History Main / BrokeTheRatingscale

** And now a [[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101006/REVIEWS/101009983/-1/RSS third time]], for the remake of ISpitOnYourGrave
-->'''Ebert''': Women, ask your dates... Why did we go to this particular film? Did you know there were two new four-star films playing in the same multiplex?

* Zac Bertschy from ''Anime News Network'' is infamous for these during the annual season previews. He gave the first episode of ''[[QueensBlade Queen's Blade]]'' an animated gif of a smiley face shooting itself in the head out of 5. He also gave the first episode of ''AsuraRisin'' an animated gif of a smiley banging its head against a wall out of 5.

* Zac Bertschy gave ''[[QueensBlade Queen's Blade]]'' an animated gif of a smiley face shooting itself in the head out of 5.

* [[InUniverse In-game example:]] It is possible through skilled play (that is, by [[AIBreaker exploiting the AI]]) to achieve a ranking in ''WiiSports'' that is not just off the scale, but off the ''screen''.

Basically, OffTheScale applied to reviews: the movie/video game/whatever has made such an impact on the reviewer that he is willing to break the usual rules of classification of his medium to rate it. Usually done when something is SoBadItsHorrible, though there may be exceptions.

** Also, SuperMarioGalaxy on the Italian Official Nintendo Magazine. As the magazine had always been known for being far too generous regarding scores to Nintendo games, readers' backlash [[{{Understatement}} raged]]. Two years later, they gave [[EvenBetterSequel its even better]] [[SuperMarioGalaxy2 sequel]] a [[WallBanger 10 out of 10.]]

# and the most extreme form, the reviewer simply--and often explicitly--''refuses to assign a rating at all.''

--> '''Ebert''': "Note: I am not giving a star rating to ``Pink Flamingos,'' because stars simply seem not to apply. It should be considered not as a film but as a fact, or perhaps as an object. "

* ''X-Play'' refused to rate ''BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing'' because their system only went down to 1, which would imply that [[EpicFail it was actually a game]] -- although as mentioned under Type 1, they did not do the same for ''E.T.''. Other games featured in the "games you should never buy" segment, such as Barbie Horse Adventure or Flags (a "flag waving in the wind" simulator), also were not rated.

* The Dread Central review of ''The 13th Alley'': [[http://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/13th-alley-the-2008 One BILLION knives out of 5]] (the review thought it was a SoBadItsGood masterpiece).

* Non-video-game example: ''BeavisAndButthead'' commenting on music videos. In two cases (Milli Vanilli and Vanilla Ice), they just stared in silent horror for a while before changing the channel.

** Reading her recent political writing, I'm not so sure that was a joke. (The first election she voted in was 2000, and she was so proud to be a part of voting Bill Clinton out of office...)

* Non-video-game example: ''BeavisAndButthead''. In two cases (Milli Vanilli and Vanilla Ice), instead of criticizing the video, they just stared in silent horror for a while before changing the channel.

* ''X-Play'' refused to rate ''BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing'' because their system only went down to 1, which would imply that [[EpicFail it was actually a game]] -- although as mentioned under Type 1, they did not do the same for ''E.T.''.