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[IndoAssassin]

No because this was a multiplat title. If exclusive games start getting same treatment then I will be more willing to trust.

So far only giantbomb has pretty much nailed all reviews of games I've played so far.

The funny thing is, I've never really used reviews to buy games. I tend to look at what my tastes are, and see what game excites me based on my tastes.

I also don't have this gameplay fatigue for any genre that everyone complains about.

 

[scakko84]

I can't help but feel it's a result of #GAMERGATE. Whether or not that's true, I like how honest the publications seem to be about Destiny.

This is exactly what i came in to say... glad i'm not the only one feeling this way.

I also don't share most of the criticism in the reviews i've read, but it's quite some time i don't use reviews to decide whether buying a game or not.

 

[Give War A Chance]

I don#t trust them any more or less than before.

Pretty much this, minus the pound sign.

You just have to actually watch what's available and play what's available. You'll never fall for hype that way. I knew what Destiny was going in, and 25 hours in, I'm loving it, just as I knew I would from the Alpha/Beta and and all video of the game being played available.

 

[CecilRousso]

Not more and not less.

I really don't think that the issue with reviews is as complicated as some makes it out to be. It's always about reading several reviews, and actually reading the details about the game. If several sources makes the same point, then there might be some truth behind it.

 

[Nzyme32]

How many times has it been proven that these cases aren't the norm? But keep that tin foil hat on, they are out to get you.

Indeed. However without his/her tin foil hat on, 9 out of 10 of the games that have a high rating, typically from the larger games journalism outlets, I find I highly disagree with. Almost alway, they are the AAA titles that are highly marketed. With that in mind, I don't blame people who reach the conspiracy theory conclusion. That said I do recall these same arguments way back in the day and then Jeff (I think, of Giantbomb) got fired from Gamespot for his low review score of a highly marketed game. That surely fed some of the tin foil hat folk

 

[The Inventor]

Isn't this a little too much? The game is perfectly enjoyable with friends. But hey, that's just my opinion.
Take PR for what it is.

 

[Sayter]

People on videogame forums and social media hyped this game more than the so called videogame press ever could.

 

[KageMaru]

Not sure what people were expecting after an alpha and a beta. The game was marketed and hyped to all hell, but so are plenty of other AAA games. People just need to temper their expectations.

 

[Nzyme32]

People on videogame forums and social media hyped this game more than the so called videogame press ever could.

It's a bit of a vicious cycle though too. Those sites see the forum type madness and debate along with heavy comment weighting and decide to make more content and reports based on those titles, which then starts a feedback loop. It works the same for negative sentiment too.

 

[Mariolee]

Hell no. Why the hell would coverage on one game suddenly cause an about-face?

I'm guessing OP thinks this is a "straw that broke the camel's back" type situation.

 

[Fuz]

Never fully trust reviews.

Maybe the reviewers are pissed that they didn't get advanced access to the game and showing it on scores.

 

[3rdamention]

Why should I trust them more now?



Simply because a majority of "journalists" reviewed one Mulitplatform game honestly?







I love Destiny, I cannot really find faults in many of the reviews. That still doesn't mean it is not a ton of fun. But I am not going to begin to trust all these gaming outlets MORE just because one person reviewed a huge AAA title fairly. The problems with the Gaming Media is a lot bigger than simply how they review video games, or the scores they give them. The bigger problem, in my opinion, is some of their attitudes towards gamers, and their image of themselves.

 

[grumble]

Hmm? Media outlets were hyping Destiny? I must be blind or something.

Yeah, you must be. Every media outlet was giving highly positive previews and extensive coverage of destiny. They were almost a pr outlet as a group.

 

[Madness]

No, but I honestly don't trust many gamers on forums anymore, especially at the beginning of console gens when fanboyism is running high.

This game was hyped like no tomorrow, and I expect the heavy Sony exclusivity and push helped in part, especially because Bungie was such an integral part of MS for so long. The same people who never gave Halo or Bungie the time of day before were now their number one fans and championing Destiny as the game of the generation already.

 

[1337]

Destiny was a title that was hyped beyond belief and had a massive marketing campaign behind it, yet quite a few game review sites were critical of the game's failings and scored it accordingly. Do you trust them more now as a result?

Seeing reviews as early as Wednesday didn't really help.

 

[Alebelly]

If Bungie themselves points a finger at any one of the reviewers, let me know.

