Lately, I found it very enjoyable to read the blog posts by authors featured on the soap box. How I never realized the potential of awesome in this feature is beyond me; here's my tip for everyone: Take a wee bit of time and read those posts, they're absolutely worth it. So, while I was reading through many, many blog posts there's one subject that especially caught my eye: game reviews. It's not the matter addressed most or the one debated most furiously. Game reviews have, however, been the subject of some high-quality editorials, amongst others by the much-appreciated masterpinky2000.

Common to a lot (not all!) of those comments on game reviews is a massive critique on the system of game reviews, either on the scoring system or on the fact that a review just reflects the reviewers opinion. The good comments also include ideas alternate rating system, that include abolishing the score completely, introducing multiple scores or by direct comparison to similar games. I'm not a rating-score fangirl or extremely conservative but I think that most of those comments have one flaw in common. They always criticize the way a review is written – but when I read the complaints about rating games, I think the major critique should go to the way we read a review. Most of the problems we encounter when discussing games and game reviews are in fact not caused by the review system or the concept of a review. The very problem lies in the perception and consideration of the content of a game review by the community. To evaluate that rather brisk statements, let me give you a few examples from complaints about game reviews:

A high review score can mislead you into assuming a game would be a great purchase although you don't like its genre: Of course, a review will always be written by a reviewer that likes the genre of the game he is reviewing. If the reviewer doesn't like the genre in general, he won't be able to appreciate the game's features, compare it other games of the genre he has played etc. And naturally, the review is written mostly for people that have a positive or at least neutral disposition towards the genre it belongs to. Why bother with reading the review of a first-person shooter that will point out this specific game's strengths and weaknesses when it's the genre as a whole you dislike? As a person that absolutely cannot find any form of enjoyment in a FPS, the variety of weapons, the enemy-AI or graphics will not change anything about the fact that I dislike the game's principle. If a game is great accomplishing what it wants to, like being a unique FPS-experience, the reviewer has every legitimation to give that game a high rating – I myself have to decide whether that score will probably reflect my opinion of the game based on my disposition towards the genre.

A game's review score doesn't reflect the specific appeal of a game to a gamer: It certainly doesn't, correct. But as I will point out in the next paragraph, this is not the purpose of the score. But let's take a deeper look into a review, there is a lot of attention spent on specific appeal. Obviously, there is the comparison of good and bad aspects right at the beginning of the review. I personally think it's a simple, yet brilliant feature. It lists the game's strengths and weaknesses on the spot and you yourself can decide how important each of those aspects is for yourself. Furthermore a quote from the last review I read, for Demon's Souls (PS3): "Of course, the game's greatest potential drawback is its level of difficulty. If you are easily frustrated, or looking to unwind for the night, Demon's Souls isn't going to fit the bill, though that doesn't mean it's generally cheap: it always abides by its own laws." The game got it a 9.0, marking it a great game. But review clearly says that if it's unbearable for to try passages again and again until you make it through, this game probably won't be suited for you. Can one address specific appeal even more openly? The game's score is very high because if you have no problem with this (like me), it will be a great, challenging experience (and boy, challenging games seem to be untrendy nowadays) – this score does not apply to you if you belong to the easily-frustrated sort. Sometimes I wonder whether people even bother to read any further than to the score.

Review scores are one-dimensional: While I agree that there is a truth to this statement, I also think that it's a necessary evil. What do we want from a review? We want to know how likely it is that we will enjoy this game and base our decision to purchase the game (at least partially) on this. So what should a review score be? It should reflect how much fun an average gamer with a positive or neutral disposition towards the genre (see above) will probably have with this game. An average gamer will enjoy a game that fairs well in aspects of gameplay, story, graphics and music with the first factor being the most important. So, the review score takes into consideration those four factors – but it will not be an average of scores given to the individual aspects. It moreover tries to give people an idea how well the overall presentation of a game is and thus how much we are probably going to enjoy it. Probably. If a game has fabulous graphics and music but tedious, frustrating gameplay most people won't enjoy it a lot. There may, however, be gamers that care about the graphics or music most, to which this will be a great game. Does this group represent the majority of gamers? I think not. So, yes – a review score is one-dimensional and it does leave out personal preferences. Why? Simplification. Remember a review score is not a whole review, it's a short glimpse on how much the average gamer will enjoy this game. That's it, not more, not less. If you want to take deeper look into why the game got this score etc. there's still the full review to further evaluate that. If, however, we accept that, yes, a review score is a simplified, one-dimensional number, we also shouldn't over-estimate its meaning. It's not absolute, it's not definite, it's not all-embracing. When discussing games, we shouldn't get down to comparing one-dimensional numbers.

