before you buy a game, what do you look for in a review?

[NeogearzX]

what game review sites do you trust and why?

 

[Makelith]

None. I rent them. Even game reviewers these days like shitty games.

 

[Shady]

gamespy.com cus I like the pictures + usually on their game about new stuff coming out/release dates or release info that sorta thing

 

[Tribalinius]

I do look around on RPG websites since my main focus is mainly in that category. Since I define myself more like a collector than a gamer, I trust my feelings more than anything else these days especially when it concerns the value of a game in the long run. Makelith nailed it pretty much, especially after the gamespot debacle a couple of months ago, you never know what is real or not in people's review.

Anyway, nowadays you can just download the demo (most of the time) and try it for yourself to see if the game is good or not for you. It's still the best review you can have for yourself lol

 

[Skaw]

I go by what other players say. Never trust a guy that gets paid to do it.

 

[Excalibur]

Yeah don't go by what some reviewer in a magazine says. The only time I buy a game is if I KNOW it's going to be good. Either because A) It's part of a franchise I really like (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Elder Scrolls, etc etc), or B) I've watched someone else play it beforehand.

 

[TheOsyris]

If i like what i have read about the game or seen of the game in previews... Then a bad review can not sway me the other way.

The one thing i do pay attention to in reviews is when i dont like what i have seen of a game at all... Then a review suprises me... I may check further after that.

As far as what site i trust.. None. I kinda get my own metacritic/gamerankings balance going on in my head from multiple sites and see what is the general feeling. Even that feeling is not taken too seriously.

Blockbuster is my review store.

 

[Halifirien]

The review sites I tend to surf most often are GameSpot and 1Up, and I usually surf through and read the Metacritic links posted at JoyStiq if it's a game that interests me.

I liked the three-review system of the late Electronic Gaming Monthly. The format of The 1Up Show -- which is now Co-Op -- is also appealing to me. I like X-Play (the only thing I can stomach on G4), but I don't side with them nearly as often. And of course there's Zero Punctuation for sheer entertainment value.

Not exactly a game site, but there's an Associated Press reviewer named Lou Kesten whose reviews have lined up with my feelings about games enough times that I'm usually 90% confortable trusting what he says.

 

[Skaw]

I like X-Play (the only thing I can stomach on G4)

X-Play is okay. I have to give it credit for being the only thing Tech TV had that survived the taint of the G4 merger. Adam hasn't changed, he's still the same as he always has been. Which is great. Unfortunately, Morgan pretty much turned a 180 from how she was beforehand. I liked her a lot more when she was the quietish mousy girl, rather than the "omg girl reviewing games huff huff I must watch this show" ratings magnet G4 mangled her in to being to rope in neckbeards everywhere.

 

[Strid]

None. I rent them. Even game reviewers these days like shitty games.

Or you get some pantie waste that couldn't poke Mario through a straw without touchin' the fire and gives up on the game after 2 hours and still calls his half assed written jumble a review.

I enjoy IGN reviews and GT reviews. 1up is okay. However, I never buy or talk myself out of buyin' a game over a review, ever. I'll YouTube it and form my own opinion, give the game some time with real gamers and then decide from their.

 

[Malagra]

I go by what other players say. Never trust a guy that gets paid to do it.

This. Usually I'll trust my friends, but even they sometimes get a little too off-base on a game.

 

[Pasquale]

I'll watch gameplay videos when available. If it is an older game I've never played before, I'll hit up random forums and see what people have to say. For newer games I'll read a bunch of reviews, and weigh the pros and cons from what I read.

 

[RaidrX]

Gametrailers.com

I watch the interviews and game play videos to see if its something I myself would enjoy. I would never buy a game any reviewer said was good just because they said so. On that same note, if a game got a low score and or bad review I would still buy it if i felt the game looked fun. Case in point, I absolutely love the Dynasty Warriors games to where I pretty much buy every one that comes out (having traded the older ones in) and get as much enjoyment, if not more out of the newest one. The games used to get good reviews (DW3 got an ~8) but now they don't (DW6 got a ~6). Not to get to much into Dynasty warriors, but I know I'm one of the few that like each new installment, and most have gotten bored with it long before (see: shitty reviews) but thats one of the main reasons why I don't check reviews.

I also find the Gametrailers video reviews to be pretty solid and not to bias. Sure I don't agree with all of them, but for the most part I like what they have to say.

 

[Myrid]

I don't buy a game without having played a demo/free trial/beta/whatever anymore, unless it's a sequel to a game I liked. Can't trust other people, or reviewers, to know my own personal likes and dislikes.

 

[Pupusa]

I usually go with 1up & videogames.com for reviews, also take a look at metacritic. I don't trust IGN ever since I heard they've been paid to raise their scores on certain games.

Honestly you're better off just playing a game before you buy, rent it or download a demo. Places like Gamecrazy also let you play a game quickly if they have it used, I would imagine Gamestop could do the same.

 

[Firestreak]

I like to get a general consensus of a game based reviews and more importantly just what other gamers say. But this doesn't really factor into my expectations all that much. My favorite stuff isn't always what's best reviewed or best selling. My attention is all it really matters for - if something is huge I will check it out. It's kind of sad to me though people who will argue about a game's actual quality based on reviews or sales. They're mindless really - people don't take game review seriously like they do movies or books - because the consumers are too low brow to tell the difference for the most part. It's more like watching Fox or CNN, where they just give you news, and then in the end shove their opinions down their throat which are just to pander to their audiences anyway.