What do you think when a game has different reviews?

[ErixSan]

Something that doesn't happens too often on a videogames is when the game have different reviews...

For example, one of the newer (indie) games for 3DS, BitBoy!! Arcade, is a perfect example of this.

There're 4 reviews:
3DSPedia, it has a 90/100
Nintendo Charged 9/10
On Nintendo Enthusiast, 8.5/10
Nintendo Life, 4/10

A bigger example would be Sonic Lost World... both version...

But the question is... What do you think when something like this happens?
You decide to not buy the game (think of any game with this situation) or you will give it a try?

 

[TAG]

I can't speak for that review specifically. I know Philip and he's a good guy, but I haven't played the game yet.

In general though ... I think a big part of it has to do with time. Sites don't want to get reviews out late, so sometimes they rush through games. A reviewer may also have a backlog of games to review, another reason they may rush. Things can be easily missed when speeding through a game.

I hate to say it, but in some cases people just aren't qualified to review games too. The may lack gaming skill, the may not fact check, heck some don't even look at a game's instruction book or manual!

I'm sure some of my own reviews are polar opposites of other sites, but I haven't really checked. At least I play a game thoroughly, even if it means the review posts late. I'd rather have it be accurate and honest than publishing it before the game's released to the public.

 

[ErixSan]

I can't speak for that review specifically. I know Philip and he's a good guy, but I haven't played the game yet.

In general though ... I think a big part of it has to do with time. Sites don't want to get reviews out late, so sometimes they rush through games. A reviewer may also have a backlog of games to review, another reason they may rush. Things can be easily missed when speeding through a game.

I hate to say it, but in some cases people just aren't qualified to review games too. The may lack gaming skill, the may not fact check, heck some don't even look at a game's instruction book or manual!

I'm sure some of my own reviews are polar opposites of other sites, but I haven't really checked. At least I play a game thoroughly, even if it means the review posts late. I'd rather have it be accurate and honest than publishing it before the game's released to the public.

Well, the reason I mostly asking is because I'm considering to do a double-side of view for the reviews...
I don't know if I should add a score and also the YES-NO-NOT YET from Kotaku, saying who can probably enjoy most the game...

I also ignore my game tastes... The hardest review from me was World Conqueror 3D.
I newer played a game like that and when I started I didn't know what to do...

I learned to play it (I didn't like to play the game at all either, but because I didn't like the genre, not because the game was bad).

The game itself, without considering my tastes, was well done... I think I gave that game a 7...
I agree with what you say too, but sometimes I don't know if I made a good review or not...

 

[D4rkDragon]

Something that doesn't happens too often on a videogames is when the game have different reviews...

For example, one of the newer (indie) games for 3DS, BitBoy!! Arcade, is a perfect example of this.

There're 4 reviews:
3DSPedia, it has a 90/100
Nintendo Charged 9/10
On Nintendo Enthusiast, 8.5/10
Nintendo Life, 4/10

A bigger example would be Sonic Lost World... both version...

But the question is... What do you think when something like this happens?
You decide to not buy the game (think of any game with this situation) or you will give it a try?

If there's a demo, I give it a try, so I can make my opinion on it. If there's no demo, then, I look at the reviews. If the game has good reviews a very few bad reviews, I try it, if it has bad reviews, then, I don't try.

 

[BjFauble]

I never read reviews because sites that have more than one person reviewing games isn't going to match my personal preference. When there's only one person doing it you can sorta learn what they like and match it with your own opinions. Anyways.

Nah, reviews never affect my purchasing decision unless it's some random game that everyone's raving about that I've never heard of.

 

[Reece]

I never read reviews because sites that have more than one person reviewing games isn't going to match my personal preference. When there's only one person doing it you can sorta learn what they like and match it with your own opinions. Anyways.

Nah, reviews never affect my purchasing decision unless it's some random game that everyone's raving about that I've never heard of.

