Games We Love but Wish We Could Love Playing
8 hours 32 mins ago
MTV recently posted a blog which mentioned restrictions Konami Digital Entertainment put on the reviewers of MGS 4. Usually only plot-related things are kept secret, but this time some technical things were included on the list, specifically the cutscene length and the installation size. No one knows why Konami wants to keep these things a secret, but MTV has a guess: "Such details wouldnt have been plot spoilers, but perhaps the publisher was concerned that they would be viewed as negatives?"
While reporting MTV Multiplayers week-long series about game reviews Ive heard from members of the gaming press about restrictions publishers place on game reviews. Im familiar with some of these. Its common for a publisher to specify plot details that they dont want revealed in reviews.
What I heard about print reviews for Metal Gear Solid 4 was different.
Ive been told by two gaming media sources who asked to remain anonymous that Konami representatives had been asking print reviewers to keep some technical details out of their reviews, namely the length of the games cut-scenes and the size of the games installation on the PlayStation 3.
Such details wouldnt have been plot spoilers, but perhaps the publisher was concerned that they would be viewed as negatives?
Konami representatives declined to comment to me about any of this, as did editors of a few major video game magazines.
Whether Konami really has put these limits on reviewers and if such limits are tolerable to game reviewers is something I cant answer. Its something worth keeping an eye on as print reviews of MGS4″ start trickling out.
News story attached to:
Additional sources:
- Pre-release MGS4 Reviewers Got "Pretty Long" List of Forb... (kotaku.com)
- 'Metal Gear Solid 4' Controversy Continues (g4tv.com)
- Konami Censoring MGS4 Reviews (escapistmagazine.com)





Comments
(I think it was Eurogamer that said the final cutscene was especially dull ... which is a shame, since you'd think the final scene in the entire series would be a good one).
Okay. So MGS2 did have some long winded cutscene's but MGS3 definitely didn't.
However, other sites have said that the ending suffers from " Return of the King " syndrome ...
I'd imagine it would be VERY easy for a newcomer to be put off the game due to the long cutscenes.
At least, if reviews 'warn' people about the length of cutscenes, newbies can buy MGS4 and know what to expect. Not 'warning' people would just piss them off.
Reviews end up being untruthful if they are restricted from detailing certain negatives.
This is just how things work now. Plus Konami hasn't made an official statement on the matter, so its really just a rumour at the moment.
Ok, review everything about our game.. APART FROM THE BAD STUFF.
Tbqh I don't give a shit what the reviewers say about this game. They haven't been spot on lately with their reviews and quite honestly why people still listen to them is beyond belief.
Don't listen to Pro Reviews only user reviews, sadly we won't get them til 11 days from now.
You complain about people abusing the Thumbs Down feature, yet posts with opposite opinions seem to 'mysteriously' get thumbed down as soon as you post.
User reviews are more reliable than Pro reviews.
I don't abuse the feature. Its for disagreeing which I do disagree with some of your posts lately. And I disagreed with primagen as well. See when I say abusing I mean people doing it without replying. I didn't feel necessary to post the same thing twice so I just replied to him, which was also for you.
Think what you like, I had a reason for thumbing you down.
Besides, Enhance doesn't think there is abusing going on with the thumbs. So no matter what you or I think about that matter is null and void.
Best idea is to trust the post-release reviews over the pre-release ones, and that goes for every game.
People who don't care, well..they won't care, and they will buy the game regardless. But there are gamers who may not want a game like that; don't get me wrong, I love the MGS series and Snake is a babe, but the franchise does have a habit of making rather long and boring scenes you want to skip (I wouldn't skip them, though, because the story is so complex you might miss important details -- totally a Catch 22).
This news story is archived and is closed to comments now.