jamyskis: This is precisely why I don't place much stock in user reviews. I know a lot of people praise them to high heaven, essentially as a way of saying "fuck The Man", but honestly, user reviews are no less susceptible to bias and corruption than professionally written reviews. In fact, they're even less reliable. As you say, with old games, nostalgia plays a big role. With new products, scores are driven down by angry, bitter individuals who feel the need to shout their discontent out to the world. Averagely satisfied people seldom feel the urge to tell the world about their mild satisfaction, unless they want to raise their own profile for whatever reason. I would guess that 80% of user reviews on sites like Steam, GOG and Amazon are either fanboy reviews, astroturf reviews or rage-hate reviews.
And yes, you never know how many of the positive reviews are from astroturfers.
As for nostalgia, well, nostalgia is why a lot of people bash on sequels, prequels and remakes, because of a vague sense of rage that the film didn't make them as giddy as it did when they were children. Nostalgia is why people get increasingly bitter towards old age about politics as things change. Nostalgia is what causes people to look down upon others for preferring something new.
Of course, new is not automatically better, change is not automatically good. Every change and novelty needs to be assessed on its own terms. New doesn't necessarily make the old obsolete - we still use landline telephones despite mobile phones being a ubiquitous part of modern life for the better part of 20 years - but some people seem to find offence in the idea that some people may prefer the new and go on the defensive by attacking those people.
Yes sir, you nailed it. Out of all the edgy fedora tipping posts I see on this issue, you stood out and gave us complete logic. Thank you for not being a turd.
