Lashley
Why does he wear the mask!?
lol what?
what game besides DOOM hasn't been average to bad when the developer ships review copies late?
I have the game preloaded after my love of the first two, but I'm pessimistic.
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No Mafia III Review Copies Ahead of Launch
- Thread starter SunBroDave
- Start date
lol what?
what game besides DOOM hasn't been average to bad when the developer ships review copies late?
I have the game preloaded after my love of the first two, but I'm pessimistic.
Devilinthiscity
Member
Aw man, now i'm worried. It's looked so good so far from what they have shown. Lots of positive impressions as well. I hope it doesn't turn out bad.
Nameless
Member
I only preorder digitally for games I'm absolutely certain about and was already planning on getting a physical copy through Prime in case an out was needed. But there's a very narrow window of time before Battlefield and Dark Souls that I'll have room for this so scew waiting for reviews. Worst case scenario I lose ~$20 post trade-in.
Pretty much half of games released aren't available to review before like the day before or day of release. This notion that "No reviews on release = bad" has only come about because a couple of high-profile games have done it, when in actual fact it's far more common than you think.
No reviews on release does not equal bad.
Exactly. Not sure why people have recently started to act as though it's a worrying sign. Publishers want reviews to hit at the same time the game does so they can act as additional marketing for it. Reviews hitting before a games launch can cause less informed consumers to try and buy the game, realize it's not out yet, then forget about it.
Lashley
Why does he wear the mask!?
It really doesn't inspire confidence.
You have no reason to think that. It's absolutely not a thing.
It's funny that DOOM is the only game people can name that did this tactic and turned out great.
Plus you could tell Bethesda was pushing the multiplayer really hard only for it to get a mediocre response in the beta, which gives them a motive for not providing review copies at launch since they thought the game was bad.
Plus you could tell Bethesda was pushing the multiplayer really hard only for it to get a mediocre response in the beta, which gives them a motive for not providing review copies at launch since they thought the game was bad.
Lashley
Why does he wear the mask!?
I suppose we'll see when reviews hit.
I'll be playing either way, I just hope it's as good, if not better than the previous two.
It's difficult to say because it's only recently become an issue of reviewers coming out and saying when an embargo lifts. Before digital codes became the norm, I had gotten a few titles shipped in that arrived on or just after release.
PeterLegend
Member
Not a good sign imo...
Sounds like they dont have confidence in their game
Sounds like they dont have confidence in their game
That's not really a feasible thing to answer due to how common it actually is.
Seriously, even with digital codes, a very large percentage of games don't have review codes sent out until very close to or on release.
Delusibeta
Banned
The fact that you can't name an example, even a small indie game, does suggest you're talking out of your arse.
When a AAA doesn't provide advance review copies, it's almost always a sign that the game's not great. Doom is pretty much the only example I can think of an AAA game that turned out good despite no advance review copies.
Haha, believe me you don't know what you're talking about.
ScaryShark
Banned
Yep. Hardly a game that has been hidden.
Unless a game is completely off my radar and is then highly reviewed, scores for games are basically irrelevant for me at this point.
Love seeing people spread this, please don't ever pre-order. Buying full price should even be special.
Seems more you don't really know what you're talking about. At least for the major publishers, the embargo typically ends before the release date or even quite a bit before that. Most games with releasedate embargo lifts which I recall didn't turn out too well.
Yes, I do know what I'm talking about.
No reviews on launch day = bad, is simply wrong.
Pretty sure I have much more experience with embargos than you do.
Dying Light.
Yes, many embargos do end around a week before the release date, but many, many don't. It is in no way an indicator of quality.
Then please name examples if you have so much experience.
Splash Wave
Member
With all this experience, it shouldn't be hard to list at least one example. This isn't looking good for you, dude.
My two latest reviews are prime examples, Valley and The Bunker. Received review codes the day of release, and both received positive reviews from me. The Bunker sits at a 71 metacritic and Valley a 72.
That's not bad.
Umm, maybe we misunderstood each other. I was referring to major publishers/games. I'm not sure what the two titles you mentioned are, but after quick Bing search I assume those are smallish indie releases?
I honestly have never heard of those two titles. Were they hyped up and the publisher then only gave review codes on releasedate? The Metacritic scores aren't particularly good though, so even if those two titles were major releases, the games wouldn't fit particularly well.
But again, I think we aren't talking about smallish releases here. If we were, you'd definitely have a point. All those Android and iOS apps only get releasedate reviews.
