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The Order: 1886 |OT| Gears of Yore

I haven't paid attention to reviews in years, there's certainly no reason to now, especially after what they said about Driveclub lmao

Do you think that Driveclub has no elements which are worthy of criticism? especially upon release?

Do you think that any site was wrong to caution readers against buying DriveClub upon release?

Are you a crazy person?
 

BokehKing

Banned
Jeff made very reasonable points about why he didn't enjoy the game much that would give any reasonable person pause when considering a purchase.
'jeff' is one of the reasons why I don't like giant bomb, his opinions, I never.. Ever agree with

So when he gave it a 2, it did nothing to stop my anticipation of the game.

4;00 pm tomorrow can't come soon enough
 
How did you acquire the other Sackboy figures?

They were all preorder bonuses in Australia (Helghast from Killzone Mercenary, Kratos from God of War Ascension, Iota from Tearaway and Ratchet from Into the Nexus).


I'm only 2 hours into the game at the moment, but I'm enjoying it immensely. I've been craving a strong story-driven linear game after 18 months with an abundance of open-world and 2D indie games. Gunplay packs a real punch with human enemies that aren't bullet sponges. Atmosphere is incredible, especially the audio, I'm finally making use of the DS4's headphone jack.
 

23qwerty

Member
Do you think that Driveclub has no elements which are worthy of criticism? especially upon release?

Do you think that any site was wrong to caution readers against buying DriveClub upon release?

Are you a crazy person?

Online being broken sure, but then again that doesn't matter to me because I got it at launch and have still never touched multiplayer and have had a grand old time with it. I do think any site cautioning readers against buying it would be wrong. And then you got Giant Bomb giving it 2 stars saying it has no soul, and straight up lying about not being able to change your car colour (although it appears they have since updated the review to include being able to do that). What a joke.
 

BLunted

Banned
The more people that come in here and share impressions the more that I see a disconnect between the players experience and the reviews. Pretty weird actually.

I rarely, if ever pay attention to reviews from users, especially for videogames. Chances are the person is young, and has not cultivated a work ethic or sense of impartiality yet. They are usually both financially and emotionally invested in the product, resulting in scores that tend to be bullshit.

Same thing with movies. If i go to rotten tomatoes, I only look at the "Top Critics" to see what is what.
 

23qwerty

Member
Definitely gonna go pick this up tomorrow I think. If Jeff Gerstmann doesn't like it then I'm guessing any rational person would.
 

dEvAnGeL

Member
Do you think that Driveclub has no elements which are worthy of criticism? especially upon release?

Do you think that any site was wrong to caution readers against buying DriveClub upon release?

Are you a crazy person?
reviews have simply gotten out of hand for some people, i bet you 80% of the people criticizing the game on internet forums didn't even read the reviews, they only look at the number, i never care about review either and im not gonna start caring about them now, if i do my life would be so miserable, just wasting time deciding if i should purchase something based on someone else's opinion, is just plain stupid
 

IcyEyes

Member
It's not weird at all, it's people justifying their purchase vs. people whose job it is to critique. There's quite often a disparity in such opinions.

So people say that a game is good to justify their own purchase (talking about a game with a low metacritic) ?

Also, do you really think that the job of the journalist is to critique ? (especially if it's journalist from a big site)
 
To me it's like they created a foundation they had for the game (material-based destruction in a hectic third person cinematic action game that could rival their mentors at Naughty Dog) and as development went along and got closer and closer to a realistic release date, they had to keep ticking off gameplay features as they continued to polish off their astonishing visual engine. They were like engine perfectionists. They really had something to prove, and that was that they sure as hell could compete with the best of Naughty Dog at making gorgeous console games. :p

Then the release date loomed and they were like 'oops so I guess the actual gameplay is basically like The Psi-Ops of the PS4'

Sums it up nicely. I was looking forward to the realistic destruction and since I hadn't been following the game since announcement, until just recently with all the threads, I was quite surprised it was silently left out. I also thought there were supposed to be multiple state quick time events as well, which would've went a long way I think.
 
Do you think that Driveclub has no elements which are worthy of criticism? especially upon release?

Do you think that any site was wrong to caution readers against buying DriveClub upon release?

Are you a crazy person?
Sure, but in my opinion, DC was boss from day one.

Fortunately there was just enough SP content to bridge the gap until MP was online. Best pick up and play racer i've got my hands on in a decade. Sure, there were things wrong at launch... But were the network issues something that plagued review copies pre-launch?... No. Was the game ever a 5/10... Not in my opinion.

