Game review relevance and the informed gamer

A well-informed readership gamers have become. At least, that’s what is being implied by a recent trend being discussed over at Three Speech. Going into detail, gamers are becoming less and less dependent on official game reviews, and are instead going by their own resources to see for themselves if their copy of a game like Gundam Crossfire is really up to specs, or if it’s better swapped out for Resistance: Fall of Man. 

This trend works off the fact that since the upsurge of net-based media like game trailers, screenshots, and demos, gamers are being given more choices in deciding on a video game’s merits, and that these media forms allow a first-hand glimpse of a video game weeks before its release. Think back a little – how was your play-through of the Lost Planet or Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2’s free demos, and how much did it get you psyched out for the game’s launch, at least with regard to Lost Planet?

And it’s not just the official game teasers that hold influence – think back to the times you guys made a decision on whether a video game “roxxorz” or “suxxorz” based on the responses you’ve probably heard on websites (like QJ here), your local circle of friends (ex: your Xbox Live Arcade posse), or even your resident MMORPG guild threads? Double for the homebrew community – homebrew applications and homebrew games alike are rated according to the first few brave souls who test them, though it’s almost like an unofficial review.

Looking at the other side of this perspective, could it also be that gamers in general aren’t as trustful of gaming reviews as they were before? Everybody’s got his own perspective, and game reviews, as impartial as they (hopefully) try to be, are still guided by human hands. And with the information players can get with demos, we’re looking at an informed readership (or is the term gamership) that’s more observant of any possible bias that goes into game reviews, whether it’s some personal piece, or a pre-release review out from some of the premier gaming sites we have conveniently bookmarked.

What’s your say on this, guys – just how much do you take a game’s review into account when you make a purchase?

A well-informed readership gamers have become. At least, that’s what is being implied by a recent trend being discussed over at Three Speech. Going into detail, gamers are becoming less and less dependent on official game reviews, and are instead going by their own resources to see for themselves if their copy of a game like Gundam Crossfire is really up to specs, or if it’s better swapped out for Resistance: Fall of Man. 

This trend works off the fact that since the upsurge of net-based media like game trailers, screenshots, and demos, gamers are being given more choices in deciding on a video game’s merits, and that these media forms allow a first-hand glimpse of a video game weeks before its release. Think back a little – how was your play-through of the Lost Planet or Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2’s free demos, and how much did it get you psyched out for the game’s launch, at least with regard to Lost Planet?

And it’s not just the official game teasers that hold influence – think back to the times you guys made a decision on whether a video game “roxxorz” or “suxxorz” based on the responses you’ve probably heard on websites (like QJ here), your local circle of friends (ex: your Xbox Live Arcade posse), or even your resident MMORPG guild threads? Double for the homebrew community – homebrew applications and homebrew games alike are rated according to the first few brave souls who test them, though it’s almost like an unofficial review.

Looking at the other side of this perspective, could it also be that gamers in general aren’t as trustful of gaming reviews as they were before? Everybody’s got his own perspective, and game reviews, as impartial as they (hopefully) try to be, are still guided by human hands. And with the information players can get with demos, we’re looking at an informed readership (or is the term gamership) that’s more observant of any possible bias that goes into game reviews, whether it’s some personal piece, or a pre-release review out from some of the premier gaming sites we have conveniently bookmarked.

What’s your say on this, guys – just how much do you take a game’s review into account when you make a purchase?