No, he never swayed my opinion about buying a game. His reviews are just awesome, and I agree with most reviews he did, but that's about it. The decision whether I buy a game or not mainly is made through reading as much as I can about the game in question and perhaps playing the demo / renting the full game, and a single review will never again sway my opinion about a game.
Reviewers are just persons, and while his taste seems to be somewhat similar to mine, it's still not my taste completely.
To me, Zero Punctuation is mainly amusement, and I enjoy it even more when I played the game already.

I once took Yahtzee's advice and bought Psychonauts - I'd say his opinion is worth a listen. His reviews are probably the most reliable and genuinely incisive I've seen. Besides which he addresses critical issues which effect the gamer's experience that are not covered in most of the standardised reviews published in most gaming magazines or websites.

Admitting that someone else's influence makes up an element of one's decision making process is not an admission of feeble mindedness - some people in this thread seem peculiarly defensive (then again, they may also have purchased DMC4).

Besides which, he is rather funny.

Not especially, he tends to review games from his point of view, i would buy a game depending on how it looked or if copious amounts of my friends had been talking trash about it.

he says in the beginning of one of his reviews, i think that it was for bioshock, that people didn't like it when he was so nice about psychonauts. He then focused on the bad points of the game, because it was funnier to mock things rather than praise them. This indicates that despite his tirades about how he's a misanthtrope and that he never listens to the people that e-mail him, he is keenly aware that if people didn't like what he was doing he would probably lose his job at the escapist, and all of his free games which go with it. so no, i don't buy games based on his reviews, i just find them funny.

ithey do change my opinion because the more he says bad things about it, the more i want to buy it

I hardly ever bother with reviews; video games and the games industry are occasionally brilliant, but most often farcical and shallow. Very, very rarely does any game, or any people do anything worth taking seriously. So I get really fed up with reviews which invariably take the whole thing like it was their job or somethng. (oh, wait...)

Anyway, reviews are pointless - games will sell anyway, and different people like different games. If you are going to review a game, you might as well have some fun and be opinionated (the objective view is a myth).

I doubt Yahtzee would ever change my mind about buying a game or not; but that's not point, surely?

I tend to use ZP reviews more as a way to reaffirm in my mind why i dont like/buy a game than sway me to buy one. The Orange Boz being the exception although tbh I was already thinking of buying it & simply sought out reviews in the hope theyd confirm my intent as the right one.

That said, I do enjoy his emphasis more on what there isnt to like about a game then what there is to like. Some other review sites (gamespot im looking at you) can sometimes read as though the reviewer is simply looking at the back of the games box & eleborating on all the selling points that the publisher has listed there. Simularly when an aspect of a game generally deserves praise, its generally given (though often with the disclaimer that whats good has been done before, & often better)

Also, I do enjoy Yhatzee's use of games/aspects of them as a reason to go into broader commentary on the gaming industry as a whole rather than simply speaking till he cant ad lib about a game anymore (gamespot again). While they dont necessarily make me any more/less inclined to want to buy a game, his tangents on things like quicktime events are interesting to listen to & a nice break in the monologue.

But I digress...No normally I dont decide whether to buy a game or not based on ZP reviews. I buy very few games anymore neway, being a skint student (I think The Orange Box was the last game(s) I bought; & frankly out of that only Portal I considered anything special). GJmy brother is as obsessed with games & still young enough to get parents to buy games for him or id play nothing :-P

He usually publishes his reviews after I have either bought or decided never to buy the game. Yahtzee, bless him, is the Victor Meldrew of the game reviewing scene. But younger.

Khell_Sennet:

Games I may have bought but avoided because of his opinions
-Manhunt
-Jericho
-Silent Hill Origins
-The Witcher
-Uncharted

The Witcher is a much better game than he made it sound. I'm not saying it's always the
case but I think sometimes he feels pressure to dislike games purely for comedic effect.

I usually buy games that I think have developed a new concept, theres no point in buying a FPS that has been done a thousand times, I think yahtzee helps us distinguish between games that have been done b4 and are being repeated for a thousand times

I don't use the Zero Punctuation episodes as some sort of "game-buying-guide" . And neither should anyone do.

We all have different tastes in games. Duh.
For example, I don't think he would find EA Skate too enjoyable, but since I skate myself, I can relate to it, and perhaps even get a bigger and better experience due to that.

Whatever. I just watch the episodes as entertainment.

I don't always agree with him, but of course his opinion has a say, however not in any conclusive matter at all. And as with other reviewers I think make great points, I'm more keen to listening to him rather mediocre ones like 1UP and GameSpot (print media I wholly disregard).

He's a bright lad with great points, not the second coming of Christ.

