Gamespot changes review system, adds 'medals'

[8th lutz]

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/24/gamespot...em-adds-medals/

 

Gamespot editorial director Jeff Gerstmann has announced that next week the website will be changing its review system. Starting next week, the self-described formulaic score will be replaced with a 19-point scale -- "that's 1.0 to 10.0 with half-step [0.5] increments," he said. In the absence of sub-scores for graphics, sound, audio, etc., the reviews will also add a medal system to award games for specific merits such as graphics (artistic or technical). There are reportedly 60 medals currently planned, with room for later expansion.

 

Gerstmann cited the evolution of the games industry as a reason for the new system. "The assumption [the previous system] makes is that graphics are just as important in a driving game as they are in a rhythm game. You shouldn't need me to tell you that they aren't," he said. Gerstmann also notes that the content of the review, unsurprisingly, is not going to change. The new system coincides with a Gamespaces redesign; a preview of the new look can be found here.

 

By merit of being one of the two biggest video game websites around (the other being IGN), Gamespot has dealt with its fair share of criticism regarding its reviews. (Remember the backlash when they gave Twilight Princess a meager 8.8?) With this marked change in the site's eleven-year review system, we're hoping the website will use this opportunity to shift the grade scale bell curve to 5.0 instead of 7.0, giving their higher scores more of an impact.

[AtticGamer]

They should change how they review some games, Golden Sun deserved more than 8.6.....and Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 deserved a 10! That game is freaking perfect!

[spacecadet]

They should change how they review some games, Golden Sun deserved more than 8.6.....and Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 deserved a 10! That game is freaking perfect!

 

For me, their most infamous review "mistake" was giving Rez a 7.9. That game is a classic, probably the pinnacle of the rail shooter genre. Giving the best game in a genre a 7.9 is equivalent to saying the entire genre sucks, especially in relation to all the other genres. I think Gerstman himself reviewed that game - I wonder if he has any regrets about that. (Not that I'd think it keeps him up at nights, but I wonder what he thinks now whenever he sees people talking about their experiences with that hame.)

 

Anyway, I'm not sure this new review system solves anything. The big problem before was that people would get really hung up on these tenths of a point... they'd go nuts if one game got a 9.6 but another game they thought was better got a 9.5. So now there's a 20 point scale, but that still leaves too many gradations, and 60 freakin' "medals"??

 

I think all these things end up causing people to put too much emphasis on the score and not enough on the review itself. A score of 1-10 should be enough, with no decimals and no medals. The question is really just how good the game is; there's no reason you need more than a 10 point scale to express that.

[bretthorror]

I hate Gamespot. Especially that Gerstmann character.

 

On a side note, I post on their message board, but I'm currently suspended because I told someone they were on the crack after they said I was really drunk.

[Atarifever]

Come on guys, you're feeding the exact problem that plagues the site. Twilight Princess getting an 8.8 and Golden Sun getting an 8.6 isn't really meager or low. The problem is that it seems meager when they give similar marks to Whatever: Insert Year-- Expansion Edition 1.5. Don't complain about a really solid game getting an 88%; complain that with their system, that somehow sounds mediocre.

[ninjarabbit]

Why don't we just give every game a gold star so none of them feel bad.

[Jess Ragan]

I've got a medal for them! I can honestly say they've earned it, too.

 

JR

[Gabriel]

So, for a special advertising fee, a game can have special accolades applied to its reviews in addition to the normal irrelevant scores. What an entrepreneurial idea!

 

Oh, how DARE they give a Nintendo game less than a 9! I hope the people responsible were flogged for their transgressions.

[Flojomojo]

So, for a special advertising fee, a game can have special accolades applied to its reviews in addition to the normal irrelevant scores. What an entrepreneurial idea!

How true.

I like the 1UP Retro Roundup reviews for Virtual Console and Arcade titles. TWO categories: a green WORTH IT! thumbs-up, and a red NOT WORTH IT thumbs down. If your review text is worth reading, that should be enough for anyone.

 

Decimals are stupid. It's not as if some dork's opinion about a video game is an exact science, so why even pretend there's precision involved?

 

I really like it when reviewers don't focus on the number. Edge's 5-star ratings are OK, but even better is Action Button's extremely opinionated flamebait.

Edited June 25, 2007 by Flojomojo