REBUTTAL TO: The Numbers Quandary
Reviews. For many, they are the determining factor in whether or not to make the pricey investment in a game. Many players have favorite review sources, RPGamer being just one of a large number of sites and magazines offering the service. Indeed, the gaming industry depends on reviews like few other entertainment industries simply because of how much money is at stake.
However, what makes a review? I'm a somewhat active member of Gamespot (under another name which I won't give here), and have read reviews from numerous other locations, such as IGN Games and 1up, both by staff and by fans. The reviews will often make the same technical points about one game or the other. What often makes the difference between one review's score and another's is the fun that the reviewer had with the game. It does make sense, of course. This is why review services of any repute will make an effort to have games reviewed by people who like the genre of game being reviewed. After all, a player who only plays RPGs isn't going to like Doom 3, and an FPS die hard isn't likely to like Final Fantasy X-2.
Of course, tilt is only one factor among many, but it is so important. After all, the only way a single problem can really hinder the overall experience beyond being a minor detraction is if said problem is a total disaster, such as a fubar translation or battle system. Thus, as most players tend to be able to look over minor blemishes, so too should reviewers. They certainly shouldn't ignore them, but they shouldn't be forcing themselves to grade a game lower than they feel it deserves.
This leads to one of the reasons I love Gamespot's review system. Reviewer's tilt is a separate score, allowing the reviewer to mark a high tilt for a technically inferior game that brought plenty of fun. Since the end goal of playing games of any sort is to have fun (last I checked, anyway), the admittedly subjective tilt should be included in a game's score, as long as the fact is clearly marked.
This of course makes it all the more important to make sure the reviewer that is grading a game is a fan of the genre. Take myself, for instance. I'm not a terribly big fan of strategy RPGs, with the notable exception being Arc the Lad Collection. As such, should anyone really trust me if I were to review, say, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance? Not likely. Granted, if the game were to convert me, that would make a fantastic endorsement, but if it weren't to do that, it would amount to very bad publicity for what could be a very good game for strategy RPG fans. Without connecting games to the right reviewers, the reviews are worthless.
In closing, I do believe that tilt should factor into a game's score. However, with that tilt comes the responsibility of making sure that the reviewer isn't someone who is predisposed to dislike the game from the beginning. Every game is a marriage of sorts, after all, and the couple should at least have some compatibility.
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