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AusGAF 6 - Ricki Lee is awful. Everything else about Australia is AMAZING [Free hugs]
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codswallop
Member
If ten out of ten isn't perfect...
Now I'm confused!
Now I'm confused!
I think a lot of people struggle with that interpretation of 10/10 or whatever review score is given.
BananaArnie
Member
WEEKEND!
Do you? The game had severe technical flaws that were well documented post-release, but curiously unmentioned in most reviews.
Objectively, the game was a technical mess. I don't need to play the game to get a subjective opinion on its quality - I've already stated it's a genre and developer that doesn't interest me. I can't comment about its quality on non-technical fronts (except to say it doesnt excite), , but I can comment based on factual statements about performance. A review should be mentioning serious flaws like frequent zero fps lockups, very few of them did, and millions of people ended up buying it on PS3 in particular who should rightly be critical of the review process.
So I can call them out on it for sure, and surely you can rationalise that.
I'm not saying 10 = perfect. I'm more irked that a game can get universal praise with nary a mention of serious technical flaws.
The PS3 issues going unmentioned I guess points to a fault of multiplatform reviews assuming that the experience is going to be the same for each platform, when they rarely are. Yet people often stick their noses up at the pixel counting that goes on when the versions are compared. So, I don't know.
Fair enough.
Sutton Dagger
Member
No, I grated the cauliflower first (1 cup) and put it in the microwave for 6-8min. Once it's cooked, add 1 beaten egg and 1 cup of mozzarella. I added some parsley and then used the mixture on a 9" pizza tray with grease proof paper covering it. It only took 15min at about 180-200. I tasted a little of the base and I didn't mind it, you can taste the cauliflower but it isn't overpowering.
This is the recipe I used, you can also see what it looks like.
It was revealed by a number of outlets that they requested PS3 versions and were sent 360 versions, with their requests not even acknowledged.
Eurogamer (Digital Foundry) ran a number of tests and videos on the performance of the games 3 versions. Normally I don't like Eurogamer (clickbait headlines, very selective and misleading quotes) but they were on the ball with this one.
Incidentally, I'm not a fan of pixelcount comparisons in general, so long as the game runs fine. I guess it's a useful tool if youre bothered by recent past poor performance from a particular dev/engine/series. Most of the time they end up as trivial differences that add fuel to the fire of fanboy debates.
I guess all this leads me to is no longer buying AAA hyped games on release. They are either big disappointments (GTA4), complete rubbish (Halo 3) or have glaring technical flaws that go unmentioned (SKyrim). It's far safer to wait until the dust settles, the price collapses and spend up on more niche/single print run games from developers with an actual pedigree for making games rather than marketing.
Ruthless_Barbarian
Member
Its cheaper for publsihers to buy X360 green discs than PS3 blue discs
thats why the majority of multiplatform games are reviewed on 360 versions.
Yes skyrim caught people out, big time. but thats nothing new.
Publishers even expect journalists to review it as if its the same on all platforms.
Generally outlets have zero control over what they are sent. Unless they are a singlular platform site/mag
thats why the majority of multiplatform games are reviewed on 360 versions.
Yes skyrim caught people out, big time. but thats nothing new.
Publishers even expect journalists to review it as if its the same on all platforms.
Generally outlets have zero control over what they are sent. Unless they are a singlular platform site/mag
Explained above. I dont know what's wrong with avoiding games from a studio that demonstrated technical incompetence and active deception in the past 3 months. It was quite well publicised, you may have noticed.
All I want from reviewers is honesty and transparency. It's quite clear this is not happening anywhere near enough, and good scores can be and are routinely bought.
If you think acknowledging that fact is funny, then I have some snake oil to sell you. It works wonders for a myriad of ailments!
PS3 magazines (ie platform exclusives) were running reviews based on 360 code.
Surely given that reviews are part of the marketing budget now, a ps3 review code disc wouldnt be that exorbitant unless it was a dud port and an honest review of its shortcomings was going to severely impact sales ....
Hold on, I think Ive stumbled into the perimeter of wisdom [/c&H]
I know. Yet, I bet Metacritic had a tonne of PS3 reviews listed when the embargo was lifted. Hence the fault with multiplatform reviews as I said.
Pretty sure the PS3 sites still got 360 versions of Skyrim.
Ruthless_Barbarian
Member
You could have played it on the PC. Nobody has forced you to play it on the PS3 or 360.
I spent 400+ hours on the PS3 version and loved every bit of it. You put in 0 hours and despise the game and the studio.
Fair enough, no arguments from me on this point.
1. No, I couldn't have. PC gaming is not an option for me, nor do I intend it to be.
2. Your experience with it does not match with the widely reported experience of thousands of people, including technical analysis of places like Digital Foundry. Even Bethesda (begrudgingly) acknowledged it was poop.
