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[Mifune]

EGM used to do it in the 16 bit days. Yearly, like a report card.

Yeah, I remember those. Kinda silly but it made more sense than giving a console a grade at launch. Okay, I can understand wanting to grade it from a tech and features standpoint but then games shouldn't enter into it. And it's the games section of the review that's really mind-boggling; IT'S LAUNCH.

Nice design and overall aesthetic, though.

 

[Skeff]

Arthur Gies is an absolute clown and anything written by him should be banned form GAF, But Polygon as a whole are terrible reviewer, they seem to choose what they review randomly and will hold different games to different standards:

Killzone review snippets:

But that opportunity slips from Guerrilla’s grasp once again, this time under the weight of a poor campaign without a team to root for.

Killzone: Shadow Fall’s script was full of awful, overwrought dialogue, plot holes, or general stupidity, or that the voice acting was frequently painful.

But it also did an excellent job of murdering any investment I tried to place within the characters or the plot. By the end of the game, I didn’t actively want any one side to win or lose. I just didn’t care.

CoD review snippets:

That freedom nonetheless results in one of the sloppiest storylines in Call of Duty history.

He's voiced by Brandon Routh of Superman Returns fame, and I couldn't help but pity him for having to read the lines he was given

Ghosts also introduces an antagonist so underdeveloped and uninteresting that I hoped that both he and Hesh would bite it by the end — all so we wouldn't be stuck with this pair for more games.

But these bits were far outnumbered by standard Call of Duty levels involving battleships being attacked by waves of enemies and dull assaults on research facilities.

Ghosts flails as it tries to find new and interesting ways for missions to play out. Throughout the game's climax, I often asked myself, "Why am I here? What is this even accomplishing?" By the end of the campaign, I was still scratching my head.

Now, who sees a lot of parallels between these? Because I don't see any parallels between the review scores, The CoD:Ghosts review also talks a lot about multiplayer, something which is almost entirely absent in the KZ review, why is this?

Let's look at the Multiplayer comments for KZ:

Multiplayer at least manages a level of competency that escapes Shadow Fall’s story component. Thanks to a pretty steady 60 frames per second and the revelatory new Dualshock 4, it controls better than any previous Killzone game has — while still retaining Killzone’s inherent style and identity

Pretty steady 60 fps you say?

For a multiplayer shooter, framerate consistency is paramount. Given its relative visual parity with the PS4 release, Call of Duty: Ghosts is a more playable, slightly superior (albeit disappointing) game on Xbox One.

Wow, that steady 60fps giving a +0.5 on XB1 ghosts doesn't look like it made it's way to the KZ:SF review

tl;dr - KZ and Ghosts got the same review but with scores of 5 and 7 respectively.

 

[TEH-CJ]

Game informer review sold me on the game.

 

[Marvel]

Polygon gonna Polygon... a 5? damn.

 

[Yoshichan]

Loving the fact that this gen isn't all about "OMG 10/10 NEXT GEN IS FUCKING GAME".

Last gen hype and free high review scores is that way ---------->

Gonna play the shit out of this game and judge for myself.

 

[Vitor711]

Arthur Gies is an absolute clown and anything written by him should be banned form GAF, But Polygon as a whole are terrible reviewer, they seem to choose what they review randomly and will hold different games to different standards:

Killzone review snippets:







CoD review snippets:











Now, who sees a lot of parallels between these? Because I don't see any parallels between the review scores, The CoD:Ghosts review also talks a lot about multiplayer, something which is almost entirely absent in the KZ review, why is this?

Let's look at the Multiplayer comments for KZ:



Pretty steady 60 fps you say?



Wow, that steady 60fps giving a +0.5 on XB1 ghosts doesn't look like it made it's way to the KZ:SF review

tl;dr - KZ and Ghosts got the same review but with scores of 5 and 7 respectively.

If the reviews are written by the same person, then there's an issue. If not, it's just down to different tastes.

 

[JaxJag]

I'm surprised that so many posters here are shocked by the review scores.

Every video we've seen of Killzone: Shadow Fall has been nothing but boring and uninspired. Especially the multiplayer videos which looks like they threw out everything that made KZ2's MP good, and tried to do another COD clone.

