HonestDragon (User)

  • Contributor
  • 5 bubbles
  • 7 in CRank
  • Score: 27070

Reviewers: Truly Capable or Not?

HonestDragon | 370d ago
User blog

Reggie Fils-Aime has recently been commented on the bad feedback the Wii U has received from some reviewers by saying, "Reviews of a system or reviews of a game really come down to the quality and capability of the reviewer." Reading this sounds like a major burn to reviewers who fancy themselves as professional journalists, but it really got me to thinking about what Reggie is really saying. Should reviewers be held more accountable for what they publish? For that matter, are reviewers as credible as they believe themselves to be? Or rather, are their reviews being manipulated somehow from a third party?

To answer those questions, we have to look at a variety of gaming venues that have either professional or user based data. Some people would argue that "professional" gaming publications (like IGN and Game Informer) give favorable reviews to questionable games to gain favor with companies. Many people feel that reviewers' opinions are bought. Whether any of this has true merit (which in some cases may be true), there are things to consider about those who call themselves professional video game journalists.

After all, look at the 2012 GMAs. What are the GMAs? They are known as the Game Media Awards which is a yearly award show held in the United Kingdom that present awards for best editors and game journalists. Thing is, though, is that they were voted by Public Relations and sponsored by publishers. This 2012 edition of the event was heavily criticized. The GMAs were called out by many people as an event that rewards with bribes and favors among the fabled "best" of video game journalism. There was even a popular topic of tweeting hashtags to promote games with the promise of winning prizes (like a PS3).

Robert Florence, who is now formerly of Eurogamer, presented a well thought out article criticizing the GMAs. In general, he analyzed the relationship between video game journalists and PR. He got in trouble, however, when he mentioned a certain journalist named Lauren Wainwright over her tweet for Tomb Raider. Wainwright threatened legal action which led to Eurogamer censoring that part of Florence's article and then led to Florence stepping down from Eurogamer.

What we have here is an example of censorship of good journalism that brings up real problems with the video game industry. I find that anytime issues in the industry that are covered in publications are out right defaced by ignorant gamers or PR trying to silence the writer. Whether you work on a big website or magazine, you should know your rights. Just because some PR representative or fellow gamer doesn't like your opinion or analysis of something in the industry, it should not warrant your article to being censored. If you're being a troll, however, then you shouldn't even be writing in the first place. I ask, who are the real professionals then? Are they those writers who actually bring up good topics and ideas or those who hide behind red tape and PR to get the best perks around?

The most infamous of so-called "professional" game journalism can be reflected in the image of Geoff Keighley being surrounded by Doritos and Mountain Dew. I am very vocal in saying that Geoff Keighley (a.k.a. King Dorito) continually shows gamers that he is out of touch with the video game community as a whole, which is evidenced further by the much despised Spike Video Game Awards and his consistency with ad placements. Geoff Keighley continually belittles the industry with his media-like demeanor. You can clearly see it in an interview he had with Angry Joe in 2010, his constant pushing and interruptions in interviews with industry members on the Bonus Round, and how snarky he is with his recent video of claiming to know what it takes to be in video game journalism.

All of this encompasses what is wrong with video game journalism that is considered "professional". How are people supposed to take a writer's words to heart when things like this happen? How are we supposed to know when certain journalists are being honest? How do we know if they truly explore every detail of a game or system and don't just glance over it? I think that people in the same boat as Screw Attack, Angry Joe, Blistered Thumbs, and even Game Trailers offer gamers the side of honest work and detailed reviews. These guys put out content so that they can make sure your hard earned money is well spent. They don't bead around the bush with what is good, annoying, or bad in a game. I think that these are sources that have good track records in their reviews. Unfortunately, the other "professional" video game journalism crowd can be questioned about their validity with their reviews.

What about user based reviews? Well, everything is subjective when it comes to the common blogger posting his or her review of a game. This is usually seen through a user's actual purchase or rental. The thing about user reviews are that some users can be making reviews just to spite people hating on a game or that they mention the bare minimum of a game and hardly mention key elements.

