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The hidden truth behind game reviews

Andrew Kauz
4:00 PM on 03.19.2010
The hidden truth behind game reviews photo


[Editor's Note: We're not just a (rad) news site -- we also publish opinions/editorials from our community & employees like this one, though be aware that it may not jive with the opinions of Destructoid as a whole, or how our moms raised us. Want to post your own article in response? Publish it now on our community blogs.]

You know what's awesome? How everyone on the Internet is always right about everything, especially when it comes to uncovering the hidden motivations, personalities, ethics, and food preferences of videogame reviewers.

It's way more awesome, though, to have your opinions validated with factual evidence -- Evidence which I have compiled. Using my Scott-Shelby-style investigative skills, I've picked apart videogame reviews and the people who write them.

Yes, I know game reviews are always going to be controversial, as will the people who write them. No amount of truthery or "walking a mile in his shoes" is going to change that fact, and I am not here to change it. As Eric Clapton said, "If I could change the world, I would be the sunlight in your universe." Problem is that no amount of sunlight can make the cold depths of space anything other than black. And Eric Clapton is old, and old people can't change anything. So there's that too.

No, I simply wish to give a new perspective -- a super fantastically 100% true perspective -- on game reviews and the people who write them. 

Game reviewers don't care about their audience.



Come on, do you think James Cameron wrote Titanic for an audience? Do you think The Beatles gave a damn about their fans?

So many consumers of gaming sites feel that writers actually want people to read their work, which is patently ridiculous. Writing something so people will read it? How very quaint.

Every game review is written for one simple purpose: pleasure. Like mental masturbation, game reviews give the writer a high that cannot be achieved elsewhere, essentially keeping the writer alive by acting as a bizarre form of sustenance. Of course it isn't about truth, opinion, fact, readership, or any other illusion created by the mind of the reader. It's a pure, uninhibited wank fest involving three of the reviewer's closest friends: the id, the ego, and the superego.

The audience is simply a distraction, like a cold bucket of water poured suddenly by Sarah Jessica Parker down the pants of the reviewer.

What other reason is there for writing?

Game reviewers value nothing above controversy.



You know what too few people do? Build shrines to themselves in their bedroom closets. It seems like it's becoming a lost art, at least outside of the tight circle of game reviewers. But within that circle, the tradition is alive and well, and the decorations continue to become more lavish: Rococo, even, if I knew what that meant.

Those decorations are made of the beautiful, hate-filled comments that the game reviewer prays for at the side of his bed each night. They come flowing from the comments like unicorns riding a rainbow before finally finding their resting place surrounding the nude photo of the reviewer that said reviewer bathes himself in for each nightly love-making session.

We all know that differing opinions is just as unnatural as homosexuality, and any reasonable person would avoid them. Controversy isn't just a natural bi-product of differing opinions: of course not! Controversy is the fuel that keeps pleasure in constant supply for the reviewer, which we've established is the only thing that keeps the writer from finding himself hanged from a ceiling fan.

Game reviewers don't actually like videogames.



Is it really such a surprise? A couple of sub-seven reviews is all it should have taken for you to all realize that we who write about games hate every pathetic minute spent banging away at the keys. Game reviewers don't want to play these awful excuses for entertainment. Half the time, they don't anyway (and readers are always right when they suspect this), instead relying on a super-secret cheat sheet that all reviewers pass around to each other. Scores only vary to hide this shocking secret.

So, why do we write about games? Just as the septic tank technician is to the industry of home plumbing, so is the game writer to the world of written entertainment. He writes about games not because he enjoys them, but because he has failed at all other forms of writing. There is no creativity, heart, or intelligence in the body of a videogame writer, and now you can see why. It has been hollowed out and filled only with contempt and vacuity.

No friends are made here, as you can see in the above photo. No enjoyment is had. As so many writers will tell you, it is the very worst job in the world. I think that was the word they used...

Game reviewers desperately want every good developer to fail, and every bad developer to succeed.



This fact is, of course, tied directly to the one above. With such contempt for their jobs, game reviewers look for a way out day after day. Whether they know it or not, all game reviewers want the same thing: the total and catastrophic collapse of the industry. That makes total sense, right?

Think about it: every time you disagree with a review, what does that really mean? It's not a simple matter of people having differing opinions; that would be far too simplistic, and I don't see that asshole Occam anywhere in the videogame industry. Instead, it's a systematic attempt by the reviewer to steer gamers away from high-quality titles and toward those of low quality, leading to poor sales for those games that required the hard work of good people. Soon, such developers are shuttered. Giving good reviews to bad games sows the seeds of mistrust among gamers, and before long, they are so confused by games coverage that they cease to purchase games at all, not wanting to be burned again by the same fire.

Deception becomes the modus operandi and, thus, the industry collapses. The reviewer shrugs and sets off for a new Utopian land. In theory, at least. It was thought up by game reviewers, so it must be destined for failure.

All videogame reviewers are expert fishermen.