Also, the story setup Jeff talks about in the Giant Bomb Quick Look sounds outright bad.

 

[call_kotaku]

I'm surprised that so many posters here are shocked by the review scores.

Every video we've seen of Killzone: Shadow Fall has been nothing but boring and uninspired. Especially the multiplayer videos which looks like they threw out everything that made KZ2's MP good, and tried to do another COD clone.

Also, the story setup Jeff talks about in the Giant Bomb Quick Look sounds outright bad.

I'm pretty sure Killzone is a better game than SimCity, though

 

[nib95]

It'll be interesting to see gamer reception to this game vs critic reception. The last Killzone game released had a massive gulf between the two, with gamers looking at Mercenary overwhelmingly positively whilst critics shat on it.

Multiplayer will ultimately make or break this game, and thus far the multiplayer look and sounds incredible.

 

[MilkBeard]

I'm surprised that so many posters here are shocked by the review scores.

Every video we've seen of Killzone: Shadow Fall has been nothing but boring and uninspired. Especially the multiplayer videos which looks like they threw out everything that made KZ2's MP good, and tried to do another COD clone.

Also, the story setup Jeff talks about in the Giant Bomb Quick Look sounds outright bad.

Speak for yourself. I feel like the overall design of the game looks appealing.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

.

Son, I want you to sit down and seriously think about what you're writing. You've presented snippets from two reviews by two different human beings. Different as in, not the same. I'll give you a few moments to consider the implications of that. Review scores are not generated by an objective process, and reviews themselves are about 90% opinion by mass. It is possible that two people can have similar problems with two different games and arrive at different scores. The fact that these two reviews are hosted at the same web domain means extremely little or nothing. Your closing comment about how "the 0.5 didn't make its way to the Killzone review" is especially stupid for reasons I really hope I don't have to explain (hint: two versions of one game being compared versus one version of one game and no comparisons).

It is my professional opinion that you are experiencing a bad case of the rustled jimmies, and I recommend that you don't waste your time trawling through reviews on a shit website. If you hate them so much, ignore them. It's what most of the rest of us are already doing.

 

[nelsonroyale]

I'm surprised that so many posters here are shocked by the review scores.

Every video we've seen of Killzone: Shadow Fall has been nothing but boring and uninspired. Especially the multiplayer videos which looks like they threw out everything that made KZ2's MP good, and tried to do another COD clone.

Also, the story setup Jeff talks about in the Giant Bomb Quick Look sounds outright bad.

Who is this 'we'? Is the queen a member of gaf?

I agree that they really didn't sell much about the story in previous footage. I mean it isn't like they couldnt have found decent inspiration for this kind of story. The plot sounds lifted from The City and the CIty. Not my favourite book by any stretch, but a good reference point for the kind of intrigue that the set up could have provided. I fear this will be another case of, 'videogames need to elevate their writing'.

 

[Frillen]

It'll be interesting to see gamer reception to this game vs critic reception. The last Killzone game released had a massive gulf between the two, with gamers looking at Mercenary overwhelmingly positively whilst critics shat on it.

Multiplayer will ultimately make or break this game, and thus far the multiplayer look and sounds incredible.

Vita owners justifying their purchases by saying everything is fantastic, because everything sells bad isn't something new. I remember the same thing with Nintendo fans back in the Gamecube days.

 

[twisteddeeds]

Reading that Polygon Killzone review is actually painful.. not on the game.. its Arthur Gies tendency to try to sound intellectual.. but what it results in is him coming across arrogant

 

[nib95]

Vita owners justifying their purchases by saying everything is fantastic, because everything sells bad isn't something new. I remember the same thing with Nintendo fans back in the Gamecube days.

How condescending and illogical of you. There's plenty of games on the Vita for people not to have to do that. Maybe just maybe the reality is most people who played the game loved it? Go in to the official thread and see for yourself.

 

[BigTnaples]

Vita owners justifying their purchases by saying everything is fantastic, because everything sells bad isn't something new. I remember the same thing with Nintendo fans back in the Gamecube days.

What the fuck are you going on about?

 

[Zen]

Loving the fact that this gen isn't all about "OMG 10/10 NEXT GEN IS FUCKING GAME".

Last gen hype and free high review scores is that way ---------->

Gonna play the shit out of this game and judge for myself.

