Favorite PC Gaming Dedicated/Review site?

What's your favorite go to community dedicated to PC Gaming with excellent reviews from PC Gaming view point?

As much as I like Giant Bomb or Gamespot, or any of the mainstream review sites, can't help but notice 99% of the time even when I click on "Game Title" PC, the video review and review is from experience of playing on Xbox 360 with a few words to say, PC version looks better.

 

not sure really, but i know its definitely not gamepro.

 

I'm gonna sound like a hippy, but try to work with me here. Do not, and I mean, DO NOT, care about reviews. Nobody, no site, no person can make reviews that are relevant and "just like your opinion".

The only thing you need to do, is to read up on a game, in a preview OR a review(if you can ignore the reviewers personal feelings) and then try it for yourself. most PC games have demos. Watch some videos. Use the editorial articles regardless of format to suck up information. Just take the relevant bits and apply it to yourself.


I have two great gaming sites that I think offers a lot of value, and some decent journalism. rockpapershotgun.com is an all out PC gaming website. They have lots of good articles and hands on. They play a lot of different stuff, and not just the pop factor you would get with IGN and Gamespot.

I also like eurogamer.net's PC and MMO section. They have some good articles(round up, face to face) and such.


But please don't pay any attention to reviews. Reviews prey on people who can't take stock in their own opinion, and need to follow others determined pattern. Not saying everyone who reads reviews are doing this, but many are.

scoring games, is retarded. Downright retarded. It gives nothing for anyone.

 

I usually go to a few different sites for reviews/video reviews but none of them are dedicated to PC Gaming alone.

Best comment I've read in a while. +rep

 

I usually check the PC reviews from a few sites as well as Metacritic, there really isn't one site. And I do think reviews are very useful when it comes to determining whether to buy a game or not. Sometimes trailers, videos and developer info is misleading.

 

Used gamespot for years out of habit, but metacritic is great for getting a quick summary of games across a whole range of reviewers.

 

Eh? Not really. Demos are a rare commodity these days.

 

Usually if I know a game will be good or I'll like it reviews won't affect the purchase, but for games that you're on the fence about a few minutes of reading can save you $50. Trusting a single review site is silly, so metacritic all the way.

 

User reviews are worth a billion times more than any publication review. However I've gotten a lot of good info from reviews. Looking for more factual information than opinion really. I like reviews that state what the game does not why it sucks. I do like when they bring up bugs or other out of the ordinary things though. Otherwise I'll be the deciding factor if I like something.

 

PCGamer sounds kinda obvious to your question...

 

Same here, is the exact same path I take

 

gamespot , IGN for games....

 

While I do fully agree that nobody can fully (or even close to) replicate your own opinion on a game, and I also have doubts about the integrity of these so-called review sites, unfortunately not many people can try every game out there to get a feel of each one.

In the lack of a better solution, unfortunately I have to resort to reading review sites to find out what are the consensus 'best games around' to spend my precious gaming time on.. and sadly that's where these sites come in.

 

NBR gaming section of course! lol! I just don't trust review sites like IGN, and gamespot anymore.

 

lol whats with the reviews not being legit? Any one that follows games knows about what to expect any way, reviews only help add to that, there are some games that throw up in everyones faces like FFXIV( Im the biggest mmorpg fan here) but other then the odd game here and there everything is mostly expected I think. Reviews are mostly spot on, Iv went to gamerankings.com for years, they usually have every review on the internet with every game released. The best gameing site on the internet is mmorpg.com by a good margin, while there site is directed to mmos mostly, all the games that come out get there time on the sites forum.

 

HTWingnut > I disagree. There are still PC demos being released. Perhaps more rarely than it used to, due to the influx of consoles, but they are still around. Gameplay footage from demos, from trade shows can be a good way to find out something about a game. Just by looking at it.

I am not advocating them not being legit, as I have no real interest in conspiracy theories. What I am saying is that people should stop taking stock in it.
GameRankings - Video Game Reviews from around the Internet is a good example of a site that is flawed in the way it sums up it's reviews, based on different ways on measuring. 10/10 means different things for different sites, so it makes little sense when they stir it all into one pot. Even if they did, it has nothing to do with "the best games".
That's just following the interests of others. Even if it's a majority it means nothing.

