PSN to SEN: Time to rage quit? - DarkFeed
19 hours 12 mins ago
OXCGN writer Alex Baldwin takes apart the Sony PS3 titles to see what makes it tick and likes what he see and experiences.
He believe it raises the bar in the FPS genre, irrespective of platform. Slip over to the site and read a non-biased review from an Xbox site.
Let me start off by saying this review is almost a curse. Over the past few weeks as the reviews of Killzone 2 flooded the internet, sites were loved or loathed based on the number at the end of their article and accusations of fanboism were thrown thick and fast.
Unfortunately this is the fate of many major exclusive releases for the 360 or PS3. Despite not actually having played the full game internet trolls declared sites that awarded an 8/10 or lower for Killzone 2 flatout wrong or biased towards the Xbox 360.
Let me make one thing clear before we dive into the nitty gritty of picking apart Killzone 2 - this is my truthful opinion of the game uncoloured by hype or mythical money handouts from Microsoft or Sony. Yes this site focuses on the Xbox 360, but here we are all true gamers and true gamers can appreciate a great game no matter what format is graces.
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A resounding meh from me. It's good, definitely above average, but not on the level of COD4, The Orange Box or Bioshock.
Fingers crossed it get's better from the second level on because right now it's really a 8.5 game for me.
If you look very closely you'll see that in my first post you'll see I don't rate it higher than a 8.5/10 after the first level. In my second post I'm saying I'm no more impressed after 3 levels than I was after the first one.
I've got a little niggling thought at the back of my head that says you wouldn't be upset if I was complaining about Halo or another 360 exclusive.
A passive aggressive fanboy, which are just as, if not more, annoying than the other kind of fanboy.
Only just though.
@ Red_9: Mhmm.
:A resounding meh from me. It's good, definitely above average, but not on the level of COD4, The Orange Box or Bioshock.
Fingers crossed it get's better from the second level on because right now it's really a 8.5 game for me."
Not having a go at you per-se mate, my concern is with the overall presumption that 8.5/10 is a bad or lousy score . . . 8.5/10 is an Excellent score, and in fact, I believe the following needs to be taken back up, as it once was and really should be.:
As an example:
Our highest rating ever is 9.8/10 as we believe thereâs very few games that warrant or deserve a full 10/10 - ever - basically never.
This is the problem with many gamers these day, especially the two current newer generations coming in since 2005. They see rating at 8 or 8.5 as âlowâ or unacceptable, when in fact, out of /10, thatâs an amazing score.
Games need to fall back the the ânormal ratingsâ where:-
⢠2- 3/10 Were Lower level and basically "terrible" games and a score like this is given to games that should never have been made, but were and your really should do yourself a favour and not waste your money on them.
⢠3-5/10 Is an âHeeehhhh - itâs okayishâ, but buy it at you own risk if you really want to, but donât expect much out of it when you do play it, bargain bin 2 day turn-around type of game
⢠5 - 6/10 Is your âAverageâ and worth getting if youâre simply after some fluff and casual fun, you probably won't keep it unless something in it tweaks your interest . . .
⢠6-7.5 Is basically a "Great" game, well worth grabbing and playing and one that will deliver a solid amount of gameplay. Probably worth adding to a collection, but definitely worth investigating with the possibility of being a keeper.
⢠8 - 8.5/10 These are games that are classified as "Excellent", and are a definite cut above the rest. Well worth shelling out the readies on as keepers for anyonesâ collection.
⢠9 - 9.8/10 Are scores for those games that "Simply Excel" in so many areas in and are the games that would make it into any GOTY awards on any sites listing.
You only have to look through well researched and respected magazines such as EDGE to see that games scoring 7 etc are common and given to games that are great, not seen as bad or worthless, and in fact a cut above the rest. However, the same games on some sites are wrongly labeled at 9 and above, simply to win over the reader. Whereas 7/10 or 7.5/10 is still a damn fine game worth having, and 8.5 is a definite cut above the rest and well worth owning.
In effect, gamers of today are making a rod for their on back, and will suffer for it by game developers culling off games that really need to be made if innovation and change is to be had.
If you knew some of the games that both THQ and Eidos and Atari have trashed youâd be crying in your hands right now, as they were âexcellentâ games, but focus studies showed they would ONLY get a 8.8/10 . . now that is down right scary to think that we miss out on games that used be classified as brilliant, all because the âcurrent perceptionâ of ratings is over inflated.
The question is, how do YOU define the 8.5 you give, remembering that you don't review games for a profession, but on your experience.
SO explain what a 8.5 means, and then others willknow . saying it's "meeehhh just 8.5 sounds like a put down, yet 8.5 in a proper reviewers book is an 'excellent' game.
It's just a serious Q?, nothing more or any accusation.
Considering the hype it's a let down, but just because a game is a let down doesn't mean it's a poor game. I thought MGS4 and Halo 3 were overrated and overhyped, they weren't bad games though.
Look at Mirro's Edge.
Perhaps one of THE best First Person Perspective innovations to come out in the last few years. Yet it got a panning because it's score were not above 7 or even 8 in some cases.
Yet the gamers were/are clammering for "innovation" - "different game models" - "better environments" - "better physics" . .and what did Dice provide, all those and more. Mirror's Edge is part of a Trillogy, and Dice are hard at work on the following iteration, but at what expense to the game.
Will they change it and add guns into a game that is NOT meant to have guns, simply because gamers these days WANT big Fn guns otherwise it's Not A Game . . ?
For the record I actually enjoyed Mirrors Edge. I gave it a 8.8/10 in the Unofficial Hunskelper Magazine.
They want others to make their purchasing choices for them, and don;t seem to be willing to give a new game, or many games for that matter, a fiar and decent chance.
Games like Mirror's Edge etc take some time to get used to, but once you have, the game can be extremely fluid and fast. Shooters like Killzone 2 will take some time to master the aiming and weapons. But many will simply diss it based on a few moment or minutes of playtime.
It's like someone that is a master at skying being put on a Snow board and be expected to be master of that disipline straight off the bat. It's impossible, but given time, the person understands the nuances of the board and becomes familiar with them. Same goes for cars, sports and anything requiring physical dexterity really.
The exact same applies for games and their control systems. Your brain simply wants to know the new references and it will master them IF you give it TIME and effort.
I have a hard time understanding many gamers not seeing innovation in games as progress. So many want and ask for it, but in the very next breath, they condemn any developer that dares makes moves to include innovation in their new IPs.
I certainly would not want to be a developer in these times, let along a publisher.
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