Gamereactors editor in chief "I was blasted over Uncharted 2 review" + review scores

This is why there needs to be more accountability over the Internet. Don't know if it would be done in a legal manner or what but a lot of the stuff people post is just heated fanboy BS that does nothing more than discourage free speech.
 
CoD2:MW and Uncharted 2 were both memorable journeys through chaotic environment, it was like watching Hollywood -matinée with your thumb on the button. I understand that a wide audience like playing an interactive movie. But I want to play something else, I want to get challenged by more ways then by unlimited enemy soldiers that pops up everywhere in every direction. For me storylike matinée's and easy game mechanics isn't enough. I want to fight my wars and tear my hair apart by puzzles in Himalaya. An interactive movie isn't enough.

Well, I'd say that's fair eno-

darkwings said:
he gave Resident Evil 4 10/10

huh
 
CrushDance said:
Ah, I see. See for me it's about the whole package and that includes all the things mentioned before. You're talking always being in control and doing everything, I don't mind the cutscenes and scripted events. That's why I started going off about this and that with the games :P Having the camera pan out and show you where you are etc I think is neat, blowing up bridges and so forth. I see what you mean now though.
I do see your point of view as well. I would give Uncharted 2 a top review score because it does those things. I can also defend an 8/10 because the author may have had more third person shooter fun in the first two acts of MGS4 because enemies can be dealt with in x ways, most areas have multiple paths, and even small variations like taking the left or right side of the street on those paths seem to make a difference.
 
AstroLad said:
This is why there needs to be more accountability over the Internet. Don't know if it would be done in a legal manner or what but a lot of the stuff people post is just heated fanboy BS that does nothing more than discourage free speech.

Wow, you should look irony up in the dictionary.
 
Gravijah said:
The demo of Just Cause 2 was absolutely brilliant. Is there a reason they shouldn't get the same score?

Outside of the zipline mechanic, the demo was pretty average - not much different from any other open world sandbox game. The demo screams mediocrity, it has lousy shooting, lousy vehicle controls, terrible presentation, cliche and derivative missions, etc.

I'll admit I'm premature in making a judgment on just playing the demo, but there really didn't seem to be anything about it that was 'brilliant' to me. It's fun in the way GTA3 was fun for an hour because it's mindless, senseless action, but, for me at least, it was very cheap, low brow pleasure.
 
EXGN said:
Outside of the zipline mechanic, the demo was pretty average - not much different from any other open world sandbox game. The demo screams mediocrity, it has lousy shooting, lousy vehicle controls, terrible presentation, cliche and derivative missions, etc.

I'll admit I'm premature in making a judgment on just playing the demo, but there really didn't seem to be anything about it that was 'brilliant' to me. It's fun in the way GTA3 was fun for an hour because it's mindless, senseless action, but, for me at least, it was very cheap, low brow pleasure.
Holy cow, are you sure you did not mix up some games somehow?
 
CrushDance said:
So do you not want any scripted events then? How are you supposed to progress then with current games? Most of these games are meant to be accessible while being "teh hardcore" They give you a sense of scale and often times hint at where or what you're supposed to do next. The reason I brought up TR was due to its similarities with Uncharted, many people(I'm not saying you specifically) always say that TR has more gameplay, I was just trying to figure out exactly what type of games you see as having that balance or not.

Give me an example of these games you're talking about, doesn't have to be the same genre.
Scripted events are fine and very useful when used sparingly (to give the narrative more drive, or focus, or a couple watercooler scenes), but not when a whole game is made out of them. Balance is exactly right.

Thief. Hitman. Deux Ex. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. System Shock. Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. Civilization 4. Eve Online! Just Cause. The Sims. Far Cry 2.
Also Tetris. Portal. Street Fighter. Oblivion. Dragon Age. Advance Wars. Gran Turismo. GTA. Super Metroid. Assassin's Creed 2. etc etc etc Even Halo 1 threw you into large areas with great A.I. and could play out very differently. Lot's of games, most games in fact to varying degrees (interactivity defines games). I'm just saying Uncharted is the absolute extreme, and there's not much natural, free-flowing gameplay outside of the repetitive, samey shooting. And that I'd hate for every game to be the same. Emergent gameplay. Qualifier: The writing, and the world is superb and it's one of the most polished games ever made. It's also the exact same the second time you play (besides the different skins of course!). The truth is games haven't even stratched their potential as an interactive medium, but we'll never get anywhere if we're only focused on playable cutscenes.
 
He does have a point about UC2 being about mowing down countless enemies. Looking at the gameplay, UC2 had a lot of that, like the original. Of course, the platforming, story, and characters made up for it all. IMO though, UC1 was a better overall game than UC2. Both were fun as hell too.
 
