This is an article I have decided to write in response to how I have found people to perceive review scoring. Mr-Tom refers to possible causes as being a result of ‘review inflation’, where the number of reviews submitted to TDC above 6 or 7 out of 10 has resulted in the average score being around 8. However, we must not confuse the average score submitted with the average score for an average game. Confused? Keep reading then…

I should just state that I do not believe that this is local to just TDC. A great example of this problem is the way games are scored in The Sun, one of the most accurate newspapers to come out of Britain; scores in the games review section of Something For The Weekend on Fridays range from around 60 to 99%. I cannot remember ever seeing a score in the low 60’s, let a lot the 50’s or below and ’average’ games still manage to score somewhere above 70%.

Another example of this way of thinking has been in the GameCentral Inbox. GameCentral is a very accurate piece of gaming journalism updated daily on the UK’s C4 Teletext pages. After Metal Gear Solid 4 was reviewed and received ‘only’ 8/10, the page featured dozens of letters from angry PS3 fan boys demanding an explanation as to why the scoring was so harsh!

All of this stems from fans expectations of scores and reviews. When journalists began writing these reviews, stating how average and unoriginal games are whilst awarding them scores in the 60-70% range, people began thinking this was the norm. Their reasons for this was (and still is) unclear, though explanations range from over enthusiastic reviewers (I’m looking at you, Dave Gibbons!) to reviewers being cornered into giving artificially high scores in exchange for ‘review exclusives’, which in turn brings sales and pays their wages.

But let’s examine the 10-score rating system further. 5 is in the middle, so that surely means a game that scores 5 is an average game! Average games are not bad games, but aren’t going to change gaming forever either. That is not to say they aren’t worth a look - one persons 5 is another persons 8! 3 or 4 begins to fall into the below-average range(but not necessarily bad) and 2 or below can then be classed as bad. At the other end, a game that scores 7 or 8 out of 10 is truly a very very good game. 10 really can only be reserved for games that revolutionize gaming in some way, or achieve perfection in their genre.

So does anyone actually go by this method when scoring games then? And does that mean all reviewers are liars? On the contrary, there are numerous reviewers who still submit accurate scores to summarise their reviews; examples include GameCentral, the multi-format magazines EDGE and GamesTM and TDC’s very own contributor, Shroomlock. Note that in reviews by these guys, good games can still score as low as 5 or 6 out of 10, which as discussed above is still average or above.

So in conclusion, I urge people to take more care when reviewing games - bear in mind when scoring games that 5 isn’t a bad score! At the same time, when reading scores don’t automatically assume a game that is 4 or 5 out of 10 is going to be absolute garbage! And more importantly, keep supporting TDC!

(Oh, and for the record The Sun is still my newspaper of choice, despite the dodgy games scoring!)