Poll: Do you take Yahtzee's reviews seriously?

[Mutie]

He's honest and I like that. It's better than some sugar coated review paid for by the publishers! I'd rather have Yahtzee highlight everything that is wrong with a game that some pencil pusher tell me about demographics. I believe his opinions are jus as valid as anyone else's and, in the majority of case, agree with him. Some are my favourite games are ones he hates and I hate some of his favourites; but through the years we, as an audience, have formed a clear indication of his hates and biases (more often than not from his own statement thereof) and can thus read through his razors and hear what he is really saying. I've bought games based on his reviews (even harsh one) and avoided others also. He's just another critic, and one who appeals to my generic hatred of everything.

 

[scorptatious]

I don't really consider Yahtzee's reviews all that serious. Sure, he does give his opinion about a game, but that doesn't affect whether or not I'll purchase it. Except maybe Demon's Souls, in which his clear frustration with the game made me buy it. Because you know, I'm a masochist like that. (It is actually a pretty good game.)

 

[Urazel]

I love watching ZP for the entertainment but I also harvest SOME information from his reviews that I reflect upon for any potential purchase but I do that for any review.
I didn't vote because I don't think the poll quite covers me.

Beneath all the fun usually lies a core of truth and overall, for many games (other for example then Horror (which I hate) and RTS (which I adore)) Yahtzee seems to have a similar taste in games as I do.
I have infact already bought games partialy because of his review where he tore it to shreds but the things he didn't like about it where things I liked.

It's just a pile of observations and opinions I sift through, IF I care about the game in the first place, which I 9/10 times don't.

 

[spartan231490]

I hate this arguement!

"Oooh! Yahtzee isn't really a serious reviewer! He's comedy!"

Well if you were to look at a lot of the extra punctuation reviews, off prime-time you'd see that he does actually take his reviews seriously. And not just individual games. He looks at the whole culture and thinks deeply about it. I mean, read for yourself if you don't believe me:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/8586-Extra-Punctuation-Molyneuxs-Unfocused-Innovation
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/8031-Extra-Punctuation-Dont-Use-the-Word-Gamer
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/8156-Extra-Punctuation-On-Silent-Protagonists
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/8127-Extra-Punctuation-On-Endings

"But he does it in a humorous manner! Therefore, it's not serious!"

Well, that's kinda why he's noticed. I mean, there are lots of reviews in the user review section on this site that give just as good an opinion as Yahtzee. But they're not noticed because they're just words. Good as they are, they do little to stand out. Often to stand out it the market, you have to either group up with a big company or make yourself noticed with a fresh review style. And to be honest, I'd rather lose a little review to good jokes than the whole review to being brought out and bribed.

"oh....er....but, but, but. It doesn't have a score! Yes, that means it's bad!

You know what? I think scoring by number is bollocks. I.G.N. for instance bases 40% of its score on graphics and sound. You want graphics and sounds? Go to a cinema! It's hard to capture the full experience a game gives you with a number. What if it has niche appeal? I would rate a JRPG lowly, but somone who likes JRPGs and knows more about them would rate it higher. Not to mention that numerical reviews with a large number of people doesn't work either. Take system shock 2, for instance. Some love it, some hate it. Overall, it's going to get a mediocre score, which won't accurately reflect anyone's opinion of it.

And which is better, anyway? Getting a big fat number from a review, or a guy pointing out what's good and bad about a game and describing the kind of experience you might get. Someone who describes it for what it is or who has been told by their boss to give it a 7ish?

That leaves the one real reason for not calling him serious:

"WAAAA!! WAAAA!! HE TRASHED A GAME I LIKE AND MADE A FEW VALID POINTS!!! Maybe if I shout about it, he'll go away"

That is it, isn't it? I mean seriously.

So glad someone said this. I was a little too nice to say it out like this, I just hinted at it. Barely. Well said sir.

He describes what you can expect to get out of playing a game, how can a review be any better than that.

 

[Frost27]

I take them as serious as any other review in any other form of media. Another reviewer on another site would likely present the exact same fault and pick the same nits as Yahtzee does, they would just (most often at any rate) present it straight faced and in a "we report, you decide" manner. Yahtzee presents the faults and picks the nits in a humorous manner and fills it all in with a healthy dose of opinion.

Reviews, and opinions, are the product of an individual or entity's personal perspective and opinion whether it's another Escapist review, gamespot, game revolution, etc. I just don't see why Yahtzee's opinion or overall review validity would be any less viable than any other simply because of the manner of its presentation.

