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So GAF, whats your most trusted site for reviews ?

Usually GAF. If I'm actively seeking to be informed by a review I might go to Gametrailers. Sometimes I'll glance at the summary in a Kotaku review as I'm browsing the day's stories. I'm not really a "review" guy in general, though. Just tell me if a game is worth my time or not. That's a binary proposition, no need for fluff.
 
Eurogamer, for sure. But it's been years, decades even, since I've used traditional media and formal reviews to shape my games buying.
 
Metacritic. I don't just look at the overall score of course but it compiles all the review in one place and from there I can look at many.

I used to really trust Giant Bomb but they are full on hipster cynics that pretty much hate everything these days so I generally look at a whole slew of sites and certain posters here that I feel have similar tastes to mine. I will also agree with several here and say that Gametrailers is petty good.
 
From a buyers' guide point of view, I spend about 5 minutes comparing reviews and looking at general reception. I normally use Metacritic to find the reviews, but don't really pay too much attention to the individual scores.

From a critical analysis point of view, nothing at launch ever has anything insightful to say about a game.
 
I rarely use reviews to justify a game purchase because I know what I like and I buy what I like. I'm cheap so typically I don't purchase any full price games for myself so when I get something that's mediocre it's not that bad because I spent $20 or less on it - mostly less, in the $5-10 range.

But when I do, NeoGAF and Amazon reviews. Aggregate user rating is more accurate to the actual quality of the game than any specialist site.

This works for all genres. Niche SRPG? 99% of purchases of that game are going to be from niche SPRG fans.
 
I don't generally read reviews and usually just scroll down metacritic or the Gaf review thread for the game, this coming from a guy who buys a lot of games.
 
Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, then the opinions of certain GAFers and podcast personalities. But I don't read that many reviews.

When I'm really on the fence, I'll go to Metacritic and read the top and bottom scored reviews, and see which perspective jives with me most.
 
Guevara said:
I like to see GAF's opinion but like a year after release. If people are still mostly positive, that's a good indication.
Click to expand...

Thats dangerous, gaf is mostly negative about MGS4 and bioshock infinite now. I wouldnt trust gaf's hyperbole on those games
 
It makes absolutely no sense to use a single site unless there is a particular writer doing the review who you believe has the same specific taste as your own.

This is why sites like metacritic are useful. Not for the silly scores but for using as a tool to see the general consensus about something.

I also will see what certain people on GAF think but unfortunately I think most people on this site that actually post strong opinions about titles when they come out tend to be unreasonable and impossible to please. There are always a few who actually put their thoughts into something coherent and relatable though.

I don't buy into the hivemind bullshit, but I do believe most people with strong positive opinions about something on this site probably tend to just avoid certain threads that become rampant with negativity and cynicism. And then of course there is the case of people being way overly glowing about things.

There is an objective way to evaluate things outside of yourself. I have seen plenty of games that aren't for me that I recognize as great games. I think both gamers and the press are guilty of not doing a very good job of this at times but gamers far more so.
 
I usually align with RPS and gamesradar most. Jim Sterling as well. Gametrailers is probably my usual go-to.

I enjoy Yahtzee and tend to agree even when I like a game.

But mostly I look up footage beforehand and base my decision off of whether or not it's personally engaging.
 
GameRankings. Watching one specific individual is kind of nonsensical to be honest, because it's very well possible that you have lots of genres in common but other genres not. I think having lots of reviews with an average score is the best way to see the consensus. Not necessarily exclusive though, you might enjoy games that scored a relatively low score or dislike a game with high scores.
 
Do discussions on podcasts count? Because the only people I really listen to are some of the people on the Bombcast, and GB doesn't usually do written reviews.
 
Mainly I go to IGN and GameTrailers, their reviews consistently match my thoughts on the games I prefer. If I need/want more places for reviews, I go to Gamesradar and youtube reviews. I think video reviews are the future too, so I prefer all sites that offer many video reviews.
 
To make buying decisions? GAF and videos if I'm on the fence, but I've been playing games long enough to have a good idea of what I'll like.

For entertainment: IGN, Kotaku
 
These days I just go on gaf to see what people think of the game.
Only other site I use is giant bomb, that's mainly because I am a fan of the guys there.
 
I don't have one. In their current state, professional reviews are a joke. I'd rather judge a game's content objectively myself.
 
I don't have just one place I go to to read reviews. I look at gameplay footage, GAF impressions, read a few reviews off metacritic, and then make my decision.
 
These days, I don't really read reviews to know whether or not to buy a game (I want to be a game designer so I play what I find interesting), but I really, really enjoy Kotaku's reviews.

Their pieces on the biggest games are informative, personal and very thoughtful. They go in-depth and convey as much of the game as they can. Also all the gifs and short video clips they use are great. And they are very well written in terms of language itself and humor.

Can't wait for their Arkham Knight review!
 
I tend to use Giant Bomb and their podcasts as a barometer on whether I'll like the game. Jeff and Vinny's tastes tend to align with my own.
 
We can't deny that Metacritic overall score is a good indicator of quality, but those user reviews, most of the time, are just ridiculous. I don't even bother reading them anymore.
 
Nowadays, I mostly just look at metacritic. It's pretty rare that a game I am already interested in and scores well on metacritic will end up being bad
 
Gut instinct. You can look at some games and just know. Like Star Wars Battlefront. You watch the gameplay, you listen to what the devs say and you know they get it. If you follow the creators you know where to go. Like when Infinity Ward was gutted I stopped playing CoD and it got noticeably worse while Titanfall is great. For the hidden gems I look to GAF but my tastes are more in line with the general public rather than the hardcore enthusiasts here on GAF.
 
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