Review sites you trust

folan

Since the watch dogs thread looks to be overwhelmed by people saying how games review sites and mags are untrustworthy and crap, i was wondering what sites you actually trust.

Personally, I dont have one, but read reviews from a few before making a decision.

cherryghost

I normally check out Polygon first. But always value friends/boards opinions first.

Retr0gamer

I tend to trust eurogamer or usgamer but then that really depends on the reviewer as well. There's some there I trust and a few I don't.

Metro game central have been really consistent the last while in terms of handing out review scores I agree with.

Polygon have been good as well but then that depends on the reviewer as well.

Thorin

It's not about blind "trust". A good review should give you enough information to make your own decisions, and discuss the various elements of a game/movie. A review that's just filled with adjectives (awesome, awful, dated, etc) is just describing the reviewer's opinion, not the game itself.

I know I've watched a good review when I think "I disagree with your conclusion, but I understand the reasons that you reached it".

For PC games, Rock Paper Shotgun is my first call, and MovieBob on the Escapist site has some good videos and articles.

Randall Floyd

Watching gameplay online is what I usually use to decide whether to buy or not, if I like the look of the gameplay I might read a review a two.

VinLieger

I don't read reviews. Not because i don't trust them but because I think lets plays and quick looks have alot more value and help me determine whether I will enjoy it or not.

For this reason Giantbomb really is the only site i use. That and the odd youtube video

Vinz Mesrine

I play/watch/listen to everything myself and make up my own mind.

MitchKoobski

GiantBomb

Here's their Watch Dogs review for you: http://www.giantbomb.com/reviews/watch-dogs-review/1900-644/

Not as many reviews anymore, mostly 30-90 minute quick looks but they're always brutally honest in their opinions.

murphyebass

IGN............ No wait

Seriously though if it were a game i was buying day one and couldn't get any opinions from forums like here Id make sure to look at a few sources. Its rare i buy a game day one though.

My last few day one purchases were always going to be great and i didn't need scores for them.

Halo 4
Mario 3d world
Donkey Kong tropical freeze
Tearaway
and getting Mario kart 8 on Friday.

I'm more of a casual gamer though in fairness generally going for games that have been out so long i get them for a tenner or so.

solomafioso

VideoGamer.com

Seem to be pretty on the ball with their reviews. Again, as another person mentioned, you're going to go and make up your own mind anyway. It's just wondering if it's worth buying or waiting a while until it drops / secondhand.

Also the comment about magazines: GamesTM is amazing! Much better than Edge...in my opinion!

prq

Totalbiscuit and Angry Joe

Also average Metacritic scores

And eventually, I ask my friends on Steam!

super_furry

The guys at Giantbomb seem to like the same kind of games I do, so them and Eurogamer.

ShadowHearth

I dont trust a single one. I do watch Game Trailers reviews though, more of a habit I guess.
I watch youtube for my info on games. I got a few youtubers that I watch and those most of the time are better then any review out there.

This place is great for info on games. Mostly I would trust boards.ie, then all review websites.

Retr0gamer

super_furry wrote: »

The guys at Giantbomb seem to like the same kind of games I do, so them and Eurogamer.

Can't stand the guys at Giantbomb. Totally different tastes to me and really only talk about the triple AAA games or big indie games which I can get from anywhere. Also anyone that says the combat in the souls games is terrible needs a smack.

Randall Floyd

What's the story with Edge? Do they only publish reviews on their website after they appear in the printed magazine or what?

solomafioso

prq wrote: »

Totalbiscuit

His Steam reviews are spot on. And quite funny when he gets a horrible game. Hope the guy recovers soon (cancer teamliquid.net/forum/starcraft-2/449515-total-biscuit-diagnosed-with-bowel-cancer-updated)

prq wrote: »

Angry Joe

Not too sure why, but I can't stand him!

Retr0gamer

Randall Floyd wrote: »

What's the story with Edge? Do they only publish reviews on their website after they appear in the printed magazine or what?

The problem with Edge is that they are wildly inconsistent at times (famously so, even in their first issue they gave Gunstar Heroes a 6/10, never forget!) and the reason for this is that the reviews are based on the 'voice of the magazine'. They don't give writers a by line which is disgraceful in itself but even if a review is by one person only you don't know who that person is and you can't compare their views to your own.

Yeti Beast

There's no one source I'll always agree with, so I tend to use MetaCritic, GameRankings etc, as well as watching Let's Play videos and reading forum feedback.

Back in the day I was a big fan of RPS, PC Gamer and EuroGamer and I still check in with them occasionally.

YouSavedMyLife

Giantbomb. Not that i trust them 100% and would buy anything they say is good, but i enjoy the quicklooks and make up my own mind on the game

Randall Floyd

Retr0gamer wrote: »

The problem with Edge is that they are wildly inconsistent at times (famously so, even in their first issue they gave Gunstar Heroes a 6/10, never forget!) and the reason for this is that the reviews are based on the 'voice of the magazine'. They don't give writers a by line which is disgraceful in itself but even if a review is by one person only you don't know who that person is and you can't compare their views to your own.

Yeah that's a bit odd alright, all their online reviews just say Edge Staff.

