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"You dare not look at my explosion? Like some kind of hero?! I'LL KILL YOU!!! ~ Willydahivemind. http://gifninja.com/animatedgifs/120003/phoenixtrio.gif
"Preview" is the most reasonable choice here. Getting screenshots and video will tell you more about a game than anything short of playing it yourself.
Liquid Wind posted... it has a pretty high number of people that ardently defend it for being such a mediocre game
As well as a good number of people that got all hyped when they saw it, and were disappointed when they played it.
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"You dare not look at my explosion? Like some kind of hero?! I'LL KILL YOU!!! ~ Willydahivemind. http://gifninja.com/animatedgifs/120003/phoenixtrio.gif
From: LeonhartFour | #002 Yes, because that's all a preview is good for, showing off graphics.
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Will not remove this line of my signature until the Seahawks, Jazz or Rockies win a title (Started 5-16-09) Yes, I know I'm never getting rid of this signature
I can pretty much tell what kind of game I'm getting from pictures and videos. How it plays, its mechanics, its pacing, how it compares to similar games, just about everything that should go into a decision to purchase.
Professional reviewers are kind of bad at their jobs, fan opinion is worth less than dirt, ads and word of mouth are only good for letting me know the game exists, and demos are too shallow.
baron von toast posted... I can pretty much tell what kind of game I'm getting from pictures and videos. How it plays, its mechanics, its pacing, how it compares to similar games, just about everything that should go into a decision to purchase.
Professional reviewers are kind of bad at their jobs, fan opinion is worth less than dirt, ads and word of mouth are only good for letting me know the game exists, and demos are too shallow.
Yeah, I agree with all this. Demos can be pretty good, but I don't know that I've ever really felt compelled to buy a game after playing one, unless I was already interested in it. Need more of those demos that let you play the full game for an hour.
From: ZFS | #016 Need more of those demos that let you play the full game for an hour.
What about those Brawl in-game demos that literally just give you enough time to see the intro and move around for five seconds? There should be more of those!
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Will not remove this line of my signature until the Seahawks, Jazz or Rockies win a title (Started 5-16-09) Yes, I know I'm never getting rid of this signature
Most of the demos on Steam are pretty good, I usually download them before paying for the game. I'd say I end up buying a little over half of the games where I play the demo.
Just Cause 2 and Deus Ex 3 demos sold me pretty hard on those games, and the Duke Nukem demo made it an easy decision not to buy the game. Some demos are great for making judgments, some less so, but I think overall they are pretty limited so I would say previews are equal or better almost every time.
-- _foolmo_ 'so I can potentially win the guru without getting the final right?' - BlAcK TuRtLe
....a good preview is more than a picture or video. hell a good preview is basically a review without a score. with that said still voted for the reader reviews option - if i'm buying a game on launch i generally know about it already and want it without any preview, meaning all they do is serve hype. otherwise i'm buying it well into its lifetime, in which case reader reviews matter most. most of my purchases are that one.
basically the poll's split in 2 ways: those who generally buy games on launch and those who don't. industry's frontloaded, so previews dominate that.
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The future must protect the clone's past. "Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.
When buying any video game aside from an extremely recent one, I ask for advice from a select few B8'ers (not mentioning names here). Purchases of extra-recent video games depends on whether or not I'm into the franchise in question at the time - for instance, last year I was into the Mario and Metroid franchises, so I bought both of those franchises' 2010 installments.
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Currently Playing - StarCraft Hopefully Next Up - Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, Brood War