Taking our very own N4G, for example, your work must go through an approval process before your reviews, news, and articles can be seen by the public. This is a safe way of making sure that fanboys and trolls don't pollute the site with deliberately bad articles. It also helps people improve their own writing if they are really determined to give good, insightful articles. Other sites should follow suit considering the large amount of lackluster and terribly written reviews on aggregate websites.

Many gamers would simply leave things at their own discretion; however, I have noticed that gamers like to pick apart opinions and say that reviewers are wrong for one thing or another. The thing about reviews is that they are personal opinions. An opinion cannot be wrong, but I have found that if a person didn't actually experience something, then they are lying about their supposed experiences and have an opinion that is falsified. You can easily go to Metacritic to see the user based scores and see how abused the system is there. In essence, the false opinions of those who lie are wrong and it is very easy to see who does that.

As someone who has done a handful of reviews, I would like to think that I hit the mark with whatever I review. I by no means consider myself a journalist, though. I'm just an ordinary guy who likes to share his passion of video games with his fellow gamers. I do receive criticism from time to time, but those few people seem to be gamers who have a chip on their shoulder. Others actually offer good separate opinions to my own. I own up to my mistakes and opinions, but I do not support writers who think themselves over the general public opinion. This usually covers reviewers who like to "rebel against the majority" or "fight against the popular games". More often than not, this also covers gamers who want to troll or prove some point that doesn't make any sense.

Looking back to what Reggie said, I agree with him. I do think that reviewers need to be held more accountable for the content they publish. With the many problems of bribery and behind closed door deals, it is very hard for gamers to put their trust in video game journalism anymore. We have very few champions of the people we can rely on. There are very few sources we can place our trust with. At the end of the day, it all boils down to which reviewers you believe and what you think of a game. Remember to always vote with your wallet and if you're unsure of a game, check out the reviewers you trust. Then you can spend your money on games that deserve it.

SilentNegotiator  +   369d ago
Pfft. Reggie is just downplaying any review that isn't in their favor. There was no intention of being profound.
Software_Lover  +   369d ago
In this day and age of the internet and everyone has an agenda, I dont trust anyone's review or thoughts of a game other than my own. I will take into account what some of my friends say about certain titles as I trust them but there is too much bias in the media today. Everyone wants a website hit, everyone wants to get paid, everyone wants their console of choice to rise to the top (for reasons unknown). There are multiple, MULTIPLE, games last gen that I thoroughly enjoyed, even more so than high profile titles, that got smashed by reviewers or labeled mediocre.

As you stated, everything is subjective.
Ezz2013  +   368d ago
what this guy said

i agree with pretty much every thing you said
thorstein  +   369d ago
Fantastic post! As the saying goes: Those who can do, those who can't criticize. I also wrote a couple of blogs on here about how terrible reviewers are and how they could improve and improve greatly.

But for the most part, I actually do look at user reviews more often (ie Amazon, Newegg) and find the obvious review by the corporations and ignore them. But if something is reviewed fully, I like to read the top and bottom reviews because it lets me get a better picture of the product.
BanBrother  +   369d ago



One thing I always thought about though is that imagine if you were a reviewer, and the company gave you swag bags, or likeRockstar did for GTA4 where the press got invited to a party or something, so it was very well done in hotel rooms or something. How could you give a game a bad review when your job might be on the line, or advertising dollars? Must be a tough call.
HonestDragon  +   362d ago
Thanks, thorstein. I'm going to have check out your articles on that. And I totally agree with that saying. Those who fashion themselves as professional critics like to think that they know what is the best of the best. This stands for every piece of pop culture (that's why I don't care for film critics).

Everything is up to the ordinary consumer, but it's up to their own discretion to hear about a product before spending their money on it. This is why I think reviewers need to be held more accountable for what they publish because we would otherwise waste our money on a bad product or miss out on something great.
ZombieNinjaPanda  +   369d ago
I already spoke about this in a previous blog post, but pretty much most reviewers cannot be trusted. Their websites all have an agenda, and if the game is paying their salaries, they will review it kindly.

