Well I've never been a fan of scoring reviews, even more so when they are leaning more on subjective opinion based on the reviewers experience. Than and the days of EG awarding 8 out of 10's, their most popular score by fucking miles, is dead
Though I wonder if this is more like a jumping on the bandwagon from a few outlets rather than an actual means to improve the criticism and subsequent discussion around reviews. From the article you linked their reasoning is sound but games haven't changed in such a way or in fact any time recently that you couldn't just drop the score. To be fair reviews are what have changed to the greater extent where the focus is more on the reviewers experience specifically with the game but more on a cultural slant than one where they assess the technical merits and mechanics of a game which were easier to score to a grading system.
Of course when you boil it all down even the Yes, No, Maybe/Not Yet system is just a 3 point scale. EG are trying something a little different where they will have Recommend, Essential and Avoid with not every title getting one of those but again this has issues. Unless you take the review as this is the reviewers take on this title which may or may not align with your own views then you have to read it with an open mind. So let's say Simon Parkin really hate's AssCreed Victory and slaps an Avoid on it that still leaves the question of why which the review itself should explain. So that begs the question, if the review text can tell us why we should avoid it, what the reviewer liked about it or didn't like about it then why does it need a brief summary or one word stamp? The fact Eurogamer talk about scores being a reductive way to sum up a review and then do it again with 3 one word stamps. Reviews should never be about the score or award but the reasons why the reviewer came to the conclusion. Someone saying 'Well Kotaku said Yes' or 'Eurogamer said Avoid' gives me next to no information why which I'd rather be pointed in the direction of their review. Fingers crossed this changes some peoples mentalities when discussing reviews and only site the score or one word outcome and continues the discussion (not fucking likely judging from review threads here).
Then again I buy any old shit and AAA, homogenised, lowest common denominator type stuff is still my bag alongside mid tier, indie darlings or crow funded titles.
