Critics Consensus

OK, I noticed something about these two games. Check the user reviews

http://www.giantbomb.com/final-fantasy-vii/3030-13053/

http://www.giantbomb.com/final-fantasy-xiii/3030-20664/

Final Fantasy VII has nearly 30 reviews, and nothing spectacular about it. FFXIII has 74 reviews and has a special box along with a short description of the reviews, like rottentomatoes' Critic's Consensus.

"Too longwinded and singleminded for its own good, Final Fantasy XIII still delivers a grand, gorgeous adventure...eventually."

How does a game get a consensus like that on GB? And is it possible for other users to write one?

@f-metroid: That "consensus" you mention is actually the lead from Brad's review of the game.

So how did it get there if FF7 doesn't have one? What's the dif?

@f-metroid: This website did not exist when FF7 came out, so they do not have a review of it.

All the other reviews are written by Giant Bomb users.

So older games don't get those in general?

@f-metroid: No, the editors of the site don't generally go back and review games from almost 20 years ago.

Will other users be able to give one for more popular games? I think that could add an additional feature to the site that's beneficial for appearance.. At least it'll be something other game sites don't have.

To be honest if such an addition is wanted I think GB should integrate with Gamespot more and surface a review from Gamespot for older games.

I disagree. I come here for this staff's opinions and I wouldn't want another staff from a different website muddying this one up. And I don't mean muddying in a negative connotation, just wouldn't want other site's reviews mixed in here passing off as this staff's opinion.

You seem to be confused about what exactly that piece of text is. It is nothing more than the synopsis for the review written by Brad Shoemaker, Giant Bomb editor, at the time of the game's original release. It is not meant to summarize the 71 user reviews in any way, rather it is simply the official staff editorial review being promoted above user reviews.

I mean there's a hefty chunk of reviews Brad, Jeff, Ryan and Alex wrote on Gamespot. What if it just pulled their reviews? It would be a little stifled but would that be a happy medium?

It would only be for older games that don't have a review anyway, it's not like it would be replacing already existing reviews of games. It would be from the golden era of Gamespot. Although I could see a 'Check out what Gamespot thought' button sneaking in but I doubt that would happen, I think Jeff is pretty aware of the division between GB and GS and was very careful with the merger to not let things bleed over here. Then again GB's stuff gets floated on GS and I'm okay with that as I rarely go over there, maybe every once in a while to check out Danny's stuff on YouTube.

@f-metroid: And thanks, I just went to the FFXIII review page in curiosity to see how it's laid out. Scrolling down the page is like 'Nam flashbacks. God, that game.

This is an idea I can get behind.

I'm not sure why this was bumped after being dormant for so long, but this was a simple question that was long ago answered. If you guys want to start a new topic about something else, go right ahead.