Once you get used to a reviewer's style, likes, dislikes, and preferences you can get a good feel for getting your brand of info from their review and forming an informed opinion whether the review is in a verbally and graphically humorous form or if it is presented like Ben Stein reading off a list of ingredients from the back labels of a stack of supermarket items.

I bought Saints Row 2 based on Yahtzee's review and it's one of my favorite games that I own. I have also found disagreement with him on several issues but I have never felt uninformed. I'd call that valid, in my opinion.

 

[GiantRaven]

I hear this claimed thrown around sometimes and its rubbish. Yahtzee literally called himself a critic in one of his videos. It is true that his style of reviewing is more comical then most but he isn't just making a bunch of jokes that have nothing to do with what is in the game, he calls out real flaws in the games he reviews and then mocks them. ZP may not be the most serious review show in the world, but it is in fact a review show.

Personally, I find some of his criticisms to be overly nitpicky for the sake of humour. So yeah, he's doing it to be funny, therefore he is comedian to me.

 

[bob-2000]

Ha, no. He's pretty funny, but he's not really a serious reviewer.

 

[WeedWorm]

Yahtzee is funny guy who plays video games, nothing more.

 

[masher]

I could have sworn Yahtzee, himself, said that he pours Hate all on his reviews to satisfy us viewers.

 

[starwarsgeek]

I do not...well, most of the time, anyway. His review style is blowing the flaws out of proportion while giving us a funny little cartoon. While this isn't a bad comedy routine, it does mean he'll usually ignore what the game does right, and, unlike most other reviewers, we don't get to see gameplay footage to compliment the critic's opinion.

The exception is when he actually does a positive review (which is almost always a game from an earlier generation). I actually bought Psychoanalysts and Sands of Time at his recommendation.

 

[AgDr_ODST]

%#*^ing A this is the 7 time in the last 12 months this question has been asked. And my answer hasn't changed: I watch his videos and don't give a rats arse what he says about the games...especially since he made it clear he doesn't like Halo
<<<<<

 

[Ziggy the wolf]

when i sit and play the game i got a little before he reviewed him and then see him point out crap in the game, you have to admit he played through and knows what he is talking about. i can't say he is 100% serious and i know he is punching it up to be funny but you have to admit he is close to the point. when i saw his review on sonic unleashed, a game which i had bought and grew to hate quickly because i hated the night stages and i still do. he hated it far more then me but he pointed out things i didn't notice until i played after it again. yea i take him just a bit seriously as a reviewer

 

[Red Albatross]

As with any comedy, it's always much funnier if it's true. I take his reviews just as seriously as I would take any other review - that is to say, take the review in context of the information one has about the thing being reviewed. Yes, most of his complaints amount to nitpicking, but really, it's often the buildup of a lot of small faults that will ruin a game one might have liked otherwise. In fact, we can often ignore bigger flaws when we like the little details. Like the Fallout games: incredibly buggy, crash often, but they're great when they do work because of the attention to detail.

So, if he's reviewing a game you think you might like, obviously you have to decide whether the flaws he points out would bother you. If not, buy it. If so, don't buy it. It's pretty simple. Collect as much information as you can from as many sources as you can, and make your purchasing decision.

 

[K_Dub]

I take his reviews seriously. Afterall, he is a professional crtic. But I don't let him determind whether or not I buy a game. I hear what he has to say, and take it under consideration.

 

[General Vagueness]

I take them seriously in that I know he means what he says, by which I mean the serious parts are sincere and the sarcasm reflects how he actually feels. Other than that, he's picky-- that's not inherently good or bad, just something to take into account-- and like most everyone he's a little bit biased, mostly towards Valve and stealth games and against realism done for no good reason and conversely regenerating health done for no good reason.

 

[Kieros]

He's reviewed one game that I was thinking about buying (Was thinking; already bought), so his reviews do absolutely nothing. They are still absolutely hilarious.

 

[SulfuricDonut]

Most of the things that he says are bad are actually true. However he tends to blow them way out of proportion and make even the smallest error seem to break the game beyond repair.

Plus he rarely mentions what is actually good about the game, so the review isn't really supposed to be objective.

 

[Pyramid Head]

Since he and i have similar tastes, yes. But since the list of what he has reviewed and will review is limited, i have other sources for reviews that i go to.