That's a fancy way of putting it.
I might steal that line someday.

I've said this a million times before but people who have access to this forum AND use reviews are seriously wasting their time and money. When I have questions about a game, even if its one not sold on GOG, I come here and ask about it. More than just the strait "it's good, it's bad" fodder you get insight from people about how the game works within it's genre and other intangibles like a viable price to pay for it, tips for tweeking/mods, and gameplay assistance which can turn a seemingly impossible shit game into a great timeless game.

Okay I'm done kissing GOG ass now. Back to being a dick. :D

prof reviewer usually have better wording to describe what a game a capable of while i do take their rating for nothing usually i found out that their at least in median range. amateur/user tend to be either over the top or way to low hey but at least usually they have better eye for some negative aspect of the game. both are usually have some factor outside off course good research of the game ( and sales time ;)) as deciding factor for me

The matter is subjective as fuck, so you need to make up your own mind about it by researching as many sources as possible OR at least more that 1 or 2. Generally see what the "lovers" have to say and what the "haters" have to say, most importantly see gameplay! (the game often speaks for itself), then draw the conclusion for yourself.

Here's what made up my mind about titanfall as an example

the good:
mechs, parkour - cool

the bad:
origin exclusive DRM - i don't use origin, even if they give me free games...
multiplayer focused - i don't play competitive multiplayer games that much anymore
practically no single player - one of the most enjoyable aspects in a FPS's for me
very similar gunplay to COD - i hate the modern COD's
€ 79,99incl. VAT (current ptice) - eL Oh eL

So there you have it, in my book this game sucks and no reviewer can tell me otherwise, doesn't mean my opinion must be taken as gospel by anybody.

The only difference between a pro review and an amateur one is that the pros get paid for it, and sometimes have obligations to push partnered/sponsored products. It's just a paid opinion from an individual no more qualified than a monkey at a zoo.

That's one of the issues though. They think being part of an organization gives them credence. No, it just gives you publicity. If you wrote retarded articles before, you will still write retarded articles now. Just look at MaximumPC and Kotaku for examples of that.

Just make your own views because that's the only thing that will be accurate for you, which is the most important view of all. Don't expect objective breakdowns from anyone without the mental capacity for it. That's pretty much everyone. :)

With the Age of Youtubers, I find getting honest reviews far easier than I used to. Angry Joe, TotalBiscuit, etc, tend to give better overall coverage of the good aspects and bad aspects of the games they tend to review. Not to mention, you usually KNOW what they like and don't, in regards to a game, so you can figure out for yourself if you're a mechanics/gameplay guy like TB, or you're more drawn to big eye candy and well done storytelling.

Even if following these guys isn't your thing, there's always the LPs, so you can actually see for yourself if a game is something you'd want, then react accordingly.

The professional reviewer scene and the publishers are too closely intertwined now to be reliable. If Joe Blow at Gamespot, or Game Informer, or w/e useless rag/site is out there, gives a mediocre review to Big Publisher Inc's next big dump, they can subtly stop sending that reviewer materials, access, etc.

Big Pubs don't want honesty. They WANT fan boys. Fan boys are stupid wallets that fly open and can be herded pretty much like cattle.

My primary point is that critical thinking for yourself should be the most important thing you do before you buy ANYTHING, whether it's a toaster or a game.

Amazon (co.uk etc) customer reviews can be a good source but tends to favor big name titles. You somehow get an average of biased opinions, and at times great and insightful individual one.

Printed specialist magazines probably hold to certain journalistic standards, still today, but there the issue is that any given review might still need to be filtered through personalized preferences. A subscriber would meanwhile have the advantage of mapping out his/her relative position vs reviewers.

To me it is all about using your best judgement and when you buy something there will always be an element of buyer beware. Look at the information being presented and pay attention to patterns. While "amateurs" may not have the brand name, but they have less at stake with presenting their honesty than the big boys who lose the perks. But even they may have some insight.

Trust nothing, other than Earthworm Jim 1 & 2 code is below:



Have fun, apologies to op for deviating from thread.

Edit to remove code

The only people you should be listening to period are those with whom you share a specific taste. GOG is useful because a lot of us here share similar loves for certain old classics, but the best thing is to get really specific with a genre site like RPG Codex.

Even more reliable than that is watching unedited footage on youtube or giantbomb and the like. I watched an hour of the new Metal Gear and new instantly it was an iffy Far Cry and Cysis clone in third-person. It's just that simple.

Thanks, and sorry someone grabbed your gifts in another thread and said nothing; it happens :-)

Ya nothing new. The ones that show appreciation make up for it :)

The fun is in the giving anyway, so you should just gain another smile from another quirk in life :-)

I agree. Otherwise I would have stopped giving awhile ago :)