Games Journalism 2011: It Sunk Lower

MattKeil · 2011-10-26T16:53:12.000Z

Jason Townsend:

Well, 5 star systems do admit the possibility of .5 star reviews or (very, very rarely) 0-star ones. I think the practice matters more than the theory.

If there are .5 star reviews or 0 star reviews, it is not a 5 star system. A 5 star system has…5 stars.

JoshV · 2011-10-26T16:56:00.000Z

Budvar:

People act as if a game that isn’t terrific in all apsects is not worth playing. This is stupid.

Anyway, to me anything more than a “I liked, I didn’t like” is merely an instruction as to how I should align my opinion. No thanks. Tell me whether you liked or didn’t, why this is the case, and I’ll make my own mind up thanks.

Yeah, if a review really mentions how great some new innovative feature is, I may go check otu the game even if the rest of the game is shite.

Jason_Townsend · 2011-10-26T17:13:46.000Z

MattKeil:

If there are .5 star reviews or 0 star reviews, it is not a 5 star system. A 5 star system has…5 stars.

If someone has trademarked Five Star System ™ such that it is only legally allowed integer values, lovely. I prefer the scandalous CGW system with half-stars (also used by some movie or music reviewers, even with, eg, “**1/2” using asterisks.)

Darth_Infamous · 2011-10-26T17:28:59.000Z

I can’t believe people are still arguing review scores. The idea that anything can be boiled down to a single numeric assignment is really dumb. If we all had our wants and hopes in this world, mine would be to abandon the review score system all together.

I’d much rather see discussions about reviews talking about why or why not the gameplay was enjoyable than seeing arguments about why the game didn’t get 5 stars or only a 9.2 when it deserved a 9.5.

idrisz · 2011-10-26T17:29:48.000Z

I can’t believe people are still arguing review scores. The idea that anything can be boiled down to a single numeric assignment is really dumb. If we all had our wants and hopes in this world, mine would be to abandon the review score system all together.

can we fired reviewers while we at it?

MattKeil · 2011-10-26T17:39:36.000Z

Jason Townsend:

If someone has trademarked Five Star System ™ such that it is only legally allowed integer values, lovely. I prefer the scandalous CGW system with half-stars (also used by some movie or music reviewers, even with, eg, “**1/2” using asterisks.)

That’s great, but that’s a ten point scale, not a five star scale. 11 point if they’re allowed to give out 0.0s.

Hanacker · 2011-10-26T17:43:51.000Z

I feel like this has been covered before, but does it mean anything that popular movies (particularly stupid comedies, romantic comedies, and action movies) can get bad reviews and everyone seems okay with that, but a lot of people seem to have a problem with popular games getting bad reviews?

kerzain · 2011-10-26T17:46:44.000Z

Because one is seen a guilty pleasure and we expect no more no less from cheesy movies. But games are serious business.

LMN8R · 2011-10-26T19:03:06.000Z

Jesus christ. What the fuck?

NeoGAF

IGN rushes through PJSideScroller, lies, is called out, removes part of review

Read this! Summary of the events by Kazerei. ------- Posted by kassatsu on the PJ SideScroller OT: Also IGN posted a review 6.5 Dylan called them out on twitter saying they rushed through on casual and they removed part of the...

And I thought Daemon was one of the more mature, stand-up guys over there.

BobJustBob · 2011-10-26T19:23:24.000Z

LMN8R:

Jesus christ. What the fuck?

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=449885

And I thought Daemon was one of the more mature, stand-up guys over there.

So if you play on easy you don’t get to see all of the game, and that’s supposed to indict the reviewer somehow?

chequers · 2011-10-26T19:29:53.000Z

I don’t think playing on easy is a crime, and not really a reason to call the reviewer out. It’s a bad design decision to screw people for playing on an easier difficulty. But pretending you played on normal and actually saw the “normal ending” then silently backtracking when called on it – now that’s indictable.

BobJustBob · 2011-10-26T19:46:14.000Z

He shouldn’t have said on twitter that he played on normal, though it is possible he forgot. But then he edited out the incorrect information from the review. There’s not necessarily anything sinister about that.

chequers · 2011-10-26T19:57:38.000Z

If you’re called out on an error, you don’t just fix it. You fit it and add a note to the article mentioning the article has been edited.

A better journalist would specify exactly what was edited, but I would only grumble silently if someone did at least the bare minimum.

sluggo · 2011-10-26T20:59:25.000Z

In 12 years of reviewing games, I’ve never “forgotten” what difficulty level I played a game on. That’s because I generally just play on normal, unless it’s something like Guitar Hero or Madden, where people more commonly play on multiple difficulty levels.

So this guy says he played on Normal, and then someone suggested he was lying, and then the review gets ninja-edited without an editor’s note? That’s not sinister? It screams that the guy flat-out lied, got caught and tried to cover it up.

Budvar · 2011-10-27T21:43:28.000Z

Telefrog:

I agree. Unfortunately, people (and I do mean groups) don’t. Almost every individual I’ve talked to about this seems to agree with the basic concept that reviews are supposed to be entertaining, informative, and more subjective than objective. People say they want a reviewer to inform them and that they would like to get a “feel” of the product being reviewed. They claim to want to make their own decision and that the score is just a shorthand for the text.

For whatever reason, all that seems to go away once you give them the opportunity to comment on a review they disgaree with. At that point it becomes, “lulz he got teh moneyhats” or “that jerk wouldn’t know a good game if it had sex with him - not that he’s ever had sex lol!”

I don’t know. Film and literature don’t seem to have inspire the same amount of angst. Sure, there are fanboys, but in general people seem to have a more nuanced view of value and quality, an in particular less emotional involvement.

Jason_Townsend · 2011-10-28T03:59:08.000Z

Well, look at the demography of gaming, and how anonymous internet sectarianism tends to work (even without a disproportionate number of 15 year old males.)

The better sort of game developers and journalists share a hobby with a vast number of, not to mince words, juvenile morons, and profitable companies who make a living servicing their needs.

Telefrog · 2011-10-28T05:48:52.000Z

Budvar:

I don’t know. Film and literature don’t seem to have inspire the same amount of angst. Sure, there are fanboys, but in general people seem to have a more nuanced view of value and quality, an in particular less emotional involvement.

Have you looked at the comments section of online movie reviews? Amazon book reviews?

Foxstab · 2011-10-28T05:51:39.000Z

Football (soccer) fans.

Telefrog · 2011-10-28T07:50:48.000Z

New column on Kotaku. “NeoGAF Asks”

Kotaku

What Game Handled Weather Changes the Best?

Whipping rain that dots your screen in a firefight. Fog that hides lingering zombies. Sheets of ice that cause you car to spin out of control. Weather can be an important part of video games. Over the years there have been some amazing takes on...

Ask NeoGAF is a republished thread from popular gaming forum NeoGAF reprinted with express permission from the site. NeoGAF started as the forum for video game news site Gaming-Age, but in 2006 became a stand-alone site. It is home to a vibrant and well-versed community of game players, makers and journalists. Hop on over and check it out sometime.

inactive_user · 2011-10-28T07:58:47.000Z

Kotaku reprinting NeoGAF threads is sort of poetic, is it not?