Corky said:
Atleast give credit where credit is due imo, and if youre a reasonable person you'll realize uncharted ranks well amongst those games

Ergo, if you give Uncharted 2 anything less than a 10, you're an unreasonable person.

Holy shit SDF, you really are batshit crazy.
 
Dead Man Typing said:
RE4 is just that damn good. It has enemy variety and inventory management. That's enough to take it above Uncharted 2 and MW2. Plus it's RE4, man. RE4!

While I will not argue that RE4 isn't a great game (disclaimer: haven't played it), the way he justifies his score for U2 doesn't exactly apply to RE4 either.
 
Sony nutterdome of extremist are getting more infamous by the review rage.. Is it really worth the exploded veins guys? ...Well..sure is entertaining to watch the implodosions.
 
I'd probably give Uncharted 2 a 7, so me and this guy have a lot in common. High five.

And you people need to stop comparing Uncharted to Indiana Jones. Raiders of the Lost ark is one of the greatest films ever. It's a perfect adventure movie.

Uncharted is more The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
 
Mr_Zombie said:
He is doing both. He is defending his review by explaining that he doesn't like the way the industry is heading with those Hollywood-style games.



I've never played Halo games but I've played a lot of GTA games and GTA is anything but an interactive movie; so, again, what's the point?
Grand Theft Auto 4 vanilla had a massive fan backlash due to Rockstar's decision to cut back on the sandbox aspect of the game and focus more on whiz bang production values.
 
legend166 said:
Uncharted is more The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

mc9dlu.gif
 
Raist said:
While I will not argue that RE4 isn't a great game (disclaimer: haven't played it), the way he justifies his score for U2 doesn't exactly apply to RE4 either.

You really should play RE4. Any way you can. So should anyone else reading this. Don't want to preach any more than this, if you have a Wii, Gamecube, PS2 or PC, then you should set aside the time to play RE4.

I wonder how I would've felt if my first play through was now, in this post Gears, Uncharted world. Nah, RE4 would still be king. Which it is.
 
Raist said:
While I will not argue that RE4 isn't a great game (disclaimer: haven't played it), the way he justifies his score for U2 doesn't exactly apply to RE4 either.

wat

I give you advice to combine two things you will love: Play RE4 on the Wii. Now.
 
theignoramus said:
Grand Theft Auto 4 vanilla had a massive fan backlash due to Rockstar's decision to cut back on the sandbox aspect of the game and focus more on whiz bang production values.

That's what made me sell my copy last month. I could play GTA:SA all day though.
 
Misterinenja said:
How the hell not?

I'll repost the quote.
I want to get challenged by more ways then by unlimited enemy soldiers that pops up everywhere in every direction. For me storylike matinée's and easy game mechanics isn't enough. I want to fight my wars and tear my hair apart by puzzles [...].

So this wish-list applies to RE4?
Unless RE4 has been a huge turnaround and revolution compared to RE1, RE2, RE:CV and RE5 (the ones I did play), I don't see how.
HL2 sounds good enough, and MP1 isn't even debatable. But RE4? Really?
 
nothing wrong with giving lower score to the games than everyone else... only problem is that sometimes it sounds just like you are wanting to get some press because of it... like right now ;-).
 
Dead Man Typing said:
I wonder how I would've felt if my first play through was now, in this post Gears, Uncharted world. Nah, RE4 would still be king. Which it is.

True dat. The game is just one, massive, epic adventure with tons of replayability and agelessness. Most of things it did right weren't copied from other games (or movies) so in that way comparing its achievements to Uncharteds is somewhat offending.

Raist said:
I'll repost the quote.


So this wish-list applies to RE4?
Unless RE4 has been a huge turnaround and revolution compared to RE1, RE2, RE:CV and RE5 (the ones I did play), I don't see how.
HL2 sounds good enough, and MP1 isn't even debatable. But RE4? Really?

Oh my god. You need to play RE4 ASAP. It basically turned the series on its head and happened to be an atmospheric masterpiece at the same time.
 
Blasting over a review, or how to make a martyr, crucified for telling the truth, of someone whose opinion shouldn't be given such attention to begin with. Fanboys are pathetic...
 
Darklord said:
Game announcement: ZOMG HOLY SHIT MEGATON CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Trailer: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!! GOTMFY!!!! *posts 50 gifs of said trailer*

First review 10/10: FUCK YES! THIS IS GONNA BE SOOOO SWEET!

12th review 8/10: Wtf is this? Fuckhead probably didn't even play it. WHY SO LOW? Idiots. Fuck that shitty magazine/site.

6 months after game release: Yeah the game was pretty shit. I traded it in for *insert new game here* and it's way better. Can't believe it got 10/10 everywhere it's no where near that. Not even worth $60. Typical shitty game journalism getting caught up in the hype.

