Steam Reviews - Legit ?

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demyansk
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Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by demyansk »

HI,

I buy games from Steam as well from Matrix. Wings posts all the reduced games on Steam and I am glad he does this. I was wondering for quite some time, when you read the reviews on a game in Steam, what do you look for to determine if it's legitimate? I believe a great deal of these reviews of games are a little in-ordinary.
Amazon and many sites have been caught doing this, I think I read somewhere. (writing positive floury reviews of products)

What do you guys think about this?
Suggestions?
Ranger33
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by Ranger33 »

I don't give much credence to any review that is only a paragraph or three. I look for reviews that are fairly lengthy and give a good description of why the reviewer feels whichever way they feel. With enough detail about how the game plays you can come to your own conclusions about whether you would like it.

Amazon recently cracked down on this. It's not the site itself doing it, there are outside companies hired for the specific purpose.
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budd
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by budd »

There's plenty of info to be had on most any game. The only thing i notice about steam reviews is if there all one way or the other, i always dig a little deeper and value opinions of forums posters who have similar gaming tastes. I also watch some lets plays but that depends on the game type as that can spoil the game.
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by Rosseau »

Pretty much that. Also, it shows their "play" time on the review. Also, it shows the seniority of the Steam members and some have open profiles. The guy rated "18" with 1200 games I trust.

Finally, you can return the game before two hours of play. I wish we could do this at Matrix/HPS, etc. This is also a reason to buy a Matrix game at Steam first when they are offered. In about an hour, most people would know if they liked it.

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RFalvo69
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by RFalvo69 »

I generally listen to my "gut feeling". Legit reviews have a quality which is difficult to describe, but unmistakable: analysis of the game (including both the pros and the cons), detailed descriptions of bugs and missing/bad features, comparison with other games etc.

I'm not a reviewer, so I don't know if "paid" reviewer can fake this - however, IMHO, they can't: there is always something... off (the same is true for the comments, of course).
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Qwixt
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by Qwixt »

I look for hours played, and generally give negative reviews with legitimate complaints the highest weight. If I see a review with little time spent, under hour, or way too much time (I saw 300 hours on one game when everyone else was in the 5-10 hour range), then I ignore those. Only having a few products as well raises a flag for me.
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by Gilmer »

I probably do it the worst way. If it is mixed or less, I rarely give it a chance. I have read a few actual reviews and that helped, but mostly just look at overall rating.
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RodyMetal
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by RodyMetal »

there many titles in steam got mixed and they are good games, I have to read a lot of the negative reviews to see whats wrong with it, a lot of games get that due to stuff has nothing to do with the game itself: price/ dlcs/ being always online/ crashes that will be fixed/ etc..
I usually read the recent reviews try to filter good ones {which have more playtime hours, longer review, higher rate}, but if the game is old i check the old reviews as well, there are games get bad reviews later due to addition of DLCs.
example: look at matrix titles on steam, most of them are mixed, just because they are old games and the price did not reduce, it has nothing to do with their superb gameplay.
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demyansk
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by demyansk »

Thanks everyone for the info. I like the idea of looking at hours played and rank. I do read them and after all these years, I know what games I like. However, sometimes you want to get into other things.
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by Kuokkanen »

ORIGINAL: RodyMetal

there many titles in steam got mixed and they are good games, I have to read a lot of the negative reviews to see whats wrong with it, a lot of games get that due to stuff has nothing to do with the game itself: price/ dlcs/ being always online/ crashes that will be fixed/ etc..
...
example: look at matrix titles on steam, most of them are mixed, just because they are old games and the price did not reduce, it has nothing to do with their superb gameplay.
In addition some people writing reviews just don't get the game. I quote one review about WitE:
if you have time to lose for thousand useless click to just see the result of your move and then wait 5mn in small scenario up to an hour to let poor ai compute ,then buy the game.

it's just too much useless information and really boring game.
look like i'm back in late 80's
love strategy games but pass on this one.
buy heart of iron or panzer corps ,those are really enjoyable and rewarding
That pretty much is my impression of the game and therefore I stay away from it and rather play Panzer Corps, Unity of Command, and Civ4.
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RodyMetal
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by RodyMetal »

ORIGINAL: Matti Kuokkanen
ORIGINAL: RodyMetal

there many titles in steam got mixed and they are good games, I have to read a lot of the negative reviews to see whats wrong with it, a lot of games get that due to stuff has nothing to do with the game itself: price/ dlcs/ being always online/ crashes that will be fixed/ etc..
...
example: look at matrix titles on steam, most of them are mixed, just because they are old games and the price did not reduce, it has nothing to do with their superb gameplay.
In addition some people writing reviews just don't get the game. I quote one review about WitE:
if you have time to lose for thousand useless click to just see the result of your move and then wait 5mn in small scenario up to an hour to let poor ai compute ,then buy the game.

