Reviews are like a double edged sword. On the one hand, the information they give you can be incredibly valuable before you purchase. Let's say you're thinking of getting a game as soon as it comes out of Beta because you've noticed hype building around the game and wanna join in. Then the user reviews from individuals with a pre-release come forward and say the game is unfinished, lacking many elements that were promised in development and so on. In this way the reviews just saved you a massive disappointment and potential waste of money. However, if you rely on them too much you'll find that the levels of criticism go much further. I know one reviewer who will drag nearly any game through the mud (except Knack babyyyyyyy!) and so it's ofen better advised to take every user review with a grain of salt.
It's also worth remembering that game reviewers play a lot of games, so over time the requirements to impress said reviewers become stricter and stricter. A game that is very good by its genre's standards might get an underwhelming review, simply because it doesn't break the mold. Yet to the players who want to play a game of that genre it's perfect, because it fits all the requirements for that genre, and also does it well. In this case listening to the reviewer might have put you off a game you would have fully enjoyed. It's still worth noting their opinion, but it's not fact, it's an opinion. And remembering that will allow you to make a decision and form your own opinion much easier. However, they are 100% listening to - the respectable ones i.e reviewers like videogamedunkey, yahtzee etc. (Yes, Dunkey is a good reviewer, he makes a lot of jokes and his scores are very often whack to fit the jokes, but what he says about the games he reviews is very accurate and logical, without necessarily being unfair) - because the information they share will tell you whether or not the game will fit your desires in a broader sense.