3. Open world RPGs bore me to tears. Oblivion and Fallout 3 were buggy in my experience. This is enough reason for me to avoid their games in future. Would you go back to a restaurant that gave you food poisoning once? Twice? Maybe they will be better next time because everyone loves them!
if a ps3 site reviewed off X360 that says a lot more about the site than the publisher
disgraceful
No, because one of the sites in the whole debacle specifically requested a PS3 version. They were ignored and sent the 360 version, and disclosed it. Bethesda were deceptive, no ifs or buts about it.
D.Lo
Member
And that didn't set off alarm bells?
In the movie business it's nearly guaranteed a movie sucks if they don't do press previews, everyone's onto the game.
If i was that site i would have posted a news story on the day informing my users that i can't review skyrim as i do not have the ps3 build
and the fact that Bethesda sent me 360 despite protestation AND i am a ps3 site, that this should worry you as a gamer in terms of the PS3 quality.
even disclosing it is stupid. Yes bethesda was dumb, but reviewing a 360 game on a ps3 site, with disclosure, is still a dumb dumb thing to do.
You are advising users based on your review of 360 to go and buy the PS3 build if you give it 9/10 for example. You cannot argue against that. People go there for PS3 reviews to see if they should buy a ps3 game.
interesting, i cant find one image of a ps3 skyrim blue disc (nfr press disc)
maybe bethesda did none, i could probably find out if i wanted to dig enough
if they didn't do blue discs thats a pretty strong indication they knew it was bad.
I wasn't there, I don't know.
Like most low budget games, right? Licensed titles and such.
I'm trying to find the site, but they were one of the whistleblowers on the whole debacle along with DF. It's all bethesda's fault. They made a shit game and covered it up.
Eh, I don't know about that. From the point of view of the publication, you have to have something to say about the latest tentpole release. Disclosing that it's the 360 version and reviewing that seems like the only course of action.
BananaArnie
Member
D&D Crew
Game tonight?
Game tonight?
D.Lo
Member
A bit, but not really. The equivalent would be indie films etc. With movies sometimes big summer movies get no press screenings. I think Green Lantern didn't for example, so reviewers had to go on opening night like everyone else.
codswallop
Member
Your site would probably stop getting review copies from major publishers pretty quickly.
Which hits at the crux of the matter: how can reviewers be trusted if they are reliant on publishers for content, and a condition of support is favourable coverage?
Hint: you can't, unless they are independent and buy the games themselves. Of course, independent sites dont get the big news stories or exclusive review blowouts on big releases.
That thread on gaming about the 'incestuous relationship between gaming media and publishers' couldn't be more accurate.
I get what you are saying fred but the correct attitude is ps3 or not at all.
It's that simple. If you want journalistic integrity, thats it.
Would a gun have helped ?
Tree was obviously looking at him suspiciously, so he shot it. Then the tree chucked a branch at him, proving his suspicions correct.
Can't be too careful; it's a jungle out there.
Haha the new 3D inspector in FF is awesome. Here's my new site http://i.imgur.com/LBMeC.jpg
FallbackPants
Member
My favourite games review site is the Guardian and it doesn't even give scores (if it does give scores I've never seen it.) Bigger, mainstream media sites can do what they want because they're not reliant on shit from EA or Activision.
Edit: Unfortunately very few of them take games seriously enough to have a review section. Especially not in print editions
But why is this an issue that only affects games? Movie reviewers aren't afraid to call a movie shit. Same with music, cars and electronics etc.
And Jintor's previous point (like ages ago) about games being too subjecting to properly review is probably right. For instance your three examples of horrible but well received games are some of my most played games of the generation. I'd say I would have put in more hours of Halo 3 and GTA 4 than most other games combined.
Somehow I've written a response that starts out agreeing with you and ends disagreeing.
Boom. Agyar kills it right there.
Says the journalist.
FallbackPants
Member
Damn straight. Ha.
Other than Vooks at times and Serrels how often to you see real news in games media? Stuff not fed to them by publishers? God knows press releases make my life easy, and I've been guilty of relying on them too much, but I do chase things, get other angles and sources.
Games media is based around previews and reviews. I'm of the opinion more news angles would do them good. The story I remember the most the last year wasn't a review or an announcement, but the collapse of Bondi after LA Noire. Games companies and games themselves collapse all the time. Tell those stories.
Doncamatic
Member
I'm about.
I have a lot of trouble believing that the only two people that deliver "real news" happen to post in this thread. I think you'll find there is some bias at play there. I don't follow games media much at all, I don't regularly read any sites in particular, but I like the occasional Ben Kuchera bit, and the stuff he's doing for PA is a nice idea. Some of the stuff on Forbes by Erik Kane has been good lately too.