It will slowly revert back to the mean, and by that I mean "only 7/10 and upwards", just like last generation.

 

[ThisWreckage]

With these reviews, i think it will be the end of this garbage game. Sony needs a new revolutionary shooter. Killzone will never be seen as a AAA franchise. Maybe naughty dog should give it a try.

I agree with you that Killzone will never be seen as a AAA franchise. If they couldn't achieve that with this game then it's something they'll never achieve.

 

[dapperbandit]

I just read that Ploygon review. Worst review of anything I've read since that IGN review of uncharted 3 that gave it 10/10 in every category. It can be summed up as:

The story didn't tell me who were the good guys.
The game didn't show me where to go.
The bad guys kept flanking me.
I died a lot.

 

[Bad_Boy]

Was that Twitter post about having to review it?

I thought it was dated February __, 2013.

I think it was about him not wanting to see it.

I wouldn't expect a great ryse score from him either though, apparently he disliked it too weeks ago.

Take his review as his personal opinion, because thats exactly what it is.

 

[KHlover]

I'm pretty sure Killzone is a better game than SimCity, though

You can't just go ahead and compare review scores of games in different genres. Or at least you shouldn't. Different standards etc.

 

[Zen]

I just read that Ploygon review. Worst review of anything I've read since that IGN review of uncharted 3 that gave it 10/10 in every category. It can be summed up as:

The story didn't tell me who were the good guys.
The game didn't show me where to go.
The bad guys kept flanking me.
I died a lot.

If anything people were worried that you'd be too OP in Shadowfall with the combination of the OWL and combat Drugs. My bet is on he just actually sucks.

 

[nib95]

If anything people were worried that you'd be too OP in Shadowfall with the combination of the OWL and combat Drugs. My bet is on he just actually sucks.

I stated earlier that GG said Hard was...You know...Hard lol. The OWL, all your tactical abilities and options, coupled with no auto aim. This is a shooter that most probably demands skill and more tactical awareness than most shooters. And that's a good thing imo.

No doubt GG gave him those additional skills and abilities to balance things out to give the player a better chance much less to over power the gamer and make you feel invincible.

 

[Skeff]

Son, I want you to sit down and seriously think about what you're writing. You've presented snippets from two reviews by two different human beings. Different as in, not the same. I'll give you a few moments to consider the implications of that. Review scores are not generated by an objective process, and reviews themselves are about 90% opinion by mass. It is possible that two people can have similar problems with two different games and arrive at different scores. The fact that these two reviews are hosted at the same web domain means extremely little or nothing. Your closing comment about how "the 0.5 didn't make its way to the Killzone review" is especially stupid for reasons I really hope I don't have to explain (hint: two versions of one game being compared versus one version of one game and no comparisons).

It is my professional opinion that you are experiencing a bad case of the rustled jimmies, and I recommend that you don't waste your time trawling through reviews on a shit website. If you hate them so much, ignore them. It's what most of the rest of us are already doing.

I thought I pointed out the different reviewers more clearly than I actually did, I certainly should have been clearer about that point, however a Review site should still have comparable review scoring methods between different reviewers and should be aimed towards the same scoring structure to present a fair and balanced approach should it not?

Also the extra 0.5 was a joke, much like your ruffled jimmies joke. (I wear a onesie not jimmies)

EDIT: to clarify it was more of a complaint regarding their disassociation between review content and scores and a lack of general oversight on the structuring of reviews across the site.

 

[twisteddeeds]

If anything people were worried that you'd be too OP in Shadowfall with the combination of the OWL and combat Drugs. My bet is on he just actually sucks.

My impression is he prejudged the game before he even played it, he quite clearly found the game difficult to play, which results in him blaming the game/developer more than his own gaming "prowess"... which he uses to pick faults throughout the review to further emphasise his own dislike of the franchise..

 

[KoyukiNL]

Funny place GAF... shitting on journalists but at the same time caring so so much about review scores.

From what I've seen of the game it looks sub-par to me and I'm even surprised people are rating it this high. There's just no life to the world at all and those animations are atrocious.

 

[nelsonroyale]

Funny place GAF... shitting on journalists but at the same time caring so so much about review scores.

