Review scores and perceptions

[BoneSnapDeez]

10 - Final Fantasy VI
9 - Final Fantasy VII
8 - Final Fantasy IV
7 - Final Fantasy IX
6 - Final Fantasy V
5 - Final Fantasy III
4 - Final Fantasy XII
3 - Final Fantasy VIII
2 - Final Fantasy II
1 - Final Fantasy XIII

[ZeroAX]

10 - Final Fantasy VI
9 - Final Fantasy VII
8 - Final Fantasy IV
7 - Final Fantasy IX
6 - Final Fantasy V
5 - Final Fantasy III
4 - Final Fantasy XII
3 - Final Fantasy VIII
2 - Final Fantasy II
1 - Final Fantasy XIII

You started off well but then proceded to disappoint me .

[Gamerforlife]

Seeing how people got mad over GTA V getting some 9s/10, we are still a loooong way from the community being able to accept a 7 as a good/interesting game.

Also it's really funny that on Metacritic the green scores for films start at around 50-60 but for games it starts at 75-80. Just proves how stupidily high gaming scores have become.

The sense of entitlement towards every big name release irritates me. If anyone dares give a game like GTA V or a new Zelda, or a new Bioshock, or any random Naughty Dog game anything lower than a 9 the gaming community crucifies them. Every year we have these big name, triple AAA titles that you KNOW will score ridiculously high and the gaming culture is like, "YOU MUST PLAY THIS GAME!" Because all the cool people are playing it

It just turns me off to most big name releases anymore. GTA V comes out and it's pretty much what every single gaming podcast is talking about. AAA title = screw whatever else is happening in gaming at the moment. A cool game like Puppeteer gets talked about in your average gaming podcast for maybe 5 minutes, then the next FREAKING HOUR of the podcast becomes about GTA V or The Last of Us or *insert any other triple AAA release title here*

It makes so many gaming sites and podcasts so boring and predictable

[ZeroAX]

It just turns me off to most big name releases anymore. GTA V comes out and it's pretty much what every single gaming podcast is talking about. AAA title = screw whatever else is happening in gaming at the moment. A cool game like Puppeteer gets talked about in your average gaming podcast for maybe 5 minutes, then the next FREAKING HOUR of the podcast becomes about GTA V or The Last of Us or *insert any other triple AAA release title here*

It makes so many gaming sites and podcasts so boring and predictable

I had money for 1 PS3 game this month and between the Puppeteer, Rayman Legends and GTA V I chose GTA.

The problem is how the gaming press makes its money imo. Hits. So the more hits you get the more money you make. And most people looking at a website are more likely to click on the GTA V review than the Puppeteer ("what's that? an FPS about a cop going against a criminal mastermind called "the Puppeteer? meh I'lll wait for Call of Duty, let's read us some GTA V review so I can confirm how awesome my choice of games is").

[EvilRyu2099]

10 - Final Fantasy VI
9 - Final Fantasy VII
8 - Final Fantasy IV
7 - Final Fantasy IX
6 - Final Fantasy V
5 - Final Fantasy III
4 - Final Fantasy XII
3 - Final Fantasy VIII
2 - Final Fantasy II
1 - Final Fantasy XIII

But XIII has LIGHTING!! HOW COULD IT FAIL? Vanille?

[Gamerforlife]

It just turns me off to most big name releases anymore. GTA V comes out and it's pretty much what every single gaming podcast is talking about. AAA title = screw whatever else is happening in gaming at the moment. A cool game like Puppeteer gets talked about in your average gaming podcast for maybe 5 minutes, then the next FREAKING HOUR of the podcast becomes about GTA V or The Last of Us or *insert any other triple AAA release title here*

It makes so many gaming sites and podcasts so boring and predictable

I had money for 1 PS3 game this month and between the Puppeteer, Rayman Legends and GTA V I chose GTA.

The problem is how the gaming press makes its money imo. Hits. So the more hits you get the more money you make. And most people looking at a website are more likely to click on the GTA V review than the Puppeteer ("what's that? an FPS about a cop going against a criminal mastermind called "the Puppeteer? meh I'lll wait for Call of Duty, let's read us some GTA V review so I can confirm how awesome my choice of games is").

