[Tervez]

I have seen the same problem, and I've learned one thing:

Don't trust reviews that come a day or too after the release of the game.

Really, I don't think that any modern game can be reviewed accurately by just a few hours of gameplay. There are just too many things in games, (not to say that's a bad thing) some of which might be good and some downright horrible. For example, I did like Oblivion's casting of magic system in favor of Morrowind's, you didn't have to put down your weapon to cast a spell, but the fact that they took out so many things that were good in Morrowind just made it bad. No levitate, what the heck? The fighting might have been dull in Morrowind, but atleast you met a challenge every now and then, unlike in Oblivion where every single enemy is exactly at your level, meaning you just have to hack it with your sword for 20 times, without even being in risk of dying unless there's many of them.

And the paid reviews thing is real, albeit I think there's still magazines and websites out there you can still trust.

So, when buying a game, I consider these factors important: How much does it cost? Is it still regularly talked about, even after years have passed after it's release? Has it received positive reviews even from "independent" reviewers, such as non-profit websites? If so, it's probably worth the buy.