Destiny Proves That Reviewers Need to get rid of Numbered Scores

If Destiny has proven one thing to gamers, it’s that review scores need to disappear. A lot of people love Destiny, but it’s getting an average of approximately 6/10 from many reviewers just a week after launch. With a ’6′ often considered as a ‘bad’ game by the community at large, the numerical rating system is flawed at best, and broken at worst. It needs to stop.

[Artista]

I'd love that.. But it'll never happen. The numbers are marketing tools, and more. A lot of gamers base their decisions on these numbers.

[aconnellan]

That's exactly it. A lot of publishers and developers actually rely on review scores, so I really don't see it going away any time soon

[venom06]

this is a stupid article.. it's getting low scores because it was WAYYY over hyped and nowhere near what IGN (Activision business partners through the IGN ProLeague) hyped it up to be. 6-7s are pretty accurate

[NewMonday]

Publishers need to give up pre-release game reviews, this had a corrupting effect on the games media, now they feel entitled and superior to the gaming community, and also sell scores to the highest bidders, and "concerne troll" those who don't buy big add deals. Look at how they give Ubisoft games free passes because they are big spenders on website advertising.

[aconnellan]

@Venom

The article isn't to defend the scores that it's getting (I do mention in passing I don't agree with them, so that's a fair point you raise, but it's not the aim of the article).

The point is how flawed the number system is. It's gotten to the point where so many people think that a 6 or a 7 is a bad game, when it's really not

[DigitalAnalog]

That's all entirely subjective. You can't say whether or not a 7 is a good score for every outlet. Some reviewers may actually put 7 as the "mediocre" range as they probably give out 9's and 10's easily to the majority of the hyped titles.

[badz149]

seriously, why? just because a single game that was hype to heaven's high is not getting the review numbers people think it would, that means review points that has been used all these long is irrelevant? that is extremely childish and idiotic way of thinking!

what we should get rid of is unqualified reviewers coming out of nowhere, clearly biased, paid reviews, seeking attention for clicks and review games not entirely based on the said games!

for example, if you wanna review Destiny, fine, go ahead. review it as it is, not start questioning "where the hell did this $500mil go?" "why is it unlike other MMO like WoW?" for example or "it is an OK game but overhyped, so 6/10!" etc.

WTF? as a reviewer, you should just say if the game is any good, not start comparing it with what it isn't! Destiny is playing rock solid and it works with many people seem to have no problem spending their time to level to max and Bungie has future plans already laid out for the game/franchise so we can expect more. is it really hard to say something in the line of

"Destiny plays smoothly for an always online game with tacked on gameplay FPS fan can enjoy. but when you've leveled up to the max, which will not take a lot of time to do, there are nothing much else to do aside from the usual MP component as an FPS like PvP but Bungie has made promises of future contents for players to expect so if you have patience, new contents are coming"

so the readers will know about how the game plays what to expect rather than reading about your whining about the game which is totally not right because your preferences are not be the same as others!

it bugs me how so many of these whining reviewers now were the same parties praising BF4 at launch when the game is an utter PoS ridden with bugs and network problems not entirely fixed even after months later! this is the kind of reviews that is polluting this industry, not review scores!

[aconnellan]

It's not just Destiny that a lot of people have thought this with, people have disagreed with this system for a long time. Your last few paragraphs actually agree with what I'm saying - review scores open games up to comparison, people go "Hmm, I hated Call of Duty, and it got an 8/10 on 'x' site, Destiny only got a 6 so I won't get it.

Yet that's not fair because they're two different games that shouldn't be compared.

As I mentioned above, I raise the point that, instead of people reading the words within a review and forming their own opinion on the positive and negative points raised, they read the score. The problem with that is it's gotten to the point where so many people think that a 6-7/10 isn't worth playing.

I do agree with your last point, a lot of reviewers tend to whine about the game, rather than critically analyse it

[Jughead3416]

That's why gamers should no longer rely on reviews to make a sound purchasing decision. Most games now receive enough press and gameplay videos pre-launch to give us a good look at what the game is. Sometimes gameplay videos don't tell the whole story, but for the most part, we can get the gist of how the gameplay is. We can sometimes be disappointed by the final graphics or the direction the story went, but we all know what is a good looking game. Do your own research. Get your facts straight. I knew what Destiny was from the beginning. I built my own hype. The game is awesome to me. I hate when I'm not playing.

[hello12]

6/10 from many reviewers just a week after launch.

Lot of people were finishing the game after playing it for 7 hours 9 at most. So i am sure they could review the game after a couple of days. And most of the big reviewers were given a copy way ahead of time before release. That game isn't going to produce new and startling surprises after launch. The game is set in stone about a month before release date.

aconnellan@ Yes, but the lows scores were for other things that just how the game ran. The build blocks were there to judge the game.

I think Destiny is ok, but nothing special. I'd give it 7/10

[aconnellan]

http://www.gamespresso.com/...

The servers weren't actually turned on for reviewers ahead of time, so they started playing it at the same time as everyone else.

