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[BruceLeeRoy]

Eh I got all the review I needed from the Beta.
Can't wait baby

 

[Bsigg12]

What kind of shitty reviewer would want to get a review for a online focused game out day 1 anyway?


Its always a bad idea.

Seeing content and being able to talk about that without a score and then over the first couple weeks update the review with how the connected experience holds up as a whole would work. It's how places handle MMO reviews.

 

[DSN2K]

Game doesn't lend it self to a normal review, I'd be interested in somebody's thoughts say after two weeks with the game.

 

[Chocolate & Vanilla]

Don't recall any other MMO getting proper reviews before launch.

 

[David___]

I was expecting it to be because of all the multiplayer features, but it is kind of shady that it's just because they won't let reviewers get their copy before the 8th. The game went gold a while ago didn't it?

If by "a while" you mean literally a week ago, yes.

 

[Creaking]

Glad I'm not too excited for this game. TBH, even if it reviews well, I probably won't get it until later down the line.

 

[DieH@rd]

serious question : if amazon or any retailer send or put in stores a day early, can we play it ? will severs be up ? Bannable to play before launch ?

Even startup character selection screen demands connection to a server. If they don't want to allow anyone to play early, they can easily make it so.

 

[broony]

You don't have throw up a score on day one. But a writeup about the game's single player and relative amount of content in the game would be pretty useful to some people.

I think you will see that and plenty if streams from games sites on the 8th.

Sounds like Polygon should have really understood the reasons and not written the article with such a negative tone.

 

[Quotient]

Any outlet willing to review online experience prior to release isn't worth a reader's time. I'd even call them dishonest.

I very much agree with this.

 

[Poodlestrike]

Barometer? For what? Length or amount of content? There's four planets, five strikes (six on PS), and a raid. That should give you an indication as to how much stuff there is. More if you count grinding, loot collecting, and such.

If you mean a barometer for quality I think there's more than enough there to make a judgement for yourself as to the standard of quality for the game.

Length, amount, and quality of content. I don't think people should be expected to go in with their eyes closed. I'm getting it day 1, because I'm wagering that there'll be enough there to justify the decision and because exploring a brand new digital world with people is a fairly unique experience, but let's not pretend there's no risk here.

 

[Ooccoo]

Only one raid is gonna lower the score by a whole point

 

[Brakke]

Sounds like Bungie really wants reviews to say things like "yeah I was on this mission and it was tough but luckily some other person in my instance organically grouped up with me and that was magical". If they believe that's a core part of the experience, then of course they want to make sure people aren't reviewing it on empty servers.

You don't have throw up a score on day one. But a writeup about the game's single player and relative amount of content in the game would be pretty useful to some people.

How could you possibly know the relative amount of content unless you get a chance to play it through...

 

[katsubento]

I think you will see that and plenty if streams from games sites on the 8th.

Sounds like Polygon should have really understood the reasons and not written the article with such a negative tone.

It's Polygon.

 

[stump sock]

I already know I like the game, lord knows I've played a ton of it already. The only thing I need out of a release-day review is an idea of the breadth or scope of the game, and that's just a curiosity thing. I'm getting it either way.

I'd be interested to read reviews after it's actually been out for a few weeks and running in its natural state.

 

[NexusGamer]

"Will be working to get the review done ASAP"

So we can expect a totally quality, non-rushed review then? heh....

 

[GlamFM]

Not really surprising based on the always online nature of the game.

Most reviewers would have waited for the servers to be populated anyway I assume.

 

[AmuroChan]

Ruh roh. This isn't exactly the best sign...

I will hold off on buying this until reviews start coming in post-release. I really enjoyed the moment to moment gameplay in the alpha and beta (it's like Halo with magic!), but there's still a lot that I'm skeptical about, and the fact they aren't sending out review copies until the day before is a red flag to me.

Or maybe they saw the BF4 fiasco and decided not to send out review copies too early because the reviewers wouldn't be reviewing the game under the same conditions as the gamers. If the reviews all say there are no server issues (since there's only a small amount of people on before release) and then on Day 1 the server is hammered and can't handle all the traffic, the PR backlash would be enormous.

