Game Reviews - Who do you trust / Hate? (1 Viewer)

[Camp]

I find that my tastes tend to jive with those of the staff of Next Generation magazine. While their reviews are way too short I tend to have similar opinions.
As far as disliking reviews I stay away from any "Nintendo-only", "Playstation-only", etc publications/websites. The bias at these sites is as thick as the writing is bad.

 

[Dan B]

I find that my tastes are most similar to Gamespot's reviews. However, I get most of my information from IGN and usually trust their reviews as well. I also like to check out gaming message boards and see what other people are saying.
-Dan
[Edited last by Dan B on October 17, 2001 at 03:05 AM]

 

[Luke_H]

I like next generation too. IGN is usually on the mark.

 

[Dan Brecher]

Put me in the IGN and Gamespot camp too....oh and I trust you guys, of course.
Dan (UK)

 

[brentl]

I'm in Dans camp!
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OK guys ..... The tour of the Paradigm
plant is now being planned. GO TO THE HOME THEaTER
MEETS PAGE and register.

 

[Kelley_B]

Soon you will all be getting your reviews from Gigapowergaming.com! I think you guys will like what you see.

 

[Romier S]

IGN all the way for me.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I like Electronic Gaming Monthly and GameSpot, and sometimes I read the IGN reviews. I like to read several reviews of a game, see the positives and negatives, include my thoughts based on ads or hype, and then I decided whether I will buy, rent, or ignore a game.

 

[JasonK]

I like EGM's review crew. I like the fact that it's not just one person's opinion and each person has a different take on the game. I also like Gamespot, and I read PSM, but I wish they had more than one person review the game.
But I value all your opinions here at the HTF. It's nice to get opinions and discussion from the hardcore game geeks here, rather than the IGN or Gamespot message boards.

 

[BrianB]

I can't stand EGM's reviews nor any other US based console aimed mag. NextGen is the one exception. Edge, in the UK, is simply the best mag out there for reviews. I don't always agree with them - but I tend to trust their opinion over other mags.
On the web, I like IGN's reviews and find them a good guide. I don't like Gamespot's style or content. The GIA tends to have the most in-depth reviews of games I frequently like to play.
I value the opinions expressed on this forum & a handful of others like GameGo.
I tend to trust my friends' opinions on games more than reviews. I know what they like, I know what they don't like, and they know the same for me. If one of them says "X is the Best Game Ever", I know it is the Best Game Ever, until the next one comes along.
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[Calvin Watts III]

I would say I use Next Gen & EGM when it comes to mags. Stuff I don't use include any of the "Official" Mags, & Gamepro (it seems too much a kids read to me...)
As for online, IGN & Gamespot are the places that I look at most often, as well as everyone here
But when all is said and done, I trust myself to get the best game for me!

Calvin
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"Never give up!!! .......... Never surrender!!!!!!!!!."

 

[Chad Ellinger]

NextGen is far and away THE best videogame magazine out there. The best writing and no-nonsense reporting that doesn't buy into the hype.
As for websites, I usually trust IGN, although am I the only one who can't stand their site lately? Ad clutter, restricted access ... nevertheless I hope they stay around and don't go the way of Daily Radar.
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My Movie Collection

 

[Camp]

As BrianB mentioned, Edge is a great magazine. We should all have a subscription to Edge and NextGen.
I really think EGM is to much into hype. They'll hype many a medocre game. Their review system is cool but I just don't connect with the guys they have writing the reviews.
I'm quite surprised by the number of you who like IGN. While they are the parent of NextGen magazine I see no editorial connection. IGN seems to make stories out of nothing. The release of a new screen shot for Rogue Leader ends up being a 5,000 word article with nothing new. Sensationalism is how I describe their style. That type of journalism has, admittedly, kept me from reading their game reviews.
I much prefer the original Next Generation magazine's website. Go back 5 or 6 years. It was perfect. Anyone remember that?

 

[Kelley_B]

Well I have been working on a website for all summer, trying to find something that I liked and well I finally launched the front page yesterday, theres a bit of news up there today, really just testing right now. I hope for the site to be fully up and running by Jan 1. I was originally shooting for December 1, 2001, but I had a very big event happen in my life that put the skids on a lot of things, if you want to read about it, you can with this thread:
http://207.173.159.237/uub/Forum2/HTML/005561.html

 

[Chad Ellinger]

Camp -
Yes! The original Next Generation site rocked! It was the only site I checked on a daily basis. I was extremely disappointed when they dropped it in favor of Daily Radar.
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My Movie Collection

 

[Iain Lambert]

Wow, only two votes so far for Edge; nothing else comes close in my opinion. They can be a bit dogmatic at times, but they are just about the only people who aren't afraid to call major AAA releases 'not bad, really' when thats all they deserve. Some people can take hyped releases and slam them for not living up to it, many feel obliged to tell consumers that their preorder money isn't wasted, but few will tell the truth. The '75% is average' plague is one of the worst problems in game reviewing.
Even if they did stand alone as not being fans of Max Payne (ooh, did they take some stick over that) I see where they are coming from as it sits unplayed now I've polished it off, they dared to give GT3 a 'pretty good but nothing new' review, which is all it deserved. And they talked me into buying Kuru Kuru Kururin and Bangai-O, so I have much to thank them for...
[Edited last by Iain Lambert on October 19, 2001 at 02:36 AM]

 

[Graeme Clark]

Wow, only two votes so far for Edge; nothing else comes close in my opinion.

Realise of course that Edge is a UK magazine and most of the people posting are from North America. It's US counterpart, NextGen has been mentioned numerous times.
NextGen is by far my favorite print rag, and is the only one I get every month. The reviews are small, but I tend to skim longer reviews and quite often skip to the concluding thoughts to get a general feel for what they thought of the game (especially if it's something I'm not terribly interested in).
Reviews just aren't something I'm as interested in anymore. I actually prefer reading reviews after I've played the game (or watched the movie). Tell me if it's at all worth my time, then when I've formed my own opinion I'll come back and see what you had to say about it (maybe this is why I like keeping all my old issues around).
I'd much prefer articles that give insight into the industry and the process of creating and marketing games. NextGen is the only mag that does this on a consistent basis (although it seems to be lacking a little bit lately).
And Retroview. That section needs to be bigger.
Oh, and as a sidenote, Devil May Cry, Silent Hill 2, Ico, and Spy Hunter all got 4/5 in the latest NextGen.
Did I get off topic there?

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Ian-
About how they called GT3 nothing new, keep in mind that this is when you compare it to everything else out there. If you were to compare it to just games on the PS2, the perspective changes. They are probably comparing GT3 to GT1 and 2 and some other great racing games. I doubt they could call it nothing new when comparing it to other PS2 games.

 

[BrianB]

I'd much prefer articles that give insight into the industry and the process of creating and marketing games. NextGen is the only mag that does this on a consistent basis (although it seems to be lacking a little bit lately).

That's something they should take from Edge. Edge has *great* regular columns & 'behind the scenes' articles which make it stand apart from the mindless pap mags that fill the stands.
Where else would you get a detailed 'the making of...' of Manic Miner?
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[BrianB]

About how they called GT3 nothing new, keep in mind that this is when you compare it to everything else out there. If you were to compare it to just games on the PS2, the perspective changes. They are probably comparing GT3 to GT1 and 2 and some other great racing games. I doubt they could call it nothing new when comparing it to other PS2 games.

You've never read Edge, have you Morgan?
Let's not turn this into a GT3 thread.
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