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originally posted in:Sapphire
2/21/2013 6:37:29 AM
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Do you pay attention to the views of critics?

Critics of games, music, films, etc. Assuming the majority of us are sensible and will respond with "yes, but I don't let their opinions become my own", what would you say is more damaging to consumers: making decisions based purely off critical reception or the opinions of a specific critic/website ("I won't buy anything that scores lower than 80 on Metacritic!"), or blindly buying/preordering things that you essentially know nothing about based largely on marketing and/or brand loyalty ("there is no possible way this game can be bad - I love 'Aliens' and 'Borderlands'!")?

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  • I just look at what the critics say to get an Idea of the games/movies/etc.

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  • I never take critics seriously. If I agreed with Yahtzee on everything there would be very few games on my shelf.

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  • I do, but my friend thinks that what critics say is bull. For instance, he thinks Prince of Persia was a good movie.

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    • I often decide whether to see a film in theatres or not based on the reception it got. Critics are often right on the money, but sometimes they are totally full of shit. Eg. the Hobbit scoring 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. I'd give it a 90%+ easily.

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    • If I don't know about some media then I will generally look at its critical reception to get an idea of what it's like.

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    • no, because most critics can (and do) be bribed to give better reviews (for example, DmC)

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    • Edited by Buona Sera: 2/21/2013 3:06:01 PM
      I take them into consideration, but I would never judge something solely by what a critic says of it. Unless it's the Nostalgia Critic. "I won't buy anything lower than 80" is a worse decision, in my opinion.

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    • I tend to draw a line between enjoyability and quality. You can determine the quality of something objectively, in music for instance you can look at the complexity and creativity of a piece of music in an object manner, giving it a certain "ranking". This does not mean that this piece of music is an enjoyable piece of music, or the other way around. An example: Sometimes I like to listen to really bad seventies disco music. Not because it is quality music, but because I enjoy the cheesiness. Same goes for movies or games. Take, for instance, Die Hard 3: With a Vengeance. Sure, it's an enjoyable movie. But is it quality? The story is shallow, as are the characters etc. Following this philosophy I tend not to trust to much in reviews for movies or music or games. Because they cannot describe if someone will enjoy something or not. You'll have to try that out for yourself.

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    • Edited by Cat: 2/21/2013 1:32:59 PM
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      Yes and no. On one hand, subjectivity plays a big role, and you might like what a professional doesn't. On the other, you can save yourself from wasting money on mediocrity by trusting a professional's opinion. The way to go is to check out professional opinions if you're skeptical, but take it with a grain of salt. You'll have an informed look into the item in question, but you can still make the ultimate decision on your own. I must say, if not for Beer Advocate, I'd still be drinking fizzy yellow piss water that macro-breweries call beer, so I'm definitely glad that critics/reviewers exist.

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    • Edited by Circadian Wolf: 2/21/2013 12:06:39 PM
      Official critics review all the wrong things about a product. They're looking for something that is well made and professional looking. Most people don't care about that, they just want something enjoyable.

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    • My opinions don't usually factor in those of professional critics, especially not if they give numerical scores.

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    • i am pretty easy to please so i don't really take them into account tbh. Mind one of the guys i live with will refuse to watch a film unless it has got a really high review on rotten tomatoes and when i questioned him on it about why other peoples reviews were so important to him he kinda made out that they are the experts so they know best. I think that is a load of rubbish but there you go - the more explosions/violence in the film the more i like it :P

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    • Edited by Dustin: 2/21/2013 9:34:03 PM
      rocket poopoo grade your debate threads already

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      • If a game is universally trashed, it's probably bad. But I won't swear off something (or rush to embrace it, for that matter) on a single critic's say-so.

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      • Not as much as some people. Sure, if a game gets super terrible reviews I may wait for it to become a bit cheaper, but I'll still play it if it looks interesting. I mostly decide on whether or not to buy a game based on gameplay videos or demos, who developed it, and what franchise it's from.

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      • Edited by Cultmeister: 2/21/2013 6:47:46 AM
        i'll watch a few online reviews and if i think they seem balanced enough i'll take them into account.

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      • Edited by M37h3w3: 2/21/2013 6:40:39 AM
        I look at how the overall scores are falling. I also exclude outliers and speed read the reviews while looking for their highlights and sticking points. Sometimes, if I like the franchise, I'll even buy despite the reviews being crappy. Case in point: Own DmC, laugh at all the haters who say the game is shit. Own Resistance: Burning Skies and Anarchy Reigns.

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      • I don't even care if Destiny gets a 4/10. I'm still buying it.

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