what most influences your game purchases?

[HJ-Navarre]

I don't like MMOs with a box cover consisting of nothing but a face. (Guild Wars, EQ2, WoW)

That is an odd thought... but, come to think of it, I agree! I hated the Half Life 2 box, mainly because of nothing but the face on the front. I am a big fan of landscape photography, so I usually like to see characters or an action scene set in the game world landscape.

 

[Evran]

I'll admit that a good looking box will make me pick it up off the shelf and look closer when I'm just browsing in a store. But I never impulse buy just based on that alone. I always check out the game on its official site (if its a crappy site I usually don't buy it) and in some of the game magazines. I never look at online review sites as they are littered with stuff like "This game r0xx0rs d00d!!!11!!1!oneoneone" and other such insightful information. :rolleyes2: I don't usually pay attention to other player's reviews because I like to form my own judgements on a game. I'll also usually wait until the game has been out for about 2 weeks or so to avoid any online crush and to see if there were any major glitches.

 

[WatchMaker]

I think reviews and looks are what really pull players to a game.

 

[Daax]

Well, Gamespot, probably the biggest game reviewers ever, gave World of Warcraft a big fat 9.5, so that should tell you just how accurate game reviews are.