GoNintendo thought - Review scores: how low is too low for you?

When it comes to the core gamer, we live in a day and age where review scores can make or break a game. A lot of people use these games as a guide for their purchases. If a game doesn’t reach a certain score plateau, it can be doomed to retail failure. Even with multiple outlets using various scoring methods, we often see scores lumped together. In the instance of MetaCritic and GameRankings, this is extremely obvious. EA recently stated how important these average scores can be to their overall market impact.

I believe the average review to be a scary thing. Taking reviews from multiple outlets and squeezing them down into one average number really doesn’t provide me with the info I want. I personally want to know the review team that is dishing out these grades. I don’t want to see that IGN gave a title an 8, GameSpot gave a 6, and so on. I need to know who reviewed the game, and what their reasoning was for taking things in that direction. I know that many people rush right to the bottom of reviews, just to catch a glimpse at the final score. I really don’t think that is a good way to handle your purchases. The review staff (hopefully) took the time to play a game to its fullest, and have graded it accordingly.

Still though, there are so many that will simply not pick up a game due to scoring. Now, I completely understand that when 10 outlets give a game a 2 or 3 out of 10, that is definitely a game to stay away from. The problem is, many reviews tend to float around the 6 to 8 marks. With the major gaming outlets having wildly varying review scores (take a look at the IGN and 1up reviews for Naruto: Ninja Destiny that were published just yesterday), how do you know what to go with? Do you take the time to research who gave the scores, and how they came to their final grade? Are there certain numbers that will automatically make you ignore a title?

Let’s look at Dragon Quest Swords, for instance. DQS is not worthy of a 9 in my opinion, but that doesn’t mean that the game is crap. I am actually very much enjoying myself. I’d say that so far, the game is a great effort on Wii. I am having fun, I’m being entertained every time I pop the title in, and I only have minor quibbles. It’s just that, the overall product is of good quality, not high quality. There are better games out there, but there are much worse as well. This is just a fun, pick-up-and-play game that really shouldn’t be overlooked. A rental or purchase are well worth it, in my opinion. When you look at the current landscape of reviews for DQS, I fear that the title is going ot get shoved aside.

As of right now, the majority of review scores for DQS fall into the high 6 low 7 area. I know plenty of gamers that won’t even look at a title, unless it scores an 8.5 or better. While multiple outlets have gone out of their way to explain their scoring systems, people tend to ignore those rules. I think in most peoples’ minds, 8 and up is worth a purchase, anything below isn’t worth their time. There are so many good/great games that people are missing out on, due to this mentality. I don’t understand how people come to a conclusion like this, or how they decided to be such a snobby gamer. If money is an issue, I completely understand. If you have a limited budget, you only want to own the top-tier, must-have titles out there. DQS is not a must-have, but it is a game that should be recognized for what it accomplishes. For those with a more expendable income for gaming, I highly recommend the title.

What is your criteria for buying a game? What does a game have to score in order for you to make a purchase? Do you pool together scores from your favorite sites to help make your decision? Do you read full reviews, or do you just grab the final score and throw it into the pile? I am really curious to see how you guys handle your gaming purchases. I know that a large group of you are very selective with the titles you pick up. It should be very interesting to hear how you approach this.