No, instead, shape your own opinion and explore a little. Find out what you like, and what might be interesting and just freakin' try once in a while to play something, that might not be the thing getting copy pasted all over IGN!

It's the same with movies and music. If your just going for the big sites, reviews in magazines and such, you will just be exposed to what other people like - And there is nothing wrong with liking pop or mainstream music, but dude seriously.. Nobody said that art is or should be easy to find or understand. You can't dislike something until you have seen something that you like more, than the other thing.

I'm not saying all 21 year olds should stop watching UFC, stop listening to Linkin Park and stop playing Call of Duty, because that will sort itself out eventually. But you do have a lot of people(I think!) who just goes with the flock even though its not them - But of course they wouldn't know that, because they have not found(many have not even tried) to find that thing that is much more them!


It's endlessly more satisfying digging through gold by yourself. Of course other people are great to point you in a direction too! But your kidding yourself if you think your getting the best by looking at metacritic, IGNs top favorite of whatever or gamerankings. It's the equivelent of a TV Guide for games.


And I am not trying to sound indie here, or like some hipster who only like underground stuff that nobody else likes. But I do think it's silly, to just disclose yourself from all the great games you don't see on those lists. Just like it's stupid to disclose yourself from foreign films or different music you don't see advertised in music.
Find those blogs, and small gaming websites. What the hell do you like? Start from that point, and work your way from there.

 

I liek the ones with colorful pictures.

 

Either IGN or gamespot. But it really depends on your own opinion.

 

I agree there is nothing better than user or heck even yourself. One way you can judge is to read a few reviews, skim them for bugs and factual information

THEN

go to youtube and watch gameplay, mute sound if the guy is talking or whining and just compare to what you enjoy.

 

• Shacknews I like because it's user base has a lot of devs and old skoolers.
• RPS is good as mentioned already.
• Justintv is great for running commentaries and lots of gameplay.
• GamesRadar has some off the wall articles that make me laugh.
• Destructoid/Giantbomb/Negative Gamer all like to try and be more "real".
• I like watching the video reviews on the big mainstream sites to see what touch points they comment on and highlight in their videos.

 

I go by user reviews only.

fyi, Gamespot lost all credibility years ago. Reasons.

 

The Kane and Lynch scandal? That was quite the storm in the teacup, but I still use the website since I've generally found their reviews post-K&L not that far off the mark. Then again I might just have lower expectations and more specific tastes for games.

 

This.

Also, the fact that they apparently took bribes from certain companies to do good reviews. They have become like Toms Hardware, just a PC tabloid, with no genuine and reputable qualities.

 

Even this is a problem imo. Reviews in general should always be taken with a grain of salt, even user reviews. When Far Cry 2 came out there was a pretty in depth user review on this site that slammed it so hard I was scared to buy it. So I bought FC2 used for like $15 from craigslist and proceeded to finish the game 40 (or so) hours later loving it all the way. I know I am in the minority on that game, but that's the way it rolls sometimes I guess.

It's all subjective. I like to read/watch all kinds reviews because they do give a pretty good general sense of gameplay and possible shortcomings. Even Gamespot and IGN do this. Add to that some user reviews from your favourite blog/forum and consider yourself well informed. Good info to take away from any mainstream review imho would be:

• Game length
• Bug report
• Quality of storytelling
• Depth of gameplay
• Unique features

Bad info to take away would be:

• The review score (i.e. 8.5/10 or whatever)

Which is why I LOVE Arstechnica's way of scoring games (which I forgot to mention on my site list). Ars says either Buy, Rent or Skip. For those looking for a quick and easy verdict and choosing to skip all the details... it's hard to go wrong with this simple and intuitive scoring system.

 

Sorry, I meant to say user impressions.

I don't read anyone's written reviews, but I will read forum threads to see how the overall sentiments are coming through.

I however do not think reviews are worthless, just that they aren't the format I can relate to, overall.