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Are Reviewers Playing On The Wrong Difficulty?

VelocityGamer: In the wake of suspicious review scores we ask if the conditions surrounding review gaming sessions can significantly effect the score. Are reviewers playing on the wrong difficulty?

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velocitygamer.com
Pikajew5311d ago (Edited 5311d ago )

Who cares if Uncharted 3 got an 8/10, if you like it why does it matter?

Its their opinion. No one likes every game and you dont have to like every popular game. I found Mass Effect boring but it is still a great game.

Hockeydud195311d ago

Yes, but like I've said before in other comments. Reviews need to be focused on the quality of the game first, then their opinion. I may hate Uncharted 3, but does that mean it's a bad game? (I don't hate uncharted, just an example :) )

lorianguy5311d ago

I almost dismissed you as a figment of my imagination.

A person who hates Uncharted? Impossible.

TruthbeTold5311d ago (Edited 5311d ago )

It's this ridiculous idea that 8/10 means bad, or not good or good enough that's the problem. If someone can take an 8/10 score and fall off the deep end about how the reviewer didn't like the game or play on the right difficulty, etc. they've got issues. Those issues tend to revolve around the issue of 'Metascore'. It's absurd, and it's hurting gaming.

People don't even consider buying a 7/10 anymore. 7/10 until these past couple of years meant: Good game, few bugs and issues, better than average, definitely worth playing. Now for too many it means 'Meh, if I play it, I'll pirate it'. Lots of good games fallen by the wayside this gen because of 7 and 8 scores being taken as a negative by metascore obsessed knuckleheads...

xPhearR3dx5311d ago

@lorianguy

Not impossible. lol I hate Uncharted. Played both of them and hated just about every minute of playing them. I tried to get into it, but just couldn't do it. Hate Halo too lol I'll take LBP2, Gears 3 or Killzone 2 over those any day ^_^

Amiz5311d ago

@lorianguy:

You would be surprised. I've seen plenty of people who think Uncharted is either OK or just bad. One of my friends doesn't like the series because he isn't into story based games and isn't a fan of adventure titles.

Different strokes for different folks.

Kishin5311d ago (Edited 5311d ago )

A review is a review... an opinion piece, not a news report.

SilentNegotiator5311d ago

This debate again? It's EUROGAMER, people. They're KNOWN for underscoring ps3 exclusives.

So when they give a score below the average 9.5 on a ps3 game, it's not surprising that people would come down on Eurogamer. Myself, It's hard to not shrug my shoulders and say "It's Eurogamer being Eurogamer"

Gamereactor Denmark, GameKult, Eurogamer.....the only scores on Metacritic below a 90. All known for underscoring ps3 games.

UnSelf5311d ago

the pic in the article is damn near impossible to achieve. that laptop should be across the room judging by the force of the punch

Denethor_II5311d ago (Edited 5311d ago )

@UnSelf Indeed. I see you have calculated the force velocity to weight/impact ratio, but what you have failed to take note on is the mass to force ratio of his left arm. One could easily deduce and conclude that this variable could well have cancelled out the force velocity to weight/impact that you alluded to previously.

Edit another variable could also be argued, and that is the visible rage he displays with his face. It's not unheard of that when a man is so enraged he is capable of displaying strength five times that of his own.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 5311d ago
MasterCornholio5311d ago (Edited 5311d ago )

Yes I agree. Everyone has the right to express their opinion on a game and I respect that.

For example I hate Star Fox 64 and Halo Reach. But that doesn't mean that they are bad games I just don't like them.

XperiaRay

ATi_Elite5311d ago

yeh people like different games and we all don't have to like the same things. I hate Halo also. I find it very boring and you fight the same 3 aliens for 30 minutes then some boss. rinse repeat!

Uncharted is a great action adventure game but i don't feel it's the greatest thing since the integrated circuit.

I'm ALL about STALKER and Half Life i think they are the greatest series ever but i'm sure many will be like meh.

we all have opinions which is COOL!

ronin4life5311d ago

As someone who likes halo and starfox 64, I wholeheartedly agree with the both of you.
Videogames are awesome.

