- SciFiCat
- Rank: Abobo
- Member since: Jan 16, 2006
- Last online: 05/21/13 6:26 pm PT
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All About SciFiCat
Recent Blog Posts
Welcome to My Blog page, glad you came by. Please feel free to take a look around and while you are at it, also visit My Image Gallery and check out my art at My DeviantArt Page, leave a comment and/or a critique. I want to keep improving so if you have a tip or know a cool art site, let me know, and thanks in advance! ![]()
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23Nov 12
Recalibrating review scales and our understanding of these.
Does the gaming review apparatus needs to take a step back and reevaluate what is the true meaning of the numbers it associates to its reviews? Using a 1 to 10 scale, as most review sites use, is rendered pointless when most of the gaming crowd consider that any game below a 7 or 8 is not worth their time, where a 6 is a death sentence for a game and half of the scale (1 to 5) is just five ways to tell you how bad the game is. So effectively for most people's perception, the scale is really a 6 to 10. Think about it, half of the entire scale is dedicated to explain the "degrees of bad", it simply is not an balanced method to grade games.
Shouldn't in a 1 to 10 scale the 5 be the "Average" score?
Is it so absurd to ask for a scale that reads as:
10 = Masterpiece
09 = Excellent
08 = Great
07 = Good
06 = Decent
05 = Average
04= Lacking
03 = Deficient
02 = Bad
01 = Mediocre
In such a scale, a 5 would represent games that do everything right but don't do anything new or only includes features that are standard in other games in the genre, that are functional without being original, in other words, just average in the most literal sense possible. Not bad but not relevant either.
A 4 would be for games that "lack" in options and features as other in the same genre but still enjoyable. Even a game scoring a 3 would be playable even if flawed (Yes, in this scale games that begin to show technical problems begin at 3! the kind of game that usually gets assigned 6s in current score systems.)
I also fail to see the need in granularity in scores, does it really make a difference for a game to score a .5 decimals between 2 whole numbers, to change someone's decision to either buy or bypass any particular game?
And it really doesn't help matters that there isn't a standardized review system across publications. Everyone understands what a "Four Star" film is, or what is the difference between a 3 star and a 5 star hotel. Shouldn't all reviewers adopt a universal system as well, one that is less granular and more definitive like a 5 star system? Or at the very least a 1 to 10 scale where public perception of it is changed to understand that a 5 just means "Average"?
I know it sounds like a pipe dream to ask consumer criteria in such a hype driven industry as this is, but it seems the reaction from fans to review scores has gotten way out of hand as of late with flying accusations of all ilk. With claims of lack of professionalism, the demand of retractions or downright terminations of employment of reviewers just for the crime of having a "less than stellar" view of any particular game by scoring it less than an 8? -
31Oct 12
Happy Halloween
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26Oct 12
Shigeru Miyamoto honored with Principe de Asturias award

Today, Shigeru Miyamoto has received the "Principe de Asturias" Award in the area of Comunications and Humanities for his life long achievement in the realm of video games as someone that has created a relevant contribution to universal culture.
The other personalities and organizations to be awarded this year include:
Martha C. Nussbaum - Philosopher
Rafael Moneo - Architech
Iker Casillas and Xavi Hernández - Football players
Richard Lerner - Pathologist
Greg Winter - Biologist
Philip Roth - Writer
Red Cross and Spanish Federation of Food Banks
My Recent Reviews
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Viewtiful Joe
"Rocks" A mixture of classic 16-bit gaming, unique play mechanics a stylish visuals, Viewtiful Joe is an instant winner. Continue »
- Posted Oct 10, 2010 2:35 am GMT
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Zombie Hunters
"Uninspired" And extremely shallow and bare bones game that does make good on being what it is: a dumb, cheap, cathartic grind fest. Continue »
- Posted May 14, 2009 9:26 pm GMT
- Recommended by 8 of 8 users.
Recent Images
SciFiCat's Feed
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May 17, 2013 4:57 pm GMTSciFiCat added FTL: Faster Than Light to their owned game list
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May 17, 2013 4:57 pm GMTSciFiCat added Neverwinter Nights 2 to their owned game list
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May 17, 2013 4:56 pm GMTSciFiCat added Silent Storm: Sentinels to their owned game list
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May 17, 2013 4:56 pm GMTSciFiCat added Silent Storm to their owned game list
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May 17, 2013 4:55 pm GMTSciFiCat added Legacy of Kain: Defiance to their owned game list
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Apr 18, 2013 12:17 am GMTSciFiCat began Following Sacred 3
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Mar 14, 2013 12:31 pm GMTSciFiCat posted in the topic Nintendo losses lawsuit over 3DS tech - ordered to pay $30 Million. on the Primary Games Discussion board





