they said it looks better. you never played it either so you can't say it is better than anything else. and from what little info we know I think DS does look better. And NV deserved that score upon release because of the numerous bugs.

IGN is one of the last places I'd go to for a review, and I wouldn't consider the score they gave it when making my decision.

There's no better game reviewer than your own opinions. :foodndrink:

@OP

No, the only opinion that matters to me is that of the gamer. I could care less if IGN or whomever tells me a game is 9/10 or 3/10, if gamers disagree with a majority then that will be opinion i listen to.

I KNOW Skyrim will be incredible. Of course I'll read the review but I'll get it no matter what. (Watch, 9 or 10)

I thought the general consensus on the forums was that IGN were biased against skyrim and favoured dark souls

I only pay attention to reviews that effectively describe the gameplay, user interface, world design, and maybe comments on story structure. None of that should have opinions since they are all descriptions of observable phenomena.

Reviews that add a lot of opinion and conjecture are worthless.

I don't let others make my decisions for me .

I actually consume reviews. Even if all journalists are paid by game companies to fluff their products, the reviews will still contain good information because they rarely outright lie about gameplay or content. If a review says that the platforming action is awesome and the levels designed by God himself, I still won't buy the game because I don't like platformers. See what I mean?

That said, I do find the "big" review sites to be very bland and their reviews less informative than smaller, more opinionated sites.

My usual method is to go to gamerankings.com and look at the list of all existing reviews. If I see sites I've never heard of before, I go read those reviews first, as they are less likely to be tainted by the mediocrity of popularity or influenced by industry powers. There are also a few smaller sites that have been around for a while whose reviews I like and trust. worthplaying is probably my favorite.

However, in Skyrim's case, I have seen (and slavishly pored over) enough preview information to feel I have a very solid idea of what I will be getting for my $60. When the reviews start coming out, there simply isn't going to be any new information in them, except content spoilers. By that time I'll already be a few dozen hours in anyway

Certainly wouldn't rely on IGN or anyone like that
Really this goes for most reviews
Theatre/film/book critics might be a bit better but even in those fields there have been plenty of cases where critics have been shown to give good reviews in exchange for favours. In less competitive fields of reviewing I have no faith at all

A review is simply someone else opinion on the game, why would I let a single persons opinion decided if I am going to buy a game or not?
That's just silly.

The only real review can be done by me. Other reviews are merely guides that you can choose to obey, or ignore, based on your personal preference.

Skyrim won't be needing any external reviews from anyone else (for me). I don't care, it's obviously going to get 9's and 10's anyway, regardless.

I don't need any reviews for Bethesda open world games(BOWG). I was full dark for both MW(didn't know it was being developed) and OB(not net access) and loved 'em both. FO3 I followed very closely from announcement to release and it still successfully replaced OB as my favorite BOWG. I have no doubt at all that Skyrim will be the one to rule them all.

:bowdown: Radiant Epicness?

I am curious why you chose IGN, it has possibly the worst reputation on these boards currently, I'm pretty sure you could not have missed it.

Anyway, I made up my mind a month ago to purchase this game, I would not call it faith, every game I've ever got from Bethesda has been bug ridden initially, but what they offer out weighs those bugs, an open world where I can do and be what I want, that's the selling point to me, not some reviewer who can only in the end have an opinion.

I don't trust review sites. Period.

Many of them are prone to bias or payoffs and as such I make my own decisions based off research and footage/information available.

I pre-ordered it (because it comes with a 10$ coupon and map) so reviews we'll be irrelevant though it is nice to see your purchase backed up with a wave of good reviews because it's extra validation. I have no doubt that Skyrim will be worth my 60$.