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Marino

Is it the shoes?

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By the Numbers: A Year in Reviews

Would you have guessed that the Giant Bomb guys had reviewed over 100 games this year? That seems like a lot for such a small crew. I have it on good authority that 101 reviews in a year is almost two per week. So, I dumped all the review data into Excel and extrapolated some colorful triangles and rectangles for you to look at. I've broken it down by reviewer, by platform, by stars, and by month. Let's get to it...

Staff

Luckily, we kinda get reviews by Vinny every week on the Bombcast. I still miss reading his reviews though.
Luckily, we kinda get reviews by Vinny every week on the Bombcast. I still miss reading his reviews though.
Unsurprisingly, Jeff had the most staff reviews on the site this year. That sea of green means he generally liked most of them.
Unsurprisingly, Jeff had the most staff reviews on the site this year. That sea of green means he generally liked most of them.
While pulling double duty this year, Alex put up more reviews than anyone except Jeff (and tied with Brad). Alex also holds the distinction of being the only staff member to bestow a 1-Star rating on any game this year. He did it three times.
While pulling double duty this year, Alex put up more reviews than anyone except Jeff (and tied with Brad). Alex also holds the distinction of being the only staff member to bestow a 1-Star rating on any game this year. He did it three times.
This year, Brad doled out the most 5-Star reviews. Of the fourteen games that were good enough to receive the top score in 2011, Brad reviewed six of them.
This year, Brad doled out the most 5-Star reviews. Of the fourteen games that were good enough to receive the top score in 2011, Brad reviewed six of them.
Ryan seems to have shrugged his shoulders quite a bit this year. Portal 2 was his only 5-Star game, and nearly a third of his reviews ended up in the middle.
Ryan seems to have shrugged his shoulders quite a bit this year. Portal 2 was his only 5-Star game, and nearly a third of his reviews ended up in the middle.
Kessler may not have been assigned to review many AAA blockbusters, but he was the only reviewer to give a game two different scores (Space Marine).
Kessler may not have been assigned to review many AAA blockbusters, but he was the only reviewer to give a game two different scores (Space Marine).
This is clearly the most exciting pie chart ever created.
This is clearly the most exciting pie chart ever created.

Stars

By the looks of it, we had some pretty damn good games this year. Obviously, Giant Bomb doesn't waste time reviewing stuff we don't really care about, but still...over half of the titles reviews this year got at least 4 stars.
By the looks of it, we had some pretty damn good games this year. Obviously, Giant Bomb doesn't waste time reviewing stuff we don't really care about, but still...over half of the titles reviews this year got at least 4 stars.

Monthly

Nothing too shocking here. Everyone knows that the bulk of big games still comes out at the end of the year. That spurt in June seems a little out of place though. Hopefully that means we're on the way to getting a more spread out release schedule in the coming year.
Nothing too shocking here. Everyone knows that the bulk of big games still comes out at the end of the year. That spurt in June seems a little out of place though. Hopefully that means we're on the way to getting a more spread out release schedule in the coming year.

Platform

Many games that were reviewed this year specifically state within the review that it applies to multiple versions of the game. Due to this, the number of
Many games that were reviewed this year specifically state within the review that it applies to multiple versions of the game. Due to this, the number of "games" in this chart is much higher than the 101 reviews that were done this year.
I couldn't decide which way to present this data, so you get both!
I couldn't decide which way to present this data, so you get both!