Shiminay

I tend mostly to listen to what Boardsies have to say There's enough of us here long enough to have a general idea of who likes what and so on. I will also watch streams of gameplay of new games if it's a game I have a vague interest in. TotalBiscuit's WTF Is...? series is always useful too and since taking over reviews at The Escapist, I'll keep an eye out for Jim Sterling's thoughts too. TB in particular spends time on things like settings and performance options which is essential to a PC player. Polygon and Eurogamer I'll read in the absence of time to watch a vid. Also, generally speaking, if Jerry Holkins/Tycho of Penny-Arcade likes a game, I tend to like it too, we have very similar tastes. So if he mentions something in the comments on a strip, I'll look into it, but that's less review and more recommendation.

I've not "pre-ordered" anything in a long time because it's really, really, REALLY fking stupid thing to do (point in case, 5 versions of Watch_Dogs and a lot of pre-ordering made based on "next gen launch day title" and "ZOMFG lookit how pretty at E3!"). It also means I am almost never going to spend money on a product I won't enjoy as a result. This is how things used to work and can work again if we all just stop supporting this pre-order culture of bollocks. I would also respectfully suggest that if you have to pre-order and have no other way of getting a game within a few days of launch due to geography or other circumstances, I sympathise with you and I obviously exclude you from the "really stupid" thing above

solomafioso

Shiminay wrote: »

I tend mostly to listen to what Boardsies have to say

Says the user with the 'PC master race' avatar! :pac:

Shiminay

Yes...? I play almost exclusively on my PC for the last 4 years, the only significant departure from that has been to play GTA V on my 360 (which has served me admirably as a platform, but cannot hope to compete against my PC for my time). You know this entire site was started by and for PC Gamers, right?

solomafioso

Shiminay wrote: »

Yes...? I play almost exclusively on my PC for the last 4 years, the only significant departure from that has been to play GTA V on my 360 (which has served me admirably as a platform, but cannot hope to compete against my PC for my time). You know this entire site was started by and for PC Gamers, right?

Whoa there! I was just making reference that I knew where your avatar was from. Sarcasm doesn't really translate well in text. I wasn't trying to start a platform flame war or anything.

Really wish I could get a decent gaming rig. Friend of mine recently purchased an alienware laptop and showed me Borderlands 2 running perfectly on it (a lot smoother than my 360 version that's for sure!). Also keeps rubbing in all the Steam deals he's getting.

Does anyone trust those Steam user reviews, or is it just spam?

Shiminay

LOL, those Alienware things aren't even very good. A self-built machine will save you hundreds and will run far better.

Conveying sarcasm in text is a real skill. Sorry for jumping back, I just didn't get what you were trying to say at all

Big Knox

Eurogamer are the only site I still read and will trust reviews from. I find myself agreeing with the majority of their reviews and their hardware team do some great articles too.

Xenji

Have always liked Eurogamer and have been using USgamer quite a bit recently, like RPGgamer but they can go a bit overboard at times.

Retr0gamer

RPGamer can be good for news but I'd never trust their reviews, they're all over the place.

CatInABox

In order of trust, I generally go with Boardies recommendations, Rock Paper Shotgun, Ars Technica, and then have Polygon and Eurogamer* at the same level.

*I used to trust Eurogamer much more, but their coverage of the Xbox One and all its faults has been overly reactionary. While I have no problem with any site or reviewer that wants to attack Microsoft for all their (many) missteps during the recent console launch, Eurogamer have gone overboard with the snarkyness which seems to be a feature of most articles regarding any Xbox One news. It just makes me question if their judgement is being coloured. All academic to me really, most of my gaming happens on PC now.

rizzla

Editors move sites fairly frequently so I don't follow sites but editors. Arthur Gies, Kevin VanOrd, Keza McDonald, etc. Find reviewers who's opinions match your own and you can't really go wrong.

r3nu4l

Randall Floyd wrote: »

Watching gameplay online is what I usually use to decide whether to buy or not.

This is always my starting point. I don't watch 'professional' reviews from gaming companies or magazines at all. Instead I look for gameplay vids with 'average Joe' commentary. If it looks interesting I'll come to boards.ie and browse related threads.

murphyebass wrote: »

I'm more of a casual gamer though in fairness generally going for games that have been out so long i get them for a tenner or so.

Unfortunately, that describes my gaming activity to a tee, these days

I don't trust professional reviewers at all.

solomafioso

r3nu4l wrote: »

This is always my starting point. I don't watch 'professional' reviews from gaming companies or magazines at all. Instead I look for gameplay vids with 'average Joe' commentary.

...or no commentary at all!

There's a YouTube channel I found recently called Alzu Gaming (youtube.com/user/AlzuGaming).

He, or she, puts up playthroughs of recent releases without commentary. It's a sigh of relief from the likes of those idiots (in my opinion!) like Pewdiepie or Markiplier.

SeantheMan

Think we had a similar thread before......

If I remember correctly...the majority said they didn't trust any review sites really, but mostly went on opinions/threads from boards.ie members and their experiences with the games.

Edit : Found it....thread title Who are your trusted reviewers

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=87566588

r3nu4l

solomafioso wrote: »

...or no commentary at all!

