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How much research do you give a game before purchase?

DryvBy

DryvBy

Member
I'm a blind gamer. With Deus Ex: Human Revolution, I read the forums the week before the release. Previously, didn't read anything about it. Not one thing aside from the announcement. Next week, I'm getting into ICO and SotC, but I literally have no idea what either game is about.

How do you pick your games?

*Note: I'm not literally blind. I meant my purchasing...uh...technique? Man, almond ale is great.
 
I usually go by gut feeling; not much research gets done. I have a good sense of what I would like. :/

Imagine that.
 
Demo, GAF impressions, Metacritic average.

If something is getting glowing reviews, and I like the genre, GAF impressions alone are sufficient.
 
I normally try to find X people on GAF who say something like "the game has it's flaws, but I really love it because [discussion of novel/original successes]", where X is around

1 if game is ~$5
2 if game is ~$10
15 if game is ~$20
30 if game is >$20

Don't do much research any more really, normall wait till games are <$10.
 
DryvBy2 said:
I'm a blind gamer. With Deus Ex: Human Revolution, I read the forums the week before the release. Previously, didn't read anything about it. Not one thing aside from the announcement. Next week, I'm getting into ICO and SotC, but I literally have no idea what either game is about.

How do you pick your games?
Click to expand...

No offense, but in an interactive medium that relies on user response from visual cues, how do you play games blind?
 
I always heavily research a game before buying, through researching the developer's past credentials, impressions from players (NOT the gaming media, I actively ignore anything they say) and watch plenty of gameplay videos on Youtube as well as the trailers that come out pre-release. If a demo is available, I'll usually play that as well.

Though when it comes to downloadable games and retro games, I can find out what games are good very quickly and easily without researching too much.

I've never been steered wrong in any of my purchases. Conversely, my instinct has also never been wrong about how crap a game is either. I seem to have a fantastic gut instinct with how good a game is, just by looking at a few videos in some cases!
 
I usually just try to find a decent gameplay video on youtube/gametrailers. I've played games enough that I can usually tell when something looks good enough at what price and if I think I'll stick with it.

Also, reading impressions on GAF is a big help for things that I might not be good at judging. The good responses to Deadly Premonition and 999 really pushed me towards getting them both, and I wasn't disappointed.
 
Since I'm a blind JRPG fan, I buy pretty much all of them day one (except Gust/Nippon Ichi/etc. kind of games, so actually only half of them I guess!)

I'm also partial to S-E's other titles (3rd birthday, nier, etc.), but I'll still check reviews and impressions and won't pick up the very poorly received titles (i.e. Mindjack).

As for other games, I'll check the "professional" reviews quickly, but won't take a decision purely based on that. I'll check into the game and read boards (especially neogaf of course...) to get a general idea and people's impressions.

As is the case for movies, I notice a trend where games that receive mixed reviews often please me more than games that receive praise from most people. Seems kind of weird, but I guess that's the result of some of my peculiar taste. I often don't look for the same things in movies/games than many others. And I DEFINITELY don't expect the same things from games than "professional" reviewers.

Considering all that, ranks and grades often don't mean much for me.
 
Trailers, E3 stage demos, GAF.

However my own personal interest will always trump the media.

The only time I buy games on a whim is if GAF loves it, and it's cheap on Amazon. The only reason I Deus Ex.
 
hayguyz said:
No offense, but in an interactive medium that relies on user response from visual cues, how do you play games blind?
Click to expand...
This got me good.

I usually act like I have no interest in a game for a long time, then suddenly, a week before it drops I'll get crazy hyped out of nowhere. Usually happens after I see a new trailer close to launch. I had no interest in RAGE, and then that trailer in August, I think it was, got me goin.
 
I decide which games to play based on how much fodder it will give me to either joke, troll, or mindlessly praise/dislike it on GAF.
 
Demos are my primary decider most the time. Sometimes I'll buy blind based on the series or developer. Sometimes friends with similar taste will recommend something. It really depends on the price. I'll take a punt on anything for £15/20, but if it's a day one major release, I want some reassurance that I'll enjoy it.

There are games that I've wanted, and never got around to buying for a number of reasons. Demon's Souls is a good example, if there had been a demo, it's quite likely I'd have bought it.
 
GAF is my research. I follow hype threads and browse the OTs when they're posted a week before release.

And if Giantbomb posts a quicklook, I'll check that out as well.

Edit: Published reviews & metacritic don't mean shit to me. I respect some "gaming journalists" (like GiantBomb, J Parish, & R Barnholdt), but in the end those people are no more qualified than your average GAFer to offer criticism.
 
Reluctant-Hero said:
GAF is my research. I follow hype threads and browse the OTs when they're posted a week before release.

And if Giantbomb posts a quicklook, I'll check that out as well.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I do.

I usually know what I'm getting into before I buy it.
 
Not much research at all.

I pretty much dropped reading most reviews in the last few years. I don't take the opinion of GAF as a definite either, as quite a few people on here are idiotic with too much praise, or too harsh. I find myself looking at a lot of Giant Bomb Quick Looks, but don't go solely by them either.