Now here's one that I never would have guessed if it weren't for the investigative genius of internet users. I owe it all to you, oh random just-registered angry comment leaver person.

I was introduced by internet comments to the wonderful sport of trolling, of which reviewers are well-practiced. It is the very best way to catch fish that live above the sea floor, such as delicious salmon, tuna, and marlin. And, as Wikipedia says, "There is plenty of science and drama involved." Science and drama, indeed.

What a strange world that allows videogames and fishing to combine in such a magical and unexpected manner!

But fishing expertise is beside the point. You can preach all you want about the professionalism of games reviewers, filling your favorite website with empty thoughts such as "I find your opinion interesting and well-developed," and "I actually found the game far more enjoyable than you did," but what you have to realize is that game reviewers don't want your contrived support. They want your money, but lacking the intelligence to devise a way to take it, they settle for sustaining themselves in any way that they can. So they follow this code, and they pray for it all to end.

But these are all things you've known all along, deep down in your soul, right? And internet users are always right.





Legacy Comments (will be imported soon)


Huh, I never thought about that way. But, now that you mention it...

IT'S ALL TRUE!

LOL.
* Next!
You've written a factual summary of Jim Sterling. Congrats.
these seems like a nice article to come out after another blogger did something very similar this week

to me this seems just like more of the same crud.
Destructoid sure does love writing editorials about their own controversies.
Dude, I love Eric Clapton! Don't dis the Clapton, he CAN change the world - one slowhand at a time.
guys dont yawn it's contagious

*yawn*

bastersd
Geez since when did Destructoid turn into we-like-to-make-a-big-deal-out-of-reviewstoid?

I mean grats Andrew on getting this article published to the front page and everything, don't want to take anything away from you and your well written article, but come on Destructoid this whole review controversy theme is getting old, no need to put it in our faces all the time.

And I just want to stress again that you've written a very good article here, I have no problem with it, it's just the fact that I feel like this is what Destructoid is going to be like every week for the next few years.
Yeah this is getting stupid now. More Ekans posts less "wahhhhh reviews waaahhhhh" posts
I'll give you one thing: I can tell a Destructoid article (be it staff or community written) from a mile away.
Trolling: The only way to fish!
Wow this must be true news with the way these Destructoid 'journalists' are defending Jims inability to review a game properly or be able to review a game at all. This is hillarious.

Why speak up SO MUCH on something that isn't true? Why not just let it go. Writing these constant defenses just proves your guilt. Now I go back and wonder how many games has this website botched reviews on intentionally? My bet? 5-8 a year. Such biased journalism at this site, wouldn't be suprised if this comment gets deleted for truth, justice, and the American way.
Ha, someone needs to show this to Jim.
Hi, welcome to Destructoid.

I advise you put a little more effort in next time, do some fact checking, spell checking, maybe put in a couple of images. Otherwise nice try.
Seriously hide this blog.





:)
I have a shrine to Kauza in my closet.
@ViciousBoston

Overlooking for a moment that this isn't a "defense article" – is it actually your opinion that if something is defended adamantly, it is proven guilty?

Remove it from the context of this website entirely if that helps; is that really your legitimate thought process?
I enjoyed the article. Truth be told, I've been wondering where the term 'trolling' came from. I seriously thought it must involve Trolls... like from under a bridge. That's where Trolls live right?
ITT: People taking things seriously.
@ViciousBoston:

Thank you for proving the terrorists have won.

Someone tell the Russians to launch the nukes already.
People, you could just enjoy the funny in the post instead of raging about how people don't need to defend jim/feed their own controversy, etc
Haha, you all should know that Andrew had this written up over two weeks ago. The timing just makes it seem like it's a follow-up to what happened this week when it's really not.
The thing I'm starting to find annoying about this whole issue is that disagreements with a review are being cast as "we're trolls and we hate the reviewer and the world and everything in it". A lot of these 'defense' posts that have been put on the mine site lately are totally glossing over the fact that some people were put off by a (let's face it, "the") reviewer's complete lack of professionalism and rather nasty tone in writing the article.

Also, one quick question: which member of the staff promoted this?
I found this quite... DualShocking? :D

Some people will just never get it, Kauza. I'm afraid Halo Wars is going to haunt Jim's career forever... fuck those people though, everyone makes mistakes. Some people just like to act like they've never made any. Such is life on the internet...
@Hamza

Clearly this is just part of the D-toid coverup team, attempting to defuse the situation before it blows up in your faces.

WELL WE WON'T FALL FOR IT MISTER. WE KNOW THE TRUTH!
Jim is Keyser Söze.
Of course this is 100% factual truth and anybody that disagrees with it is a hater and haters gona hate, right guiz?
Cut those guys some slack! At some time in your life, you get exhausted if you are always flamed and critized by the fanboys, haters etc. Some people find peace by writing about it, others by making fun of it. So leave'em alone, will ya?

(sry, for spelling mistakes, if there are any...)
Man, this site is such a broken record these days.