Yup, happy with that too!

[/QUOTE]It's a sigh of relief from the likes of those idiots (in my opinion!) like Pewdiepie or Markiplier.[/QUOTE]
I've only ever watched about 4 Pewdiepie vids. I know he's a YouTube sensation but he makes me want to batter my PC monitor with a hammer When I said commentary, I really did mean the 'average Joe' reviewer, not a YouTube star reviewing, just an ordinary Joe who decides to upload a video of them playing through the game and commenting on their experience.

Randall Floyd

Yer man Rad Brad isn't too bad either, he doesn't talk during cutscenes.

C14N

solomafioso wrote: »

Not too sure why, but I can't stand him!

I don't like him either, but I do know why. It's because he has made a persona out of being angry at video game stuff, and since it's his job he has to make new videos every week, regardless of whether there is anything that justifies any anger. There's also the fact that the whole format of "telling it like it is" is pretty clichéd at this point.

I tend to check out Gametrailers reviews myself, I don't give much heed to their scores but the footage is usually pretty good. I generally check out Zero Punctuation reviews too, which are generally pretty critical but still fair.

Nody

solomafioso wrote: »

Not too sure why, but I can't stand him!

Personally because even the really really, omfg who wanted to torture the players this badly, type of games such as Thor still ends up with a 3/10 score for some odd reason (well that and most games are reviewed for console and I'm a PC Master Race kind of guy :P ). I'm usually sticking with TB, Force Gaming (good channel for various HS decks and Magic but does the occasional game) and Meta critic (checking out the lower scoring reviews to see what's the complaints are rather then going on the score itself).

cloud493

GamesTM
Official Playstation Magazine, since I know quite a few of them writers, so trust their opinions.
Leon Cox who writes for BT.

Any of the bigger ones, IGN, gamestop, etc, wouldn't trust them.

ancapailldorcha

solomafioso wrote: »

Not too sure why, but I can't stand him!

I think it'd be his humour. There have been videos he's done where I couldn't sit through all of them due to some of the jokes just falling flat. I do consider him to be a good reviewer though.

Randall Floyd

Angry Joe comes across more as an irritated fanboy in some of his stuff rather than an unbiased reviewer.

Randall Floyd

Randall Floyd wrote: »

Angry Joe comes across more as an irritated fanboy in some of his stuff rather than an unbiased reviewer.

In fairness that's to appease to the youtube masses with all the shouting and exaggeration etc..the youth of today love that ****e for some reason. Same with those let's play videos.

The meat of his reviews are well written and honest once you push the other stuff aside.

Venom

Totalbiscuit is great for PC games and he will call out bad ports of games.

Angry Joe's reviews tend to be spot on despite the wacky antics he gets up to.

Jim Sterling is like a mix of the two above and his you tube show is pretty cool.

Retr0gamer

Angry Joe used to be absolutely terrible but he really put his foot in it with a few developers and was made look like twat that he was. He's gotten a lot better since then and seems to give a lot more constructive criticism rather than just ranting for the sake of it.

Shiminay

I can't deal with the Angry Joe character at all, idiots shouting and roaring at a camera like him and Pewdiepie and that fkwit Simon from Yogscast and all the rest just make me want to switch off and commit a hate crime, but I am 36 years old, so I guess some parts of me have grown up despite my best efforts

Retr0gamer

Pewdiepie has a whole other dimension of bellend to himself. Can't understand how he is so popular.

Retr0gamer

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Pewdiepie has a whole other dimension of bellend to himself. Can't understand how he is so popular.

This; it's what gets him the views, endless Americans under the age of 13.

M!Ck^ wrote: »

In fairness that's to appease to the youtube masses with all the shouting and exaggeration etc..the youth of today love that ****e for some reason.

Nody

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Pewdiepie has a whole other dimension of bellend to himself. Can't understand how he is so popular.

That's at least on theory on the subject

Mal-Adjusted

I quite like the angry Joe show, now that he's dialed down the rage somewhat. he doesn't hate for the sake of it (like Spoony does). Someone I really can't stand is Total biscuit. He just seems so up his own arse in the videos that iv'e seen.

C14N

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Pewdiepie has a whole other dimension of bellend to himself. Can't understand how he is so popular.

It's to do more with Youtube's user base than anything else. A huge portion/possible majority of the active base are quite young. There are a lot of 10-16 year olds on there compared to other individual age groups, due to the fact that it's such a new medium. PDP might seem like an awful load of rubbish but I remember liking a load of stuff at that age that I really have no time for now. There is also the fact that Youtube's newest algorithms tend to favour and help promote those who are already the most popular which means he's showing up as "recommended" on a lot of of people's Youtube homepages.

Nody wrote: »

I know it's not a review channel but I'm not a fan of Game Theory either. I used to be subscribed and watched a few videos but the guy's sort of awkward, campy humour and frequent off-topic sexual innuendos put me off. His theories also seem to regularly rely on dubious assumptions and speculation rather than actual evidence too.

Xenji

If anyone uses or used CVG or Edge they will be closing down due to Future Publishing suffering huge loses for the first half of this year.