I agree with @Nanamine I never follow game reviews, yeah it's nice to see a general score, but my personal preference is what matters, everyone has different tastes in games, when a game has mixed reviews, I look up gameplay, read up about the story, like for Sonic Lost Worlds, 3DS, I was planning on getting it, but there was a lot of mixed reviews, I decided not to get, not based on reviews, but just by watching some short gameplay videos, and I judged the game based on my preference, and it didn't match up.

I'm really stubborn, when purchasing games actually, because the're so expensive here, I gotta seriously be careful, and not get burn by a bad game. I'm not sure about Shin Megami Tensei IV, a lot of reviews gave it some mixed scores, but I can't picture myself enjoying a game like that, it's just not my type, so yeah for me, it goes to personal preference when a game has mixed reviews.

 

[TAG]

I also ignore my game tastes... The hardest review from me was World Conqueror 3D.
I newer played a game like that and when I started I didn't know what to do...

I learned to play it (I didn't like to play the game at all either, but because I didn't like the genre, not because the game was bad).

The game itself, without considering my tastes, was well done... I think I gave that game a 7...
I agree with what you say too, but sometimes I don't know if I made a good review or not...

Interesting example. I scored World Conqueror 3D a 4.5 - here is my review. Differences are easier to accept when the reviews are well written. We actually touch on many of the same points, in spite of the scoring differences.

 

[TAG]

I hate to bump, but I actually just got BitBoy!! Arcade for review. It'll post later than I'd like, but it'll be interesting to see if my take is closer to your 3DS Pedia Review or Philips Nintendo Life one.

Now I just need to forget everything I've read about the game ...

 

[ErixSan]

I hate to bump, but I actually just got BitBoy!! Arcade for review. It'll post later than I'd like, but it'll be interesting to see if my take is closer to your 3DS Pedia Review or Philips Nintendo Life one.

Now I just need to forget everything I've read about the game ...

Oh, I will be waiting then...

 

[Reece]

I hate to bump, but I actually just got BitBoy!! Arcade for review. It'll post later than I'd like, but it'll be interesting to see if my take is closer to your 3DS Pedia Review or Philips Nintendo Life one.

Now I just need to forget everything I've read about the game ...

Well I'd love to read it, I still have to watch a few gameplay on the game to base it myself, but it'll be great to compare everyone's different take on the game, since this is a fine example of a game that has mixed reviews.

 

[TAG]

Oh, I will be waiting then...

Quick question for you - how did you discover the quick start option? Is it stated in the game somewhere? I've found the lack of a manual has made me miss some things, even with the in-game explanations.

Initially I didn't know the game only saved after every 10 levels! Thankfully I'm now using the other method, but I wonder how many are aware of it? If it is stated in game, where would I find it?

Btw, I'm loving the game so far! Definitely more in line with your thoughts than the NL review. I actually shared some friendly dialogue with Phil on his review. We'll likely never agree, but I hope they at least made him pause to think. He's a good reviewer, and his review was actually well written. The things he chose to focus on though were quite peculiar.

 

[ErixSan]

Quick question for you - how did you discover the quick start option? Is it stated in the game somewhere? I've found the lack of a manual has made me miss some things, even with the in-game explanations.

Initially I didn't know the game only saved after every 10 levels! Thankfully I'm now using the other method, but I wonder how many are aware of it? If it is stated in game, where would I find it?

Btw, I'm loving the game so far! Definitely more in line with your thoughts than the NL review. I actually shared some friendly dialogue with Phil on his review. We'll likely never agree, but I hope they at least made him pause to think. He's a good reviewer, and his review was actually well written. The things he chose to focus on though were quite peculiar.

The reason he lost presentation score (and I wasn't able to make him understand) was because he never explained those features. Play a random level, for example, from phase one to three. Now press home button and close the game. Start again and ta-da! I discovered how it worked by myself.

The game actually saves after every phase. If you quit, your progress will be saved, but you will need to spend 2 PC to recover from where you left. (unless you exit with the home button using the quick start feature).

