I know nobody reads book reviews, but it sounded weird to say "buy a TV show" and everything just sounds better in threes. Usually even if I'm on the fence and the reviews aren't great, I'll just keep their complaints in mind and buy the game anyways (Alice: Madness Returns, The Legend of Dragoon) and usually I'll still love the hell out of it. But I've been noticing recently with movies that I've been taking reviews at their word when nobody says that they're great. A recent example is Sucker Punch, which I was incredibly excited for during the previews, but reading the reviews killed all interest I had for it. The reviews just made it sound like the worst possible product that could come out of an awesome concept like that. Even more recent would be 30 Minutes or Less... the cast seemed good enough to make a really funny movie, but all the reviews just labeled it as disappointing, and I never ended up watching it.
if I read one though it probably wouldn't effect my opinion one way or the other since I generally don't value the opinion of most other people that I know, nevermind strangers
not the general direction of reviews (positive, mixed, negative) but certainly the content of reviews has. if the reviews make something sound like I would not enjoy it, I will usually take that into account.
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I'm "kind of a big deal". http://img.imgcake.com/cyclo/Cyclopngegpngre.png
Reviews have stopped me from purchasing dozens and dozens of games. It's never a single review, naturally, but a widespread negative consensus does (and should for everyone, frankly) deter me from spending my hard-earned cash on a subpar product.
The first example of this that comes to mind is Other M.
-- Tebow to Jests? http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m19b15IB731qzdb47o1_400.png
If its a game I was waiting for, probably not. If the reviews were REALLY bad I might try renting it or borrowing it first. But I really can't think of the last game I've eagerly awaited that had sub-70% reviews.
Movies, there's probably a few out there. Or I wait for one of my good friends to see it and tell me what he thinks since he sees almost everything that comes out and we have very similar taste.
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http://www.last.fm/user/VinnyMendoza "This is all we have... when we die.."
About 80% of the time, I let reviews direct me to the good stuff which is out so I don't feel I'm wasting my money on something not really worth my time. There are times where I just go watch a movie/play a game anyway even if the reviews are mixed, though the reviews can stop me from choosing to if the movie/game if it gets to the point where I believe I'm not going to have a fun time.
Cars 2 is a good example. I was set to watch it anyway when it came out, but after the reception it got, it stopped being a high priority and eventually chose to watch Horrible Bosses, instead. I will probably still catch Cars 2 one day if I can watch it cheap.
-- The Gamer In Me His dark secret is he's really Spark Brushel in disguise. If people knew, he'd be ruined. - Spiral on the black psyche locks
Happens all the time with movies. Pretty frequently with games. The books I read are mostly determined by "what books people say are good." I don't know how to find out about good books outside of word of mouth.
I wouldn't condone looking at a review score and basing your purchase off that, but if I read/watch some reviews, and the movie/game/whatever doesn't sound worth my money, I'm not going to ignore what I've read/seen.
-- Ace Detective in Sir Chris' Police http://i.imgur.com/vzqzu.gif
The reviews for Duke Nukem Forever stopped me from buying that game. Movie reviews stop me from seeing a movie all the time if I am on the fence about seeing it.
It's more that I don't really make up my mind about most games until I read reviews. I let them sway me one way or another. Rarely am I 100% in for a game, and if I am, they tend to be awesome (SSX, for example).
A lot of times, but mostly for movies that I might see in theaters. For games I'm typically a lot more strict, but do have a few that I'd buy even if it got moderate reviews.
-- Chrono1219 The beautiful genius who graduated from Harvard as a child and has an IQ of 1.3^googolplex.
I read book reviews! Although, I always ignore the score for any type of review.
Probably the closest they've come is getting me to delay my Metroid: Other M purchase, though I still picked it up once I was able to find a good price.
This happens a lot with movies. If a film gets a score lower than 40% on the Tomatometer, there's very little chance I'll see it in theaters, unless:
1) It's in a franchise I love (like Pirates of the Caribbean). 2) A critic I highly respect, like Roger Ebert, gives it a glowing review.
And if a film gets lower than 15% on the Tomatometer... well, there's virtually no chance of me watching it then, period. Even if it's on Netflix Instant or something.
It happens every now and then with video games, too. I don't take most gaming publications seriously, as most of them are laughable (see: GameSpot, Eurogamer, IGN to an extent)... but I've grown to like reviews from Giant Bomb and particularly Destructoid. More recently, the latter's convinced me to hold off on buying Kid Icarus until a sale comes around.
-- Hey, you ever coming back? You kidding? I am Queens Boulevard.
Also, I can't lie: the reviews of Sucker Punch have made me more interested in it. The professional reviews were horrible, the general public has given it a downright shocking amount of hate... I want to see if it's really that bad!
I have a feeling it isn't. Not even something like Zohan deserves that level of pure loathing.
-- Hey, you ever coming back? You kidding? I am Queens Boulevard.
Zohan atleast has a few funny moments, even if few and far in between.
Sucker Punch is nothing but fan service and over the top, nonsensical action with a story that makes even "See Spot Run" look like a well formulated, thought provoking literature masterpiece.
-- SEP Nash, Smelling Like the Vault since 1996 Step FOUR! Get Paid! http://img.imgcake.com/stevenashgifpu.gif
Often, yes, though it obviously matters why something got bad reviews. There've been times when a bad review for something made me more interested in it than a good review did (negative Crank reviews, for example, complain about how ridiculously over the top it is).
Best example of something that got bad reviews and dramatically reduced my interest in it is probably Chrono Trigger for the PS1. Objectively, it's a total failure of a port.
From: StealThisSheen | #044 Sucker Punch is nothing but fan service and over the top, nonsensical action with a story that makes even "See Spot Run" look like a well formulated, thought provoking literature masterpiece.
That makes it sound like a good movie, though (and it's what I was hoping it would be from the previews). Instead we got long drawn out periods of drama(?) that packed no emotion and killed the momentum of the movie. If the whole movie had taken place in the action world it would've been incredible.
Mac Arrowny posted... That makes it sound like a good movie, though (and it's what I was hoping it would be from the previews). Instead we got long drawn out periods of drama(?) that packed no emotion and killed the momentum of the movie. If the whole movie had taken place in the action world it would've been incredible.
Fair enough. I just would've liked the action better if it actually worked with the storyline, instead of seeming randomly thrown in to break up long periods of... Nothing.
The story is mostly to blame, since it was outright terrible, but it was also the focus.
-- SEP Nash, Smelling Like the Vault since 1996 Step FOUR! Get Paid! http://img.imgcake.com/stevenashgifpu.gif
From: TheCodeisBosco | #041 particularly Destructoid. More recently, the latter's convinced me to hold off on buying Kid Icarus until a sale comes around.