As for finishing the story after 7-9 hours, that's fair. But the story isn't the only part of the game worth playing, and they're faulting Destiny just for its story (which is, admittedly, unusually absent)

[Jughead3416]

OK. I've been playing for around 40 hours so far and don't want to stop. I've hit level 20 and so much is opening up now. Reviews for this game in my opinion aren't reliable. Most reviewers formed an opinion before even experiencing everything. I'd give it an 8/10. Based on the amount of fun I'm having with it, I'd give it a 9.

[Einhert]

Yet you don't really believe that do you?

You feel the need to come on and defend your purchase because you are not really comfortable with your own opinion.

If you really enjoyed the game that much then you would not be on here defending it, you would be comfortable with your own opinion and be able to enjoy it.

Also the logic of reviewers need to play more to get to the meat is a complete farce, you have failed at game design if the first part of the game is not good quality, compelling or enjoyable.

[mrpsychoticstalker]

Lol. Never going to happen. Destiny deserves a 4/10

[Codewow]

No the number scores don't need to go away. Reviews just need to take place over the course of a longer period of time. If they don't, they should be labeled as First-impressions.

[tattooart83]

No they don't. They need to keep them so that i dont end up buying shitty games like destiny. The majority of the time i find reviews to be pretty spot on. The hype sold that game and thats it. Its bungie

[Xi_Unborn_iX]

where were you people when cod ghost got an 8 and 8.5 like watch dogs? and not to mention assassins creed black flag with its great story? oh but destiny is shitty

[tattooart83]

What do u mean u people........ that's racist. J/k. They all are lame so who cares

[CaptainCamper]

The rating system isn't flawed. It's peoples perception of the rating systems...lol

[76erz24]

So true. A 7 should not mean "this game is garbage."

[Outthink_The_Room]

I agree on the perception point, you're right. But I disagree completely with the system not being flawed.

The number scores are broken, especially those that are put on Metacritic, without using the Metacritic scoring system.

How does a 5 star rating system get associated with a 0-100 scale? 3 stars is a 60. 4 stars is an 80 and 5 stars is a 100.

You're telling me, reviewers from those sites never played a game worth a 68? Or 76? Or 84? Or a 93? Every game was exactly a 60 or 80 or 100?

In my opinion, I think if a review site wants to be put on Metacritic, then you must use their scoring system.

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

You don't want a low number don't release a s**t game in my opinion! Simple as that!

[Knightshade]

I'm not sure the word "Proves" means what you think it means...

[Spenok]

Lol I see what you did there xD

[-Foxtrot]

Not really

Why are people defending this so much

Bungie made an over hyped game which fell flat on it's arse, it's not awful but come on it lacks so much content and creativity for someone like them.

Why is it now because of who they are we need to give them the benefit of the doubt and saying how we need to stop reviews, I mean come on, over the top much.

I find it funny how the majority of these lower reviews haven't registered on Metacritic but more higher marks have.

[Mithan]

Good game

[Spenok]

I agree, it's a good, fun, solid game to play with friends. However it is FAR from a great game. 7/10 max from me personally. Could have, and should have been much better. Hopefully they listen to criticism and fan feedback. I can see this game becoming great... but it has a ways to go.

[Rik_Mayall]

It's hard to take this seriously when the same site uses numbered review scores itself.

Sh*t or get off the pot.

[iistuii]

I don't know what all the fuss is about. It's got average reviews because it's an average game.

[user367272]

Rubbish piece. Here is the main author's point of the article :There are two fundamental flaws in the rating system – that it’s a comparative value, something tangible that the audience can latch onto; and that the differences between a ‘good’ and a ‘bad’ game are often negligible, calling some scores’ merit into question. Furthermore, scores created an environment where what used to be ‘average’ (3/5, 6/10, and so on) is now considered ‘unplayable’ by the community at large. I’ve seen many who were waiting on Destiny‘s review scores now convinced that it’s a horrible game, and generally unplayable. This is due to review scores, which harm the industry in a number of ways.

Lmfao...where was this guy when games like Aliens: Colonial Marines was reviewed? Everyone universally agrees that game suck and reviewers with a number score are hurting Sega pocket book because they lost sales due to low scores. Here is a better solution..developers will take all these criticisms and fixed it for their next game and it just might scores better and add in more sales.

[DLConspiracy]

That's ridiculous. Everyone has their own way to score something. One person may score 1 out of 5. While another will score 1 out of 10. Some dont give a score at all.

People need to find a reviewer they respect and like. Then the next time they see a game they want reviewed they can't get an opinion from someone they respect and agree with. Just because someone varies in opinion doesn't mean that all reviewers are flawed.... It just means people can't accept what others think and are making excuses.

We don't need to take away scoring systems.. We need to be on guard for endless marketing dumps and hype. So we don't end up so disappointed.

[Clown_Syndr0me]

Let me get this straight, because your beloved Destiny got mediocre scores you think numbers should be dropped?
But if it got 10/10 numbers would be fine, right?

I actually agree numbers aren't always the best way of scoring things, but not because I think Destiny deserves any better. A 6 is a fair score for an average game.