I mean shit, didn't giant bomb say you couldn't change the color of your car, which was absolutely a bullshit statement. Made one question, 'did they even play the game'?
 

kyser73

Member
Do you think that Driveclub has no elements which are worthy of criticism? especially upon release?

Do you think that any site was wrong to caution readers against buying DriveClub upon release?

Are you a crazy person?

If they'd actually said the online's broken (which for the reviewers it wasn't) they'd have had a point, but instead we got bullshit about the game not being open world and 'soulless'.
 

nib95

Banned
Do you think that Driveclub has no elements which are worthy of criticism? especially upon release?

Do you think that any site was wrong to caution readers against buying DriveClub upon release?

Are you a crazy person?

Of course DC has its flaws, like any game really. But honestly it is one of the better racers released in years. An immense racing game and impressive accomplishment in the genre, despite its no fanfare, back to basics, track based nature. There's a reason it's done so well in GOTY voting threads across different sites including GAF, and easily ran away with the most underrated of 2014 title.

If journalists in their reviews discredited the game for its broken online at launch, that'd be one thing, but they didn't even do that lol. Anyway, I digress.
 

viveks86

Member
Most of those people haven't actually finished the game. Honest impressions come after the honeymoon period.

Yeah there is some merit to this. Impressions should always be taken with a pinch of salt until people finish a game, take a step back and think about it. I plan to go on radio silence until I beat it. May be drop some info if it hasn't been discussed yet, but that's it.
 

viveks86

Member
Given that logic you are probably not in that category.

OohBurn.gif
 

OsirisBlack

Banned
Yeah there is some merit to this. Impressions should always be taken with a pinch of salt until people finish a game, take a step back and think about it. I plan to go on radio silence until I beat it. May be drop some info if it hasn't been discussed yet, but that's it.

I actually agree with that as my initial review was higher than I would rate the game now. When I got a chance to sit and reflect on it there were a few things that could have been better and I would have really like a few more attack/movement options.

Outside of that I have a code for the game but I already have the game.... what to do what to do. Hmmm .

Given that logic you are probably not in that category.

18:86/10
 

DevilFox

Member
It's not weird at all, it's people justifying their purchase vs. people whose job it is to critique. There's quite often a disparity in such opinions.

Eh, come on now. Here are my impressions and believe me, they have nothing to do with my wallet (€54.99 by the way). There're many examples I could do to prove this point, games payed full/low price that I hated/love and viceversa, really.
There's a value perception element, that's sure, it's why it's not uncommon to have a huge steam library of games not yet played. But it has nothing to do with a person's final opinion, not if he's mature enough.
 
The one complaint that got to me is only being able to use certain weapons at certain times. I get that for the first playthrough, but I want to revisit each level with some of the more interesting weapons to have some gory fun. I dont like that. I hope thats something they can patch in.
 

Jinaar

Member
Please for those that are playing, keep giving impressions. I'm addicted to Heroes of the Storm, but I am loving reading the impressions to the game. (AKA I am close to purchasing this)

I'm violently ill at the forum poster stains blanketing every other THE ORDER thread.

Just a gamer that loves to game. Keep your thoughts coming!
 
Even if it's true for some/most, I dislike attaching statements like 'honeymoon period' or 'imma trying to justify my purchase', because that assumes a layer of... not dishonesty, but not-a-fully-level-headed-opinion of what they've played being shared with us. Different folks have different levels of honeymoon period/rose-tinted lenses, ranging from thick to none at all.

I kinda expected it with this game, especially when doubt/skeptism was thrown around in regards to some GAFer's completion time (which ended up being similar with the reviewers, mostly), which was why I did what was uncharacteristic of me, which is pivot two reviewers whom I felt mattered most to me, which was Bloodworth (GameTrailers) and Dawg's before the reviews went live. (Bloodworth never remotely hinted the kind of scores he planned to give, and Dawg too, kept it very low-key on GAF as to what his impressions were, but he implied he agreed with the criticisms of the story)

At the end of it, both of them reviewed this game quite well and gave it decent scores, while admitting the flaws of the game. =)
 

Dynomutt

Member
Do you think that Driveclub has no elements which are worthy of criticism? especially upon release?

Do you think that any site was wrong to caution readers against buying DriveClub upon release?

Are you a crazy person?

Yah, Touche. Driveclub = Beautiful but broken. The Order 1886 = Gorgeous but Short/QTE ridden.
 

Amir0x

Banned
Then how can you take any consumer impressions seriously?

