I was ranting again to a friend about how dumb game review scores are.

We happened to be at a Barnes & Noble, which is where we hang out to read all the magazines that we can’t afford. Good, imported magazines like Retro Gamer have a sticker price of $15.99. Some are more.

So I picked up an issue of Play, which I think is one of the more fabulous game magazines thanks to its awesome design and fairly deep coverage. I find the Okami review. They gave it a 10. They said it was their third perfect score in 5 years.

Now, Okami is not perfect. It’s not really groundbreaking in the gameplay department, and the voices are annoying. The character Issun is particularly unnecessary, but he’s ever-present and kind of irksome. The game is a little too easy. These are not game-breaking matters, they’re just quibbles. But they tarnish an otherwise perfect game, and it doesn’t deserve a ten.

But, maybe the game is so great that these things are insignifigant in the wake of its greatness. I can understand that. Okami is a complete blast to play. So, maybe it’s okay. However, as a service to its readers, Play also features a little pro/con box with the score. It helps to give more insight on the score.

But.

The pro side says this game is great and perfect. The con side says that you’d be brain-dead to find fault in this perfect game. Apparently I’m a philistine.

That’s the reviewer’s opinion, of course.

Scores are intended as a quick way for a reader to judge the value of a game. But, one could miss a lot of good gaming if one only bought 9’s. Likewise, the market can’t have just a few games be successful. They’d be franchised and reproduced endlessly, and their vision would become more and more narrow. A lot like what actually is happening these days.

I blame magazines partially. And the people who swear by them.
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