Learning to think for yourself?

[Adultism]

So this will be a short topic, and I'm not trying to piss anyone off. But from what I've seen I need to say something

Why, Do people so blindly follow Moviebob/Yahtzee's opinions on games/movies. First its so easy to rent a movie/game and play/watch it, 5$ big deal, But when I see one of Moviebobs reviews and he says its crap, a lot of people say "THANKS BOB NOW I DON'T HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE." So what I'm trying to say is that I wish people would think for themselves for once instead of following like sheep to the shaving.

Its hard for me to put these subjects into words. I'm not the smartest guy but at the same time I do have my own views and thoughts.

So do you hear a review and instantly fall in with their opinion without even playing/watching first?

As a last thing, I like both Yahtzee AND MovieBob. Yahtzee makes me laugh, and Bob sometimes does pretty good reviews. But why not just try a game for yourself to see if you like it.

Once again, Not trying to offend anyone, please post valid arguments if you disagree with me.

 

[Adultism]

Well I also think that if you do want to listen to the reviews thats your choice, I'd just rather think for myself.

 

[FinalHeart95]

People are always influenced by their environment. The only way to get someone to have an opinion purely of their own is for them to have heard to outside comments on the subject.

Needless to say, it's very rare for a person to be in such a situation.

 

[Adultism]

People are always influenced by their environment. The only way to get someone to have an opinion purely of their own is for them to have heard to outside comments on the subject.

Needless to say, it's very rare for a person to be in such a situation.

I understand that. But why wouldn't you want to get your own opinion on it before deciding?

 

[Redingold]

Well, generally Bob's opinion is quite close to my own. Not all the time, of course, but enough that I generally trust his opinion.

 

[Susan Arendt]

People are always influenced by their environment. The only way to get someone to have an opinion purely of their own is for them to have heard to outside comments on the subject.

Needless to say, it's very rare for a person to be in such a situation.

I understand that. But why wouldn't you want to get your own opinion on it before deciding?

You're confusing two separate situations. I very much doubt anyone convinces themselves that they like a game or movie simply because Yahtzee or Bob likes it - what they do instead is assume that they will *probably* enjoy it (or not) based on the opinions expressed. Perhaps that's because they've tended to agree (or not) with Yahtzee and Bob in the past, and figure that will continue to happen. They then play the game/watch the movie (or not) and have their individual experience.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with following a reviewer and using your experiences with their reviews to help gauge your relative interest in playing a game or watching a movie.

 

[Kpt._Rob]

No one's listening blindly, but apart from entertainment, the primary objective of these shows is criticism. You watch in order to see if something is worth your valuable time and limited financial resources.

Maybe you're Prince P. Moneybags, but for the rest of us having someone tell us the things we might like or not like about any given piece of media is a valuable service. Yeah, it'd be wonderful if I could afford to try every game or give every film a shot, but it's just not reasonable to think that I could.

Don't get me wrong, sometimes I choose not to listen when these or other critics suggest for or against a game, movie, or whatever else is getting reviewed. But at the same time, if I listened to what they had to say and it seemed to me that they had some well made points which would cause me to not enjoy what they're talking about, then no, I'm not going to play it.

My point is, if you think it's reasonable to say that I should try everything before I decide if I want to play it (or watch it, or read it) or not, then you probably don't know what it's like to live on a limited budget. Maybe you should take a little time to consider that not everyone has unlimited resources, and for those of us who don't, listening to what these critics have to say can save you from wasting money on something that turns out to be shit.

 

[Adultism]

People are always influenced by their environment. The only way to get someone to have an opinion purely of their own is for them to have heard to outside comments on the subject.

Needless to say, it's very rare for a person to be in such a situation.

I understand that. But why wouldn't you want to get your own opinion on it before deciding?

You're confusing two separate situations. I very much doubt anyone convinces themselves that they like a game or movie simply because Yahtzee or Bob likes it - what they do instead is assume that they will *probably* enjoy it (or not) based on the opinions expressed. Perhaps that's because they've tended to agree (or not) with Yahtzee and Bob in the past, and figure that will continue to happen. They then play the game/watch the movie (or not) and have their individual experience.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with following a reviewer and using your experiences with their reviews to help gauge your relative interest in playing a game or watching a movie.

I do agree with you. But sometimes that does happen. They have heard nothing of the movie, and just because the person said they don't like it, they pass up on what could have been a great and entertaining movie. I am saddened at this thought.

