IGN Rage.

[Pretentious Old Man.]

They gave GTAIV a 10. They gave RDR 9.8. They gave Mafia II 7.0.

I think this rather sums up what we have always said about IGN: They do not understand what makes a good sequel, they do not understand games that are anything more than mindless destruction, and they do not understand that sim-style games can be fun.

For future reference: when DXIII comes out, disregard IGN's review. Or rather, take the score, if it's bad, buy the game, if it's good, think long and hard about it.

/rant.

[Pretentious Old Man.]

Just to clarify my position: IGN always ing do this. They have a particularly hard time giving eastern-european games good scores. ArmaII , Hidden and Dangerous 2, the Stalker series, three of the best games I know, all got scores in the 7s to early 8s.

While CoDs get 9.5. Ruddy disgrace.

(And for those that are wondering, yes, I'm playing with a US version that friend in the States who works at a gamestore mailed over to me. Not strictly legal in the "it's not out in Europe yet" sense, but hey)

[nomotog]

But what if they rate the game bad because it is really bad (Bad bugs ect.), but yes I get what you mean. I think reviewers post a lot of there review on hype (GTA 4 is not a perfect 10 in my book.).

[Blackbird SR-71C]

I agree that most, if not all the time i disagree either completely with IGN or at least two scores in the sub-categories (graphics,sound etc.). They got quite a reputation for giving ridiculous scores. Though, is there really any other site that features professional reviews with fair scores? I have yet to find one.

Also, I myself do believe that such scores aren't only the result of lack of understanding or extremely bad taste, but money as well. How come every game made by rockstar gets so high scores on so many popular gaming websites, while many really good games made by more unknown or simply smaller developers do not?

[pha]

There are many morons who pay attention to biased professional critics, and big boys like Activision exploit this. No surprise.

[Blackbird SR-71C]

Originally Posted by pha

There are many morons who pay attention to biased professional critics, and big boys like Activision exploit this. No surprise.

You forgot the quotes on proffesional

It's really sad, yes. Though I don't know how many people are actually persuaded to buy a game like, say, Modern Warfare 2 by the review. If they really went by the score said sites gave these games, then how come Battlefield: Bad Company 2 doesn't only not sell equally as good, but is often compared to Modern Warfare 2 by fans of both games despite the difference in sales?

[Ilves]

I've long given up on the "gaming press" as reliable reviewers. Impossible to find a site with access to "the industry" that isn't plastered with advertisements for upcoming releases. How on earth am I gonna give them one ounce of credibility when their primary source of income is the very industry they're supposed to criticize.

[Xenoc]

I would rather read gamer reviews on the forums... after all what better place to get a decent review from people who have followed a franchise or have gotten the game before me!

IGN have always been a site and I must admit even PC Zone which I goto on a daily basis is getting rather shoddy!

[pha]

Originally Posted by Blackbird SR-71C

If they really went by the score said sites gave these games, then how come Battlefield: Bad Company 2 doesn't only not sell equally as good, but is often compared to Modern Warfare 2 by fans of both games despite the difference in sales?

Did it? I was led to believe that Modern Warfare 2 totally destroyed Bad Company 2's sales, except on PC.

[Pretentious Old Man.]

Rock Paper Shotgun and PCgamer are the 2 best.

For the record, Gamespot gave M2 a much more reasonable 8.5 out of 10.

[Angel-A]

I don't really trust "professional" critics. Honestly, their opinion/review is most always just opposite mine once I take a look at what's being reviewed. Defintely think things are biased, games need to be reviewed on their own merit, not live up to whatever embodiment of down syndrome is considered Number One that day.

[Xenoc]

PC Zone/Gamer is part of the CVG site and i must admit even the fans have been bashing the reviewers lately!

[Blackbird SR-71C]

Originally Posted by pha

Did it? I was led to believe that Modern Warfare 2 totally destroyed Bad Company 2's sales, except on PC.

Yeah, that's what I just wrote. I'm sorry, English isn't my first language, did I make a mistake?

[pha]

My bad.

[Pretentious Old Man.]

