Disheartening EGM scores (1 Viewer)

[Romier S]

6-6-6? Yikes!

The game of the beast

 

[Derrik Draven]

I've always wondered, do the developers themselves know what's being said about their upcoming product? Do game developers read whether previewers are getting either a positive or negative vibe from their demos?
Like Sunbreeze. Isn't that who's doing Enclave? Do you think they give a shite that most previews are coming in at best, lukewarm? If not...why not? If so...what do they do about it, if they can at this point?
Just for my personal perspective, if I was slaving away on a game that I've been working on for 2 years, only to read all the early previewers saying that it basically is bland ie, sucks...I'd feel like slitting my wrists.

 

[Damien]

those egm scores sound good to me, jsrf and morrowind do have problems

 

[Romier S]

those egm scores sound good to me, jsrf and morrowind do have problems

So does Munch's Odysee and Crazy Taxi 3 but EGM saw fit to give those games 8's and 9's. Theres no point in trying to figure out why reviewers give what they give since...say it with me now...its thier opinion.

 

[Andre F]

....and it still can be good. The best reviewer in the world is you. (not specifically you Brian but you get my drift). Countless games have come out that have gotten 6's and 7's that I love. Try the games out for yourselves, reviews are nothing but an opinion and allot of times..yours may differ.

Very true. However, I've learned to live and die by the reviews in magazines like EGM, they save me money and almost everytime I go against them I get burned. As stated above this is only my opinion.
-Andre F

 

[Romier S]

However, I've learned to live and die by the reviews in magazines like EGM, they save me money and almost everytime I go against them I get burned. As stated above this is only my opinion.

Most definitely Andre. If you can find a mag/website that jives well with your opinion and taste of games, thats a good thing. Personally I have a really hard time finding that. I use to enjoy IGN's reviews allot and a majority of the time I agreed with them. In the past 2-3 months I've been feeling the opposite.

I've just resigned myself to buying/renting what I see fit and judging for myself. I can always take the game back if I dont like it anyway.

 

[James Zos]

No WAY Hunter deserves a 6.5. No way. I read one magazine interview (might have been EGM) that was highly critical of Hunter because - now get this - you had to reload your weapons. How stupid is that?
With NextGen gone, I prefer web reviews almost entirely to magazine reviews ...
And another thing: what's up with saying in a review that an Xbox version of a game has superior graphics to a PS2 or Gamecube version of a game, but other than that, they're the same game - then ranking the Xbox version LOWER than the other system's version? I've seen capsule reviews in a magazine, in the same issue of the magazine, I might add, that did just that.

 

[Brandon_H]

I can understand giving an Xbox port lower rankings, even if its gameplay is essentially equal to the same title on other platforms.
For one thing, XBox versions SHOULD have better graphics than their competitors' ports. In fact, the graphics should be much better. The machine is more powerful. If all a developer does is port a PS2 title over and add a little bling-bling, that shouldn't be enough to warrant an equal or better score for the Xbox version.
After all, the Xbox version isn't being judged only against different versions of the same game across other platforms. It's being judged against other Xbox titles, too.
A theoretical situation -- if the Xbox version of say, "Racer X" is a little better graphically than the PS2 version -- which scored 7.0 -- that doesn't mean Xbox "Racer X" should get a 7.0 or an 8.0. That would put it in same rare air as, say, "Project Gotham Racing," even though it's really just a gussied-up port of an average PS2 racer.
Also, there are other factors to consider. For example, how does the control translate to the Xbox? Have the developers implemented a good scheme, or do competing platforms' versions feel more "natural?"
Control schemes should feel natural regardless of platform. Thus, developers have to consider issues such as the idiosyncracies of each platform's controller. If the Xbox's controller makes it tough to access certain buttons, mission-critical commands shouldn't be mapped to those buttons -- just as they shouldn't be mapped to the "Z" button on Gamecubes or the L3/R3 buttons on PS2.
If the developers port the title with a half-assed control scheme, points off, no matter how equal the gameplay or pretty the graphics. Example: "SSX Tricky."
Also, remember that reviewing is subjective by nature. A game that floats the boat of the Gamecube reviewer might not do diddly for the Xbox reviewer. That's the nature of the beast, be it criticism of movies, music, books, TV, or yes, even games. You have to find not only specific publications with reviews you trust, but also reviewers whose work you trust. I know that, for example, I tend to agree with Richard Roeper more often than Roger Ebert. Not to say I don't like Ebert, but my tastes don't always mesh with his. (Hey, I enjoyed "Spider-Man" and "Episode II" immensely.)
Anyway, there's my not-so-brief defense of critics everywhere. I'll step off the soapbox now.

 

[BrianB]

Well, I've got the issue of EGM featuring the Buffy etc reviews right here. And the Buffy score perplexes me - the review text is very favourable, with the only real negative points being:

• soundbites are repeated too often
• one person complained of a large difficultly spike late in the game
• another person complained of annoying controls & slow camera
• combat can get repetitive (a common complaint for many games!) in the early stages

The main opinion (which gave the game 7.5) is VERY complimentary of it - "the melee fighting is way better than that of modern brawlers like DTR or SOE", "The graphics also took me by suprise ... put buffy among the upper echelon of Xbox lookers", "Buffy fans pick it up - everyone else, give it a try. YOu'll likely get hooked".

