Game reviews & buying games at launch

It is really, really rare for me to go out and buy a new game at launch these days. For me to buy a game on the very first day it hits stores, it just has to be something really special. New games retail for $60 in addition to tax, so it is a pretty hefty financial risk. After a game is no longer new, if it flops, it has a decent chance of going down in price dramatically; sometimes a heavily anticipated game will drop all the way down to $20 or $30 within just a few months. Other games hold their value and stay at a higher price for quite a while, but who knows on day one?

The even trickier part of making the choice is that you generally don't know if the game is going to be good or not. Some games release demos, others don't, and you'll never know if the decision to not release a demo is because a game is terrible or not. Honestly, although I'm still guilty of looking at reviews, I'm finding myself more and more jaded against them. Over the past couple years, the "honesty" of professional game reviews feels like it has declined to a point where I can no longer believe what I'm reading. I'm going to specifically point to IGN.com, who has been quite guilty of this. I don't know if some of the reviews are based on personal vendettas or if they are looking for some shock value, but it only takes a few ridiculous reviews to make me disregard your opinion. Ninja Gaiden 3 was given a 3.0, which is a ridiculous score, even for a game that is mediocre. IGN.com isn't the only guilty party, you can pretty much look across the board. Each site is covered in advertisements, so it is feels like each review is a conflict of interest. I will say that I don't have a problem trusting reviews for mobile games; these feel untainted for the most part, for now (although it is useless to trust the AppStore reviews as many game developers pay people to rate their games highly). 

Another variable that factors into the equation is if a game features multiplayer content online. I feel like I should play Halo 4 from the start because if I wait, I'm going to be playing with people who will totally destroy me. Also, if you're playing a new-ish game that features co-op, if you wait a very long time to get started, you may be there all by your lonesome.

Here are some heavily anticipated games that I purchased at launch:

1. Tekken 4

2. Timesplitters 2

3. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

4. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

5. Halo Reach (was mailed to me at launch, I purchased the others at the store on day one)

6. Disgaea 2, 3& 4

7. GTA: The Ballad of Gay Tony on PS3 on disc (I never finished this one for some reason. I think I totally got sidetracked by starting Uncharted at this time).

Here are a few upcoming games that I'm looking forward to and I'm considering buying at launch:

1. Borderlands 2 

2. Halo 4 (already preordered)

3. Resident Evil 6

4. South Park: The Stick of Truth

5. Wii U (it isn't a game, but it is worth mentioning)
6. Grand Theft Auto 5

There are some series that I just love and would likely buy the games at launch automatically. I love FF Tactics, so if another console game was released, I would get it. As you can see, I'll buy any Disgaea game at launch. I'll buy most GTA games at launch.

So there you have it.