And you're right, for example, the timer thing for example was just a lame excuse to say the gameplay was broken.
Also he said stuff about dead ends, but that is because he never watched how the enemies walks or move across the level.

Bern itself (the dev) said me he had some problems with Nintendo Life too before.
I hope to read your review soon. Without counting Nintendo Life review, the others talk very good about this game.

 

[532]

I never read reviews because sites that have more than one person reviewing games isn't going to match my personal preference. When there's only one person doing it you can sorta learn what they like and match it with your own opinions. Anyways.

Nah, reviews never affect my purchasing decision unless it's some random game that everyone's raving about that I've never heard of.

Then you have the opposite situation as me. I almost was going to not buy Link Between Worlds because everyone was saying it was too short, but i still bought it. I love it. I have played through it twice, and i'm doing the Ice Ruins on Hero mode right now.
The reviews are because people have a different perception of everything. Some might think the game is too easy, too short or too difficult/boring hence leading to different review scores.

 

[ErixSan]

Then you have the opposite situation as me. I almost was going to not buy Link Between Worlds because everyone was saying it was too short, but i still bought it. I love it. I have played through it twice, and i'm doing the Ice Ruins on Hero mode right now.
The reviews are because people have a different perception of everything. Some might think the game is too easy, too short or too difficult/boring hence leading to different review scores.

Same story happened to me. I bought it anyways. Still enjoying. (because I stopped playing and started to play)

 

[Reece]

Then you have the opposite situation as me. I almost was going to not buy Link Between Worlds because everyone was saying it was too short, but i still bought it. I love it. I have played through it twice, and i'm doing the Ice Ruins on Hero mode right now.
The reviews are because people have a different perception of everything. Some might think the game is too easy, too short or too difficult/boring hence leading to different review scores.

Oh wow, those reviews where people said it was short, didn't base the game fully on their experience as I said countless of times the game does have a short lifespan, but when you are playing it, it doesn't feel short, I completed a dungeon in 20 mins, after I thought I spent like 45 mins on that dungeon, and as you said people have different perception of everything, so that's why mixed reviews are always present.

(I hope you enjoy the game)

 

[TAG]

2o hours or so for a handheld Zelda is totally fine. Not to mention the time it takes replaying it in Hero Mode! I think some people expect a console experience on a handheld and have skewed expectations for length.

 

[532]

Oh wow, those reviews where people said it was short, didn't base the game fully on their experience as I said countless of times the game does have a short lifespan, but when you are playing it, it doesn't feel short, I completed a dungeon in 20 mins, after I thought I spent like 45 mins on that dungeon, and as you said people have different perception of everything, so that's why mixed reviews are always present.

(I hope you enjoy the game)

I did enjoy the game, I still am enjoying it. Get all the Maimais, all the heart pieces, every single collectible will get you ~30 hours of gameplay.

 

[Reece]

I did enjoy the game, I still am enjoying it. Get all the Maimais, all the heart pieces, every single collectible will get you ~30 hours of gameplay.

Yes, and every second of the game is enjoyable, I might end up having more than 30 hours of gameplay, I try my best to fight all the enemies I see (to make it more fun) and take my time in dungeons, this game is worth every penny to be honest.

2o hours or so for a handheld Zelda is totally fine. Not to mention the time it takes replaying it in Hero Mode! I think some people expect a console experience on a handheld and have skewed expectations for length.

I know right, even though the game was short, the was actually one of the only flaw of this game that was present, and some people might not take that easy, and give the game a mediocre score. After when I got the game (it was a gift) the first thing I did was looked at some scores, and it was confusing, I shrugged off the "short lifespan" reviews, and continued, then I was excited to play this game.

 

[TAG]

Finally posted my review of Bit Boy!! ARCADE. I'm pleased with how it turned out (the biggest challenge was keeping it at the appropriate length!)

http://purenintendo.com/2014/05/02/pn-review-bit-boy-arcade/

 

[Trinikirby]

I try a demo if there's one. If not, I watch a "Let's Play" on Youtube. And if I still don't know I ask on forums, miiverse...