The Raw Data

GameForScoreByDate
Alice: Madness ReturnsX3604RyanJune 16
Assassin's Creed: RevelationsX3604RyanNovember 15
Batman: Arkham CityX3605JeffOctober 14
Battlefield 3PS3 PC4DaveOctober 27
Bionic Commando Rearmed 2PSN XBLA3JeffFebruary 7
Bit.Trip Saga3DS3PatrickSeptember 23
BlackwaterX3601AlexDecember 15
BodycountPS3 X3602JeffSeptember 2
BrinkX3602JeffMay 10
BulletstormPS3 X360 PC4JeffFebruary 23
BurgerTime: World TourXBLA3AlexNovember 13
Burnout CRASH!PSN XBLA3RyanSeptember 23
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3X3604JeffNovember 8
Captain America: Super SoldierPS3 X3603MattJuly 19
CatherinePS3 X3602JeffJuly 28
Child of EdenX3603RyanJune 18
Crysis 2X3604JeffMarch 22
Dance Central 2X3604RyanOctober 24
DC Universe OnlinePS32JeffJanuary 21
Dead BlockXBLA2AlexJuly 8
Dead IslandPS3 X360 PC4BradSeptember 12
Dead Rising 2: Off the RecordPS3 X360 PC3BradOctober 12
Dead Space 2PS3 X3605BradJanuary 24
Deus Ex: Human RevolutionPS3 X360 PC4JeffAugust 23
DiRT 3X3605DrewMay 24
Driver: San FranciscoPS3 X3604JeffSeptember 6
Duke Nukem ForeverPS3 X360 PC2JeffJune 14
Earth Defense Force: Insect ArmageddonPS3 X3602MattJuly 12
F.E.A.R. 3X3602RyanJune 25
Forza Motorsport 4X3604JeffOctober 7
From DustXBLA4BradJuly 26
Fruit Ninja KinectXBLA4RyanAugust 9
Full House PokerXBLA4JeffMarch 21
Gears of War 3X3605JeffSeptember 15
Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo ClimaxXBLA4BradJune 29
Halo: Combat Evolved AnniversaryX3604BradNovember 17
HomefrontPS3 X3603AlexMarch 15
inFamous 2PS34BradJune 17
inFamous 2: Festival of BloodPSN4BradOctober 28
Insanely Twisted Shadow PlanetXBLA4BradAugust 3
Iron BrigadeXBLA4JeffJune 22
JamestownPC4AlexJuly 1
Just Dance 3X3602RyanOctober 24
Killzone 3PS34JeffFebruary 21
L.A. NoirePS3 X3605BradMay 16
LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video GamePS3 X3604BradMay 11
LittleBigPlanet 2PS35JeffJanuary 26
Lost in ShadowWii3AlexJanuary 11
Lucha FuryXBLA1AlexJune 28
Madden NFL 12X3603AlexAugust 29
Madden NFL Football3DS1AlexMarch 30
Mario Kart 73DS3RyanNovember 29
Mario Sports MixWii2AlexFebruary 9
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two WorldsPS3 X3604JeffFebruary 16
Mortal KombatPS3 X3605JeffApril 19
Mortal Kombat Arcade KollectionPSN XBLA2BradSeptember 1
MotorStorm: ApocalypsePS33AlexMay 24
Ms. Splosion ManXBLA3BradJuly 13
NBA 2K12X3605AlexOctober 14
Need for Speed: The RunPS3 X3602JeffNovember 15
NHL 12PS3 X3604AlexSeptember 21
OutlandPSN XBLA4BradMay 4
Payday: The HeistPS33AlexOctober 20
Pilotwings Resort3DS3BradMarch 25
Portal 2X360 PC5RyanApril 19
Puzzle Agent 2iOS3RyanJuly 20
RagePS3 X360 PC4BradOctober 4
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 OnePS33PatrickOctober 19
Rayman: OriginsX3605AlexNovember 15
Red Faction: ArmageddonPS3 X3603BradJune 1
Renegade OpsPSN XBLA5BradSeptember 16
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D3DS2MattJune 30
Resistance 3PS34PatrickSeptember 6
Ridge Racer 3D3DS3JeffMarch 26
Rock of AgesX3604AlexSeptember 7
Saints Row: The ThirdPS3 X3604AlexNovember 11
Shadows of the DamnedX3604AlexJune 21
Skylanders: Spyro's AdventureX3604JeffDecember 7
Spider-Man: Edge of TimeX3602RyanOctober 13
StackingPSN XBLA4AlexFebruary 8
Star Fox 64 3D3DS3MattSeptember 16
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online EditionXBLA4JeffAugust 24
Super Mario 3D Land3DS4JeffNovember 14
Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition3DS4JeffMarch 23
SwarmPSN XBLA3AlexMarch 24
The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimX360 PC5BradNovember 11
The GunstringerX3604RyanSeptember 13
The House of the Dead: OverkillPS33RyanOctober 26
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D3DS5BradJune 20
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward SwordWii4PatrickNovember 11
To the MoonPC4AlexDecember 6
Toy Soldiers: Cold WarXBLA4BradAugust 17
TrackMania 2: CanyonPC4JeffOctober 17
Uncharted 3: Drake's DeceptionPS35BradOctober 24
Warhammer 40,000: Space MarinePS33MattSeptember 12
Warhammer 40,000: Space MarineX360 PC4MattSeptember 14
WWE '12X3603AlexNovember 23
WWE All StarsPS3 X3604JeffMarch 29
X-Men: DestinyX3602RyanOctober 3
Yakuza 4PS33MattAugust 1
You Don't Know JackX3604RyanFebruary 9
29 Comments