it's just too much useless information and really boring game.
look like i'm back in late 80's
love strategy games but pass on this one.
buy heart of iron or panzer corps ,those are really enjoyable and rewarding
That pretty much is my impression of the game and therefore I stay away from it and rather play Panzer Corps, Unity of Command, and Civ4.

oh yes, i remember this review, i read it before i bought the game, this review i considered helpful, it has right information to some extent, yes you need to do a lot of clicking and you have to wait a long time for ai moves. for me this didnt prevent me from buying the game as i dont mind a lot of clicking in such huge theater, also i was planning to play pbem from the start one turn per day due to my lifestyle, but i understand that a lot of people need to play quick big campaign in shorter time. btw i love panzer corps and unity of command, but wite is totally different if you want to play very detailed operation it is one of the best in the market.
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terje439
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by terje439 »

I tend to ignore the positive comments, and filter to only show the negative ones. Then I will do as most of you have allready written, take into account hours played, and what the reviewer is currently saying.

A very good example of "unfair" reviews would be Football Manager 2017. It does not have good reviews, but alot of the negative ones are from Chinese players ranting about it not having Chinese language.

That would not affect my decision to buy a game or not. Bugs/crashes reported by alot of players is a warning to me, and I will then usually check the developer/publisher to see if this is common with their games or not.
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CaptBeefheart
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by CaptBeefheart »

I like Steam reviews better than website reviews as they tend to be a lot more honest. You have to find the reviews that actually have meaningful information about what you do or do not like in a game and go from there. Tallies of likes vs. dislikes are meaningless to me.

If I believed website reviews on HOI4, for instance, I'd have bought the game a long time ago. However, I read one Steam review and it tells me the game has a pathetic AI. Other reviews say to wait for a lot more DLC. At the end of the day, it's another Paradox title which should be bought in it's Gold version on Steam in three years at a 75% or better discount.

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HunterICX
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by HunterICX »

I tend to avoid Steam reviews as I don't have the patience to filter through 90% of them being garbage as the positive are mostly like ''10/10 would buy again!'' and the negative mostly complain about the price, graphics or not understanding what the game is about as they haven't bother to check development diaries if it's a new release for example or it's not their genre/type of game.

There are some good ones I'm sure but I never bought a game or didn't by means of having red Steam reviews.

I also avoid these game magazine's websites that seem to always give the highest score to these AAA publisher's newest release while in fact the game is mediocre at best and doesn't justify the praise it gets from all these magazines.

I usually get an impression from what I read about the game myself, from multiple sources like blogs who spend their time with the game and gameplay footage (if the game doesn't have a story that is to avoid being spoiled) then if I think it's worth the price of purchase I get it right away if not I wait for a sale to consider getting it then.





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demyansk
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by demyansk »

The one site that I think gives a fair review is www.wargamer.com

They rip apart games at times and give a good idea on games

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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by Jim D Burns »

I've played enough games in my life that I know what I will and will not like just by looking over a titles product page. So what I look for in reviews is the negative posts. You can almost be 100% sure negative reviews are genuine.

I'm looking for reports about game breaking bug reports or bad design decision reports, anything that will detract from me enjoying a game I already know I will probably like. I never allow a review to sell me on a game purchase. If I don't already like the title by looking at it's product page, I have found over the years if I buy it because of some reviewer's opinion I'm going to end up disappointed in the end.

What you will and won't like about a game is a very subjective thing and most positive reviews reflect the reviewers bias. I find it a lot harder to try and figure out if the reviewer likes the same kind of games I do than to simply look over the game's page myself and recognize the things I do or don't like in a design there. So once I decide I like a game, I simply look to find reports about whether the nuts and bolts of the design are in good working order.

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RFalvo69
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by RFalvo69 »

It is worth mentioning, too, those reviews on Amazon which do state: "The package was broken and the product was ruined. One Star!!!!!111" [:D]
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demyansk
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by demyansk »

Good post Jim, what I do as well, read the reviews and wait a few days and then read some more. Then maybe I Will buy it, I tend to take the slow approach.
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durangokid
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by durangokid »


[quote]ORIGINAL: Jim D Burns

I've played enough games in my life that I know what I will and will not like just by looking over a titles product page. So what I look for in reviews is the negative posts. You can almost be 100% sure negative reviews are genuine.

LOL - I do exactly the same, go for the negative reviews as they are probably more honest. Sadly, I do the same for book reviews and movies and I often wonder if I am missing something good. Doesn't stop me doing it though!
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RE: Steam Reviews - Legit ?

Post by nicwb »

I do look at the reviews but try to be cautious with them. Probably of more use ito me is the number of positive reviews vs the number of negatives. That can indicate across a wide range of users the game was OK.

I saw a recent negative review for Command Ops on Steam. As I have played and liked the game a fair bit I took a look. Of all things the reviewer was critiquing the AI ! (One of the games strongest features). Reading through I got the distinct impression the reviewer had played very little of the game and hadn't bothered looking at Arjuna's tutorial video's. so in that case I thought an individual review was plain and simply wrong.

In all truth I actually find watching play through videos or reading AAR's much more informative.

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