[General Discussion] Video game review reform idea.

I don't think a game should get a lower score just because it's very similar to its prequel/s. That could be applied, to some extent, to sports games, because I find it ridiculous that there's people who'll buy every iteration of an EA Sports title every damn year. How much better can FIFA '07 be compared to FIFA '06?

On the other hand, even if Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2 are very similar to each other, I liked them both and I think they're both great games. Should I score MP2 less just because it's more or less an expansion pack? And more: if someone never played MP, should a reviewer let him think MP2 is of lower quality and thus deter him from buying and enjoying MP2, just because it's a sequel? And, even if I played GTAIII and Vice City, am I expected to enjoy San Andreas less only because it's just another GTA? Does having played all the iterations of a title mean that I should enjoy the latest iteration less, just because it's more of the same?

Of course, that doesn't mean that a great many revies aren't flawed. I personally think that sticking a score to graphics/sound/gameplay (whatever they mean by that)/fun factor (whatever thay mean by that)/longevity and calling it a review is beyond ridiculous. This is how magazines used to review games in the old days, but those days are over. And of course, there should be a somewhat objective score system. I'm sick of those Gamefaqs people who stick a 10/10 to any game they play, just because they think that if they like a game, then it must be a 10/10 game.

The British magazine EDGE does use more objective review standards. They'll never dedicate more than two pages to a game, no matter if it's FFXII or Dirge of Cerberus. And they'll never dedicate less than half a page to a review. They use a 10 out of 10 score system, with no decimals (really, those 7.6 and 8.7 are meaningless, I don't know why someone still uses them), and they attach a meaning to every score (eg: 10=revolutionary, 4=appalling, 5=average, 8=excellent). Since 1994, EDGE only gave five 10's. Of course, every review comes down to personal tastes in the end, but some reviews are better and more objective than others.

Anyway, I stopped using reviews to choose what to buy a long time ago. I buy what I think I may like, and if I don't like it, it's back to the store. Ever since I found out that I absolutely despise a 10/10 game like GTAIII, I knew that I can't trust someone else's tastes.

Jam it back in, in the dark.