From what I've seen of the game it looks sub-par to me and I'm even surprised people are rating it this high. There's just no life to the world at all and those animations are atrocious.

Better if you stuck to the first sentance, then you lump yourself in with the rest. Welcome to the funny I suppose.

The succeeding sentance makes it seem like your 'overview' is quite heavily influenced by your own bias. Tone seems to confirm as well. But I don't disagree with the premise. Reviews have lowered my expectations for what the game will deliver, but since I have fairly enjoyed previous titles and am mainly in it for the visuals ('lifeless' and 'atrocious animations'? You are having a laugh. I don't think you have any proof for that, but go ahead), I am still very much looking forward to giving it a spin.

 

[kurbaan]

Son, I want you to sit down and seriously think about what you're writing. You've presented snippets from two reviews by two different human beings. Different as in, not the same. I'll give you a few moments to consider the implications of that. Review scores are not generated by an objective process, and reviews themselves are about 90% opinion by mass. It is possible that two people can have similar problems with two different games and arrive at different scores. The fact that these two reviews are hosted at the same web domain means extremely little or nothing. Your closing comment about how "the 0.5 didn't make its way to the Killzone review" is especially stupid for reasons I really hope I don't have to explain (hint: two versions of one game being compared versus one version of one game and no comparisons).

It is my professional opinion that you are experiencing a bad case of the rustled jimmies, and I recommend that you don't waste your time trawling through reviews on a shit website. If you hate them so much, ignore them. It's what most of the rest of us are already doing.

Pretty much this. Although most of Gies complaints seem to be about story and not caring about the conflict and sides. But it's pretty clear that he does not like killzone or its lore / universe in the first place. Dont see how this game would change his mind.

Tbh though dont really care about their reviews. Its probably good though that recently reviews have been more spread out in scores and opinion rather than every journalist having the exact same opinion. Even if the opinions are stupid.

People here just need to stop putting so much stock into reviews SCORES and actually read / listen to the reviews. For example Rev3's review of Knack was really great the game got a 3/5 but the game actually sounded like something i wanted to play and based on that 3/5 on their scale doesn't seem like a bad score i.e (not 6/10).

Same with their Killzone review it seemed like a decent game. And Multi should be fun.

 

[KoyukiNL]

Better if you stuck to the first sentance, then you lump yourself in with the rest. Welcome to the funny I suppose.

The succeeding sentance makes it seem like your 'overview' is quite heavily influenced by your own bias. Tone seems to confirm as well. But I don't disagree with the premise. Reviews have lowered my expectations for what the game will deliver, but since I have fairly enjoyed previous titles and am mainly in it for the visuals ('lifeless' and 'atrocious animations'? You are having a laugh. I don't think you have any proof for that, but go ahead), I am still very much looking forward to giving it a spin.

I was actually looking forward to it and tried to stay optimistic about it. Obviously I haven't played it yet, but after seeing some videos it does nothing for me. You don't think the animations are bad? Just look at any movement from an NPC (in the Giant Bomb QL for example you saw them all standing in a line like they were puppets). And the world feels very static to me, hardly anything happening around the player.

 

[call_kotaku]

You can't just go ahead and compare review scores of games in different genres. Or at least you shouldn't. Different standards etc.

Just mentioning that Polygon isn't a place of hard-hitting opinions and giving games "the score they deserve" outside of the 75-95 grading curve game review sites usually use. They legitimately just don't have very good reviews, and not just because they dislike certain games. Coupling that with Gies's genuine disdain for his own audience and you've got a perfect storm of shit.

Like many others I don't understand why Polygon doesn't just drop their review section and focus on features. It's bad for page views but their reviews (and Gies) really drag down the rest of the site, to the point that I don't even want to read the good stuff.

 

[Messofanego]

Speak for yourself. I feel like the overall design of the game looks appealing.

What got me interested was the zipline and forest level, hearing there are multiple ways to complete levels. I love FPSs with many options (Deus Ex, Metro Last Light, Dishonored, etc). Then I hear that's the exception rather than the rule of linear corridor levels, and not being able to use the zipline in many other levels. And that the stealth is rubbish, just added there for pacing like in a CoD game.

After hearing all that, I went back to indifference towards this game.

