Like it or not, reviews do matter. Perfect reviews matter even more! But what does perfection? Game site Games Radar quizzed a gaggle of game journo editors. Here are the highlights:

Rob Smith, Editor in Cheif, PSM: “A game doesn’t have to be perfect to get a 10. No game is perfect. I guess that’s the difference in the 10 scale vs. the 100 scale, where you kind of assume a 100 is perfect because you can get closer to that edge. With a 10, no.”

Ross Atherton, Editor, PC Gamer (UK): “I think people get hung up on review scores generally and a score is just a signifier to tell you how good a game is compared to other things out there and what kind of experience you’re going to get from it. Everyone’s experience of a game differs slightly. And no, a 10 doesn’t equal a perfect game.”

Francesca Reyes, EIC, Official Xbox Magazine (US): “When we award something a 10, we want it to be given considerable weight, like, ‘this is the pinnacle of what it does at this moment in time’ because who knows, a year from now or five months down the line there might be something that does it better. But for right now, everyone should check out this game, or at least consider it because we consider it to be at the top tier of games.”

Tim Clark, Editor, Official PlayStation Magazine (UK): “I think the first thing that strikes us is that it has to be an instant classic — you know a 10 when you see it. It’s like a purebred. It’s something that just seems streets ahead of what other developers are doing with the same technology and often in the same genre.”

Tony Mott, EIC, Edge (UK): “Broadly speaking, though, I do think 10s are thrown about a bit too casually. I do see some 10s that strike me as misleading to the consumer. I think when the consumer sees ’10′ on the page it should make them stop and think about it. It should make them think, ‘This isn’t just a game that’s recommended; I actually must have this game’.”

Chris Slate, EIC, Nintendo Power: “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.”

What about you Kotakuland? What do you think about 10s? Do you usually agree with most 10s you’ve read and played? Does that score influence your purchases? Hit us up in the comments section. That’s what it’s for. The Meaning of Ten [Games Radar]