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I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately

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I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-13th-2008 9:09:16   
DarkFlame322

 

Posts: 23
Joined: Apr.-5th-2008
Status: offline 		It used to be that in like, EGM and Game Informer, most of the games were scoring 8 or above, but now, everything is down closer to 4 or 5. Has game quality dropped that much? Are the game companies starting to get lazy? Or are the reviewers just a lot pickier now?

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RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-13th-2008 9:26:52   
RuJoshin


Posts: 3695
Joined: Mar.-23th-2007
From: The Internets
Status: online 		If every game starts getting 8's and 9's and then a new better game comes along that truly deserves to set itself apart from those ones there is no room left to move, unless you rate the game a perfect 10.
Review scores can be tricky in a generation that is in a constant process of evolution.

I like the 1-5 or F-A scales the most I suppose  

< Message edited by RuJoshin -- Apr.-13th-2008 9:28:06 >

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RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-13th-2008 9:35:36   
LJWooly


Posts: 3962
Joined: Sep.-22th-2007
From: England
Status: offline 		The thing is, games reviewers' standards have dropped. I mean, it's gotten to the point where Edge, the self-proclaimed 'harshest' magazine out there, gives perfect 10's to games like Halo 3, when really they deserve 8's. In fact, just about every game that's recently scored a 9 deserved an 8, but reviewers have lost sight of their standards and integrity, and hand out 9's like free candy.

Maybe they're trying to get back on track.

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RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-13th-2008 9:37:45   
Douchebaggery


Posts: 1171
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From: MTL, Canada
Status: offline 		numbers sucks 

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RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-13th-2008 9:41:30   
DarkFlame322

 

Posts: 23
Joined: Apr.-5th-2008
Status: offline 		I wouldn't be surprised if the games getting 4's and 5's actually deserve them, since a lot of games coming out now capitalize on Disney success and some Cartoon Network and Nickolodeon properties, not to mention games that come from movies that are just really bad. I was just thinking; if this many games are being rated as average or below, are some game designers starting to slack because they can make easy money off of preteen and child-based properties? Or are there just a lot of genuinely bad original games out there now?

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"A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage."
"Those who do not know the danger of wielding power will, before long, be ruled by it...Never forget that."
"May the Lord smile..."
"...And the Devil have mercy."

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RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-13th-2008 9:48:23   
LJWooly


Posts: 3962
Joined: Sep.-22th-2007
From: England
Status: offline 		I guess reviews don't really 'matter' in the proper sense of the word anyway, and I laugh and laugh when people use avg. review scores on Metacritic to convince me of a game's quality. I missed the days when people didn't give a crap about reiews. We bought games, we liked 'em, or loved 'em, and what was crap to someone else could be an amazing experience to someone else.

Now, we all play the same games, and ignore the same games, which I think is sad. The gaming industry has, without a doubt, advanced over the years, but it's also become so "mainstream", which I hate.

And you know what's not helping? The Wii.

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RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-13th-2008 9:50:24   
DrPirate


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From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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quote:

ORIGINAL: LJWooly
And you know what's not helping? The Wii.


Fact.

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RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-13th-2008 9:55:57   
DarkFlame322

 

Posts: 23
Joined: Apr.-5th-2008
Status: offline 		I don't base my gaming choices on reviews, I just look at them to see what the magazines are saying. I've had quite a few times when I'm like 'Nah...that game wasn't that good' or 'Hey, I liked that game a lot better than that'.

The Wii isn't a villain, it just has a lot of games that are more accessible to new gamers than some of the other consoles. Put a new player in a game of Brawl with a person who rules at it. They're going to get destroyed. I would rather like to play No More Heroes and Battalion Wars II, I just haven't gotten a chance to pick them up yet. But I think the main problem people see with the Wii is that 'n00bs are stepping on our turf', but what are they really playing? Wii Sports and Mario Party, just like they tended to do on the Gamecube and the N64 when they came in as new. They stick to simplicity while we go for our complex gaming experiences that we can really enjoy.

_____________________________

"A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage."
"Those who do not know the danger of wielding power will, before long, be ruled by it...Never forget that."
"May the Lord smile..."
"...And the Devil have mercy."

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Post #: 8
RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-13th-2008 10:43:04   
sonarus


Posts: 3112
Joined: May-13th-2007
Status: online 		The problem with games getting low scores unnecessarily is the hype factor. Reviewers are simply a lot more critical on games without hype or games no one really seems to be paying so much attention to. In a game like halo 3 they could easily overlook framrate drops, mediocre visuals, weak story or whatever fault and still toss a 10 or a 9.5 up there because they know the halo nation will love the game regardless.
Other smaller games similar problems are not as easy to overlook

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RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-13th-2008 10:48:12   
LJWooly


Posts: 3962
Joined: Sep.-22th-2007
From: England
Status: offline 		The noobs aren't the problem, it's Nintendo. Sure, they helped shape the fine art of gaming into what it is today, but now they're getting away with turning it into something ugly, and are reapin the benefits like there's no tomorrow.

