[gillyruless]

Originally Posted by EasilyConfused

I really don't understand the purpose of this thread. It seems to me the thread could be about two things.

I think that the point of this thread was to point out the AG review that you disagree with the most. I don't think there was any greater intention, such as suggesting that there needs to be an objective standard for reviewing games, behind it.

Originally Posted by EasilyConfused

As for whether game X "deserves" the same score as game Y--that question doesn't really make sense to me. Could you say whether Citizen Kane, The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, and Casablanca all "deserve" the same rating as films, even if they got the same number of stars at a film fan site or in a video guide? They appeal to different people with different tastes in different moods. I'm not saying you can't make any comparisons, but that these comparisons will necessarily be general trends that are matters of taste and opinion rather than anything clear-cut and inarguable.

Any review has to do with taste so you are right, EC, in that a direct comparison of reviews of different games or movies are often not meaningful. However, it's also possible that some consensus can be reached even on taste. For example, it might be hard to compare Gone with the Wind to Casablanca but most people would agree that either of those movies are superior to Weekend at Bernie's 2. Not everyone would agree but the general consensus would be that Casablanca is a superior movie to Weekend at Bernie's 2. The same can be said of adventure games, I think.

Originally Posted by EasilyConfused

So I don't have a beef with any review. All the reviews I've read seem fair and legitimate to me, even if I disagree with them. I think they've all been done in good faith, and I've never seen a single hatchet job on this site. I hope things stay that way.

I think the phrase "having a beef" in this case was used to indicate the term, "disagree". In that sense, I can say that I "have a beef" with the rating of Black Dahlia because I think it deserved a better rating.