Who do you trust for game reviews?

[drmick]

I subscribe to Edge and GamesTM, and browse Metacritic and IGN from time to time.

However I have noticed that what influences me the most in buying games is the First Play section here!

I have bought Wolverine and Assassin's Creed purely on the threads in here. Looks like I'm getting Prototype too

I had posted in earlier thread that no game should ever be awarded a 10/10 until a month or so after release, so that the greater opinion could be guaged. I got shot down with that remark, oddly.

[sadat]

Game Revolution is great for being objective and realising that even great games only deserve a B sometimes. Their A grades only go to the very, very best. And they have an archive going back over several generations with a track record of rating appropriately, even looking back with the retrospectoscope. Don't like their new colour scheme though!

[Flabio]

A mixture of sources. I tend to agree most often with the reviews on Gametrailers (and they have the advantage of being able to show you the game, good and bad elements). But generally I'll look at quite a few different places before deciding.

If someone I know recommends something, it carries far more clout than any review though.

[Kubrick]

I couldn't tell you the last time a review convinced me to buy something. I'll usually know which games I want to buy long before they come out.

[Kaladron]

This may sound strange, coming from a games journalist, but I care little for reviews. Most of the time I'll just trust my own instincts as, after nearly 30 years, nobody knows what I like better than me.

Reviews in magazines, on the whole, I read more as reflective retrospectives than buyers guides. Having said that, if a title I've overlooked scores a 9 or 10 then I'll read the review and consider buying the game if it seems worthwhile.

Other than that I might use a specialist website like RPGamer or AdventureGamers.com to get a really in-depth description of a game, then I can decide for myself whether it sounds like my sort of thing or not.

[prinnysquad]

I subscribe to Edge and GamesTM,

I think you should subscribe to Retro Gamer too, since you're in it. It's just common courtesy.

I respect the reviews of those two mags, gamecentral, and my mates, who know what type of games I'd like better than anyone.

[Roddie]

I always enjoy looking through the First Play threads, but even a couple of the scathing Zero Punctation reviews have made me interested enough in the games to go out and pick them up.

[Tetsuo]

I used to use magazines, almost exclusively, as indicators of where to splash my limited cash, and I think in the past there were a series of magazine's that "knew" what gaming was about, or at least seemed to inform but also validate my gaming tastes. Super Play, N64 Magazine (90% of the time) and Edge up until around 2004, all spring to mind as the best examples.

Nowadays, I don't trust any magazines, and I think in general I feel as if there's no-where really (print or online, tbh) that honours or understands that spirit I once felt with those mags. What constitutes a good review score (or even what is seen as a good game I suppose) these days has definitely changed, if only slightly. But, crucially, enough to leave me disenfranchised.

As such, like the X-Files reminded me back in the 90's, I: Trust No One.

(Edit: 1000th post alert!)

[Brats]

I trust Edge's reviews. That doesn't mean that our tastes are the same. In fact I love games that they have panned and vice versa. But I do feel like I can gauge from the review whether I will like it or not, irrespective of their final score. Saints Row 2 and Mass Effect are two games they weren't keen on (the former they panned) but their criticism was clear and I knew it was in areas that I wouldn't have an issue with.

I find their reviews concentrate on the feeling you get when playing the game and don't bother with ticking the boxes of graphics or press A to jump.

It would be a miracle to find a publication whose opinions matched your own, let alone a single reviewer. Therefore I find a good review is not one that I agree with, but one I enjoy reading and can clearly appreciate the reviewer's stance.

[NemesiS]

I don't buy games based on reviews and i very rarely have done. I always usually know whether i am going to buy a game well before its released.

The only times i think i have bought off the strength of a review (not counting the years of Crash and Zzap 64) is if its something that has come out of the blue that i had never heard of. Doom was probably the first as a shareware review years ago. Goldeneye, Half Life, Braid, LBA, ICO were others that spring to mind.

I subscribe to GamesTM and find their reviews pretty much spot on while being impartial and its a really good gamers mag to boot.

Still buy Edge off the shelf for no reason other than the reviews and previews. Reviews are generally on the mark but they can sometimes be either overly generous if its a fanboy game or controversial for the sake of it. I hate the rest of the mag and don't like the direction Edge has gone in recent years for various reasons i've posted in other threads on here. Much prefer GamesTM as a pure gamers mag.

In frequently buy PC Gamer, PC Format as well.

Websites i use are:

Eurogamer
Gamespot
IGN (infrequently)
Metacritic - Use regularly to check scores on a game i want to buy

As i said, i already know if i am going to buy a game regardless but for anything else which piques my interest my first port of call is usually here in First Play to get everyone elses opinions of a game which i may be considering to sway me one way or the other as a multitude of posters with their input about a game is worth a hundred times more than any magazine review imo.

I also use AV as well

[gaanbo]

However I have noticed that what influences me the most in buying games is the First Play section here!

Same here, and the NTSC-UK reviews as well. Though I also find Gamecentrals' reviews to be trustworthy and well-written. To be honest though I've bought games which have had poor or unfair reviews and with some I've enjoyed them more than the critically acclaimed titles.

[dvdmike]

The First Play thread and 1up only

[eastyy]

first play thread for me though someTimes i have do have to get through loads of pages to find out exactly how the game plays

ign makes me laugh cos you have the usa/australia/uk reviews and they usually do not agree with each other

[MisterBubbles]

well i read everything websites and paper wouldn't say i trust any of them just check metacritic and game rankings for scores but means nothing most mags and sites hate dynasty warriors and DW Gundam always get panned but i like them, plus i read 1st plays here a ask my friends especially my norwegian friend who has over 70 PS3 games ( blu rays ) who knows what i like a can trust him and them.
GamesTM is usually on the money and 1up Edge sometimes though i do think they rank and score games as art

[Malc]

I primarily trust Edge and Gamestm. However, even before their reviews I normally make a good estimate as to whether i'll like a game just from watching the trailers and looking at the developers history, as well as their intentions and ideas for x game.