I think "lol games reviewer" is a full on cop out. There's no reason we shouldn't hold them to some sort of standard.
HOW DARE YUO!
Opinions and arseholes etc - Halo 3 and GTA were just examples of games that were overhyped (we can agree on this) and didnt live up to it (we can disagree on this).
As I mentioned earlier, and yesterday, the reviews I tend to trust are those that are from enthusiasts with independence. Take Retro Gamer magazine as an example. They have no agenda- they could fill an issue with musings on Amstrad emulation and homebrew versions of Boulderdash, yet they also include some more modern game reviews. These reviews I can trust because they dont rely on appeasing major publishers in order to get content, and they have earnt the trust through everything else they say and do.
Independent sites like vooks I can trust because I know the writer, but by the same token I dont know all of them. I can give them the benefit of the doubt because (I assume) millions of dollars arent riding on the site and thus their opinions are their own.
Sometimes I think single platform sites and mags can also be trustworthy when you want to cut through the bullshit of certain aspects of the wider "system wars". It became impossible to find good Wii reviews a few years ago in most mainstream sites, because every single review started off with a paragraph or three about casual gamers, graphics, high definition and so on. They wrote more about the system than the game.
There are so many things that can alter the perception of whether you can trust someone, but in the absence of a demo to find out for myself, I'll go with the independent enthusiast and a months worth of 'after the hype' perspective rather than trusting any of eurogamer, edge, games, ign, gamespot, giantbomb, 1up, kotaku etc. Not to tar them all with the same brush, but theyve all got a lot riding on their editorials, and all have conveniently ignored some serious problems this generation which I am disappointed about.
Agreed, hard.
Game reviewers are informing people's purchases of $100 games in some cases, and several hundred dollars worth of hardware in others. They should be considering themselves as beholden to their readers only - and not by giving them sycophantic reviews for a hyped game, but simply by honestly appraising it. Publishers be damned.
Any publisher I find out who starts blackmailing for good reviews or other shady deals goes instantly on my 'dont buy' list. If they can't trust reviewers to be honest, I cant trust their games with my hard earned.
If there were a moratorium against publisher malfeasance, I wonder how long it would take for a culture of honest game reviews to flourish.
FallbackPants
Member
Yeah true. But they were the first to come to mind. I saw someone on Twitter advertising the final hours of ME3 (Geoff Keighley?) and that sounded rad.
I don't really read huge swaths of games media, but I follow a bunch of sites and writers and twitter and GAF is a pretty good aggregator. And I don't see much real journalism out there (which is also a bullshit phrase).
I read a bit of Kotaku AU because they do good work and employ good writers. I've been meaning to get a Hyper mainly to read Jintor's stuff (after he write that story for Kotaku that was awesomely written) but I never see it anymore.
And yeah I definitely agree that it's a cop out. Really these guys are just doing their job, I imagine they'd be more irritated by bullshit NDAs than anyone. Like Vince said it's the company's that do it that should earn our scorn.
<bignote>Just remember too guys, Vooks is just my hobby imagine if I did this shit for a living.</bignote>
Which reminds me, I have to put up a story about how EB is getting the White 3DS + Super Mario Bundle.
There's a bunch of great video game journalists out there, then there are the bought out hollow ones who get bought or told to be bought out. Then there is the bloggers who are only in it for Google Ad Revenue and free games. Those ones are the worse ones IMO.
Which reminds me, I have to put up a story about how EB is getting the White 3DS + Super Mario Bundle.
There's a bunch of great video game journalists out there, then there are the bought out hollow ones who get bought or told to be bought out. Then there is the bloggers who are only in it for Google Ad Revenue and free games. Those ones are the worse ones IMO.
What don't you see that you would expect to see?
FallbackPants
Member
I'd like to see more news. More stories about the companies and the people. About why and how things happen. Stories about company's pulling bullshit with NDAs and other demands. Let people know that. More "frank and fearless" stuff.
But I also understand that most people who visit the sites go there to see previews and reviews.
ClivePwned
Member
I think the best thing to happen to a games reviewer is to make a game and have it reviewed by someone else.
Pissing down in San Francisco and i didnt bring a brolly so i went to buy one from macy's. I saw a bunch of cool umbrellas with sword handles. There was a cutlass and broadsword style but i liked this one most.
I'll probably get shot by the cops.
Going up to Canada for a couple of days before coming back to Oz.
Pissing down in San Francisco and i didnt bring a brolly so i went to buy one from macy's. I saw a bunch of cool umbrellas with sword handles. There was a cutlass and broadsword style but i liked this one most.
I'll probably get shot by the cops.
Going up to Canada for a couple of days before coming back to Oz.
reptilescorpio
Member
Move into games journalism then.
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