30 Comments

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Marino

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Edited By Marino  Staff

@Claude: Yeah. I guess that and F-Zero and the two franchises that really stick out as not having an entry on the Wii. I'd only want another Mario Golf if they give it the RPG treatment again though.

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Claude

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Edited By Claude
@Marino said:

@Claude said:

Man, I knew the Wii was dead this year, but three reviews. Crazy.

And one of those three was Mario Sports Mix. =/

Speaking of Mario sports games, it really surprises me that there wasn't a Mario Golf game released on the Wii. The Wii was made for golf games, played some good ones.
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unsolvedparadox

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Edited By unsolvedparadox

Nice work, didn't realize during the year that Alex reviewed so many games!

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Marino

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Edited By Marino  Staff

@Claude said:

Man, I knew the Wii was dead this year, but three reviews. Crazy.

And one of those three was Mario Sports Mix. =/

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Claude

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Edited By Claude

Man, I knew the Wii was dead this year, but three reviews. Crazy.

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bigsocrates

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Edited By bigsocrates

This is a great thread. I wouldn't have thought of Jeff as being more generous than average, but maybe he just takes the better games. I also think that it reflects the games Giant Bomb chooses to review in an interesting way. Over 50% are 4 or 5 stars, which makes sense when you figure how little dross gets the review treatment.

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Maajin

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Edited By Maajin

@AlisterCat said:

Shocks me to see Jeff giving such high review scores and then saying this year hasn't been a great year for games. Even before Skyrim and Saints Row there were some pretty great games. I don't care if they were sequels or not.

I think it shows how, even though they were games that he didn't personally love, he took in account more than that in the review.

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Karl_Boss

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Edited By Karl_Boss

Cool stuff, thanks Marino.

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DJJoeJoe

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Edited By DJJoeJoe

Could have sworn Vinny did at least 1 review at some point, guess I'm crazy in the coconut!

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Daveyo520

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Edited By Daveyo520

Great work Marino!

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AlexW00d

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Edited By AlexW00d

@Marino said:

@AlexW00d: Yeah, clearly Vinny would've been the one to review Witcher 2 if anyone would've. I'm assuming he was busy with other work. It got quite a bit of discussion within the Bombcast though.

Yeah you're probably right, I should really start listening again. I enjoy listening in one go but never have the time.

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BeachThunder

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Edited By BeachThunder
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Marino

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Edited By Marino  Staff

@mracoon: Alex does get assigned more "questionable" games for lack of a better word though. So, he has more opportunities to give lower scores I think.

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mracoon

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Edited By mracoon

@Marino said:

@mracoon said:

This is so crazy. I was working on a blog which was going to be the exact same thing and I was even going to call it the A Year in Reviews. I got most of the same charts as you but I also did a graph of reviews by publisher that I might as well post in here instead of creating a new blog. Also, just a note that Puzzle Agent 2 was reviewed for iPhone & PC and that Rock of Ages is listed on the site as being reviewed on the 360 but that it should actually be XBLA.

D'oh! Sorry.

But, yeah, I caught the Rock of Ages thing in my spreadsheet, but I guess I forgot to change it on the table here. I may have missed including Puzzle Agent as a PC stat though. There was also another one that had the wrong platform listed on the review, but I forget which one it was now.

Yeah, LEGO PotC was listed as being reviewed on 360 and PSN when it should be PS3.

It's still kind of amazing to me that Alex managed to do so many reviews for GB while also having to manage doing news and reviews for a completely different site. That dude does a lot of work. He's also technically the most 'fair' reviewer as his average score was 3.1 which means he uses both sides of the rating scale equally.