Until then, cool thread bro.

 

[3rdamention]

No, but I honestly don't trust many gamers on forums anymore, especially at the beginning of console gens when fanboyism is running high.

This game was hyped like no tomorrow, and I expect the heavy Sony exclusivity and push helped in part, especially because Bungie was such an integral part of MS for so long. The same people who never gave Halo or Bungie the time of day before were now their number one fans and championing Destiny as the game of the generation already.

I would totally agree with you if this game was a Sony Exclusive. However, I have to disagree. The hype for Destiny came from people who played it on Both Consoles, this isn't some Sony Fanboy instigated hype train.

 

[Opt1kon_]

i've never trusted reviews from games Media, the thing i find funny, is that all these media outlets were hyping the game and it failed to meet decent scores on their sites same could be said for titan fall it was so overhyped and now its not even talked about as much as it was before its release

 

[Fbh]

I never didn't trust them.
I've just allways treated them as what they are, opinions

No because this was a multiplat title. If exclusive games start getting same treatment then I will be more willing to trust.

.

Ummm most of the exclusive lineup of both new consoles got the same treatment. Most of them got what's considered to be "average scores"

 

[casmith07]

Destiny was a title that was hyped beyond belief and had a massive marketing campaign behind it, yet quite a few game review sites were critical of the game's failings and scored it accordingly. Do you trust them more now as a result?

Loaded ass premise to your question. "Scored it accordingly" according to YOUR standards, perhaps. There are still scores of people who invariably love this game.

 

[FinalStageBoss]

lol no. games media is a joke.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

No, because they didn't "score it accordingly". They got incredibly caught up on tiny nitpicking details and ignored the fact that at the end of the day, it's a great, fun, multiplayer game.

In a day where a 7.5 on a review only implies that the game is fundamentally sound (i.e. works), giving Destiny anything below at least an 8 is just fishing for clicks, or hating on something cus it's popular.

I mean really - who the fuck would review Destiny lower than CoD: Ghosts?

 

[SmokedMeat]

I never cared about gaming media before why start now? I don't need someone to tell me what to think.

They're not telling you what to think. They're giving their opinion of the game.

 

[The Leviathan]

Never was really hyped on this game even after playing the Alpha and Beta.Played all this week over brothers house and the game seemed bland with large barren wastelands empty of exploration.I could go on and on but to answer your question,nope I never trust the gaming media.I judge things for myself and in this case for Destiny...

''Dont believe the hype''

 

[Smokey]

People on videogame forums and social media hyped this game more than the so called videogame press ever could.

This

The numerous threads on GAF alone combined with the hyperbolic comments were a bit much.

I'd say circles like this propped the game up to a unreachable level.

 

[Gestault]

The idea of trusting "the games media" as an overarching entity is like liking "the books," instead of recognizing individual books or authors you enjoy. But yes, I'd say from the game reviewers I follow, they seemed to call out the sorts of things that would have bothered me. It's worth pointing out that this will make me enjoy the game MORE when I play the release version. Adjusting expectations is a big part of how I enjoy the range of games I do.

 

[funkystudent]

I cant help but think the metacritic score would be at least 10 points higher if Bungie did a review event.


And no. I dont trust them more. Give me some more consistency and then we will talk.

Overall I do think reviewers are being a little more harsh on Next gen though. Which is refreshing.

 

[Carbonox]

Why on earth would I put any ounce of trust in video game reviewers? I think they're generally all pony.

While I get many of the gripes Destiny is still probably the most entertaining FPS I've ever played. Top 3 of the generation easily for me and well worth the money.

 

[Trick_GSF]

I literally brought the game yesterday due to the hype I've been seeing here on GAF. It was pretty much a blind start, I hadn't followed development at all sans watching the E3 trailer, live back in June.

Luckily for me, I'm really freaking enjoying it.

 

[Tamanon]

What is there to trust? Game reviewers have opinions. You generally find a few you agree with, even if you don't agree with all their game opinions. Not really about trust.

 

[Handy Fake]

It's just like newspapers and news channels - look at a wide range and make your own mind up.

Ignore FOX News though, natch.

 

[Camwi]

I've never given too much of a shit about what the media says about video games. I trust the actual world of gamers much more. Destiny's hype on NeoGAF was crazy thoughout the alpha and beta, which I never played, but it was reason enough for me to buy the game and I FUCKING LOVE IT.

