I almost never notice the scores a game review gets. My criteria for game buys is this: 1.) Does the game sound like something I would play? 2.) is it in a series I know I like? (Layton, Mass Effect, Phoenix Wright, etc) 3.) Is it by a publisher who generally makes things I like? 4.) Find a review and read all the bits about the plot and scan for glaring complaints about the gameplay mechanics. Disregard everything else. Mostly I hear something mentioned or see previews for something, go "well that sounds cool" and preorder, or not. I never read the reviews portion of game mags/sites, just the previews.