-sponsored website, the reviews will almost always be garbage.

It's also a good rule of thumb to avoid any reviewers and sites that insist slappging arbitrary numbers/ratings on every game at the end of their 'review'. The number honestly doesn't tell you anything. At best, a compilation of user reviews totals would give you an idea of perhaps any awkward game mechanics or glitches... but that's even being positive. Reviewers and sites that focus on actually talking about and understanding the game, why it's fun or what's wrong with it, are usually worlds better than most of the junk you can find out there. Quick one-liner reviews by users are good if people are reporting stuff that might be a deal-breaker for you, like a feature that you hate in any game like health regen, super easy, mandatory grinding etc, that may cause you to indefinitely decide against a purchase.

Even given all that, I still haven't read a traditional review in a long time. I just stick to game info, some footage, see what people are talking about in forums. You can often learn more about a game by the things people are discussing about with other players rather than someone trying to dissect it (and miss something basic and important).

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Trusted Reviews - Myself only.

I check gameplay videos mostly, see what few youtubers have to say about it. I do watch the reviews, but I never take them too serious.

Reviews lately became way too "personal". Reviewers put in way too much of their own preferences, instead of doing a neutral product review. Something that you like,love, might not be my cup of tea at all...

You're right. And although it depends on the reviewer, typically the biggest and most sponsored sites will never give an entirely positive review to anything that isn't mainstream, full feature games.

Pac1Man

I never considered just watching some footage. Maybe that's where I have been going wrong!

ShadowHearth

Optimalprimerib wrote: »

I usually go by ben yahtsee crossaw on zero punctuation. It is more comedy than a review as he slates every game, but with that he knows his stuff and does not be sucked in by the hype.

If you did go by his reviews then in the last 5 years you played only Silent hill 2.

Dcully

Always found watching streams on twitch tv the best way to make a decision on a game before i buy.
Other than that i always found Kevin Vanord from gamespot one of the best and most honest in the business.

Venom

Mostly game forums like this one. I'll watch video reviews more to see what the game plays like rather than from any real interest in the reviewers opinion.

ancapailldorcha

I'd trust people here quite a lot for reviews. I watch AngryJoe and Totalbiscuit's videos on Youtube as well, though the word of anyone who thinks DmC is well written needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.

dreamers75

No thread on games forum no buy!!!!!!

Have bought some **** games tho Starforge Alpha but it was cheap might improive.

Sarky

Friends. People with tastes and preferences and habits, humour and sensibilities I share, or at least understand. If they like or dislike something, it's a good indicator as to how I'll feel about it.

Also, Zero Punctuation. He might do it for the comedic value, but a critic is a critic and if he's struggling for bad things to say, the game is probably worth a look. He hasn't steered me wrong with the games he disliked slightly less than others.

Agricola

IGN - bastion of knowledge and truth!

But to be serious, probably Rock Paper Shotgun for any PC game. Have never had so much as a sniff of bias from any writer on that site, in fact the editor seems to delight in ripping into major releases frequently.
I'd read Eurogamer a lot and they do use people who are very knowledgeable about various genres to review games. Mismatched reviews/scores are becoming common though. Its not unusual to read a review which seems like a lowish number finish with and 8 on the end (or more) I often wonder about them when it comes to big releases. But I'd never base a buying decision on what one guy says so I find them great for getting a good well rounded opinion on a game with plenty of info on any issues it may have.

edit - Also Jeff Cannata off Weekend Confirmed. Always a well informed, balanced opinion.

Sound of Silence

RockPaperShotgun and PC Gamer are a pretty good barometer for what I'm interested in.

Randall Floyd

Gametrailers and Videogamer.com are usually near enough to the mark, but there are always some reviews that i don't agree with after playing the games myself.

Kiith

I've alway liked PcGamers reviews, but am cautious with any review tbh. It's all just so subjective, and i'd say it's hard not to let your personal opinions/preferences change a rating.

super_furry

Giantbomb and Edge.

VinLieger

Don't trust reviews at all, Rock Paper Shotgun would probably be the highest I would rate any though.

Before buying a game I load myself up on quick looks, be they from actual critic sites like Giant Bomb or simply some trusted youtube channel, they are the best barometer of whether you are going to enjoy a game or not IMO.

The review system is archaic imo which has become even more apparent in the last year considering the fiasco that were the Simcity reviews and now the speculation surrounding Rockstars intentions for releasing GTA Online 3 weeks after the main games release because they knew it would affect their review scores.

Reekwind

MadYaker wrote: »

I don't tend to read reviews that much, it's just 1 persons opinion

One person's informed opinion. I place far more trust in the opinion of a respected reviewer than I would a random forumite. No offence, peeps

In terms of reviewers, the RPS crowd are fairly solid and I know them well enough to be aware of their blind spots. For strategy you also have Rob Zacny and Tom Chick, both of whom are reliable

tok9

I usually see what said on Rev3games (Adam Sessler in particular) but I'd also just gloss over a few reviews.