 

[leedwashere]

The only times where I've seen a review and then decided to not give something a chance based on that review have been the times when I'm undecided on whether or not its worth it. For games and movies, they don't exist in a vacuum and it costs money to give it a try (unless you get a demo or watch a trailer, and those aren't always enough). Shelling out the money for a game or movie is something that I only do if I'm sure about it, so if I have no concrete opinions of my own, and someone I tend to agree with more often than not seems to not like it, I'll take a pass on whatever it is... though I'll likely give it a try if the opportunity to experience it without the cost shows up (like the movie coming out on TV)

So its not always just a case of mindless following of others. Sometimes its nice to know what other people think to give the final push one way or the other.

 

[Adultism]

No one's listening blindly, but apart from entertainment, the primary objective of these shows is criticism. You watch in order to see if something is worth your valuable time and limited financial resources.

Maybe you're Prince P. Moneybags, but for the rest of us having someone tell us the things we might like or not like about any given piece of media is a valuable service. Yeah, it'd be wonderful if I could afford to try every game or give every film a shot, but it's just not reasonable to think that I could.

Don't get me wrong, sometimes I choose not to listen when these or other critics suggest for or against a game, movie, or whatever else is getting reviewed. But at the same time, if I listened to what they had to say and it seemed to me that they had some well made points which would cause me to not enjoy what they're talking about, then no, I'm not going to play it.

My point is, if you think it's reasonable to say that I should try everything before I decide if I want to play it (or watch it, or read it) or not, then you probably don't know what it's like to live on a limited budget. Maybe you should take a little time to consider that not everyone has unlimited resources, and for those of us who don't, listening to what these critics have to say can save you from wasting money on something that turns out to be shit.

You know you're right. But I would MUCH rather try something and see that its shit, No I don't go out and rent every game out there, just those that appeal to me, and if the game is shit in the long run? Big deal who cares. But what saddens me is that what if you read a review for a game, and then took that opinion and decided NOT to get the game, what if it could have been a rewarding experience for you. I'm NOT saying to go out and play every game, if a game looks like something you want to play, then play it, don't just hear a review and decide well this guy didn't like it, so I should probably not waste my time.

 

[Adultism]

The only times where I've seen a review and then decided to not give something a chance based on that review have been the times when I'm undecided on whether or not its worth it. For games and movies, they don't exist in a vacuum and it costs money to give it a try (unless you get a demo or watch a trailer, and those aren't always enough). Shelling out the money for a game or movie is something that I only do if I'm sure about it, so if I have no concrete opinions of my own, and someone I tend to agree with more often than not seems to not like it, I'll take a pass on whatever it is... though I'll likely give it a try if the opportunity to experience it without the cost shows up (like the movie coming out on TV)

So its not always just a case of mindless following of others. Sometimes its nice to know what other people think to give the final push one way or the other.

And I agree with you. This game didn't look good in the first place, he just put the final nail in the coffin for me, I'm not going to play this game

I'm all for that. If the game doesn't look good to you, then don't try it.

 

[FalloutJack]

Reviews are opinions. I consider them and then make my own decision. In the case of Yahtzee, some laughter is also involved.

 

[Kahunaburger]

It's particularly silly when people are like "Yahtzee didn't like it, now it sucks." Pattern recognition, people, pattern recognition. (Although his reviews are actually some of the best out there since he's more of a critic and less of a reviewer.)

 

[Kpt._Rob]

No one's listening blindly, but apart from entertainment, the primary objective of these shows is criticism. You watch in order to see if something is worth your valuable time and limited financial resources.

Maybe you're Prince P. Moneybags, but for the rest of us having someone tell us the things we might like or not like about any given piece of media is a valuable service. Yeah, it'd be wonderful if I could afford to try every game or give every film a shot, but it's just not reasonable to think that I could.

Don't get me wrong, sometimes I choose not to listen when these or other critics suggest for or against a game, movie, or whatever else is getting reviewed. But at the same time, if I listened to what they had to say and it seemed to me that they had some well made points which would cause me to not enjoy what they're talking about, then no, I'm not going to play it.

My point is, if you think it's reasonable to say that I should try everything before I decide if I want to play it (or watch it, or read it) or not, then you probably don't know what it's like to live on a limited budget. Maybe you should take a little time to consider that not everyone has unlimited resources, and for those of us who don't, listening to what these critics have to say can save you from wasting money on something that turns out to be shit.

