Are review scores relevant anymore?

Stuff: Over the past few months I've been considering dropping scores on my reviews because I'm starting to think that giving a review a score out of 10 or out of five (which is what I've used for most of the time I've been reviewing games) just doesn't seem relevant anymore. Surely a reader can get a better impression on what I thought of a game through what I've said, rather than rely on a final score?

[MultiConsoleGamer]

The short answer is "no."

[Dante112]

I would've probably said no back in the day, but now it seems to me like review scores are really important to some gamers this gen. If a game got a 7/10 in the past, most could give a crap, as long as they were interested in what they've already seen of a game or read about it. Now, if one reviewer says that he liked a game somewhat and rates it an 7.5, some will actually cancel preorders over it. It doesn't actually help when the gaming media claims that certain games are better than others as fact (It could be within a point difference) and Kings of their genre with metacritic scores as evidence either (GT5 vs F4).

[kingdavid]

Higher competition in games causes review scores to be relevant.

For every Cod you have a battlefield. For every gran turismo you have a forza.

People with limited budgets spend money on what they percieve to be the best on the market.

[coolbeans]

Developers' bonuses are held to ransom because of the 9.0 review score hiatus we've been in for most of this gen. They've never been more relevant; and what's worse, they're being made more relevant by the wrong people. Some honest reviewers (gamers like you and me at the end of the day) have been fired because of questionable review scores.

[Dante112]

Yeah, I remember hearing about this. Happened to a guy working for Gamespot.

Edit: @ vrotis

Exactly, but if review sites did nerf review scores, no more massives hits and hits are money.

[lastdual]

Might as well ask if sales are relevant. Looking at the big picture, the realistic answer is Yes.

[vortis]

I agree with the above posters....review scores are pointless.

At the end, if a review isn't summed up with:
Buy It, Try It, Skip It

Then I completely ignore the review. What does a 4.5 really say about whether the game will be a $60 purchase or a bargain bin pickup for $10?

The above assessment is the only assessment I care about when buying games these days because most reviews (especially at GameTrailers) are just about tooting their own horns and praising the experience they had with the game and not whether or not the game is worth buying.

[mephman]

I think that's one of the main problems. Reviews have become too personal and let's face it, the people reviewing the games aren't the best gamers in the world.

So, if they're making it personal and they aren't very good/don't like the genre, their "experience" means very little.

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

I usually find what an author writes more interesting than the score themselves because they help me paint a better picture of the game I am interested in. However I've chosen a select few people I actually read due to the money under the table issues....

[YodaCracker]

With developers giving their employees bonuses based on the Metascore their game receives, I'd say review scores are more relevant than ever today, for better or for worse.

[showtimefolks]

with the growing age of internet and TV this review scores have become bigger than one person's opinion. How could it be that whenever a game gets under a 9 and in some cases a 9.5 its not worth buying.

i have had a blast with some of the games that were in mid 7s yet some of the games in 9s were boring and dull

go play saboteur which is about a 7.10 and see how much fun it is just to mess around than go play GTA 4 and see what's actually missing from it even though it is a 98/100

i like to watch/read reviews just to see what i am getting myself into, i am not gonna lie sometimes it has saved me from buying games i wouldn't have liked but whenever i watch a review i go into it just like this, Its one person's opinion

that's why i believe every game should do a 15 minute single players demo along with 30 minutes of Multiplayer demo

[ShaunCameron]

Were they ever relevant?

[AdvanceWarsSgt]

Only to fanboys

[Sidewinder-]

Well a game that gets 1 out of 10 will probobly not get bought.

Anything else it's more to do with price. I'll buy it cheap unless I think it's worth the price. Then i'll decide based on what I paid.

[Cablephish]

It's review scores that are irrelevant not the reviews themselves.

The way I see it, people judge games on the scores they get because they might not want to bother to read or watch the actual review.

[dcortz2027]

Not as much as sales they are not.

[Xristo]

No (i agree)

I wish they would just get rid of scores all together and just do Pros and Cons. Without the scores people would be more inclined to actually read the review instead of just blasting/praising the score.

[mamotte]

To real gaming, it's not. But the fuel that moves "opinion" websites like N4G.

[knifefight]

HE WAS ONCE THEIR LEADER
http://youtu.be/uNHMnLs20bM

[chanmasta]

Oh ffs, another person wrote about this last week. Get creative.

[BraveToaster]

Anymore? Were they ever?

[Gam3rSinceBiRTH]

Only to fools on this site. Their is somebody that actually added every perfect score of Uncharted 3, Skryim, and Zelda on a blog to prove some sort of point.

I bought Splatterhouse and didn't pay attention to the bad reviews. I loved the game. :)