 

[UnluckyKate]

Game doesn't lend it self to a normal review, I'd be interested in somebody's thoughts say after two weeks with the game.

True. After beta, I'm sold on gameplay and design. If the story sucks (will probably sucks, Bungie is good at world building, not story telling) or if the content is not as big as expected, or if it gets too repetitive, I won't care much as I expect that already. I don't see Destiny being a ground breaking achievement or revolution. Just a very cool mmo fps that's half way between Halo and Borderlands. And that's enough for me after the extensive beta test to sell me the game, no matter what reviews will tell before or after launch day

 

[urk]

How do you review a game that depends on its living world and community, at launch?

We'll talk more about this in the update, but we did explore simulating a vibrant pre-launch population by giving early access to some fictive group, employing hired resources, and/or raising an army of sentient, killer robots. Ultimately, given that most reviewers are going to need to spend time with Destiny in the real world, under real conditions, we opted to have reviewers play alongside real players.

 

[Hoo-doo]

Reviewing this without a community present kind of defeats the purpose anyway.

Review the game like it was meant to be played, I can understand Bungie's stance on this.
I won't shed a tear for IGN's pageviews. Ah who am I kidding, they'll be 24/7 streaming it anyway.

 

[harrypmgaga]

Length, amount, and quality of content. I don't think people should be expected to go in with their eyes closed. I'm getting it day 1, because I'm wagering that there'll be enough there to justify the decision and because exploring a brand new digital world with people is a fairly unique experience, but let's not pretend there's no risk here.

I'm just curious if the people condemning Destiny for it's supposed "lack of content" scrutinise how many levels or worlds a Mario has, or how many campaign hours a modern military shooter has before they buy it.

 

[daegan]

It's ludicrous that anyone thought they could have a truly credible review on launch day anyway.

 

[BeforeU]

Not happy about this

 

[Admiral Woofington]

are people serious about cancelling preorders based on this? Alpha and Beta reception was largely positive, not to mention that this wouldn't be the first publisher to force reviews to come out after midnight release so it doesn't say shit about the quality of the game. It's a business move to guarantee no pre orders are cancelled it absolutely does not mean the game is shit.

Jesus I want to see your cancelled receipts, because going to threads just saying "pre order cancelled" and meaning it, then you must be such a flip flopping individual if a thread later you pre order again. You sure you aren't politicians?

 

[Cat Party]

The beta sold me on the gameplay, but my concern is the amount of content.

Sounds like I'll have to wait to buy.

 

[StoOgE]

So my gut is everyones fears about the amount of content available are well justified.

Still have a preorder/preloaded copy ready to roll on day 1 but I do worry about longevity here.

 

[JABEE]

No one should have their review out by September 9th.

 

[ComputerMKII]

We'll talk more about this in the update, but we did explore simulating a vibrant pre-launch population by giving early access to some fictive group, employing hired resources, and/or raising an army of sentient, killer robots. Ultimately, given that most reviewers are going to need to spend time with Destiny in the real world, under real conditions, we opted to have reviewers play alongside real players.

Thanks for the answer, urk My preorder is ready anyway. See you next week, in space!

 

[MikeXXIeaf]

No surprise there. It's a big budget AAA title in 2014; any and all tricks in order to skate by with higher sales will be used.

 

[broony]

We'll talk more about this in the update, but we did explore simulating a vibrant pre-launch population by giving early access to some fictive group, employing hired resources, and/or raising an army of sentient, killer robots. Ultimately, given that most reviewers are going to need to spend time with Destiny in the real world, under real conditions, we opted to have reviewers play alongside real players.

Thank you urk.

Will people with review copies be allowed to stream on the 8th?

 

[GlamFM]

"Will be working to get the review done ASAP"

So we can expect a totally quality, non-rushed review then? heh....

Dude, seriously...

They made this statement specifically to tell us that the don´t want to rush the review.

I know hating on Polygon is en vogue, but at least put some effort into it...