Here's the deal: reviews really aren't always that controversial. At least, not on other sites. I'd say take a good hard look at how you review games, or who is reviewing the games. As I've said in the last few "Destructoid-comments-on-its-own-controversies" posts, I'm coming to this site less and less because of stuff like this.
commenters crying about the dtoid writers' perceived crying. glorious.
Mudd: I'm usually the guy that promotes C blogs. Mind you, this wasn't a C Blog originally.

Also, this is a satire piece. Just making fun of all review related stuff in the industry, not specific to what's happened around here.
That was a pretty funny article, Jim, but wh--
oh wait, what?
I'm surprised this is still going on - not that the reviewers write reviews that *gasp* aren't always positive, but that people still get their panties all in a knot about it. If you do PR for Squenix, sure, you should be upset that Jim gave FFXIII a crappy score. Otherwise, it's just one guy's opinion - who gives a shit? Oh no, one person somewhere on the internet doesn't like the same things I like, whatever shall I do? Seriously, <i> how is this a controversy?</i>
I've seen the light. Finally I understand!
the part where game reviewers dont give a fuck about their audience is kinda true sometimes
funny read. do one on the internet video game site next!
What Pwnocchio said. Not to rag on Kauz's article because i like a good sarcastic/satire piece every once it a while, but this stuff is starting to get boring and kind of depressing. It feels like its all im reading these days. Like these articles are written to expose the people that dont get it so other people can pick them apart...
Statistics will show you that everytime a game review gets published, some puppies die. Somewhere, cute little dogs are dying while at the same time, game reviews are coming out. Correlation? Internet Matlockery? Stop the cruelty, reviewers. It was bad enough with the mistrust angle...but puppies?

Puppies.
@fkfv
The problem is that many people took issues with Jim's FFXIII review, like you'll see from its comments if you go there. I believe he was being honest with the said review. Another part of the problem is that Jim has written several ironic, eye-stabber articles in the past, and many people weren't able to understand he was joking and started to take the things he said personally. So, when Jim gave a genuine low score to FFXIII, these people thought he was trolling once more and failed to comprehend he was actually being serious this time. Had it been Dale or Josh to give FFXIII a 4 (not that they would, I'm just giving an example) the comment reaction wouldn't have been so negative.
A lot of people seem to think that this is exclusive to this site or Jim's reviews.

It is not.

At all.

I have seen each of these claims on multiple websites. And, yes, people were serious about them.
I'm tired of this discussion. I'm tired of reviews, especially the ones here. Does Dtoid really need reviews?
I knew it!
@Andrew

If it isn't, at all, why publish it the same week Jim got shit on and posted a blog with the same theme? Even if it was supposed to be meant as a satire, it's just bad timing.

Have a great weekend
Hamza already explained that. And besides, people shit on Jim every week. If this was posted three weeks ago, would the story be any different?
The problem with the Internet being so pervasive is that foolish people IRL are still foolish online, and usually more so. If you disagree with the review, WRITE YOUR FUCKING OWN.

Hell, you might even get promoted to front page if it's worth a good goddamn. At least learn to post a reasonable dissenting opinion.
Respectfully, if you guys (meaning the Dtoid staff) would just ignore the controversy surrounding some of your reviews, it wouldn't be so pervasive. I'm not saying it'd go away by any means, but if (and I'm just using him as an example, not singling him out) Jim had just posted his FFXIII review and left it at that without participating in the comments and posting that editorial a few days later, we probably wouldn't be talking about it much at this point.

I mean, it's a memorable review for a lot of reasons... people will be bringing it up around here for a long time, but as it stands now, it somehow gets worked into pretty much every article on the freakin site. It's getting old.

I don't mean to bitch or anything, obviously it's your site to do with as you please and post anything you like. All I'm saying is that these kind of editorials just stoke the flames and make it that much worse, and frankly, I'd rather just read articles about video games and not have to wade through high school drama to get to them. Just my $.02.
I can't fault the Destructoid staff for being fed up with a lot of the morons who comment. Sterling "controversies"? Really? HE'S GIVING YOU HIS OPINION ABOUT A FRICKIN' VIDEO GAME.

Video games are entertainment, time wasters. How someone pointing out how he didn't find one to be all that entertaining or interesting could possibly seen as controversial is beyond me. "Harsh comments"? Yeah, directed at a game. Why would YOU take them personally, unless you actually had a hand in making it?

Hey, I'm currently playing FFXIII, and yeah, I've been enjoying the combat more than Sterling did (but at the 25 hour mark, tedium IS settling in). But is there really any denying this FF game has the worst story to date, the worst characters in a modern FF game?

So if you don't even enjoy the combat to begin with, and the only respite from it you get is from watching cutscenes with boring characters babbling about stuff you don't care about, isn't it POSSIBLE that you might actually think it deserves a 4/10 score? That you're not just trying to get attention, but that you simply cannot bring yourself to give it any higher because you genuinely feel like it doesn't deserve any better?
It's obvious this review focused on the pictures and little else. I can't even remember what the music sounds like.




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