You know you're right. But I would MUCH rather try something and see that its shit, No I don't go out and rent every game out there, just those that appeal to me, and if the game is shit in the long run? Big deal who cares. But what saddens me is that what if you read a review for a game, and then took that opinion and decided NOT to get the game, what if it could have been a rewarding experience for you. I'm NOT saying to go out and play every game, if a game looks like something you want to play, then play it, don't just hear a review and decide well this guy didn't like it, so I should probably not waste my time.

Thats ridiculous. I'm never going to get to play every good game, watch every good movie, etc... Even beyond games, there are simply a lot of rewarding experiences in life as a whole that I will never get to have.

If you're going to get sad every time you miss something which could be a fun or rewarding experience, you're going to be sad a lot. You can't have everything, and anyone who tells you otherwise needs to grow up.

What you can do, however, is pick and choose. You can try to find the things that will bring you the most enjoyment, and that's what I'm doing when I check out a review. I'm listening, comparing what they say to other things I've seen reviews for, and deciding what I should spend my limited resources on based on what I think I'll enjoy the most. Will I get it wrong sometimes? Absolutely. Will I miss some good stuff? Damn straight I will. But part of growing up is learning to be happy with what you have, and not making yourself miserable over the things you don't. In the context of this argument, that means accepting that you're not going to play every good game, and just doing your best to choose the ones you think you will enjoy the most.

 

[Susan Arendt]

People are always influenced by their environment. The only way to get someone to have an opinion purely of their own is for them to have heard to outside comments on the subject.

Needless to say, it's very rare for a person to be in such a situation.

I understand that. But why wouldn't you want to get your own opinion on it before deciding?

You're confusing two separate situations. I very much doubt anyone convinces themselves that they like a game or movie simply because Yahtzee or Bob likes it - what they do instead is assume that they will *probably* enjoy it (or not) based on the opinions expressed. Perhaps that's because they've tended to agree (or not) with Yahtzee and Bob in the past, and figure that will continue to happen. They then play the game/watch the movie (or not) and have their individual experience.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with following a reviewer and using your experiences with their reviews to help gauge your relative interest in playing a game or watching a movie.

I do agree with you. But sometimes that does happen. They have heard nothing of the movie, and just because the person said they don't like it, they pass up on what could have been a great and entertaining movie. I am saddened at this thought.

Well, yes, but let's say you give me your opinion on 10 movies that I haven't seen. And I watch them, and I end up agreeing with you 9 times out of 10. Odds are pretty good that if you tell me a movie is terrible, I'm going to agree with you. It's not a certainty, no, but if you only have so much time at your disposal, it's quite reasonable to not bother with a movie that you have a good chance of hating. Ultimately, no, you never know until you watch it for yourself, but trusting a reviewer once you know how your opinion gibes with theirs isn't a stupid thing to do.

 

[badgersprite]

Isn't the whole point of listening to reviews a way of saving money because you can't afford to go and spend the money to find out for yourself whether you like it or not? I mean not everyone has that much free time or money on their hands to give EVERYTHING a fair shot.

If we did, there would be no such thing as box office or game sales figures because everyone would go and see/play everything.

People do possess the ability to determine whether or not they like something in advance. They may decide they don't want to see a movie not because Movie Bob didn't like it, but because Movie Bob's review pointed out that the movie contained "X" and lots of it, and the person watching the review doesn't like movies with "X" so hence they know they probably won't enjoy the movie.

 

[shadowslayer81]

If I agree with MovieBob and Yahtzee before, is it really that hard to imagine that I will agree with them again?

 

[bdcjacko]

But to think for myself, I need to do some research first and part of that is checking out reviewers and critics I typically agree with.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

A lot of times those people who let the final decision fall to a critic are people who are on the fence about something. If Yahtzee were to talk about L.A. Noire this week, I doubt someone with no interest in that genre would say "Gorsh! That Yahtsee feller sure did like La-Noire! I should go get it so I can play it just like him! A-Hyuk!!" /mild exaggeration

As was mentioned above, people are shaped by their environment. It's true that I saw Four Lions mainly due to Bob recommending it but it's also because I like British Comedies. Bob had nothing but good things to say about The Social Network and I passed that up and have largely ignored it.