I wouldn't say they're assholes so much as they're lazy.
People are lazy. It's a generalization, but the fact that so many people put such weight on a quick glance at a numerical rating doesn't do much to debunk that argument. "Why only 4 stars Jeff?" Ahh that quote from the Borderlands review is going to make me laugh and shake my head sadly for a long time to come.
Of course there are those of us, with our glasses of fine brandy and our monocles, who scoff at the very idea of numerical ratings and aggregate scoring systems. Chuckling to ourselves and our colleagues since we're all in on the fact that the whole system is a joke and the peasants who believe in such things are nothing but ignorant fools.
Okay so they do have some merit but they are not enough on their own to give an idea of how good a game is. Two games can get 80% but for completely different reasons. One could have excellent game play, graphics, and sound, but fall flat on the story. The reviewer was put off by the story, didn't care for the characters, but had to admit it was a lot of fun to play, so they gave it 80%. The second one had clunky controls, some pretty noticeable bugs, but it tried to do things in a new way and had a good story to go along with it. The reviewer had a so-so time playing it but they applaud the game for trying something new and felt it deserved 80%.
Having read that you know these two games have vastly different pros and cons, yet looking only at the score you'd think they were of equal merit, when that's clearly not the case. Some people couldn't give a damn about story, so 80% for the first game might feel too low for them. Others might not care about "innovation" and feel 80% was too high for the second. Going only off the score, they wouldn't be able to draw these personal conclusions themselves which is where the written review comes in.
Unfortuantely, as I said -- people are lazy and tend to take the easiest route. They'll read the numerical score and link that to some sort of predetermined criteria for such a number they're used to. In other words, if they see three stars, they'll think to themselves, "Okay 3 stars means it's okay, but pretty crappy" and when that doesn't match up with what they've seen in quicklooks, previews, heard from others, etc. they'll feel that is unjustified and start ranting and raving, without actually reading the review that justifies such a score.
Speaking of ranting and raving, I think I've written enough.
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