Game announcement: ZOMG HOLY SHIT MEGATON CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Sad but true. :lol
 
Raist said:
So this wish-list applies to RE4?
Unless RE4 has been a huge turnaround and revolution compared to RE1, RE2, RE:CV and RE5 (the ones I did play), I don't see how.
HL2 sounds good enough, and MP1 isn't even debatable. But RE4? Really?

Resident Evil 4 is one of the finest action games ever created, and years later it still stands as a playbook of balance and pacing. You need to play it, you will not regret it.
 
Mr_Zombie said:
Why do you think an 8 or 9 for Mass Effect 2 would be "really harsh"? The game isn't perfect; it is a really fun RPG-shooter with amazing sci-fi universe, but it also has lots of flaws (almost non-existed main storyline is only one of them).

And about this thread, boy is it similar to the EDGE thread. Once again it seems people do not understand that reviews are just opinions and not everyone has to love (that is, give 10/10) big blockbuster games.

And <lol> at "how they scored Halo games", "GTA4 games" etc. How is it even relevant to what the guy is saying?

No I mean, Mass Effect 2 is apparently an amazing game. So is God of War 3 and Uncharted 2. If he's scoring all the best games to come out the past year as 8 and 9, then I'm convinced he's just really harsh on game critique, instead of trolling for hits or just being very weird. :P
 
Holy shit SDF, you really are batshit crazy.

same shit for UC1 anyone not thinking it was the greatest game ever got the same bollox.

Mothership --> SDF --> internet.

Resident Evil 4 is one of the finest action games ever created, and years later it still stands as a playbook of balance and pacing. You need to play it, you will not regret it.

as someone who openly laughed at how "archaic" the demo was, i can only requote this. Final game was outstanding and still remains a top tier platinum action game years later.
 
Game announcement: ZOMG HOLY SHIT MEGATON CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Trailer: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!! GOTMFY!!!! *posts 50 gifs of said trailer*

First review 10/10: FUCK YES! THIS IS GONNA BE SOOOO SWEET!

12th review 8/10: Wtf is this? Fuckhead probably didn't even play it. WHY SO LOW? Idiots. Fuck that shitty magazine/site.

6 months after game release: Yeah the game was pretty shit. I traded it in for *insert new game here* and it's way better. Can't believe it got 10/10 everywhere it's no where near that. Not even worth $60. Typical shitty game journalism getting caught up in the hype.

Game announcement: ZOMG HOLY SHIT MEGATON CAN'T WAIT!!!!

GTA IV ? :lol
 
Rustymonke said:
Except in Uncharted everybody who plays goes from the exact same piece to exact same piece in the exact same order. Level to level in Mario? That's a completely different scale, that's not "Mario" gameplay. Mario is a very linear game, back when limited technology made it more acceptable. I don't know why you chose that game in particular, but you still have lots of verbs and possible actions open to you as you play to use creatively. To defeat a hammer bro, you could sneak underneath and wait until he drops to the lowest column of bricks and hit hin from underneath, run and slide under him, be aggresive and jump on his head, take a shell from earlier enemy, use a powerup to shoot him or fly overhead. Etc etc. And any combination of said moves. Meeting the same enemy with a different surrounding geography, and supplementary baddies gives you wholly different situations to figure out. And actually even how you finish a level decides what levels you can play next (particularly in SMW). And that's from what I'd call a linear game btw. Sure you can use different guns in Uncharted 2, but the vast majority of the game is hiding behind cover with different backgrounds. The village scene is an commendable and notable exception btw, I want to see more of that. .

It sounds like you didn't put nearly enough thought into Uncharted 2 as you did Mario.

To take your 'ways to kill an enemy' argument, I can think of many ways to kill a single enemy:
Shoot
Melee
Stealth Kill
Pelt with an object
Throw the explodable barrel, and shoot it when it gets somewhat close
Push off high place

And using a single enemy is not being fair to games like Uncharted. Much of the challenge is how to approach specific fights, not specific enemies. Take any given arena shootout segment in Uncharted 2. I had to decide who to take out first. There's many fights which were impossible for me to get past by just sticking behind cover. Maybe I go for the guy with the rocket launcher first, take his weapon and use it to take out the shotgun guys, take their shotguns and use them to take out some of the other enemies, etc.

Just because the game presents linear options in most scenarios doesn't mean there's not ten different ways to approach that scenario successfully. I'm not trying to single out Uncharted as some pinnacle of gameplay design. The above points should be valid for any decent FPS or TPS.

Yes, Uncharted 2 is generally a linear game, but I can't stand it when people equate this with lack of gameplay depth. There are setpieces, sure, but you (and most people who have a beef with 'cinematic gaming') greatly exaggerate their impact on the core gameplay. The scripted setpiece moments, like the tank busting through the fence, make up a tiny fraction of the game, while reading some of the comments here (not neccessarily yours) would make me think that they were the majority of it.
 