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RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-13th-2008 11:03:01   
BloodySinner


Posts: 957
Joined: Jun.-18th-2007
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quote:

ORIGINAL: LJWooly

The thing is, games reviewers' standards have dropped. I mean, it's gotten to the point where Edge, the self-proclaimed 'harshest' magazine out there, gives perfect 10's to games like Halo 3, when really they deserve 8's. In fact, just about every game that's recently scored a 9 deserved an 8, but reviewers have lost sight of their standards and integrity, and hand out 9's like free candy.

Maybe they're trying to get back on track.


In your opinion.

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Post #: 11
RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-13th-2008 12:08:04   
DarkFlame322

 

Posts: 23
Joined: Apr.-5th-2008
Status: offline 		I don't really see what it is that Nintendo is doing wrong. They're doing what they always did: Making a good system at a low price that tends to get some good first party games. The third party games haven't been great from what I've heard, but the games I've played on it are really good.

_____________________________

"A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage."
"Those who do not know the danger of wielding power will, before long, be ruled by it...Never forget that."
"May the Lord smile..."
"...And the Devil have mercy."

(in reply to LJWooly)
Post #: 12
RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-13th-2008 13:51:25   
LJWooly


Posts: 3962
Joined: Sep.-22th-2007
From: England
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quote:

ORIGINAL: DarkFlame322

I don't really see what it is that Nintendo is doing wrong. They're doing what they always did: Making a good system at a low price that tends to get some good first party games. The third party games haven't been great from what I've heard, but the games I've played on it are really good.


I see what you're saying, but I wasn't saying that they're necessarily doing anything wrong, it's just that they're not helping the situation.

Most people won't care, I'm just a bitter person, and I like to moan about things (I'm British) so don't mind me. I love the Wii, and it's games, it's just that Nintendo, as a company, rather seflishly aimed their console at the 'casual gamer' (computer-illiterate old age pensioners and 4-year-olds) which means they're playing it safe.
I don't really respect big companies anyway, but even less so when they avoid taking risks at all, gain from it far more than the competition, and (in the bigger picture, you probably won't care about this) ultimately 'hurt' the insustry in which they participate. Not hurt the industry financially, of course, in that respect, they're doing very well.

Like I said, ignore me, I'm just sad

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RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-13th-2008 14:00:42   
FAT MAN GO BOOM


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Joined: Feb.-15th-2008
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: DrPirate

quote:

ORIGINAL: LJWooly
And you know what's not helping? The Wii.


Fact.



You guys are so right.... it is going to become that we are going to be the minority and game companies will cater to Soccer moms and their hell spawn...

As this happens we will see shorter and shorter games and more and more Party games... games that can be put in play 20 or 30 mins than walk away...

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RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-18th-2008 15:25:44   
DarkFlame322

 

Posts: 23
Joined: Apr.-5th-2008
Status: offline 		Point taken. I do understand that if the big companies decide to play it safer with more and more games, 'real' gamers like us are going to start slandering the industry we've given so much to and expected that much from because they just stopped delivering. Nintendo isn't playing it COMPLETELY safe, though. They're still venturing quite a bit on the DS and there are some games like No More Heroes and even Smash Bros. that can be hit or miss with people.

To me, it seems like Nintendo IS trying to work on a balance, but they might be putting more focus on the DS in terms of their more serious and out there ventures, like The World Ends With You, because I think they want the gamer to be able to play these games more often: should a player be using a handheld system, they can log more time with most games than they can with a console because the handhelds can actually go places with the gamer in question. It makes a bit more sense to make your more adventurous games end up on systems where more time can be spent on them, because if no one has any time to play them, what good is making them?

_____________________________

"A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage."
"Those who do not know the danger of wielding power will, before long, be ruled by it...Never forget that."
"May the Lord smile..."
"...And the Devil have mercy."

(in reply to FAT MAN GO BOOM)
Post #: 15
RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-18th-2008 15:32:54   
DarkSniper


Posts: 2019
Joined: Oct.-5th-2007
From: Texas
Status: offline 		I think the quality of games have reduced dramatically.  Development costs for games are so expensive, that devs these days only stick to the tried and true to ensure at least a profit on their product. 

In the days with PS1 and Saturn, it only cost a couple cents to for the CD-Rom purchase and the technology wasnt as expensive as it is now.  Devs were wild on what they created.

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RE: I've noticed something in magazine reviews lately - Apr.-18th-2008 15:35:40   
PS360WII


Posts: 3073
Joined: Mar.-22th-2007
Status: offline 		yeah I think they should do away with numbers and specially do away with the averaging of reviews for the "final" score.

Yes cost is increasing crazy time and originality is slowly lowering because of it.  I guess that's why dlc is thriving and PSN, XBLA, and WiiWare are here for the rescue

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