Not talking about user reviews, but their own reviews.  Out of curiousity, I was browsing through the games lists to see how they rated some of the more popular games

• Lineage II 7.4
• Ultima Online 7.8
• Everquest II 7.9
• Everquest (original) 8.0
• City of Villians 8.0
• Guild Wars 8.1
• World of Warcraft 8.1

One of their most highest rated games?

Lord of the Rings Online  8.4

I guess it really boggles me that a classic and such a popular game such as Ultima Online scores a 7.8. 

What boggles me even more, with all due respect, is how a game like Lord of the Rings online with its extreme linearity and lack of class diversity (not to mention basic crafting mechanics, and PvP being forced in as more of a side-game) is among this sites top ranked games by its reviewers.

im sure some of these games were not reviewed at the time of their release, but for the current time.  Why then is Everquest II rated below an 8?  I dont ever remember that game being so bad to deserve a score that barely out-edges Lineage 2.. 

And Guild Wars rated as high as World of Warcraft? 

anyway, just thought Id bring this up for discussion.  Im sure its not going to get anywhere and will trigger quite some debate.  However, I DO know that I CANT be the only person who sees MMORPG.com's "official" reviews as sort of uncredible after seeing how they rank these MMO's.

So you disagree. So what?

I do not think it is just MMORPG.

I have been a "gamer" for... 9 years now or so? 

LotR Ranking & Review is Why I Do Not Trust "Reviews"

The reviews of LotR, on this web page and others, had the most strongest impact on me for not trusting reviews because they tend to be biased.*

Reviewers Inflate/Deflate Rankings for Games they Like/Dislike

Trust is a big factor in writing "reviews." I recently exposed a shill on the Vanguard forum who was writing "impressions" and "reviews" of the game in a misleading way to basically explain why he was upset without really reviewing or analyzing the game.

Unfortunately, the only reviews you can trust is your own when you play the game.  I think one of the reasons, a major reason, why I use MMORPG as often as I do is the sense of duty I have to set the record straight about some games I play.  For some reason, people will post dishonest things about games.  Reviewers on this web page and others will hype games they like and inflate (deflate) their reviews.  It is horrible but it is today, as I write this, commonplace.

*My review of LotR? It is so bad I do not bother to bash, review, or even post in the LotR forum. LOL.

Eq2 was a pile of crap when it released and was a pile of crap for 2 years after release.  Soe turned it into a average game after 100 expansions nuff said.  Even now its still a pile of crap go look at their forums, and I dodo not mean this sites forums.

Reviews will always be biased. Reviewing MMORPG most of all since different people enjoy different things. Some think sandbox games are awesome while some prefer linear questbased games.

It's all opinion, and whether or not the reviewer likes the same kind of ganes you do will effect how you feel about their reviews.

Oh, and this isn't just games...it's in any media...films, music...you name it.

The ammount of time I have read a film review that says a film is fantastic only for me to think it was rubbish...I've lost count.

It makes a lot more sense when you substitute the word 'Review' for 'Opinion'. In this context those two words are the same.

MMORPG.COM's opinion of LOTRO on a scale from 1 to 10, is a 8.1

And all is right with the world

Torrential

LOTRO pays MMORPG.com lots of cash for giant advertisements, in return they put in the good name.

Money talks.

Originally posted by Netzoko

LOTRO pays MMORPG.com lots of cash for giant advertisements, in return they put in the good name.

 

Money talks.

With all the cash we make in adverts from LORTO we were also able to buy all the members with more than 300 posts a high quality tin-foil hat for Christmas....I see you received yours a bit early.

im just goin on the record to say that what I posted wasnt necessarily a slam on LotRO.

also, I think it says a lot for MMO's in general that none of the games that I could find scored above an 8.5.  Just..strange is all.

Originally posted by Rayx0r

im just goin on the record to say that what I posted wasnt necessarily a slam on LotRO.

also, I think it says a lot for MMO's in general that none of the games that I could find scored above an 8.5.  Just..strange is all.

The review given to LOTRO was pretty standard after seeing multiple reviews of the game online and in print.  I don't necessarily agree with them but mmorpg.com's review wasn't overly generous imo.  As for no game scoring over 8.5, really, is there any mmo that really deserves more than that?

Originally posted by Rayx0r

And Guild Wars rated as high as World of Warcraft

And why is that a bad thing? Just because more people play it does not make World of Warcraft better. If everyone except you jumps into a fire will you go along for the burn?

Not everyone will agree with a review this is what life is all about. Someone may like it yet there will be others who do not. A review is to give the reviewers prospective about the game and tell you what he or she thinks. This is why we let users vote games here and post there own comments on the game.