There you have it, my plea for review scores and reviewers. Many of the reasons why people complain about reviews could be taken care of if they just gave the question what a review score is for a thought. Or if they just read the complete review before complaining. Certainly, if one positive aspect of a game is over-whelming for you but not for the reviewer, you're opinion of the game is not properly reflected by the score. Is this important? Take a quick look at the review and you'll get an idea of good the game will be for you. It's just personal perception of the game. The reviewer also presents a personal perception, although he of course will try to be as rational as possible. Games are, like films and music, a matter of taste. Just try and keep in mind that the review score is not everything. It's an attempt of the reviewer to express as simple as possible the "fun factor" of a game. People should stop battling over review scores, like game X actually deserved a 8.5 but got a 8.0 but game Y got a 9.0 while deserving a 8.0. And I will not even comment on console wars and review scores. I won't.

Now, after all the good words for game reviews, there's one issue that concerns me and apparently others as well: "Safe Scores", i.e. all established, hyped franchise installments getting scores in between 8.0 and 9.0. Safad0 addressed the matter briefly in this post so I think I'm not the only one who noticed. This is especially tasty here on GS where certain things we all know happened that are certainly connected to this matter. Maybe I'll comment further on this in a later blog post. Cheers :3

Wohoo, I'm done with my finals. I made it, I made it, I made it! I'll only get the result on 10th June, though ... for the written exams, that is. I took my .... *cough* "oral" exam on Tuesday in Religion and I got an A+ - yay (it was about criticism on religion in the 19th century and its impact on modern theology, if anyone happens to be interested).

Apart from studying for test (which I did the last time two weeks ago ...), I've been enjoying a lot of free and thus, gaming. Due to uh ... an improvement of my PS2, I've recently been able to enjoy Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (which was my first real game), Devil May Cry and FF7 (not emulated this time). THPS2 rocks my world, I one day got a blister on my left thump from playing it o.o DMC was a cool game, too. (And Dante is one cool ****) It could have been a bit longer and more story-driven, though. And some jumping passages killed me x.x

And noooooow, I'll go on a trip to Mallorca! Yeeeha! I'll fly there tomorrow with some friends of mine and stay for eight days, until 30th May. I'm looking forward to it sooo much, getting to relax, going to the beach, enjoying the weather =3

See you at the end of the month guys *insert heart* *shakes fist at GS' HTML*

(Someone got the reference?)

After half a year with nothing to write about and little activity on GameSpot in general, I decided that Christmas and beating Level 20 together finally deserved a new blog post. And the reference in the title.

I find that the titel does actually fit the way things are going now. I mean, on Wednesday?? I never saw that coming. Plus I tend to forget to open the windows on my advent calendar ... And, typically for me, I haven't got a single Christmas present for anyone. Hell, I haven't even thought about presents yet! I also don't know what to wish for ... I don't want to receive just money christmas. That's not nice. And no presents to open under the christmas tree. So, no money. But what else? Everything else would be too expensive. I really gotta kick my own ass and think of something. Or hope that my relatives think of something neat. ... Okay, I gotta think.

Anyways, I have holidays now!! YAY!! I needed that, really. Gee, school was exhausting me. Just a couple of months left to go. As you may have read on Nerd Rage, I have started to work after school in september. So I don't really have a lot of free time anymore. However, I don't care at the very moment, because I have holidays. And I spent my time on partying, drinking beer,eating cookies, gaming and watching The L-Word. That's what life should be like ^_^

Oh and one last thing: Our union, The Chillin' Zone For Guys And Gals, has an own social network/website now - and it's really cool. Check it out: www.thechillinzone.ning.com (Okay, chances are that if you read this blog, you're a member of the union and know about it already, but who cares XD)

Well then, I wish you all a merry Christmas! And I hope that we're going to see more activity here in the next year. We never give up hope!