[CyrusLemont]

Journalism lacks a lot of poetry, art and intrigue in the style of writing, hence why I personally dislike reading reviews. The number system, as well as a quick summary of the pros and cons are much preferred, and are 99% of the time quite accurate collectively.

I'd love to offer my opinion of Destiny, but the network stability of the game is so downright awful that I'm going to return it for a refund (Which I believe I'm entitled to yes?). I've barely been able to finish earth, and get kicked from the game too often for me to enjoy it. I don't have this problem with other games. Now normally it wouldn't bother me and I'd understand due to it being a huge release, however considering the fact the game had a widely played beta -of which I contributed 30-40 hours of my time to- I find it pretty pathetic for a company to be unable to provide a stable release.

[iistuii]

I understand your frustrations, I had that with Battlefield 4, but I must say in the only defence I have of Destiny that I've had a complete lag free perfect gaming sessions all though the time I've played it. Maybe I've been lucky, who knows but I'm in the UK & have had zero problems.

[iistuii]

I actually think Destiny has had an easy ride. Some reviewers have taken something like 40 hours & still haven't published they're reviews. Considering the main story only takes around 8-9 they still played it more thorough than usual. I think they thought they were missing something or it gets better after level 20 but I made my mind up half way through it was average.

[paddy95]

It's a 4 out of 10 for me.

[knoxin]

Bungie is very clever I think that they have given you beginning of the story and held you there, and there going to release it often, where does the traveler come from what is the darkness, what happened on mars and venis, what actually is the traveler, you don't put all your eggs in one basket, this is gonna be a 5/10 year game do want everything now or want to see it evolve or time and become history

[PiNkFaIrYbOi]

Eeee, not saying that review scores are right but they aren't wrong either. But we think that there could be improvement and it would need to be across the board. It would need to be standardized and everyone would need to adopt this review form.

Us personally we don't really pay attention too much to review scores. We buy a game rather or not it got a good or bad review score from most game reviewers and stuff.

Heck there have been some games that have gotten high scores that we didn't care for and some with low scores or what is perceived to be low that we loved.

[Stapleface]

I like how many reviewers are not even into the 20 levels. You know, when most of the game unlocks..lol How can you possible review this game and not be at least a level 20?

[iistuii]

What unlocks ? More weapons & armour ?. The story is finished well before level 20. You want me to go through the same story all over again at a higher ranking. I honestly don't know, i am not being sarcastic. But I'm level 18 finished the story, finished all the strikes & to me its done.. I cant see how waiting to get to level 20 would make anything better. Or what am i missing ? genuine question..

[moomoo319]

it all depends on the pace you play the game. I just hit lvl 20 but havent even unlocked mars yet. so ill play the remaining story missions on the highest difficulty, while i play the strike playlist, the crucible, and the weekly/daily nightfall missions.

[Stapleface]

Genuine answer. You just played the game on easy. Only part of it at that. Just because your ignoring parts of the game, and "to you it's done". Doesn't mean that it is done. That's your decision to ignore the coming events. To ignore the later harder missions and the Raids that are coming. But, your still doing exactly what I said, giving an opinion based on part of the whole. You can't play the story and say "Well I finished that game". Because Destiny isn't just a FPS with a story, it's part FPS, part RP,G part MMO, minus the massive, just with a few aspects from those games.

[iistuii]

I wouldn't say it was easy. Some of the bosses took up to 15 mins to down. Doing it on a harder level doesn't make it better., it makes it more annoying, bullet sponges comes to mind. Like I say I've done everything on the planets, there's nothing more to open or does more missions open at level 20 ?. If I've got to go through the same fights again & again then yes to me it's finished. Ok I hear they add strikes in the coming updates, but that's not enough for me to keep playing personally. I'm not ignoring parts of the game, I'm basing my opinion on finishing what's on my disk. I can't judge up coming strikes/missions because they aren't there yet to play. They may be good, they may be the same tedious bullet sponge bosses. But as a game that's playable now I've only got the same missions/strikes to replay & I can't be assed..

[moomoo319]

Every goddamn comment or article about destiny is hype, hype, hype. Why dont we stop reviewing games before we've even played them? You get caught up in advertising, which makes anything look good, then when the product isnt absolutely perfect as youve let yourself be brainwashed to believe, you get your panties in a bunch and give it a 6/10. That is exactly whats happening with every cynical, misjudged review coming out about destiny. Review the game on its own merits, nothing else.

[moomoo319]

This game is only 4 points above sims 4 on metacritic. What a crock of shit.

[BlackOni]

I'm so glad more people are on board with me wanting to get rid of this ancient and flawed system.

[ramza04]

Activision is laughing all the way to the bank and couldn't care less if the game scored a. 5 or a 10. The only time they would of cared is if all these reviews came out before release. Bungies excuse of the game being empty of players and not giving reviewers the "full" experience was just a form of damage control. This game is a prime example of just how far great marketing will take you. Btw I'm enjoying destiny but would be lieing if I said I wasn't slightly disappointed.

[urwifeminder]

Yeah those out-dated number things are really hard to get your head around.