If you want to listen to any reviewers, listen to people such as Northernlion on youtube. People who do lets plays and walkthroughs. They showcase the good and the bad, no matter what.
SageHonor  +   369d ago
I'd also recommend Angryjoe
RTheRebel  +   369d ago
AngryJoe sucks sorry.
He calls himself the Gamer's-Champ, when he doesn't even own a PS3. If, you want a true reviewer check out Razorfist.
aLucidMind  +   367d ago
He calls himself that because his reviews are his honest opinions and thoughts on the game and shows both the good and bad rather than hiding the bad for the advertisement money; not owning a PS3 doesn't mean he sucks or that he isn't a true reviewer or gamer.
#4.1.2 (Edited 367d ago ) | Agree(2) | Disagree(0) | Report
SageHonor  +   369d ago
I just watch lets plays or play the demos if it's available.
TuxedoMoon  +   369d ago
Reviews are just suggestions and opinions based on the writers experiences with a product. Professional or a casual reviewer, they are simply detailing the product and their experiences with that product.

A lot of people talk about how companies bribe reviewers, but I haven't seen a lot of stories about that happening. I'm sure it does happen, but it's not an epidemic. Most people use the bribe excuse simply because the reviewer enjoyed playing a game that the gamers didn't like. If CoD gets a 9 despite it being the same engine or whatever from last year, people cry bribe. When a reviewer gives Madden anything above an 8 and the newest Madden game is just the same game as last year...then gamers scream bribes from EA. They aren't getting bribed, they're just sharing their opinions about games they LIKED.

Sometimes it's not a bribe, just a different opinion. Biased? Yeah...a lot of it is biased. It's hard not to be biased when reviewing a game. You don't give a reviewer who hates sports games a sports game to review. Their experiences and opinions will most likely make that game score low. Big game media companies (like IGN or Game Trailers) typically give their reviewers games they specialize in. If they have a guy who loves fighting games, the company will give fighting games to that guy to review because he knows what he's talking about. He can explain the fighting mechanics and whatnot. Even then there is some bias there. Their personal tastes affects the score. Reviews are biased, they're just opinions/suggestions at the end of the day.

Jurat  +   369d ago
I’ve listened to podcasts from reputable sites in the past and heard staffers gushing over fantastical PR events they’ve attended for the launch of a particular IP. Lo and behold, when I come across their review a few weeks later, it’s just an extension of the developer’s propaganda.

Another pitfall is journalists producing flame bait reviews just to garner massive amounts of traffic. Some are so successful that they become viral immediately. They then either retract the offending article or write further posts justifying their rationale, all the while building upon their infamy.
Picnic  +   369d ago
Videogame journalists don't have a 'profession'.
Any information that they give to their readers is not regulated with the same level of requirements of being a school teacher, solicitor, architect.

Journalists in general don't have a true 'profession'. The only thing that they can profess is to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But they don't anyway, if they even had the time, inclination and capacity to work out what the full truth is.

They're jotters, spurting the outpourings of their ego shaped in to the form of information on a particular topic so that they can afford a bigger car.

The world would be no worse without journalists. Few paid ones are truly notable raconteurs. If something deserves uncovering, it deserves uncovering by enthusiastic , erudite 'amateurs' (only seen as a amateur because they are not privy to inside knowledge) and good policemen.
#8 (Edited 369d ago ) | Agree(2) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply
edonus  +   368d ago
I stick by my feeling that I feel true reviewers should have some formal education in gaming. Whether it be game design 3d animation basic animation or anything they should have a better working knowledge of what it takes to make a game so they can better understand what it is they are reviewing.

There should also be tighter standards to avoid the opinion machine. I am sick of seeing something in one game cause it to lose points while the same thing is praised in another game. Thats stupid.
azazel665  +   368d ago
There is another good article about censorship of game reviews currently circulating. Google the phrase "GameFAQs apparently deleting negative user reviews." It is becoming more and more a problem.

Add comment
