Why don’t I attach scores to my reviews? It’s quite simple, really.

Giving something a score is a subjective exercise. Applying a label in the form of a number or grade to a game is based on experiences and individual worldview. The reason why sites and publications can publish scores is because (at the very least, I hope) the game / product is evaluated by more than one person; the pros and cons are weighed up against each other, deviations are applied, and a number magically appears at the other end. Consumers then look at the number and purchase accordingly.

Personally, I would rather present the positives and negatives, and let the reader determine which arguments hold the most weight. Supplying scores from a single person’s perspective is asking for trouble.

However, one could reason that if the review has more negatives than positives, then it would be deserving of a lower score, and vice versa. This is true. In fact, it is how JT does his scoring system - anything above zero is worth considering, as the positives outweigh the negatives. On the other hand, I feel that people would place more emphasis on particular advantages / disvantages. For example, some don’t particularly care about engrossing storyline. Others aren’t into fancy graphics or online gameplay.

But I’m being cynical - humans can think for themselves. They don’t take reviewers’ words as gospel (well, most of us don’t). We’re old enough and mature enough to make our own informed decisions and not buy Barbie’s Unicorn Adventures if someone gives it a 9.2 rating. Not that there’s anything wrong with enjoying Barbie’s Unicorn Adventures. Stop looking at me like that.

So maybe I do need to put down a score on my reviews. It’s like an abstract. "I think this game is a 7 out of 10", with the implied message "you should really read through the review to find out why I thought that way". Then you either read through the rest of the piece, or click Back in your browser and move on. (Is that all I am? Just a number to you?)

Or I could give a verdict from the get go, put the + / - thing at the start, and let you read through the rest if you want. People nowadays want to get to the point.

Jesus, I’m tired. We’ll talk about this later.