BrassDragon
Member
I never expected stellar reviews for this because most reviewers hate a grindy play loop in open world games (which is understandable since they have to binge it before the review deadlines whereas 'normal' players can take it at their own pace which is my jam.)
But this embargo makes me worried there might be technical issues or gameplay glitches at launch.
I'll maintain my preorder for love of the setting and previous games and share my thoughts on launch day.
But this embargo makes me worried there might be technical issues or gameplay glitches at launch.
I'll maintain my preorder for love of the setting and previous games and share my thoughts on launch day.
Exactly.
Just because a couple of high-profile games have sent out review code on launch day and turned out bad, has tainted your whole view on the thing. In reality, across the whole industry it is a pretty common thing to happen.
Classifying two of the most original games in the last few months as "Android and IOS apps" means you aren't worth my time.
ScientificPizza
Banned
Nah bro
I think this is somewhat outdated thinking tbh. Obviously if you're unsure still wait for reviews, but the whole "no review copies means there's problems" just seems like a way for press to put more importance in what they do. I wouldn't be shocked if we saw more and more big budget games not give out review codes until just before or the day of launch.
lazer_bean
Member
it's not about people possibly forgetting to buy the game, publishers just don't want people to read bad reviews and change their mind while they still can
tiebreaker
Member
When in doubt, don't pre-order.
I'd just like to hear your examples of non-smallish games.
Maybe your reading comprehension is lacking but nowhere did I do it. I simply said that you are right if we just talk about all games in general and not big titles in particular. But the Metacritic scores also indicate that they apparently weren't really chritically acclaimed games. The lack of Wikipedia entries further indicates that they were some smallish titles.
But as you seemingly don't want to engage in this discussion and just shrug it off with "not worth my time", I assume you don't want to clarify your point and point out examples of major titles that had releasedate embargoes and were critically acclaimed.
Permanently A
Junior Member
In 2016, Neogaf still thinks it's an odd phenomenon that review copies don't get sent out even though it happens all the time.
Hell, Jeff Gerstmann said it used to happen MORE often.
Assassin's Creed Syndicate
Hell, Jeff Gerstmann said it used to happen MORE often.
Assassin's Creed Syndicate
Or, pre-order, get all the bonuses, and wait for reviews before opening the game. You can always return an unopened game for the full amount.
Delusibeta
Banned
Nah, that's mediocre at best. The average review score for all games is a 7.2/10 (judging by Open Critic, who helpfully has a histogram of all of the review scores they have in their database), so we're talking games that are on or slightly below the median in terms of review scores.
And, again, you're talking about small indie games, and we're talking about big AAA games. World of difference between the two.
erotic grandpa
Member
Yup. This is my approach with this game. Bonuses + $10 GCU, that I can forfeit with a return if things look bad (I'm hoping not - this looks like a pretty good high mid-tier title from the videos so far).
Dongs Macabre
aka Daedalos42
I really hope this turns out really good., since I preordered it. The last two games I preordered were Just Cause 3, which is basically broken on PC, and Battlefront, which is dead on PC.
That also ended up being a pretty divisive game, though.
As others have said, no review copies isn't a death sentence of any sort, and Doom turned out to be awesome, but it does raise an eyebrow.
OrbitalBeard
Member
This is going to become more commonplace as time goes on, regardless of a game's quality.
Now that review outlets don't heap hyperbolic praise onto every single semi-decent game anymore and due to many consumers making purchasing decisions based on a combination of marketing and YouTube/Twitch personalities, it makes less sense than ever to risk the success of your software on an early review that might not be glowing.
Now that review outlets don't heap hyperbolic praise onto every single semi-decent game anymore and due to many consumers making purchasing decisions based on a combination of marketing and YouTube/Twitch personalities, it makes less sense than ever to risk the success of your software on an early review that might not be glowing.
Admiral Woofington
Member
This is not a good sign and you're essentially now making me wait for reviews before I buy this, which means I won't buy at launch. Why would you do this?
In a year where we've already had The Witness, Uncharted 4, Doom, Dark Souls 3, Forza Horizon 3 etc., I think Mafia 3 is up shit creek with a turd for a paddle trying to win GOTY.
One reason is that they have a bunch of pre-orders and don't want to risk them cancelling when they predict mediocre reviews to come in.
Rellik
Member
This. Pre-orders matter to these companies (hence all the pre-order extras) and it would be a disaster if no one pre-ordered.
Peiple need to get used to no reviews before release. I'd only worry if you've seen no footage.