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What's Wrong with Metacritic?

Posted on Monday, October 11 @ 21:49:29 Eastern by danielrbischoff

Aggregator sites are popular with both consumers and corporations. They aren't popular with this reviewer.

I'll admit, I lean on Metacritic and Game Rankings from time to time. First, I like to read reviews. I think they can contain a ton of interesting insight to games and how we play them. Also, I'm an English major so criticism is just plain fun to me. But ever since I started reviewing here, I've noticed some things that are completely wrong with review scores.



To be clear, we take reviews pretty seriously *smirk* here at Game Revolution, and I think letter grades are a great way to measure games in terms of scores. They're abstract enough to allow some wiggle room, they reflect the fact that everyone considers games under a 7 to be crap (through the use of "F"), and they can't be argued over as obviously as numerical scores.

This is why I hate it when Metacritic takes my C-grade of Castlevania: Harmony of Despair and calls it a 42. Or when I'm responsible for Backbreaker's lowest score, 33, despite having given the game a D+. Those numerical scores just aren't right. Do the reviews feel like that number? Do the reviews back up that number? No. They back up my letter grade, and only that letter grade.

I also don't like my review scores being used to determine the financial well-being of game developers. But that's a completely different story.

The bottom line is: Read the fucking article everybody.


POST A COMMENTComments
  • Eduardo_Reboucas
    Eduardo_Reboucas - Joined: Dec 9, 2008
    Oooh, man, I thought I was the lowest score for Hydrophobia but someone upped me!!
    0 0Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Oct 12th, 2010 at 5:52 am
  • Glowstick
    Glowstick - Joined: Jun 7, 2007
    we certainly wouldnt want "Survivor: the game"'s score to be lowered by GR.
    0 0Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Oct 12th, 2010 at 9:45 am
  • SKX
    SKX - Joined: Oct 27, 2008
    I agree, i visited metacritic often and used this website as a mean. But thankfully for many reviewers, since they changed the format of their website, traffic has been halved. Sometimes you begin to wonder how much control these websites have over the success of game developer. I like how a C- equals a 42, imagine if that was in school.
    0 0Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Oct 12th, 2010 at 11:36 am
  • cyberjim2000
    cyberjim2000 - Joined: Feb 28, 2010
    Joe Dodson posted about this earlier in his "Mind over Meta" article on GR, didn't he? Like how a B- translated into a 67 on Metacritic.
    0 0Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Oct 12th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
  • danielrbischoff
    danielrbischoff - Joined: Nov 13, 2009
    @cyberjim2000: If that's the case than I apologize for treading already walked-upon ground. Just venting to you readers.
    0 0Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Oct 12th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
  • BelgianROFLs
    BelgianROFLs - Joined: Jun 12, 2008
    Adam Sessler (I realize a lot of people hate him) had a rant about this awhile ago:

    youtube.com/watch?v=0QsXrswJ-yM&feature=
    0 0Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Oct 12th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
  • sl33pythyme
    sl33pythyme - Joined: Apr 18, 2009
    i never expected GR, to have a link to GR
    0 0Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Oct 12th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
  • danielrbischoff
    danielrbischoff - Joined: Nov 13, 2009
    @sl33pythyme: uhhh... we do it all the time?
    0 0Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Oct 12th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
  • Kakulukia
    Kakulukia - Joined: Nov 10, 2005
    Why doesn't GR just tell those sites to stop using their reviews? Most people who'd discover GR through Metacritic probably are the same kind of shitheads who sent death threats to Duke for giving a B+ to Twilight Princess... who needs 'em?
    0 0Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Oct 12th, 2010 at 6:55 pm

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