Game Reviews, do you read the whole thing?

There are three factors that determine whether or not I will read the full review of a game.   First off it has to be a game that I am seriously considering buying.  If its a maybe I will buy it type game I will read the end and check the score then if that peaks my interest I go back and read the whole review.   Secondly is if there is a video review or not.  I am legally blind so reading can suck at times.  Depending on the quality and content of the video review I may or may not go and read the whole review.  Alot of the time the video review is good enough many times it is not enough to sway my decision.  The third and last factor in my decision to read an entire review or not comes down to who is reviewing that particular game.  Like most of us on the internet for games I am interested in I will read or at least attempt to read multiple reviews.  I always check who reviewed the game before i read or watch the review.  I have definately found people whom i prefer to read or watch their reviews.  If a review is by someone who i generally don't like their reviews i will go find one of the other reviews and hope someone whom I enjoy their work has done one. 

So, do you read the whole review and why or why not?

There are three factors that determine whether or not I will read the full review of a game.   First off it has to be a game that I am seriously considering buying.  If its a maybe I will buy it type game I will read the end and check the score then if that peaks my interest I go back and read the whole review.   Secondly is if there is a video review or not.  I am legally blind so reading can suck at times.  Depending on the quality and content of the video review I may or may not go and read the whole review.  Alot of the time the video review is good enough many times it is not enough to sway my decision.  The third and last factor in my decision to read an entire review or not comes down to who is reviewing that particular game.  Like most of us on the internet for games I am interested in I will read or at least attempt to read multiple reviews.  I always check who reviewed the game before i read or watch the review.  I have definately found people whom i prefer to read or watch their reviews.  If a review is by someone who i generally don't like their reviews i will go find one of the other reviews and hope someone whom I enjoy their work has done one. 

So, do you read the whole review and why or why not?

Really depends. Usually I only read the last paragraph. Then again I don't value reviews that much, all too often reviewers have way too different values than I.

Only really if im thinking about buying a game. Ill watch any video review that come up on Giant Bomb, but thats just to see what the latest games are like.

I usually have enough free time to read the entire thing, and so I usually do. However, I have learned that reviewer bias should be considered before taking anything in the actual review seriously. (Jeff is really into fighting games, thus his 5 star review of MKvsDC. Brad sucks at games in general, thus his inability to finish Fire Emblem)

Only if I'm interested in the game, or have already beaten it. If I'm interested in a game, I'll usually just play through it myself, though.

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

Yeah, I generally read the whole thing.  I've actually read every review on Giant Bomb to date.

I tend to just look at the score on 1UP though.  Ever since they lost the vast majority of the personalities that made the site unique, I just don't care about the person writing it.

I read the summary on Metacritic.  In fact, I read most, but in particular, I read a few of the best, a few of the mid range and a the few worst.  I get a feel from those comments.  I am looking for technical issues and opinions interest me little.  Sometimes you wonder if they are playing the same game.

I was just thinking and i really like the Area5 format where they sit down and have a conversation about the game what they lked and didnt.  Similar to many podcasts, what have you been playing but in video form.

I used to, but now I will read parts of it or just go with my own feeling. I like to just try demos really before buying or go off gut feeling about a game, if I think I will like it I will be more open to trying a game than a game that reviews well but may not be to my tastes.

Only if it's a game I'm interested in.

I'll shamefully admit that if the review score is low, than I won't bother with reading the review as my decision would already be made up (to not buy the game). Though if I'm interested in a game, and it gets a high enough socre, I'll read the review, which normally leads to me buying the game. This only applies to GiantBomb though, I don't bother with any other review sites for the actual contents of the review, the score they've given the game is enough from them for me.

Ehhhhh.....nooo....I realize how embarrassing that is, but I just don't. If I'm going to buy the game, I don't want to just parrot the opinion of the last review I just read. Besides, most of the games I play don't have reviews.

I can't remember the last time I read a review. With the end of the only game magazine I really read, EGM, I find it hard to actually sit in front of my computer screen to read several paragraphs worth of a review on a game that I'll simply just put on my GameFly Que, try out for a few days, and return afterwards. With the huge budgeted and hyped games that come out every fall, I usually tend to enjoy these quite alot and if they end up being flops, it'll most likely end up on some message board I read or in a podcast I listen to.

I always do. When I'm considering buying a game, I want to make sure it's worth buying. And the best way to find out is to read the full review. And seeing as I don't read previews, or look at screen shots, or watch many gameplay videos (I still watch some, but not nearly as much as I used to), the review is my main way of finding out if the game is something I'm interested in. So reading the whole review is sort of necessary.