Re: Steam's Revising Reviews

On 21/08/2024 15:56, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Wed, 21 Aug 2024 09:51:43 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
 

On 19/08/2024 13:35, Mike S. wrote:

On Mon, 19 Aug 2024 07:54:47 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
>

Now if it's a game that you didn't think you'd like but it turns out
that you do, then that I think can be helpful.

>
I also agree with you on this point.
>
I did not think I would like Borderlands because it is a first person
shooter first and foremost and I do not like that genre. But I
absolutely loved it and I know why I liked it so much. I would explain
in my review that even if you do not like FPS games, you may like
Borderlands... here is why....
>
I think that can be useful.

>
B:1 I picked up on the cheap as I just fancied some mindless violence
and it seemed a good fit. I enjoyed it more, and put more hours into it,
than I imagined I would. Torchlight:II and Titan Quest are in the same
category. I'd give them a thumbs up but I don't think I can really
explain why I liked them without straying into post hoc justification.
>
Bioshock:1 was the other around as I was really looking forward to it
but instead found it all rather uninteresting. That's possibly because I
was sucked in by the hype and in particular using different mechanisms
to create traps. What it felt like you got was a decent shooter set in a
different from normal environment. For some reason I ended up getting
Bioshock:3 and that I rather enjoyed which I think is because my
expectations where much better aligned with what what the game actually
offered.
>
A shorter version is that sometimes I just don't know why I like/dislike
things I just do.

  It also doesn't help that genres are becoming extremely fluid; there
is often very little distinction between role-playing, adventure,
simulation and action games these days. (Strategy and sports remain
largely distinct however). People are fairly loose with their
categorizations too. Is "Jedi: Survivor" a 'souls-like' game? I've
heard people call it one; I've also seen people strenuously argue it
is not. And if you didn't enjoy "Jedi: Survivor", was it because you
don't like Souls-like gameplay, or for some other reason (perhaps the
combat wasn't the problem but you didn't like the open-world or
platforming aspects).
 I've no problem with people reviewing games outside of their comfort
zone... so long as they make their bias (or perceived bias) available
to other readers.
 (Similarly, mega-fans of certain genres should do the same. 'I've play
every Final Fantasy game ever twenty times each and this newest one is
the bestest ever!!1!!' lets me know that maybe I should take their
opinion with a grain of salt. ;-)
 

I try and be charitable when it comes to writing reviews for games that had aspects that I don't like but they weren't put in for gamers like me. So XCOM:Enemy Within, I'd give it a positive review even though I don't like the whole base building  I did enjoy what I think is the core of the game - tactical combat. A slight different example from the world of food. We have an award winning vegetarian/vegan restaurant near to where we live and although I'm not a vegetarian I'm also not a must have meat person. I can't say I particularly liked the food because two out of my three course where both rather dry and if vegetables are supposed to be the star why is it that all I can taste is herbs and spices. That I gave a neutral review as I think I'm included in the type of customer they're aiming for.