Ok, so I’ve been a reader of Destructoid for probably about a year or so now. I never made an account here because I never really had any good ideas for blog posts, but I’ve visited regularly for news and to listen to the podcasts. I’ve always meant to begin a blog but never knew what to write about. Hell, I haven’t even set up an avatar, profile, etc. yet. I never really had to say anything until recently.

I’ve been one to casually scroll through the comments of certain news articles to see what other people think. Mixed in with the usual cries of “first,” posts of outdated internet memes, and mindless nonsense one could usually find intelligent comments actually discussing the topic at hand. And as Destructoid game reviews have become more frequent, I’ve always read those which interested me. From hearing a certain number of the editors of this site in the podcasts and reading their posts on the site, I think I can assume that most of them are not utterly stupid. From what I’ve seen at this site these people know what they’re talking about, and are at least somewhat devoted to the medium because they’re willing to put this much effort into what is essentially “just talking about” video games. This mindset I have is why I can’t understand the reaction to a lot of the recent reviews.

I finished reading Reverend Anthony’s review of Condemned 2: Bloodshot about an hour ago, which he gave a three out of ten. Oh, and of course we can’t forget the glaring “FORGET IT” tag which is displayed below. And from a large number of the comments I feel I can safely assume this is all most of you read. I cannot understand the value so many gamers place on the number at the end of a review. They are arbitrary and meaningless tags which reviewers have been forced to place at the tail end of any write up because so many people are too dim to come to their own conclusions. And if somebody finds they disagree, I welcome anyone to please explain to me the finer points of the differences between a 9.0 and 9.5. I would honestly like to know what defined quality in games warrants that half point. You want to know why you can’t answer that question? Because the goddamn number is fucking arbitrary. It’s meaningless and should have no effect on how you view a review.

I guess a better example of this mass of nonsensical reactions would be the recent review of Patapon. If one simply reads the text, you know… the actual review, the message is that Patapon is an above average game for the PSP that is worth playing; that it has it’s faults, but is at the very least worth trying. But, what’s this? A 6.5? Sound the alarms! Amass the armies of the internets! Fanboy’s unite for an evil has risen in the land! He goes by the name Jim Sterling and he must be destroyed for he hates innovation! Why, for the love of whatever invisible man in the sky you believe in, why must you people be swayed so much by a number? He might as well have given the game an oil stain out of trash bag. Oh no, but Patapon obviously deserves a ham sandwich out of trash bag, you obviously don’t know how to play the game. It’s a fucking arbitrary number; we each have our own idea of what a certain number or percentage means when it comes to reviews, get the fuck over it. All each of us can know is our own perspective. Don’t get pissed off because you don’t have the capability to understand another person’s perspective.

To close, I’d like to mention I’m about half way through Condemned 2 right now, and you know what? I like it. It’s not perfect, but I’m diggin it. Do I agree with some points in Reverend’s review? Yes. Do I disagree with some points? Yes. Does this slight difference in opinion affect my opinion of him as a writer for Destructoid? For fucks sake no. I read his review, understand why he doesn’t like the game, and have gone about my business. I guess what I’m trying to say is this. A certain number of you people out there need to stop fucking caring about this bullshit. Stop letting these goddamn aggregate review sites decide your game purchases for you. Stop fucking worrying about a single meaningless character at the end of a review and start worrying about the body of text which precedes it. I feel that chances are nobody is going to end up reading this, but from what I’ve seen recently regarding some of the community on this site, that doesn’t bother me at all.