It depends on context. First, one must understand that the problem is not that all these early impressions are suspect, but that due to their nature it's usually impossible to tell one way or the other due to early impressions being especially prone to the cycle of post-purchase rationalization.

The way I've worked through it is to make a list of posters who have a history of breaking through that post-purchase rationalization process, of consistently allowing the chips to fall where they may despite any investment made. It's not an easy thing, but it has worked out great for me... so far when I follow the list, I tend to find impressions that are genuine and well worked through. When I don't, I find a hodgepodge of people who are really passionate about our hobby but believe being negative is somehow an offense. Or I find people who love games but just rushed to post impressions and were always going to like it no matter how many sins the game had.

For me the way it works for someone I don't know...

The earlier the impressions (i.e., the closer the impressions are to the games release), the less likely to are to be taken seriously. Because now on top of the fact they spent a year being hyped and then have a $60 investment, they're rushing to confirm their bias. It's not true in ALL cases, but because of the shakiness of such impressions it's usually just better to smile and not necessarily take it to heart. These people are game fans, they love games and the product made them happy. That's what I take away: someone is happy. I don't take away any statement as to the game's quality one way or another, unless that poster had previously demonstrated an ability to disconnect themselves emotionally from the investments they make.

I really agree with this. It kinda feels like they overpromised and got so lost perfecting certain aspects, they let everything else fall by the wayside.

I really hope if they get a second chance that we get to see some of the earlier stuff promised (crazy destruction, branching melee, stuff like that).

Me too. I think Ready at Dawn is really talented and I do believe now that they have this insane engine in place they can really focus on knocking it our of the park for a sequel. Or hell, even an original game that uses the Engine.

These people are probably sorely disappointed that the game they've worked on for five years, their first really high profile big budget product is getting eviscerated in reviews. I do feel for them, they're people. And I know they are talented folks, as I keep repeating. So I hope despite Sony's financial situation they find it in their heart to give Ready at Dawn another chance at the big time.

Yo Ami! Have you played the game yet? Are you planning to? Or are you waiting for my review? :p

Damn, so you aren't going to bother with my obvious 10/10 review? :'(

I will probably get the game when it is very cheap, $19.99 or something w/ my Best Buy Rewards card. Probably be there around Black Friday.

I don't think it's fair to say that. If the game was universally praised and the player enjoyed what they played, it wouldn't be questioned. However if the game received mixed reception and/or was mostly panned by critics, they must be 'justifying their purchase', because everyone knows it must be human nature to automatically love something they naturally wouldn't if they didn't spend $60 on it?

Sorry this isn't a dig at you personally Ami, I just despise that word usage. I don't need to justify my purchase of anything, if I like it, I like it.

What's funnier is that same reviewer gave Ryse a 70%.

You don't need to, but it's a human fact of life. Post purchase rationalization (more specifically: Choice-Supportive Bias) is a real phenomenal, been studied before about many things not related to games but which have the same basic concept and the result is study after study shows that humans do it all the time whether they realize it or not.

There is an inherent drive to justify peoples investment, and it gets more likely to occur the longer that investment exists. And that investment is not merely one of money, but of time. And what happens on GAF or any hobbyist forum really? You can have literal years of people obsessed in forum topics about how awesome a game is going to be. And at the end of time, you have the very real human flaw of being unable to come to terms with the product you've been obsessing over failing to meet its goals.

Part of the problem that arises from such an analysis is that people automatically assume it's a personal attack on their ability to be truthful about the state of a game they've anticipated. It's not so simple. It's not really about honesty vs. falsehoods. It's usually a subconscious thing, people's brains condition themselves to face disappointment by sometimes literally refusing to be disappointed. And complicating matters, there are still a good many people who aren't like that at all, who like you claim to be just like what they like or hate what they hate and so any early impressions are not impacted by that very real phenomenon.

So the issue becomes how do you tell which views are fully genuine, and which are being tainted by post-purchase rationalization? Well the way I do is by the list. Everyone else mileage may vary. But just because it makes us uncomfortable to admit it doesn't mean we can exist in a world where we pretend it doesn't happen. It's a real, studied reality.

All early impressions are easy to approach with cynicism, and that's usually what I do if I'm unfamiliar with the poster. But naturally if the bulk of early impressions drastically are out of step with impressions from people who were given ample time to get through it and who have no horse in that race and didn't spend two years hyped on forums about the game, the question is going to be more quickly raised: what is causing that disparity? And it's easy to lay the blame on that purchase rationalization, because it usually is the cause.

As much as we want the world to live up to our ideals, truth is the world doesn't function that way :p
 
Re-watching The Order launch trailer: Seriously, this is not edited well.

