Discerning Reviewers
Lots of websites have review sections, and for some it's one of the only ways of drawing good feedback for their services.
The quality of the reviews however, doesn't necessarily depend on the quality of the service.
For example, on a website that handles feedback for the big supermarkets such as ASDA, Sainsburys and Safeway would more than likely attract several more times the negative feedback than positive because people are more inclined to seek out these websites if they feel they've been wronged.
So the reviews on sites like those should be taken with a rather large salt mine as opposed to a pinch.
What about websites like Amazon.com and Play.com? They don't count on positive reviews to boost their products because you have such a choice of product that they're going to profit from no matter what your selection.
Take the review for an XBOX 360 game - Clive Barker's Jericho.
Chances are that it's not going to be a good game due to the amount of negative reviews. After looking at reviews for Bioshock, my suspicions are confirmed when the inverse reaction is observed.
So what can we learn from this?
That although the rating awarded could possibly be trusted, the intelligence of the reviewer may not. Taking you back to Jericho, take this review:
This game is terrible. I have been playing games for over a decade and this is one of the worst ones yet. Nice character models but the level design, gameplay and story are truly awful.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!
One star awarded for this reviewer.
So he's been playing games for over a decade. What does that make him? Ten years old? I've been playing games for over two decades, so shall we say that I'm more experienced than he is, and therefore my opinion matters more?
My next example awards the same game five stars and attaches this message:
One of the best FPS i've ever played, the only downer is that it has the worst ending to a game ever.
So does that mean it's a bad game then? I mean if you're disappointed by the ending, surely it shouldn't warrant five stars?
No stars for you, Mr Reviewer Esq.
The quality of the reviews however, doesn't necessarily depend on the quality of the service.
For example, on a website that handles feedback for the big supermarkets such as ASDA, Sainsburys and Safeway would more than likely attract several more times the negative feedback than positive because people are more inclined to seek out these websites if they feel they've been wronged.
So the reviews on sites like those should be taken with a rather large salt mine as opposed to a pinch.
What about websites like Amazon.com and Play.com? They don't count on positive reviews to boost their products because you have such a choice of product that they're going to profit from no matter what your selection.
Take the review for an XBOX 360 game - Clive Barker's Jericho.
Chances are that it's not going to be a good game due to the amount of negative reviews. After looking at reviews for Bioshock, my suspicions are confirmed when the inverse reaction is observed.
So what can we learn from this?
That although the rating awarded could possibly be trusted, the intelligence of the reviewer may not. Taking you back to Jericho, take this review:
This game is terrible. I have been playing games for over a decade and this is one of the worst ones yet. Nice character models but the level design, gameplay and story are truly awful.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!
One star awarded for this reviewer.
So he's been playing games for over a decade. What does that make him? Ten years old? I've been playing games for over two decades, so shall we say that I'm more experienced than he is, and therefore my opinion matters more?
My next example awards the same game five stars and attaches this message:
One of the best FPS i've ever played, the only downer is that it has the worst ending to a game ever.
So does that mean it's a bad game then? I mean if you're disappointed by the ending, surely it shouldn't warrant five stars?
No stars for you, Mr Reviewer Esq.
Labels: bad, bioshock, games reviews, jericho, xbox
posted by Karl at
3:00 pm
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