 

[plasmawave]

You mean the same media that hyped up Titanfall beyond belief?
The same media that gave GTA4 an average of 98 out of a 100?

 

[2+2=5]

The only thing i think of this is that someone wasn't paid enough, let's not kid ourselves, most of the times, especially on big sites, reviews are not about quality.

 

[LastGamer84]

Plenty of people bought and are enjoying Destiny. I love how everyone acts like they were lied to about this game and that the media is right to judge it so harshly. If you didn't know what kind of game it was after the Alpha and Beta it's your own fault. Myself and others are enjoying the game immensely and don't agree with the low scores. It's our opinion and no so called games media can convince us it isn't fun.

For the record I ignore review scores and judge games for myself. The days of using game journalists to gauge whether or not a purchase is justified or not are gone. Between youtube videos, trailers, Betas and early access gamers can judge for themselves what games they want to buy.

 

[kd-z]

I have trouble understanding the whole idea of trusting - or not - sites that review games.

Like, say you "trust" GameSpot. What des that mean? Does it mean that if GameSpot gives a game an 8 you're gonna buy it, and if they give it a 6 you aren't? Reviews are mostly subjective, sure, but they are based on objective facts. The game has this and that, this mechanic doesn't make any sense, the difficulty spikes in infuriating ways.

But that's not really the point. I live and breathe video games, I dont CARE about reviews and review scores in a "should I buy this game?" manner. I'm interested in games to the point where I want to check them out myself if they have something interesting in them. Or if I have a positive history of the creator's past projects. To give a specific example - I didn't buy Destiny day one because I won't be near my PS3 for another two days. But, even though some of the early impressions from, say, GiantBomb and GameSpot were rather mixed, I ordered the game a day or two ago and will play it, because it's Bungie doing a big, sci-fi shooter-Diablo mix. I don't want to miss it and I want to see for myself why it didn't work out quite as well as planned. And, who knows, perhaps I will find something that'll speak to me in this game.

I appreciate reviews on a critical basis: as works of cristicism, enhancing my understanding of games and often making me look at something from a different perspective. That's why I read Rock, Paper, Shotgun, sometimes Polygon, sometimes Kotaku. Occasionaly a review of a little indie or mobile game will make me go "huh, it seems to be good, let's check this out!", while other times negative reviews will make me hold out on buying a game on release, but overall I don't see game reviews as buying guides.

 

[fernoca]

I'm enjoying the game (a lot) probably because I ignored the press, media and hype. Heck my first experience with the game was the Alpha, before that I only knew of the name and that it was from Bungie.

I've always ignored reviews and the media when it comes to it anyway. One of my favorite games ever (P.N.03) was trashed by reviews and bombed in sales.

So, no ..I don't "trust them". I may use their impressions as a guide to learn some details, but in the end...most of them receive the games for free, along with gifts, while getting paid to do it and rushing to finish a game, get a review out and jump into the next one. Only a few actually spend time with games. Not condemning them, but in the end I'm the one paying for my hobby...and I won't miss a good (or horrible experience) just because someone I don't know told me. Mistakes are part of the learning process.

 

[Roxas]

Nope, these are the same idiots who lauded it with "Game of the Show" shit at E3, Gamescom etc....

 

[The Praiseworthy]

I don't trust the media or the hype... I only trust my instinct which is true most of the times.

 

[Jack Scofield]

Crosspost from the Destiny review thread:

Like I said earlier, I wonder how many reviewers are looking at the generous consensus of the game before assigning it a score. If release copies were sent to gaming sites a few weeks the ago, I'm sure many reviewers would have given it a much higher score (they're typically always blinded by AAA hype), and 9 times out of 10 seem blind to major problems of games.

But since they don't get to play it until everyone else, they see that there's a lot of conflicting (and sometimes negative) opinion. In order to seem like they have their finger on the pulse of the general gaming community, they assign the game a score lower than they originally would have.

If they played actual review copies, they probably would have played it much safer. Same thing used to happen in the "Afterthoughts" column in game magazines like EGM, where they take another look at a game a few months later and suddenly they find a ton of stuff wrong with it. Why didn't you mention this stuff when you first reviewed the game? Halo 2 is the one example that comes to mind for me.

 

[BouncyFrag]

All video game previews should be taken with a massive grain of salt. Reviews hold a little more credibility since it's not straight up dev PR. Some reviews are taking Destiny to task and others like it. Make your own opinions and go with that. Getting caught up in this gamergate thing is a silly waste of time.

