Some reviewers just have a bone to pick with a specific developer/franchise. But it's also true that it's way too easy to buy a good review.

SteelAttack said:

ORLY?

D'AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW ! ! !

Yep, you're definitely someone's daddy!

Dvader said:

The ugliest cover and most depressing inside of a box I have ever seen in my life. It is such a shame.

Instruction booklet? What's that?

Archangel3371 said:

Iga_Bobovic said:

Your problem is that you close your eyes and disregard every evidence pointing the other way.

The fact that the reviewers are paid by the same guys which product they review is a HUGE conflict of interest. Please explain to me how this is in any shape or form acceptable. Using the argument that you never disagreed with the score does not mean a thing. It just mean that you happen to like those games. Or maybe you like all games. Who knows.

No I wouldn't say that I disregard it I just don't think it's a huge widespread problem. I don't like all games but I do like most games I buy because I'm very good at discerning what I like in my games when making purchasing decisions.

It is a widespread problem, because pretty much all reviews sites are paid by the same companies they review games for. How is that not a problem? Stop beating around the bush and adress this point directly!

I think I am finally about to start the third disc of Blue Dragon.  After this I want to try NiGHTS into Dreams (the original Saturn version).

I was moving my PS1 games today though, there is a lot in there I'd like to check out as well.  I have no idea how I ended up with this many PS1 games.

EDIT: Uh oh. I am in a part of the game where there is a countdown timer (so you have to rush, no grinding). At the end of the level is a Boss I just read you have to be Level 42 to beat. I am Level 24-28.

And I did the single save bullshit I usually pull. I think this is what it has taken to get me to finally start using multiple save slots.

aspro said:

Archangel3371 said:

It's not like I really have any where I can point my finger at and say for certain that there's any misdeeds going on there.

Agree.

Guys, the journalist has detailed specific and non-specific examples of where it has happened.

Dvader said:

My unicorn shoots piss in my face.

Ravenprose said:

My unicorn.

There was a scene like that in Supernatural season 7. It farted rainbows as it ran off into the night - I am not even joking.

Dvader said:

Iga_Bobovic said:

It is a widespread problem, because pretty much all reviews sites are paid by the same companies they review games for. How is that not a problem? Stop beating around the bush and adress this point directly!

So are movie review sites paid by movies. Newspapers having ads of movies next to their reviews. Reviews in print or online for an industry are OBVIOUSLY going to have ads for that industry around it. I don't see how that is an issue, its natural for products to advertise in places where people are interested in their products.

So your solution would be for gaming magazines to not have advertisements for games. Movie sites not have advertisement for movies. Car mags not have advertisement for cars. Yeah good luck with that.

You're not really addressing the point either D.

As I said it's like the whole political party system here, the issue of funding. Yeah it would be impractical to have an impartial gaming media business that takes no money for advertising games. Of course it would, but it is a conflict of interest that manisfests itself in different ways depending on the people involved. You should totally discount your newspaper example, newspapers do not rely heavily on movie industry adverts, they take ads from across the spectrum because they are not a specialist publication in movies.

I'm not saying there is a solution, unless you can do the BBC of gaming, no adverts, self regulated - now we are getting ridiculous. But you are saying that yeah there are ads there is no issue. The sensible thing to say is that yeah this reviews malarky can happen in some instances, but you can't do much about it. That's a lot more truthful than saying there is no issue when this journalist who has worked across the spectrum of games journalism, is giving us specific and non-specific examples of the kind of stuff that happens.