Last time, we took a look at how the high risk factor of time and money can weigh heavily on a reviewer. This time, however, I’d like to shift perspective and lay an equal share of the responsibility at the foot of the gamer. I have but one simple message that will aid in the process and success of game reviewing: Read the whole damn thing!
We’re all guilty of it, myself included. We’ve all opened up a magazine or clicked on a review page only to stare blankly at the mountain of words looking back at us in the tiniest of print. Words upon words upon words. You think to yourself, “I’m a busy individual. I don’t have time for all these words!” And there at the bottom, like a shining savoir, is the final score, rating or number stamped, nay, branded into the review. There may even be some sort of summary or technical breakdown presented in a much more bite-sized manner. Those are words we can handle, right? What more do we need?
Well, if gamers are going to complain about the loss of time and money when they get the shaft from a bad game, then this passive attitude towards reviews needs to change. Gamers need to adopt an active role in the way they approach reviews, and it all starts with actually reading the whole review. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some of the outcomes of doing both.
The only thing that reading just a number or breakdown gets you is an incomplete picture of the game. It’s a major mistake to think that all reviews come from the same point of view, but by putting all your faith in just a score with no context, that is the assumption your are cornered into making. All reviewers have different perspectives, and many of them are undoubtedly different from your own. Assuming you’re all on the same page right from the jump will always yield inconsistent results when it comes to how much you enjoy a game. Maybe a reviewer dislikes a certain genre to begin with and refuses to be objective in their review. The unfair 6/10 they gave the game would be very misleading if all you knew was that score. It also works both ways. Reviewers whose undying devotion to a genre or franchise may lead to an inflated score that leaves you wondering what the big deal was once you actually play the game yourself. You can’t know any of this without reading the whole review.
Gamers need to start treating their relationship with reviews like the same relationships they have with their friends. Everyone has friends whose opinions they listen to more than others. This is due to a shared perspective when it comes to the subject you are talking about. It takes time to develop these relationships and to get to the point where you can take that friend’s suggestions without hearing a whole dissertation on the subject. This same time and care needs to be taken when considering reviews. Gamers need to familiarize themselves with reviewers by reading the entirety of their reviews. Only then can gamers begin to take a review at its face value or score, but even then, you’re still taking a blind risk with your time and money.
Even if you don’t have the desire to find a reviewer that suits your tastes, it is still important to fully read reviews. One of the best ways to make a decision about buying or playing a game comes from having a conversation with someone who has played the game. You wouldn’t just walk up to a total stranger and take their word for it that a game you are interested in is a 9/10. You would talk to them, and hear them out. Think of a review as the other side of the conversation. You have to read it all in order to engage in a perceived conversation with the reviewer. You may agree with what they have to say, or you may not. Either way, you have participated in the process and done your share in deciding whether or not a game is for you.
Believe me, I understand. Some reviews are needlessly long, and in the often-amateurish world of video game journalism, some of them just aren’t that good. In the end, however, you are doing a disservice to yourself. The one who loses out is you. It’s your time and your money at risk, and if you aren’t going to do your part to protect them, you have no one to blame but yourself.