 

[Brandon_H]

I'm not a Buffy fan, but I find the review text promising since LucasArts' new Indy title will use the same engine.

 

[Romier S]

Brandon can you quote some of the Enclave review for me? I'm kind of curious as to what thier gripes were....

 

[Brandon_H]

Sorry, I don't actually have the mag. I was going by BrianB's "Buffy" quotes in the previous post. I'll be swinging by Borders later this afternoon though, so if I find EGM I'll post Enclave stuff here. . .
There is an Enclave review up at www.extendedplay.com I believe.

 

[BrianB]

Choice quotes from the Enclave EGM review:

• "a game that's more fun to look at than play"
• "you'll trudge deep into a keep to rescue a wizard and find a nonsensical puzzle you must solve in one go or it's game over"
• "It makes for a tedious cycle of die, retry, die, retry and it doesn't help that the combat system feels chunky"
• For every compliment I can give Enclave, there's a complaint to go along with it"
• "this game gets /hard/ and most levels have no save points"
• "Enclave succeeds at delivering subtly gorgeous graphics, an atomspheric soundtrack and a lengthy quest rife with unique characters to recruit. It's just that the somewhat haphazard combat renders the game furstrating"
• "first person shooter fans looking for a change of pace will enjoy it"

I'd say the review isn't as positive as the Buffy one, but they still seemed to enjoy certain aspects of it. Sounds like it was hampered by some bad decision-making with the combat & level structure.
A mate in the UK picked it up last week & is mostly enjoying it - he's compared it to a souped up "Draconus" on the DC.

 

[Damien]

buffy may be another hunter, still can be fun as hell with the right setting. We'll see, but I'll check it out when it hits the stores. EGM can sometimes be strict on certain types of games, and beat-em up's seem to be the number 1 type(imo they give sports games high scores each year). It may get more positive reactions towards its release, but 6's still aren't the most encouraging intial scores. After doing more research, I think I've lost any interest in Dead to Rights, I'm not hearing too much positive on that front from anywhere. Very suprising, especially since this was from Namco(2 in a row since Smashing Drive). I'm not going to get Enclave, especially since Morrowind is out, and in the next few months a lot of games will be coming out that i'll want to pick up. X-box scores are always made in comparison to similar games on the console. Splashdown may get a 9 on PS2, but on X-box it doesn't compare to Moto GP or Rallisport than it gets a 7.

 

[Romier S]

he's compared it to a souped up "Draconus" on the DC.

Brian you gave me all I needed to hear my friend! You know my feelings on Draconus.

 

[BrianB]

Brian you gave me all I needed to hear my friend! You know my feelings on Draconus.

Actually started playing Draconus last week, but haven't gotten far in it - trying to defeat a Minotaur currently. It's competing with Sword of the Berserk for playtime.

 

[Romier S]

It's competing with Sword of the Berserk for playtime

oooh, another good one. The actual Anime for Bezerk is being released right now Brian (The first two volumes are out in the US I believe). If you are interested in Anime (I'm not sure if you are) and like the story of Guts in SOTB you might want to try them out. (If you already have picked up them up or seen them, ignore my drivel)
PS. If you are playing with the warrior in Draconus, a good technique to kill the Minotaurs is to use the "Chopping" downward slash on them. Do the slash..fall back...do the slash..fall back. Hit and run tactics work the best. Oh and use the Ax if possible. It will deal about 300 points of damage per hit if I remember correctly. (its been awhile since I played Draconus). A little tip for you in case you needed it.

 

[Joseph Young]

The way I see it, re: Buffy.
If you've been looking forward to the Xbox Buffy game for some time, and have expectations, it means you're a Buffy fan. Buffy fans should enjoy the game and get the most out of it. Therefore everyone here who was looking forward to it should enjoy it.
Did anyone ever truly think that Buffy was going to go as far as to revolutionize the brawler genre?? Nevertheless its pros seem to outweigh its cons, even in the most critical review.
Romier & BrianB.. I'm just now getting into Draconus myself and pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere and sound design. And George Takai lending his voice to the game.. wow. (I'm still in the Elf/treetop village).
Joseph

 

[Edan W]

For anyone who's interested, there is a review of Enclave up at Gamespot now. Not a very good score and most of the reviewer's gripes seem to echo previous sentiments from the guys at EGM.

Reviews be damned, I'm still going to pick this one up.

 

[Andy Sheets]

I saw the Enclave score and couldn't help smiling because after reading a largely positive preview of the game from GS a couple of months ago, I told someone else "You know they're still going to give the game a 6.8 anyway". I didn't expect to be so on-target
I think I'm actually going to give it a shot. It might suck, but for some reason it just seems like it's worth a risk. If I really don't like it I'll just exchange it for something else.