 

[everyday math]

We'll talk more about this in the update, but we did explore simulating a vibrant pre-launch population by giving early access to some fictive group, employing hired resources, and/or raising an army of sentient, killer robots. Ultimately, given that most reviewers are going to need to spend time with Destiny in the real world, under real conditions, we opted to have reviewers play alongside real players.

Which is the correct decision.

 

[Kill3r7]

Most of us have already invested more time on the alpha/beta than the avg person does playing a AAA game. I am certain that I am getting my monies worth.

 

[Venturer]

No one should have a review out by September 9th.

I bet reviewers will still put them up.

 

[Vire]

I'm just curious if the people condemning Destiny for it's supposed "lack of content" scrutinise how many levels or worlds a Mario has, or how many campaign hours a modern military shooter has before they buy it.

Some games are more contingent on the amount of content than others. When exploration and setting foot on foreign planets is a huge part of the game's appeal, it's definitely understandable.

 

[Late Flag]

I felt like my time in beta was enough for me to make a decision on my own, without needing to rely on reviews.

 

[Revolutionary]

So it's the same deal as the average MMO review.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Don't know why Activision are sending review copies so late.

They are not very confident in this game (despite the fact that they spending huge sums of money on marketing), that's why.

 

[Poodlestrike]

I'm just curious if the people condemning Destiny for it's supposed "lack of content" scrutinise how many levels or worlds a Mario has, or how many campaign hours a modern military shooter has before they buy it.

Those are different types of games, though. Destiny is something fairly new, and wanting to get the best picture of it possible before buying isn't an unreasonable position to take.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

This would probably be annoying if I didn't play and enjoy the Alpha/Beta so much.

 

[uncleniccius]

Not really surprising based on the always online nature of the game.

Most reviewers would have waited for the servers to be populated anyway I assume.

Wouldn't it have made sense to give in advance copies to reviewers and allow them to see a lot of the content, and then allow them to see how it plays with other people/test the servers later?

This sucks.

 

[TRI Mike]

I got scared at first but remembered that Bungie tweeted a few days ago that the servers will accept players as soon as it is Sep 9th somewhere in the world. If the entirety of the game is online, reviewers wouldn't be able to play anyway until launch.

 

[Katana_Strikes]

If I hadn't absolutely loved it playing the alpha and beta I'd be worried. I dislike these practices. I am however not worried one bit.

 

[David___]

They are not very confident in this game (despite the fact that they spending huge sums of money on marketing), that's why.

Give me a break. If they didn't have confidence in the game they wouldn't waste money marketing it.

 

[stump sock]

Seeing content and being able to talk about that without a score and then over the first couple weeks update the review with how the connected experience holds up as a whole would work. It's how places handle MMO reviews.

I bet a good number of those major sites are really wringing their hands over the prospect of not being able to put a number on it on day 1 (that's how you get traffic, after all, right?).

I'd be really suspicious of anyone who plops a score on what is effectively an mmo on the first day of public availability. Polygon will probably give it a score, since they've decided they can just change it whenever they want.

 

[Banjo-Kazooie]

Luckily I played an Alpha and a Beta, so I don't really need a review

 

[Frog-fu]

The game has a number of DLC announced/planned so perhaps the base game will be bare enough to actually cost it points, which could diminish sales.

 

[Karl Hawk]

They are not very confident in this game (despite the fact that they spending huge sums of money on marketing), that's why.

Yet the overwhelming reception for Destiny's Alpha/Beta were positive. You're just reading too much into it, pal.

 

[akira28]

Oh boy can't wait to hear about people canceling preorders!

Pre-orders are a pain in the ass anyway. no one cares if you ordered early and no one gives a single fuck if you cancel, unless you're the publisher/retailer.

 

[harrypmgaga]

Those are different types of games, though. Destiny is something fairly new, and wanting to get the best picture of it possible before buying isn't an unreasonable position to take.

I get that if literally nothing was known about the games, but when there are entire level lists, strike lists, it's not like it's impossible to figure out what you'll get out of the game (heck even a ballpark figure) based on extrapolating what was in the beta.