Video Game Review Grading Scale

[Miss Mae]

This is interesting to me. If a game has so many technical glitches that it is practically unplayable, are they considered to be only one flaw? Is that game still eligible for a 9/10 by your system?

What would such a game look like? Something with brilliant writing and gameplay concepts that just so happens to be horribly glitchy? The idea of this is interesting. Can you think of any examples?

I don't have a specific example - it was just a hypothetical. Same question applies to the other areas you listed - if the gameplay is so horrendous that the whole game is painful to play, is that still only one flaw by ToriJ's system and could the game still get a 9/10? I was just playing devil advocate. I'd be interested to see if games like that in my hypothetical exist though.

[Jiro]

The Final Fantasy VI mobile port had an error that made it impossible to complete. Battlefield 4 had game ending bugs through several of its patches. SimCity launched and its online server made it unplayable for many people who shelled out for it.

[Miss Mae]

Jiro saves the day with good examples that did not pop into my head. Thank you kindly.

[Jiro]

There are probably more examples. I know that my copy of Skyrim glitched, making one quest chain impossible to finish. That's a less drastic example, but these are still problems that alter the product we are purchasing in a negative way.

[Kalevala]

If it's a glitch or glitches that stretch beyond a single copy and renders the game impossible to complete then it shouldn't be able to receive a 9/10, unless not being able to finish the game was a design choice that has something to do with the game's message. I can't picture a film that cuts off midway through being able to receive a similar grade.

[Miss Mae]

If it's a glitch or glitches that stretch beyond a single copy and renders the game impossible to complete then it shouldn't be able to receive a 9/10, unless not being able to finish the game was a design choice that has something to do with the game's message. I can't picture a film that cuts off midway through being able to receive a similar grade.

I agree with you. It was a question directed at ToriJ's specific method of scoring games when he reviews them (and I suppose any other people who score games in this way). It was designed to highlight the flaws in the scoring system. And, after discussing, he did agree that his scoring system may need reviewing.

[Kalevala]

Oh, I didn't think you were stating the opposite. I was just curious if there were any mass market games that fit that specific description and decided to add my two cents. We're on the same page.

[Miss Mae]

Excellent

[Botchmun]

3 full pages of people talking about arbitrary and usually skewed numeric values on games... TL; DR! If only there was a numeric value to summarize every post in this thread. 8/10! ...more like hate/10

This is interesting to me. If a game has so many technical glitches that it is practically unplayable, are they considered to be only one flaw? Is that game still eligible for a 9/10 by your system?

What would such a game look like? Something with brilliant writing and gameplay concepts that just so happens to be horribly glitchy? The idea of this is interesting. Can you think of any examples?

You stupid eyepatch dog. Do you even Goat Simulator?

[Miss Mae]

Goat Simulator, with it's brilliant writing and gameplay concepts?

However, this is also a good point. Goat Simulator doesn't follow any of the typical rules for what makes a 'good' game but has sold an outrageous number of copies considering what it is.

[Bolivar]

I feel guilty because I like scrolling to the score at the end but it's that mentality that generates the clicks and keeps this problem going.

I agree you should pay more attention to the text of the review but the sad truth is, a lot of reviewers tailor the content of their review to justify the review score. You can see how with most high profile games, the big journalists are usually trying to "make a point" with their review. It just happened with Titanfall, the major outlets were heavily criticized for the cascade of 9s and 10s that ignored or trivialized some of the obvious issues and omissions with the game. The more independent sites gave it a more sober appraisal and kept the meta average out of the 9-10 territory it initially looked like it was heading for.

Recent hiccups aside, I do think the media is starting to use more of the scale as of late.

[Slothy]

Battlefield 4 had game ending bugs through several of its patches.

Unless I'm mistaken the game is still filled with massive glitches to this day. Maybe not game ending anymore though. Never played it myself.

[Kalevala]

3 full pages of people talking about arbitrary and usually skewed numeric values on games... TL; DR! If only there was a numeric value to summarize every post in this thread. 8/10! ...more like hate/10

This is interesting to me. If a game has so many technical glitches that it is practically unplayable, are they considered to be only one flaw? Is that game still eligible for a 9/10 by your system?

What would such a game look like? Something with brilliant writing and gameplay concepts that just so happens to be horribly glitchy? The idea of this is interesting. Can you think of any examples?

You stupid eyepatch dog. Do you even Goat Simulator?

Goat Simulator doesn't have brilliant writing and most of its gameplay concepts are taken from the Tony Hawk franchise.

[Jiro]

Battlefield 4 had game ending bugs through several of its patches.

Unless I'm mistaken the game is still filled with massive glitches to this day. Maybe not game ending anymore though. Never played it myself.

I haven't been able to play it much. Dropped full fare on the game and got nowhere near the time out of it as I wanted because it went from glitch to game ending bug to such intense server lag. Now I get admin booted from every game for "High ping" but the servers are too trout for me to go any faster.

[Del Murder]

I think the '7-10' scoring system is stupid. I do put stock in review scores because I am a numbers guy and having a uniform rating system helps me process information. Of course the text of the review is also very important but who has time to read all these reviews? It's just silly that we live in a world where a 7 score is a 'bad' game and the difference between 9.25 and 9.5 is bigger than the difference between 4 and 6.