I've spent a large part of my life as a game reviewer, over 20 years, although I was not a reviewer of this game (I'm not active anymore). I'm glad I'm on an anonymous forum, because I used to get all kinds of mail, nasty stuff, etc.
Just like movie reviews or book reviews, its important to find reviewers that match your particular taste. For all fothese media, there is a 'style' element. What is a bette movie, Casablanca, Star Wars, of the Godfather? There are personal issues involved in taste.
Any reviewer will tell you -- its more important to read the content of the review than the number at the end.
Nonetheless, the view that we are all in the pockets of major companies is overly skeptical and factually incorrect.
So, if a movie wins the Best Picture Academy Award, its no assurance that you will like the movie, and I disagree with a lot of the Academy's choices. But it DOES MEAN that a lot of professionals do like the movie.
The computer game reviewers are hard working, and take their jobs very seriously. The fact that so many professional reviewers like the game is taken very seriously by gaming executives, and they do represent (between them) a lot of the gaming populace.
As I said, you don't have to agree with them. But please take the work of these individuals seriously, and the ringing chorus of support for CIV IV is a significant event.
There is one significant difference between games and movies. In movies, there is the professional reviews, and there is the box office results. In gaming, there are professional reviews and sales. In gaming, however, there is a period afterward, where the game can be played a long time. Fan support, long-term views, etc. are more important in gaming.
For CIV IV, we clearly have outstanding reviews. It appears many people have techncal issues. We have good sales. How the gaming community feels about the game now is hard to determine.
Best wishes,
Breunor