Originally Posted by Xenoc

PC Zone/Gamer is part of the CVG site and i must admit even the fans have been bashing the reviewers lately!

It used to be part of the CVG one. They got their own months ago, with a similar format to RPS.

[hem dazon 90]

GTA IV deserved a 10 though

[II J0SePh X II]

I played the Mafia II demo, and it's an anorexic GTA4 imo. The writing is cringeworthy esp the ped dialogue, the rest is just gangster cliche. The GFX are nice tho.

[Red]

I've never put much worth in the numbers given in a review as opposed to what is written in it. It's the articulation and arguments that should describe you the game experience, not an arbitrary number at the end of the article.

[Jerion]

Here boys and girls, is a fundamental lesson about major reviewers: There is no 1-10 scale, there is only the 7-9 scale. Take this to heart.

[Shralla]

I don't know if you think the Mafia score is too high or too low, because it's a relatively low score for a blockbuster, but relatively high given all the complaining I've heard from the fanboys.

Also, you seem to be falling in the "BAWWWWWWWWWW ANYTHING BELOW A 9 ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR MY PRECIOUS GAMES" trap that all the Zelda fanboys fell into when whoever it was gave Twilight Princess an 8.8 on Gamespot.

I'm sorry, but Stalker is a buggy, glitchy, horribly balanced game. Given all the things wrong with it, I'm surprised as hell the gave it 8+. But it sure as hell doesn't deserve any more than that, no matter how good the concept may be.

This kind of crap happens in reviews of all mediums. Reviews are inherently subjective, and if the reviewer didn't like the game, it's going to get a lower score. I have my own gripes with IGN's grading scale (Split/Second got an 8.5, Blur got a 7, even though Blur has near infinite replay value, while Split/Second gets old after a couple hours, because you always know what's coming up) but honestly, I don't let it bother me. I still read IGN, I still check out their reviews. Do I take it as gospel? No. But all it is is an opinion.

[Daeda]

The site i work for gave M2 a 7 as well (GTA IV and RDR 10s)

Have you played the game yet? I havent but according to our reviewer, the game is extremely linear. And not just story wise or no interesting city, but linear to the extend that you have zero input in how to play a mission. The instructions are litteraly go there, press this button, go there, press another button etc.

While Maffia 1 was great storytelling design for its time, M2 didnt do anything remotely new. And considering that Maffia 1 is ten years old and other games have done things better, a ten just isnt justified.

[Blackbird SR-71C]

Originally Posted by Mr. K

Here boys and girls, is a fundamental lesson about major reviewers: There is no 1-10 scale, there is only the 7-9 scale. Take this to heart.

More like 6.5-10
Oh and you've got to give them credit for giving Ridge Racer 1.0

[Irate Iguana]

Originally Posted by Ilves

How on earth am I gonna give them one ounce of credibility when their primary source of income is the very industry they're supposed to criticize.

This. Review scores on major sites are all about the advertising dollars. A lot of advertising = high marks.

Originally Posted by Mr. K

Here boys and girls, is a fundamental lesson about major reviewers: There is no 1-10 scale, there is only the 7-9 scale. Take this to heart.

Also this.

[Yzerman]

Originally Posted by Pretentious Old Man.

They gave GTAIV a 10. They gave RDR 9.8. They gave Mafia II 7.0.

I think that you fail to understand that Mafia II is not like GTAIV or RDR, in fact, judging from multiple reviews, Mafia II is quite far from game of the year caliber. Eurogamer 40, Edge Magazine 60.

The good thing about professional reviews is that there are more than one, so even if one of the reviewers does not know what he or she is doing, you can find out the real truth by giving a quick glance to game's Metacritic page.

Also, sometimes bad or not so great reviews are better than great reviews, because those reviews tend to reveal more from the game. You know what to expect, and you can still buy the game if you believe that you can live with the problems that the game has.

[Pinky_Powers]

I can't say I don't look to review scores... cause I do... but Penny Arcade is just about the only site I really trust to be honest. And their honesty is highly influenced by what they ate for breakfast that day. But still, I find them good and trustworthy.