It's kinda amateurish and random and shit. The Silent Night trailer was really good. I dunno what the heck they were thinking with this one. They just threw it together like a B-rate summer blockbuster flick trailer.
 

GnawtyDog

Banned
Re-watching The Order launch trailer: Seriously, this is not edited well.

It's kinda amateurish and random and shit. The Silent Night trailer was really good. I dunno what the heck they were thinking with this one. They just threw it together like a B-rate summer blockbuster flick trailer.

Not even the trailer editors can get a break. RAD has summoned GAF's wrath...

Bird poop on the streets of London... OMGGG!!!!!!!....what in the world? How dare you RAD!!!!! 2/10.
 

Aspiring

Member
Even if it's true for some/most, I dislike attaching statements like 'honeymoon period' or 'imma trying to justify my purchase', because that assumes a layer of... not dishonesty, but not-a-fully-level-headed-opinion of what they've played being shared with us. Different folks have different levels of honeymoon period/rose-tinted lenses, ranging from thick to none at all.

I kinda expected it with this game, especially when doubt/skeptism was thrown around in regards to some GAFer's completion time (which ended up being similar with the reviewers, mostly), which was why I did what was uncharacteristic of me, which is pivot two reviewers whom I felt mattered most to me, which was Bloodworth (GameTrailers) and Dawg's before the reviews went live. (Bloodworth never remotely hinted the kind of scores he planned to give, and Dawg too, kept it very low-key on GAF as to what his impressions were, but he implied he agreed with the criticisms of the story)

At the end of it, both of them reviewed this game quite well and gave it decent scores, while admitting the flaws of the game. =)

Yeah Bloodworths reviews are always on point and great. the only one I trust.
 
I'm just gonna go ahead and keep harping on the launch trailer, cause it really sucks! For a game that wants to be really cinematic, it's not the best trailer... or maybe it's the best possible trailer?

Maybe it's a mad genius move!

If it were me, I'd probably have used a slow, twisted cover of an Arcade Fire track over shots of Galahad's journey interspersed with moments of sheer violence and shots of Izzy or something.

I wonder how artsy I could go.
 

QaaQer

Member
For getting carried away



Indeed. It's probably the longest "article" on PSX you will find on the internet! lol



Driveclub was the last straw for me. I'd never be able to use reviews to guide my purchase decisions again. Having said that, are they wrong about The Order? I don't know. We'll see.

Feel the same about DC and reviews. That game had me in its thrall for 3 months.
 

Amir0x

Banned
I'm just gonna go ahead and keep harping on the launch trailer, cause it really sucks! For a game that wants to be really cinematic, it's not the best trailer... or maybe it's the best possible trailer?

Maybe it's a mad genius move!

If it were me, I'd probably have used a slow, twisted cover of an Arcade Fire track over shots of Galahad's journey interspersed with moments of sheer violence and shots of Izzy or something.

I wonder how artsy I could go.

:>

they should just do another really dramatic song that doesn't fit the tone of the game at all but makes it seem really deep, like them Gears of War commercials
 
I hope Amirox plays this just so he can consume the world design and attention to detail a la TLOU. The guy appreciates a well made world...(assuming this is comparable, haven't played it yet).
 

Ricky_R

Member
Sadly, I will be able to play tomorrow at night, before going to sleep.

Maybe I'll try the intro as soon as I get home, and continue later.
 

viveks86

Member
I will probably get the game when it is very cheap, $19.99 or something w/ my Best Buy Rewards card. Probably be there around Black Friday.

Can't believe you sidestepped my all important question. Guess I'm not on your trusted list after all :'(
 

GnawtyDog

Banned
I'm just gonna go ahead and keep harping on the launch trailer, cause it really sucks! For a game that wants to be really cinematic, it's not the best trailer... or maybe it's the best possible trailer?

Maybe it's a mad genius move!

If it were me, I'd probably have used a slow, twisted cover of an Arcade Fire track over shots of Galahad's journey interspersed with moments of sheer violence and shots of Izzy or something.

I wonder how artsy I could go.

It would be nice I am sure. Just imagine you and I, director and video editor for Ready at Dawn. Setting the world on fire one trailer at a time.
 
:>

they should just do another really dramatic song that doesn't fit the tone of the game at all but makes it seem really deep, like them Gears of War commercials

Mad totes, bro.

I was considering using a slow version of Afterlife, probably sung by some girl with really breathy vocals.

Yeah. I could totally be a trailer editor.
 
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