This is why Gamesites should vet reviews posted to them.

[jide]

Tbh the last time i listen to Ign was when they gave the dismal WWF RAW 9.3 for xbox.

Never listened to a review since

[marcus]

I dont even read 'professional' reviews. Id sooner trust the opinion of someone I know to be a real gamer and not in it for personal gain or to please and win favours by irresponsible coverage of a videogame. Im not saying our reviews are right 100% of the time, theres times whereby Ive disagreed with things said (although its usually a matter of opinions), but I comfort in the fact that the writer has been honest and uninfluenced in their account.

[Tom Salter]

I just buy everything and make my own mind up. Can't go wrong then?

[Crispin]

Apart from bankrupt. Still, the horses will always love you, regardless of wealth eh Boog?

[charlesr]

and you'd going to need the 45-minute training

I find it difficult to take my ntsc-editing hat off, so when I read that glaring grammar error on the first page, it put me off. Then I realised it was page 1 of 5, at which point I closed the browser

[rjpageuk]

There was a well known review on gamefaqs for Ikaruga. It was however taken down, but I have a copy of it here, make your own mind up if it is for real or not:

Review by Dr Nemo

Okay, so I buy this game because of all the hype surrounding it. Apparently it's supposed to be like a ''radical game'' for hardcore gamers. I heard it was straight ''old-school'', that has Nemo written all over. So I, being an obvious hardcore gamer (I played Final Fantasy 7 on PS when it first came out after all, I was practically one of the first people to even know about that series), had to get this game. When I went to the store and read the cover of the case, I found out that even IGN was frolicking over it, or whatever the hell frothing means. The details weren't important to me, IGN is the da bomb hizzy, I don't think they have ever been wrong about anything, so if they like it, I like it. At that point it was settled, Ikaruga was coming home with me. And it looked like it could be one of my most favorite games evar.

Boy was I wrong. As soon as I booted the game up I was greeted by black borders on each side of the screen. Is this someone's idea of a joke? Someone in the parallaxing department that worked on this game needs to be fired. The only way to get rid of those borders is to turn the screen side-ways. Okay huh, who in their right mind plays games laying down? This game shouldn't have been released until these obvious major bugs and glitches had been removed. I suppose it?s my fault for not being more observant, if I had been, I would have realized that Atari made this game. Yes, I said Atari. These people hadn?t released a game since Pong, and with Ikaruga, it shows why. My grandpa used to tell me stories about Pong, he said it sucked then, so why the heck are they releasing Pong-like games now on the GameCube!? Yiyiyi, onto the gameplay department.

Unlike most people, I decided not to shut the game off after coming across all the bugginess. Though now, I wish I had. The word on the web was that this game is a ?shooter?, or a ?shuddumup? for people like me in the loop. Let me make this clear now, people on the web are LIARS!! This game is nothing like Halo. Where are the 3D graphics, scary monsters and big guns. Not in this game my friends. I?m not sure what the heck you would call this game, but it?s not a shooter. In Ikaruga you play as some little ship-thingy, and for some reason the screen doesn?t stop moving. That is so cheap!! I hate not being able to move at my own pace. I?m sure I won?t be the only one getting airsick after playing this piece. To make things worse, the whole time there are these enemies throwing black and white balls at you. That is so not fair, how do they expect me to get anywhere when I keep getting hit every second. If you get this game it will go like this: get killed, come back with about 3 seconds of invincibility, and get killed again, repeat process. You can only last as long as your invincibility. I?ve played whack games, but this game is whack.

After looking in the instruction manual I found out that you?re supposed to do something with colors. Don?t ask, it makes no sense. It?s impossible that someone can shoot, change ship colors, and dodge the balls all at the same time while the screen is moving. And chaining? I shot like 5 enemies in a row before dying one time, but after I finally got past the first level, it said ?0 chains?, whatever. People at Atari are really dumb. This has to be the worst game I have ever played, time for some more Tube Slider.

In conclusion, don?t believe the hype. Don?t buy, don?t rent, don?t think about this game, you?ll only end up hating video games if you do. If you want a real shooter, go play Halo or Metroid Prime. This game should have been called Dig Dug 2, Atari would have at least been using honest advertising then. Final Breakdown:

Graphics ? 1/10 ? It?s not 3D

Sound ? 1/10 ? They should have signed on Justin Timberlake to do the soundtrack.

Gameplay ? 0/10 ? You need 3 people on one joystick just to play it.

Replayability? ? 0/10 - You?ll be diagnosed with clinical depression if you play it more than an hour

[VR46]

very good Rob, ever thought about adding a page to your site for reader reviews

PS. Derek Kisman got back in touch at the weekend, thanks.

[Super Stu]

You need either assume Dr Nemo wrote that in jest, or lose faith in humanity.

[Saurian]

HALO 2 IS WORTH IT
anyone who thinks halo 2 is gay is in fact gay because what games do they have for ps2 and gamecube i mean i like ps2 but waht good games are there for ps2 and gamecube i mean onomishu 3 demon seige is a real good game i have it but gamecube games are old gay and they like to copy ps2 and xbox games but dont give any good games in return im saying that gamecube has real gay games custom robo what a good way to show fake . some xbox and ps2 games are realistic but look at the cartoon they make i meen i like nintendo but the gamecube is a dicrace to all sytems they copied all the good titles such as splinter cell pandoraw tommorrow resident evil games gamecube doesnt have that many online games except phantasy star online ps2 has inleast 30 or more xbox has over 75 and my point is that xbox is a good sytem with good games graphics and if your smart youd choose a xbox or ps2 over a gamecube anyday."

I lost faith a long time ago!

[Ian(not Ian)]

Good grief, this is possibly one of the worst written reviews I've ever read from someone PAID to do this.

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/519/519972p1.html

Use of slang, pointless swearing, expecting totally unecessary and frivolous gameplay additions. I mean, if you want a tank game, buy a tank game. If a game does something well, it doesn't have to automatically do something vaguely related as well. Doing so often leads to longer development times and titles that appear to be a mismatch of genres and ideas. Jack of all trades...

The editors that vetted this review should be shot.

From the IGN FSW review...
"The particles system is awesome. Many cover spots are actually totally destructible, such as cars, crates, couches, and the like, and as you shoot them, you can see bits, panels, and shards fly off."

Couches!!! I'm sure I'm going to order my elite troops to 'hide behind the settee' in the heat of battle.

[Wild_Cat]

Christ... Thanks to you Saurian, my faith has dropped to the point where I find my lack of it... Disturbing.

*strangles himself*

[Soi]

That Ikaruga review is clearly a fake. Isn't it? I mean, it mentions chaining. All the 'real' crap reviews of Ikaruga don't mention chaining at all. Which is clearly dumb, as even I (Ikaruga begginer, but still adore it) know that chaining is pretty much the point of the game.

[Jushin-Thunder-Liger]

I enjoyed IGN's metal slug 3 review
They decided that it wasnt worth $40 because the 2D graphics wern't good enough, compared to the rest of the X-Box line-up, they suggested a RRP of $20.
The reviewer said he was a massive Metal Slug fan, too

[SuperBrother]

That Ikaruga review is clearly a fake. Isn't it?

Yep totally, the knowing FFVII reference gives it away.

[demon9k]

I always let screenshots and videos build a game up for me. If it looks fun in the videos then I can see myself playing it, that about sums up how I pick and choose between games.

I also love that Halo 2 post