Yes, ZP revies can - and has - push(ed) or discourage(d) me from buying games. The most obvious one is Portal. Do note that I don't follow his opinions to the point. It's about what he says about the games. For instance I am very interrested in getting Mass Effect after his review.

/S

When he reviews a game, it usually confirms preconceived opinions. Everything he says is correct when it comes to listing faults, but nothing Yahtzee has reviewed has been distinctly unplayable. I'd say the only game he swayed me on was COD4, which I intended to avoid until Yahtzee gave it the thumbs up. Turns out, I was really missing out by neglecting to pick it up.

Games he's reviewed that I haven't played I didn't intend to buy anyway (MoH: Airborne for instance).

i find i usually share Yahtzee's opinions on games, so yeah, he does influence my buying decisions. but that's just me.

stevesan:
i find i usually share Yahtzee's opinions on games, so yeah, he does influence my buying decisions. but that's just me.

Absolutely, I totally agree. I often share the same opinions as Mr. Croshaw. I really just watch it for the comedy value now as I know I will more often than not share the same opinion as him.

I was dubious until I was given Halo3 for Christmas, and realised what a sodding dog it really was, and now I do give ZP real consideration when I'm choosing my games. If it's shitcanned, I steer clear, if it's a negative review, but not terrible, I rent or borrow from a mate. On the rare occasions that Yahtzee ejaculates golden streams of joy over a game...

...I still rent it first.

Most of the games that he has reviewed I have never thought of buying, precisly for the reasons that he goes on to describe. The last game a bought was super smash bros. for the N64, life was more fun when the controller was useful and not a magic wand.

His words do, but not his opinions. For example, I am able to deduce what gaming aspects or scenarios he's talking about without playing the games he reviews because he pitches them like a gamer would. I am able to somewhat get what the game is about at the end of the review, but I don't confuse his taste with mine.

For example, I wouldn't be buying Jericho because of his review- namely his description of the fight scenes and the general storyline (including the convolutions), knowing that I don't like that gameplay. In this case, I agree with Yahtzee.

I disagree with him on the matter of how much content should be spilled out by the game, namely by Mass Effect. I am an RPG lover and I can eat a good background and story with salt and pepper. For me, the fact that characters would involve me in their business or reveal to me their back-stories is great as long as its done with a discrete execution. In this case, I disagreed with his taste, but that's no criticism. It's just an observation.

So, yes, his reviews actually do matter to me. They serve well in scouting out games that might be potential buys. I haven't played most of the games he reviewed, but I do own the Orange Box, Psychonauts, and have played lots of Burnout: Paradise, and I totally agree with what his taste is on these, except for Ep. 2 toward which he seemed indifferent, while I thought it was a better game than both Ep. 1 and HL2, excluding game length from the equation. Overall I find myself loathing the average Japanese RPG and redundant, repetitive button-mashing, along with a bunch of other now-familiar Yahtzee pet-peeves. So, even with what I've said, my opinion does seem to concur with his, mostly. What's important is to know what one wants from a source of information and amusement.

His reviews are not only hilarious but point out the good and bad points in a blunt fashion.
A bad review however doesn't mean I wont still buy certain games(read:DMC4, Assassins Creed (on PC))however. Fantastic entertainment value though.

He has never swayed my opinion on a purchase, but that's because I usually form my own opinions on a game, rather than have someone else do it for me. I'm fairly stubborn in that regard, but I'm like that because, most reviewers are seemingly less critical than I am. Or at the very least, have ostensibly differing views.

Yahtzee on the other hand, while I still don't share many of his opinions, he's the most openly critical reviewer in the mainstream, which is incredibly ballsy, despite how charming a wanker he is.

Quite frankly, and I'm sure this has been stated before, he's probably the most important reviewer in the industry right now, if simply because of his blunt honesty, and secondarily, his refreshing method of critique.

I think it silly that some see him nothing as a funny man, or view his reviews as nothing more than simple comic relief. Sure they deliver in that regard, but that's akin to going to a Chris Hitchen's lecture for a good laugh. You'll most certainly get one, but the message is much more important than how it's being said.

He gets paid for criticising games, so it's generally not a good idea to use his review as the basis on whether you buy a game or not.

I can't say a Zero Punctuation has ever compelled me to go out and buy a game on it's own, but if he says a game is quite good, I may seek out a demo and check it out for myself. That said, that actually hasn't happened yet, as the games he liked, I already own.

Sandwiched right in between. I know if he praises a game, then it's awesome. The opposite is not true.