Misterinenja said:
Oh my god. You need to play RE4 ASAP. It basically turned the series on its head and happened to be an atmospheric masterpiece at the same time.

As far as I was aware it turned the series on its head mostly because of its control scheme and over the shoulder camera.

Fine, I'll try to grab a copy and get some time to play it.
However, if I have to fight my way through countless ennemies (not infinite, since U2 doesn't have this flaw either, but I can see his point), if the game has more than 10mins of cutscenes, and if it doesn't have mind-blowing puzzles, I'll post a LTTP thread and I'll tear the game down to pieces :p
 
Making blanket statements labeling anyone who disagrees with the reviewers opinion and/or offers a counterpoint as a Sony Fanboy?

*sigh*

Well it was fun while it lasted.

/wave

/bailout.gif
 
This thread is fucking horrifying. I can't imagine the mass hysteria if some people had to actually read reviews and make purchasing decisions off of legitimate info other than "10".

Please don't tell me "managing spreadsheets" is a defining characteristic of the medium to you.

There's plenty of fans interested in things like that, what you must think of those pesky strategy game fans and the lower niches of RPGs!

Everyone should be content to watch cutscenes that wouldn't make it into a Direct to DVD film as part of their game.

Keep in mind, I mock this while I do greatly enjoy Uncharted 2, I just dont think it's beyond criticism or an example of a perfect game, especially when games apply to so many different tastes for so many different people.

People getting so riled up over this shit, especially when their games of "hot debate" are fucking stupidly over advertised/hyped shooters used to be really funny, but lately it's just getting REALLY SAD. I mean Jesus Christ are some of you people reading the shit you're posting?


10/10 (please dont bash my post)
 
Raist said:
As far as I was aware it turned the series on its head mostly because of its control scheme and over the shoulder camera.

Fine, I'll try to grab a copy and get some time to play it.
However, if I have to fight my way through countless ennemies (not infinite, since U2 doesn't have this flaw either, but I can see his point), if the game has more than 10mins of cutscenes, and if it doesn't have mind-blowing puzzles, I'll post a LTTP thread and I'll tear the game down to pieces :p

Except for the mind-blowing puzzles thingy, you won't be disappointed. And this come from someone who hates the survival-horror genre.
 
Darklord said:
Game announcement: ZOMG HOLY SHIT MEGATON CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Trailer: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!! GOTMFY!!!! *posts 50 gifs of said trailer*

First review 10/10: FUCK YES! THIS IS GONNA BE SOOOO SWEET!

12th review 8/10: Wtf is this? Fuckhead probably didn't even play it. WHY SO LOW? Idiots. Fuck that shitty magazine/site.

6 months after game release: Yeah the game was pretty shit. I traded it in for *insert new game here* and it's way better. Can't believe it got 10/10 everywhere it's no where near that. Not even worth $60. Typical shitty game journalism getting caught up in the hype.

Game announcement: ZOMG HOLY SHIT MEGATON CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Bioshock? Yeah I agree that game sucked and all of the hype and praise it got at launch. Glad I rented it when it got to ps3. I see people went gaga for B2 but I'm not falling for it this time.

---
I felt Uncharted 2 had too many puzzles. I was on a roller coaster and I didn't want to take a pause because of risk of awesome overload. Playing the game over and over I wish I could disable the puzzle segments. At least I can just stop and load the chapter after the puzzle.
 
"8" is probably what I would give Uncharted 2, as well. People seem to forget that there is more to a game than presentation and atmosphere, which this game admittedly had in spades.
 
Lord Griegous said:
Except for the mind-blowing puzzles thingy, you won't be disappointed. And this come from someone who hates the survival-horror genre.

Well I hope that it's 150% different from RE5, because I certainly did not enjoy that game.
And RE hasn't really ever been a S-H series for me (maybe the first ones) so that doesn't matter anyway.
 
Rustymonke said:
I don't need a response to that, do I? :lol
you just have to ignore people who can't read.

on the topic, This guy is very passionate about gaming and would love to read his reviews. too bad Gamereactor is just a rubbish peace of magazine that takes itself too seriously. (at least the Norwegian one, and even if its free)

and yeah, this is what this gen have became. there is absolutely no big budget game that focuses on gamplay more than its cinematic presentation. No More Heroes and Just Cause 2 are two of the few that are trying to to something about it but, meh.

that's why i have stuck with Portables this gen.

Ploid 3.0 said:
Bioshock? Yeah I agree that game sucked and all of the hype and praise it got at launch. Glad I rented it when it got to ps3. I see people went gaga for B2 but I'm not falling for it this time.
WTF? is this thread excuse to troll on good games now?
 
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