Also MMORPG.com does not get money for posting good reviews just usually the company's that advertise do it because they have the money to do so. LOTRO is advertised all over not just here this is no way effected or linked with the review. It would not be much of a review if we was just feeding you what the company's wanted you to hear.

Let me set something straight right now:

First of all, when we review a game and give that game a score, it is currently based on an average of scores received in various categories.

Second, each review is separate from each other review. We use many different reviewers here at MMORPG.com, as our writing staff is almost entirely made up of volunteers, this is a necessity.  We don't judge one game against another, we judge them on their own merits and yes, different reviewers are going to feel differently about games. I would also like to point out the fact that a review is a person's opinion. That's just what a  review is.

Third, I hear accusations like the "money talks" accusation quite often. The fact of the matter though is that whether or not a game is an advertiser on our site has absolutely no effect on the review. If you don't like the game, that's your opinion. In the case of LotRO, our reviewer thought that it was worth an 8.4. If you take the time to read the review, you will probably see why.

Allowing advertisers to pay for good reviews would be a self-defeating thing. This site has been around since 2001 and we plan to be around for years to come. If we sold reviews, either overtly or through giving favor to advertisers, we would not be able to retain readers and it would be a very short period of time before we were forced to shut down. I honestly don't think the short-term gain of a purchased review overrides the continued operation and revenue of this site. Now, that's just the business side of it. On a personal note, I take a good deal of pride in my career and in my professional integrity. I'm not doing my job if I allow purchased reviews to be published here. If I were to allow that, and it got out, my career in this industry would be in trouble to say the least. That really gives me incentive to keep that kind of review off of this site.

Hope that clears things up.

Ultima Online, the father of MMORPGs, recieved a 7.8? That's like insulting the Beatles, which disgusts me.

Fine, I understand that you have many reviewers with different opinions, but maybe you should rethink who your writers are. Some guy likes the LotR movies, that's great. However, when you hire him to review MMORPGs, you are held accountable.

Never trust any game site's reviews. They have no journalistic freedom.

I always trust the peoples reviews. I always look at what you guys are saying about a game. Much more truth and reliability in the reviews. Once you are able to shift through the fanboi and troll haters of a specific game, you get some very good information.

First, so far as I see not all reviews are written by the same person. Second, I think over time the idea what a good MMO should be like changed.

Generally I think most gaming sites & mags make far too generous reviews. A good website is IMO Eurogamer, because they still make some tough reviews if a game isnt as good as the hype says. Insofar most of these ratings from MMORPG seem ok.

The thing about LOTRO is, if you compare it to other games or if you review it on itself. Compared to EQ2 or even WOW is it quite limited, agreed. On the other hand, if I dont compare it and just review it on itself, I would agree with the good rating, and while I played EQ2 since launch, it DOES have some weak spots, which STILL havent been solved.

Don't like the review?  Present your own.

www.mmorpg.com/opportunities.cfm

Originally posted by Netzoko

Ultima Online, the father of MMORPGs, recieved a 7.8? That's like insulting the Beatles, which disgusts me.

 

Fine, I understand that you have many reviewers with different opinions, but maybe you should rethink who your writers are. Some guy likes the LotR movies, that's great. However, when you hire him to review MMORPGs, you are held accountable.

You're right.  They should get rid of all their reviewers and replace them with people who agree with me.  Because we all know that what I think is objective fact, and everything else is just an opinion.

Furthermore, people who disagree with me should be barred from using the Internet. That way, I wouldn't have to put up with all these silly "opinions" and "reviews."

Originally posted by KohenTrask

It's all opinion, and whether or not the reviewer likes the same kind of ganes you do will effect how you feel about their reviews.

Oh, and this isn't just games...it's in any media...films, music...you name it.

The ammount of time I have read a film review that says a film is fantastic only for me to think it was rubbish...I've lost count.

ya I can see where your coming from.  I was more less pointing out that the scale struck me as unusual.  Then again, like you said not everyone is going to agree with everyones review.  However when the reviews come from the same source you would expect to see some sort of benchmark on what this source considers to be good or not.   Apparently, DAoC, Eve and LotRO are the best MMO's on the market according to MMORPG.coms reviews and none of them scored particularly high..

Stradden made the point that even though this site has their own reviews of games, its reviewed by multiple reviewers.  I suppose thats why I consider the ratings to be a little up and down

and I was wrong, 8.4 I believe is the highest number you guys have given an MMO.  DAoC, Eve and LotRO fall into the 8.4 category.  No matter how jaded I may be to MMO's, I do feel at least one game in particular deserved a score greater then 9.. and a couple more should have been rated in the high 8's instead of 7.