I wouldn't be a big fan of watching a lot of footage of a game as that's the most important thing for me. I want to be surprised when playing it.

Generally though, I've a good idea what game I'll buy before reviews come out and it's only if it's absolutely panned that I'll reconsider.

jaykhunter

I go to GameTrailers, IGN and Rev3games (Tara Long/Sessler) for reviews. I treat reviews as a sales pitch really; under ten minutes, gameplay footage and some points to take on board. Like I generally know if I'm gonna buy a game already so I'm just looking for confirmation (eg Bioshock Infinite) or if the general consensus is to avoid (eg Flashback remake) in which case I'll put it on the back burner.

Retr0gamer

I'd say stay away from Gametrailers, IGN and Giantbomb. I always feel they ignore smaller games and mark them down for no reason and get caught in the hype train for big releases.

Rev3games is great but only for Adam Sessler. He's superb. The others not so much and Tara has the looks but I don't like her as a reviewer.

Usgamer has the best group of reviewers at the moment, a lot of old british games mag and 1up alumni there. I feel I can trust the reviews of everyone there except Pete. I like him as a reviewer and love reading his reviews but his taste for bad japanese RPGs is questionable.

Eurogamer has some great reviewers and some really poor ones. Dan Whitehead in particular is very poor but other than that they have a solid enough team and freelancers. Ellie gibson is always well worth a read.

Shiminay

This forum is great and there are a few people I recognise now as having similar tastes to my own. I also watch Zero Punctuation mostly for fun, but also knowing how my own preferences stack up against his own and then I can make a decision based off that.

I occasionally read RPS and the Penny-Arcade Report who tend to be better at giving you information about the game and what they personally liked or disliked and why and then leave it up to you to decide if it's worth your time which I think is a perfectly sensible way of reviewing a game.

Valentine1

I've always found IGN to be quite reliable with their reviews and I generally agree with their reviewers on games so I can usually depend on liking a game they like or vice versa.

I have also been going to Polygon recently, they are a bit up themselves but their reviews are very through and utterly comprehensive.

Retr0gamer

Old but worth a repost:

Valentine1

Touché, hadn't seen those before.

Retr0gamer

Valentine1 wrote: »

Touché, hadn't seen those before.

Well they have different staff now but was never really fond of IGN since the middle of the PS2 period. Not sure what they are like now.

Valentine1

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Well they have different staff now but was never really fond of IGN since the middle of the PS2 period. Not sure what they are like now.

I find them diligent and self aware, some staff have well known and well flagged preferences for certain genres, series or systems. Knowing that allows the reader to identify with a reviewer and decide how much they value a particular opinion or review. At least thats my experience of it.

The only recent occasion I have disagreed with them was on Uncharted 3. Greg Miller a renowned Uncharted fan gave it 10/10, in my opinion is in no way a 10. In fairness it is probably an 8/10 in my opinion and I was always going to buy that game from the moment it was announced so the review didn't actually influence me.

Grimebox

Metacritic

mewso

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I'd say stay away from Gametrailers, IGN and Giantbomb. I always feel they ignore smaller games and mark them down for no reason and get caught in the hype train for big releases.

Rev3games is great but only for Adam Sessler. He's superb. The others not so much and Tara has the looks but I don't like her as a reviewer.

Usgamer has the best group of reviewers at the moment, a lot of old british games mag and 1up alumni there. I feel I can trust the reviews of everyone there except Pete. I like him as a reviewer and love reading his reviews but his taste for bad japanese RPGs is questionable.

Eurogamer has some great reviewers and some really poor ones. Dan Whitehead in particular is very poor but other than that they have a solid enough team and freelancers. Ellie gibson is always well worth a read.

I don't agree or disagree Retrogamer but I am curious what makes Sessler some kind of godlike reviewer I see constantly praised here and poor old Dan Whitehead a bad one. I enjoyed his book on speccy games. I have read or watched little of either and Dan seemed fine (no strong feelings one way or another) and again what few videos of Sessler I have seen was fine. Nothing special to my mind. I suppose I need to read/view more of their stuff to form an opinion.

These days I try and keep an eye on RPS because it's one of the few PC only sites but the feminist stuff (one sad day ahead they will probably give Trigger warnings at the top of their articles) has really irritated me and often the first paragraph of each news item has far too many attempts at "quirky humour" going on.

Other than that I pop into RpgCodex and RpgWatch to keep up to date on those non triple A rpgs and kickstarters that are out there. I kind of balk at the whole obsession with triple A these days and often find myself really enjoying a game (think Risen 2 for example) completely against the hive mind opinion. I love a good triple A but there is so much good stuff out there. The guy who produced Torment has a kickstarter for example that is destined to fail which is a great pity.