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Mento

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Edited By Mento  Moderator

You telling me two mods were busy working on some infographics for this year's reviews and neither of them were PsEG?

Also, I'm glad those "Is Jeff doing less on the site?" theories are being proven mistaken here. Clearly he's happy with his reviews and jars for the time being. I have a feeling he'll be dominating this week's old console streams too.

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Marino

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Edited By Marino  Staff

@mracoon said:

This is so crazy. I was working on a blog which was going to be the exact same thing and I was even going to call it the A Year in Reviews. I got most of the same charts as you but I also did a graph of reviews by publisher that I might as well post in here instead of creating a new blog. Also, just a note that Puzzle Agent 2 was reviewed for iPhone & PC and that Rock of Ages is listed on the site as being reviewed on the 360 but that it should actually be XBLA.

D'oh! Sorry.

But, yeah, I caught the Rock of Ages thing in my spreadsheet, but I guess I forgot to change it on the table here. I may have missed including Puzzle Agent as a PC stat though. There was also another one that had the wrong platform listed on the review, but I forget which one it was now.

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Marino

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Edited By Marino  Staff

@AlexW00d: Yeah, clearly Vinny would've been the one to review Witcher 2 if anyone would've. I'm assuming he was busy with other work. It got quite a bit of discussion within the Bombcast though.

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mracoon

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Edited By mracoon

This is so crazy. I was working on a blog which was going to be the exact same thing and I was even going to call it the A Year in Reviews. I got most of the same charts as you but I also did a graph of reviews by publisher that I might as well post in here instead of creating a new blog. Also, just a note that Puzzle Agent 2 was reviewed for iPhone & PC and that Rock of Ages is listed on the site as being reviewed on the 360 but that it should actually be XBLA.

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Chop

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Edited By Chop

Alex needs to review some bigger, better games. He's the best writer they have and I'd like to see something more from him than just random XBLA titles. 

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Edited By AlexW00d

@Marino said:

@AlexW00d said:

Of the three PC games reviewed, two were small indie games and one was Trackmania. So many great games ignored.

To be fair, there were more than three PC games reviewed. The three you speak of were the only PC exclusives.

Well yeah, that was my point. The rest are just ported from the consoles. I'm mostly annoyed (not annoyed but it's the closest word I could think of) that they only did a quicklook of Witcher 2 that mostly comprised of Ryan's exasperation. That game is surely worth their time? Oh well.

Also

@chilibean_3 said:

I like data. That's a lot more reviews this year than I realized. Neat post, Marino.

this.

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csl316

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Edited By csl316

Nice, I like numbers!

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napalm

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I love raw data. Mmm. Tell me how thick my lines of code are, baby.

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chilibean_3

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Edited By chilibean_3

I like data. That's a lot more reviews this year than I realized. Neat post, Marino.

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Marino

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Edited By Marino  Staff

@AlexW00d said:

Of the three PC games reviewed, two were small indie games and one was Trackmania. So many great games ignored.

To be fair, there were more than three PC games reviewed. The three you speak of were the only PC exclusives.

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galiant

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Edited By galiant

Interesting. Thanks for sharing!

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Edited By alistercat

Shocks me to see Jeff giving such high review scores and then saying this year hasn't been a great year for games. Even before Skyrim and Saints Row there were some pretty great games. I don't care if they were sequels or not.

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Edited By AlexW00d

Of the three PC games reviewed, two were small indie games and one was Trackmania. So many great games ignored.

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ssj4raditz

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Edited By ssj4raditz

Patrick's pie chart is the best pie chart.

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Grissefar

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Edited By Grissefar

Wow, a whole year without a Vinny review - good for him. It must have been tough to fend off Jeff trying to get you to review a new game every month for a whole year.
 
And that's a lot of reviews, and I haven't fully read a single one of them. It makes you think how much time was wasted producing these when, by the time the review hits, they have already told me about the game in 30 other ways and other sites have already provided me with 3 different video reviews, which is the format I prefer to consume, but that I am glad Giant Bomb doesn't produce a lot of, but still disappointed that they produce at all, since it takes valuable days away from Vinny and his shenanigans just so Jeff can sniff to his GameSpot dream again and "review every game" and "produce video reviews for every game".