Chris Slate | Editor in Chief | Nintendo Power (US)
GR: Does a perfect score make a perfect game?
Chris: No, I don’t think so. It’s unrealistic to think that any game could be without a single flaw, especially across gamers’ broad tastes. Personally, I’ve always viewed a 10 score not as 'perfect,' but as 'our highest recommendation.' 10s are the year’s best games, the titles that are destined to be classics. And if a game really is head-and-shoulders above the rest, then I personally wouldn’t hesitate to acknowledge that by placing it in an elite class.
Many would argue that a 10 should never be attainable, that the review process should be about how close a game can come to perfection. That’s a valid argument, but I disagree simply because it’s fun to see a game get a 10. When you’re reading through reviews, in the back of your mind you’re waiting for that 9 or 10 to jump out at you, and when it does, there’s a satisfaction that you’ve found what you were looking for; you’ve dug up treasure at last.
At the end of the day, though, it’s just semantics.