ZP doesn't influence my buying. I listen every week, but only because it's funny. Mostly he reviews PC games anyway and I'm not much of a PC gamer. The rest of the time, I just don't care about his opinion, it rarely matches mine. He tends to want an in-depth story and such for every game, but I don't mind the same re-hashed storyline over and over as long as the game's fun to play. I have a certain magazine who's reviewers' opinions align with my own much better.
Some of my favourite ZP reviews are actually for games I love.

ZP influenced the purchasing of the Orange Box for me.

As much as I enjoy Yahtzee's reviews I'm afraid that if I took them all seriously, I wouldn't own many games. Whenever he does postively review something I find it worth buying, like COD4, but he does exaggerate the problems of good games(DMC4) and even great games(Uncharted).

Only once thus far- with DMC4. The Sunday Paper's Entertainment section agreed with him, believe it or not- 2 Stars. I'll be buying it later or never. Though I do not share his seething hatred for JRPGs I am, like him, a sucker for artistic originality over big guns and explosions (see: Psychonauts Review).

I like to think of Mr. Croshaw as the Simon Cowell of Video Gaming; the neccessarily harsh judge out of many lazy reviewers who give out 10/10 scores like candy. If he actually praises a game with few complaints, I know it MUST be pretty good.

nilpferdkoenig:
People take what he says seriously?

LOL!

Hes all just fun and games guys.

That is what I thought. I happen to think some of the games he dislikes aren't for me (I will not play devil may cry, not my style) and some of the games he dislikes ARE for me (I still think Uncharted looks fun. And I loved Halo 3, even though it was a bit short.) So no, he doesn't influence what games I buy, but occasionally he informs me of games I wouldn't have even heard of... Damn him to hell for Peggle! Luckily my hard drive crashed, and I lost all my saves, or I might still play it.

Hasselbalch:
I don't use the Zero Punctuation episodes as some sort of "game-buying-guide" . And neither should anyone do.

We all have different tastes in games. Duh.
For example, I don't think he would find EA Skate too enjoyable, but since I skate myself, I can relate to it, and perhaps even get a bigger and better experience due to that.

Whatever. I just watch the episodes as entertainment.

I happen to love racing games, even though "Street Racer" games do tend to get on my nerves *Points at every Need For Speed game ever* for their unrealistic physics. But "Grinding" tracks isn't exactly uncommon. All games have some grind, and if driving is your thing, you won't mind. I sure as hell don't. His tastes and mine will always be a little different because I am a Car Guy first and foremost. Cars, books, women, Video Games. My four most important things in life, in order... Cars, Women, books, Video Games my four top interests, in order of most time spent on them. So, yeah, he and I will differ in opinions. But I take everything I see or read with a grain of salt anyway. Good entertainment value though.

I try to budget my gaming, so along with other sources, his opinion holds some weight. I don't think it's right to take his word as gospel, nor do I think people should dismiss it outright. It's designed to be humorous, but it's as valid a review as any other.

Well no, Mr. Croshaw is hilarious and he's got a great beard, not to mention his hat, he's just pure sex all over. But before I even watch his reviews I tend to have the same presumptions about a game or the same oppinions about a game I already own. I am very selective with my games and im not gonna buy Resident Evil Outbreak (especially not after RE4) or Burnout Paradise just to see if it's a trainwreck it almost speaks for itself, but it is nice to hear confimation from a reliable and intelligent source rather than Gamespot or IGN.

I'll admit it, he's seldom changed my opinion about games I know I'm gonna get anyway.
(UG - how to describe what I'm thinking in a way that makes sense.)

Yahtzee is an odd fellow. You don't have to agree with him, you don't even have to like him; but you have to admit, he THINKS about what he's going to say. He has a solid head on his shoulders, and he's not particularly afraid for his job or what his PR department is going to say. He has a sort of Eric Cartman, "Ah do what I whant!" vibe about him.

What I'm trying to say is regardless of whether or not I agree with him, I value his candor, and I value his opinions, because at least he takes the time to form them reasonably well. A good review these days is a rare thing, open any video game mag and flip to the review section, you'll probably get six page coverage of the games everybody was already going to get, and 1 paragraph coverage of the games you might actually like to know about. Yahtzee tends to cram allot of information into a funny five minute video, I get more out of Zero Punctuation then I do out of all my magazines. So yea, I don't agree with him from time to time, but that's fine, I don't need to agree with him - I like ZP anyway.

Yeah He seem's to have a similiar taste in games as me, I crippled myself unnessacerly in the psychonauts review(if you havn't played this go get it... NOW) , and he has a knack for pointing out all the sh**ty design chioces that plauge the games industry. I just wish industry people (you know who you are) would watch and make somthing friggen original instead of cloning sucesses, altering the plot, changing the gun's(slightly) and updating the graphics.