 

[coldfoot]

Hosts file
*.polygon.com 127.0.0.1
Peace and serenity. I agree with other reviews this is a 7-8 game.

 

[IcyEyes]

Score Score Score!

Seriously, this is a 9/9.5 game. When you guys start to play this game you will be surprised and you will start to wonder where gaming journalism is heading.

Just think about this: in these days looks like the reviewers write reviews for themselves instead for the gamers.

 

[Prince Vultan]

I can't be bothered sifting through the thread to find out, but has it continued to be a parade of confirmation bias and ignoring all reviews that aren't under 7/10? I only ask because I was curious as to whether anywhere else has gone as low as 5 for the game yet.

Been reading a lot of reviews for it this morning and most seem to be saying the game is great :/

 

[Norml]

I watched up to the second level on a twitch stream and it looked great. Slowed down gameplay with searching going on and not just run and gun.

 

[thelurkinghorror]

I usually do not like Killzone but after 6/7 hours of play I think this is the first one that I really ejoyed. Good work Guerrilla, finally this series has a reason to exist!

 

[Oni Jazar]

Whether this game is good or bad, Sony should have never made another Killzone game. There's too much baggage associated with the franchise. Like Resistance (hopefully) it needs to be taken out to pasture.

 

[thelurkinghorror]

Whether this game is good or bad, Sony should have never made another Killzone game. There's too much baggage associated with the franchise. Like Resistance (hopefully) it needs to be taken out to pasture.

I think the same, a complete reboot, especially in the storyline would be great

 

[eso76]

man, 40+ pages to defend or attack reviews of a game no one here has played.

 

[keit4]

man, 40+ pages to defend or attack reviews of a game no one here has played.

thisisneogaf.gif

Some people are saying that the game is mediocre, deal with it. Reviews are only opinions.

 

[thelurkinghorror]

man, 40+ pages to defend or attack reviews of a game no one here has played.

A few of us already played the game or at least half

 

[Prince Vultan]

man, 40+ pages to defend or attack reviews of a game no one here has played.

No one, huh?

Guess you haven't actually read the thread either (Can't say I blame you)... or even 3 posts above your own.

 

[EightBitNate]

I wonder what MP would get if it were reviewed separately.

 

[dark10x]

Whether this game is good or bad, Sony should have never made another Killzone game. There's too much baggage associated with the franchise. Like Resistance (hopefully) it needs to be taken out to pasture.

Honestly, they should have just called it "Shadow Fall" and eliminated the Helghast completely. They pretty much went in that direction anyways and it probably would have avoided some of the negative responses.

 

[gaming_noob]

I was surprosed Toronto Sun and The Globe and Mail newpapers (from Toronto) gave this game a 7/10 and 6/10 respectively.

 

[Midnight Phoenix]

man, 40+ pages to defend or attack reviews of a game no one here has played.

Yeah. Even reviewers played it like near two hours, then start to review new game. Time is money friends!

Seriously, how you can make some scores, without graduation. Without some mm... standards I think, every score will be biased to the reviewer (or doritos, if you know what I mean).

 

[velociraptor]

Honestly, they should have just called it "Shadow Fall" and eliminated the Helghast completely. They pretty much went in that direction anyways and it probably would have avoided some of the negative responses.

Yeah I really think they should put Killzone aside. I don't even think many care for the story or lore, as interesting as it sounds. Besides, we have had a good number of Killzone games. I wouldn't mind GG started from fresh; a new IP.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Personally not disheartened about some of the reviews, I've seen more than enough of the game to know I will enjoy it.

 

[velociraptor]

They actually said that more of less.

"Well... You know, if ALL you want to do is play games, sure the PS4 is slightly more powerful and less expensive, but it's not going to be able to compete with the XBOX on media. If THE ONLY THING you want to do is play games, there are people who want this in todays market, and it will appeal to THEM, but the media on XBOX will be great".

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Rofl. They just don't give a fuck.

 

[synce]

So not being a fan of shooters I've been ignoring the Killzone series all these years and in light of all this decided to try the Killzone 3 demo (on couch co-op). It's actually not bad at all. The shooting mechanics felt a lot better than the BF4 beta and the graphics were better too. So I don't understand why a sequel to this game would be rated lower than BF4 at least. I guess one company pays better