 

[Aces&Eights]

Destiny was a title that was hyped beyond belief and had a massive marketing campaign behind it, yet quite a few game review sites were critical of the game's failings and scored it accordingly. Do you trust them more now as a result?

How can a person trust someone else to tell them what they will our will not like? Reviews mean jack shit. If I am interested in a game I watch a video of actual gameplay so I can see the mechanics in action, the graphics, etc. There is no one who can "advise" me what is good or what sucks because they are not me. Some friends of mine like games I like and hate others I like. How can I trust them to tell me if something is "good"?

People tastes vary so much it's just impossible to always be on the same page. I have to literally see a game in action to decide if I want to buy it.

I play games for the gameplay. Could give a rats ass about the story. I skip cutscenes, never read codex and sure as shit don't go deep into conversations with NPCs. For me Mass Effect 3 is one of the best games I ever played because I loved the world and game mechanics. It was fun, great exploring and awesome graphics. I couldn't give a flying fuck where the Reapers came from or how the Citadel came to exist. So, for all those reviews that slammed the game for the ending and lack of closure meant nothing to me. If I had based my purchase on them I would have never played it.

 

[RK128]

Honestly, not really .

I mean, the only reason Destiny is getting such brutal reviews is due to the 'cloud' of hype more or less being gone from the reviewers (as they had much more time to review a game then they normally would due to 'no-shipments of review copies' thing Activision/Bungie pulled). If they got copies of the game like they normally would, I would argue that the reviews for this game would have been higher (due to them rushing through the game and not seeing issues and the like). Then again, that is my just being overly-cynical towards the gaming media, so who knows really :l.

My views on gaming media is that it is great for finding out about the game, seeing how positive/negative about something, and all the side-things they do (lets plays, news, special's, rewinds, ect). I don't even care about there reviews though; if I want any kind of response of a game, I either check out NeoGaf or the Sonic Stadium Message Boards for impressions; get a more honest perspective from people playing the game on there own terms .

I think this year is a great example of how hype can play a huge role in gaming though. Just look at Titanfall and Watch Dogs for starters. The former got hyped to all hell while the latter is the poster child for 'Next-Gen'. They got good-great reviews from the press but when the wave of hype blew over....they were just good games :l. Nothing wrong with that at all, as the former looks to be an amazing multiplayer game while the latter is a good open world game that while not innovative, takes some great mechanics from Ubi's other games into a solid package. But.....people expected 'more' out of these games and the press saying they will 'change the gaming landscape!' just hurt the games in the end.

Instead of two solid and fun games that everyone can enjoy, they will be looked at by a good number of people as 'ugly' and 'bad' when they really aren't that at all .

Destiny proves that the hype cloud DOES play a role in gaming reviews though, so lets see if more cases like that will happen in the future; could lead to more honest and believable reviews .

 

[test_account]

Does this have much to do with trust though? Its a matter of personal opinions afterall.

 

[Black Mantis]

I always trust myself over the opinions of others, when it comes down to my money. I enjoyed the beta and decided to buy the Destiny based of that experience. No regrets from me so far.

 

[MavFan619]

Considering I am enjoying the hell out of the game, I just think games media be buggin. I never trusted or didn't trust games media. Like with anything be it a game or movie I don't need someone else to tell me to like it or not or hype it up for me. I get hype on things by experiencing them myself.

 

[FeenixRising]

The original Final Fantasy 13 got a better meta score, Skyrim won multiple GOTY awards in spite of it being broken to all hell on the PS3.

Yea. I take reviews with a grain of salt.

 

[Slixshot]

I trust everyone. EVEN YOU!

 

[rambis]

All video game previews should be taken with a massive grain of salt. Reviews hold a little more credibility since it's not straight up dev PR. Some reviews are taking Destiny to task and others like it. Make your own opinions and go with that. Getting caught up in this gamergate thing is a silly waste of time.

I agree with this and will add that I dont value a professional review any more than I do the next gamer's review. Their opinion isnt really any more valueable than anybody elses imo. They are professional because of their ability to articulate.

 

[xiceman191]

They're not telling you what to think. They're giving their opinion of the game.

True. I never really pay attention to reviews anyway if I am hyped for the game then more than likely going to buy it. With Destiny I played the beta and alpha so I knew what to expect for the most part.