I kinda know what I like myself, and gravitate to those game. I rarely buy on day one, and usually buy when a game drops to a certain price - so I can, at times, pick up 4 games for the price of one if I just wait a few weeks - that makes buying easier.

But gadgets, tech, or TVs... I research for weeks
 
I don't, I believe in the heart of the cards and trust in it to pick the right game.

It works most of the time.
 
Gaf impressions is my #1 source then price. If a great game then I don't mind spending the money, but on the way down the quality scale the less I'm willing to pay for.
 
Depends on the game, if there's a demo I'll play it and it's usually enough. For AAA titles I know if it'll be hit or miss from the previews/reviews. If I'm not sure or the title is niche, I read opinions on GAF.
 
For the games I buy close to their release date, I usually follow them from their announcement to release so I know what I'm getting myself into. Sometimes though I see a game i passed on some years ago for cheap and maybe I'll look at a couple of reviews and watch some videos of it before I buy it.
 
I normally proceed as follows:

1) Watch gameplay video to see wether I like the graphics/art style/overall tone, etc

2) If I like what I saw in point 1 then go to forums like EOL or my recently discovered GAF to check what people say about it.

3) If I'm getting good vibes about the game and it's a game I've been anticipating for a long time I pre-order it (has only happen 2 times in my entire life: Demon's Souls and Dark Souls) or buy it day 1 (Mass Effect, Dead Space, Starcraft II).

4) Otherwise I keep playing my extensive back catalogue and wait for said game to fall in price to a decent level.
 
If it is a game from an unknown developer, I will look up some gameplay on Youtube, but a major game from a major studio doesn't really require research.
 
It depends.

Sometimes I go on gut feeling: Grandia, NIER and many more.

Other times I read gaf or a couple of forums I visit. I try to look for impressions from people that I know has a similar interest in games as me. I also watch gameplay trailers to see if the game seems fun to play. I play a demo if possible. I do read a review or two. Scores are not very interesting to me, I try to see what the complaints are about and then the score becomes more or less irrelevant. If a company like Obsidian is working on a game, I'll probably buy it no matter what, because I am a fan of that studio, this goes for one or two other studios out there.

I automatically "do research" by going online and reading about games on different forums. I already know enough about Type-0 to make me interested in it. I know I want Tales of Graces F and Tales of Xillia thanks to previous games in the series, but also thanks to impressions.

The most important part for me is trying to look at posts that use hyperbole and posts that actually have good impressions.
 
Definitely look at review scores across the board and read/watch a few reviews unless its proven series or one I am use to. If a game looks interesting to me though I always keep an eye on it regardless of review. Also I tend to blind buy games I see for $10 or less at Amazon.

I really don't see how anyone can drop down $50-$60 for a game and not read some reviews and take into considering the scores across the board. For all the value I see some try to take out of the value of review scores I just dont believe many of them blind buy games without seeing a consensus on the quality.
 
Very few games I blind buy. The only ones I do are usually ones I plan on playing with friends. Twisted Metal will be my next blind buy because its Jaffe, and its Twisted Metal. Even though I've seen every second of footage released so far.

Most games I like to watch people play before hand. Either streaming or just some random person sitting down for awhile to play the game. I absolutely hate developer walkthroughs. They always try too hard to point out the most useless details and overplay the mechanics of their game, rarely ever pointing out how shallow they usually are.

So basically watching random people play the game + GAF input. GAF shouldn't be your only source though. There are a lot of people who turn down great games for the most ridiculous reasons around here. (screen tearing) Reviews are pretty pointless to me as well. Why would you ever listen to what one person or small group of people have to say? I don't think any reviewer is any more knowledgeable than myself when it comes to the games I'm interested in. That being said, I may check out reviews if I see a game in a genre I don't normally play, which there are few of.
 
Zwei said:
I usually go by gut feeling; not much research gets done. I have a good sense of what I would like. :/

Imagine that.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this is typically how I go about buying games now. I've been playing games for nearly 20 years, I should know what I like and dislike at this point.

I only research games when they're from genres I'm not familiar with, like Real Time Strategy Games and Simulation type games.
 
Not much unless it's a complete unknown. I truly can usually tell from first glance whether I'll like a game or not.

And the couple times I've gone against my first thoughts and gotten the game anyway have bitten me in the ass.
 
Depends on the game. For some I'll do very little or no research at all while for others I'll check out the demo, gaf impressions, etc.

It basically comes down my familiarity with a particular game - if it's part of a franchise that I like, a genre that I'm a fan of, etc. I generally won't do very much research.
 
Usually I only get games that I'm excited for, so I think that would be equivalent to a lot of research. The only games I've bought in the past year have been Blur and Halo: Reach. Both games I was interested in long before release. Although I didn't buy Blur right away, since the reviews seemed kind of iffy. I waited until I found it for like $20 on Amazon last year.
 
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