These seem a bit to the extremes... A ten point scale is best. Giant Bomb needs half stars. There's such a big gap between a 3 and a 4 star game, and sometimes a really amazing game might only make 4 stars when it deserves 4 and a half, but isn't quite a five. Just personally I think it isn't enough.
A 100 point scale however is stupid. I can understand its use in Metacritic averages however.
I prefer no score at all and would rather look at the review itself and have someone tell me what's good about the game, what's not good about the game, etc. That's why I love the Bombcast and quick looks, because they can look at a game and don't feel the need to assign some arbitrary score to it while letting me know about good or bad things.
Since it's a game rating thread, I'm also required to mention that I fucking hate Metacritic.
1 to 5: Terrible, Bad, Mediocre, Good, Excellent (or similar). More than enough if it's accompanied by a thorough written review that justifies the rating.
PS: Yeah, the poll system in GB is kinda fucked up, right? This one's the third botched poll I see in less than three days, counting one I did myself.
I don't like rating systems period. I like written reviews. Don't give me that "ratings are necessary" bullshit either; the only people that need a numeric evaluation of things are lazy. It makes sense for video, where a person can't ramble on for 10 minutes and keep your attention, but if you're writing it down then a number is pointless.
These seem a bit to the extremes... A ten point scale is best. Giant Bomb needs half stars. There's such a big gap between a 3 and a 4 star game, and sometimes a really amazing game might only make 4 stars when it deserves 4 and a half, but isn't quite a five. Just personally I think it isn't enough.
A 100 point scale however is stupid. I can understand its use in Metacritic averages however.
These seem a bit to the extremes... A ten point scale is best. Giant Bomb needs half stars. There's such a big gap between a 3 and a 4 star game, and sometimes a really amazing game might only make 4 stars when it deserves 4 and a half, but isn't quite a five. Just personally I think it isn't enough.
A 100 point scale however is stupid. I can understand its use in Metacritic averages however.
This brought to mind the time Games for Windows magazine (RIP) got rid of review ratings and just had all-text reviews. What ballsy move considering they pissed off a lot of their readership.
I don't actually care about scores, for most of the time. i like to read at least the final paragraph where the reviewer sums up the good and the bad about the game.
The 5 star system is always better. Anymore then that is nonsense. I cant tell the difference between an 8.7 and an 8.8.
8.8 - 8.7 =.1
No I didnt- You bastard.
I know what ya mean. I always laughed at the people that would complain in reviews because game XYZ got a 9.6 while ZYX got 9.7 and how the reviewer had the audacity to say it was better.
As I said above, I prefer a bad-good-great system. aka. pass-rent-buy system. The kids that just look at a score get the info they want, and those that actually want to make an informed decision can read/watch the actual review.
I think 5 point scale is better then a 100 point scale, because I favor simple, broad categories. But I'd go even further and make my system a two point one: like or dislike. That's all I really need out of a rating system - the general overview of the reviewer. Man, that would serious screw with Metacritic. Every game review is either a 100 or a 0? Love to watch it mess with averages.
I prefer the out of 10. I understand and also like the out of 5. However I don't like how Gamespot does it out of the .5's. they ought to just do out of 5. Cause making everything ending with .5 or 0 doesn't help the people that just look at score then pros and cons.
I am staunchly against numerically evaluating and quantifying a piece of art. It actually pisses me off incredibly.
A summary section, in which they weigh-up on the points they've discussed, and whether the game is worth the asking price (since, often, regardless of whether a downloadable title or a full-price retail release, they'll be marked to the same scale), more than suffices and is actually far more relevant than a decimal point and/or star based system.
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