Yeah, you're right. It still irritates me though. Gaming coverage seems so lopsided and biased these days. Everybody has to talk about the same things it feels like. It's one of my pet peeves whenever I hear someone on a podcast say, "Well, let's talk about the one game that everybody obviously wants to hear us discuss" and it's whatever triple A game has come out recently. It's like a subtle form of brainwashing. You convince all your listeners that GTA V is what EVERYONE is talking about when that's not necessarily true. These people all contribute to creating a culture where people think the triple A blockbusters are the only games that matter, because that's what they are told.

I listened to a podcast recently where a guy said well there's one major release that came out this week. Him and his co hosts then mentioned a bunch of titles in a mock serious way, before finally mentioning some triple A blockbuster that came out. As if the very idea that people could care about those other games they mentioned is utterly ridiculous, because only games like Call of Duty, GTA, Halo, Assassin's Creed, etc. etc. matter

[Erik_Twice]

Part of the reason they talk about blockbusters as if they were the only games that matter because those are the only games that matter to them.

This is harsh but I notice that most writers have no interested in gaming beyond certain common areas. They don't tend to have even a passing interest in strategy games or shmups and rare is the critic that knows a fair bit about board games so it's not a surprise they focus on the same three kinds of games.

[isiolia]

Part of the reason they talk about blockbusters as if they were the only games that matter because those are the only games that matter to them.

This is harsh but I notice that most writers have no interested in gaming beyond certain common areas. They don't tend to have even a passing interest in strategy games or shmups and rare is the critic that knows a fair bit about board games so it's not a surprise they focus on the same three kinds of games.

Or it could be due to them covering what their audience is currently interested in. GTAV made a billion dollars in the first three days it was on the market. That's a lot of people currently excited about it, who might be inclined to tune in based on that. The potential audience that wants to be sold on some niche game they've not heard of is smaller.

[Menegrothx]

This is harsh but I notice that most writers have no interested in gaming beyond certain common areas. They don't tend to have even a passing interest in strategy games or shmups and rare is the critic that knows a fair bit about board games so it's not a surprise they focus on the same three kinds of games.

The most annoying thing is how most games just pass under the radar because of that. Did you guys know that Europa Universalis IV and Etrian Odyssey IV were released some time ago? No? (well some of you guys know, but the genral gaming public does not). Because the mainstrem never talks about those games at all, so you wont know these games are coming out or that they exist unless you already know they exist, as stupid as it sounds. Even the non-biased/paid "angry critics" like Zero Punctuation and Angry Joe never really talk about "obscure" current gen games. Rather than promoting the good stuff that is coming out that deserves more recognition, they complain how bad all the popular shit is, giving even more coverage to these already well known and popular games.
Like you said, from mainstream gaming community/video game reviewer POV, strategy games and SHMUPs dont exist. Unless you're an enthusiast who follows the genre forums, you have no way of knowing that these games are being released.

Or it could be due to them covering what their audience is currently interested in. GTAV made a billion dollars in the first three days it was on the market. That's a lot of people currently excited about it, who might be inclined to tune in based on that. The potential audience that wants to be sold on some niche game they've not heard of is smaller.

This herd mentality bullshit is exactly the problem. It seems increasingly to be the case that every time a new AAA game is released, it's all over the internet for some time. People aren't playing the games just for the sake of playing them, but they play them because it's the popular thing to do right now, people do it to fit in, because every one talks about that game right at the moment, people want to be a part of the crowd.

[Sload Soap]

Surely it all depends on where you get your news from? Destructoid and the Escapist both reviewed Europa Universalis and Etrian Odyssey and had features on them before release. IGN and the like is for a certain audience, one that doesn't actually play many games period, never mind a wide variety of games across many genres across many systems.

But no, you're right. I didn't want to play GTA5 because I have been a big fan of the series since the first game, it was because I want to belong.