Today Valve launched a new feature for its digital games market Steam that should make it easier to find games you actually want to play. Called Steam Reviews, the service is essentially user-generated reviews, much like what you see on sites like Amazon. You can read and write reviews that will be displayed on a game's page, up or downvote reviews based on how helpful they are, as well as filter reviews by author.

According to Valve, the company will still keep the Metacritic rating currently displayed on a game's page, so you'll be able to see both how much critics liked a game as well as other Steam users. You can write a review for any Steam game that you've played and the time you've spent playing it will be displayed as well. "Once a user has played a game or used a software title on Steam, they are able to write a review of that product and share their experience with everyone on Steam," the company explains.

The announcement follows along with the company's desire to give users more power to shape the Steam experience, which includes the potential for user generated Steam stores. "Right now there's one Steam store. We think that the store should actually be more like user generated content," Gabe Newell told The Verge in January. "So, anybody should be able to create a store, and it should be about extra entertainment value." The open beta for Steam Reviews starts today.