ATi_Elite5311d ago

1. I don't rely on some stupid reviewer who makes reviews based on how many web hits they can get and or how much free swag they got from the publisher.

2. most of these people are very bias and lack true video game knowledge.

3. difficulty setting is a issue but the reviewer playing the game for like 20 minutes then writing a review is worse.

4. You-Tube and Steam Forums are my reviewers. If i'm on the fence about a game You-tube lets me see everything about a game and Steam forums will get me other decision making info from gamers who own the game like Dev support.

schlanz5311d ago

It's not about the score, it's about the lack of professionalism

death2smoochie5311d ago (Edited 5311d ago )

That is pure logic, however on this site especially, give UC3 for example anything under a 9.5 and people lose their minds...
In reality reviews are just one persons view and no one should give a damn. if its a bad score or great score.Who cares? That's THEIR OPINION...and opinions are like assholes...all stink and everyone has one...

but on N4G.COM it is taken as gospel if that score for certain games is not close to perfect on their respected system of choice....then all hell breaks loose.

TheXgamerLive5311d ago (Edited 5311d ago )

Eurogamer also gave AAA Gears of War 3 an 8/10.

I'm guessing they are meerly doing what their doing just for hits.
Sadly they must be on there way out to begin doing this.
They may get more hits but those hits will not be from impressed new readers/followers.

Ultimately everyone should buy a game based on what they see from video's and read/hear from the developers and your overall feelings you have inside you.
B/C in the end critics are just a paid person (or not) from a website who hopes to get more work after his/her review. They may not even be a gamer or could be a biased fanboy. we never know this before reading a review.
So, take a review with a grain of salt and instead form your own opinion/gut feeling and trust it.

$65.00 is alot of money. choose wisely.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 5311d ago
Trainz5311d ago

I don't hate uncharted but I don't think its as 'amazing' as everyone says.
It took me under 10 hours to beat both the previous instalments and I doubt this one will be an exception.
It might very well win GOTY because it has a great stroy, likeable characters, good pacing and great graphics.
But its just too short and scripted.
And I'm a guy who prefers freedom in games so Skyrim will be my GOTY.

Amiz5311d ago

I must admit...I do wish the Uncharted games were longer. I always get to the end and think 'aww I want more!'

Abriael5311d ago (Edited 5311d ago )

Yes, it happens, more often than you think, and in more cases than you think.I present you with Evidence A:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum...

also, while this article stands on a solid base, it loses it's focus in the feeble attempt to be politically correct like in the following passage:

"Critics are often on a time crunch and while some are inept and biased, we shouldn't just assume that is always the case."

Sorry, but if a reviewer needs to play a game on easy to produce a review, then he *is* inept. Maybe not biased, but definitely and inept, unprofessional and a failure as a gamer. There simply is no excuse.

rdgneoz35311d ago

Yah, I loved how that reviewer got caught playing the game on easy, then tried to stealthily change his review without anyone noticing.

Abriael5311d ago (Edited 5311d ago )

That was extremely naive on his part. He should very well know that now more than ever game reviewers are under scrutiny. And as a game reviewer myself, I can tell you that this is exactly how it should be.

He thought that since it was a small indie game, no one would have cared. Bad, bad judgement.

I prefer to be the very last one to post a review (I'm still finishing my Forza 4 one, because I refuse to publish it without experiencing such a deep game as much as possible, offline and online, even if the publisher delivered my copy late), but to post one that won't misinform or mislead my readers. Maybe I'll have less readers, but the ones I'll get will walk away knowing the game better, not worse.

Rushing through a game to post your review first, not finishing it (at least when it's under 20-30 hours), or playing it in the easiest difficulty available shows a large degree of lack of respect, not only for your readers, but also for the hard work of the devs. When you're given the "power" to judge someone else's work publicly and influence people's opinion on it, if you don't do it seriously, you're scum.

jeeves865311d ago

I got an advanced copy of Dead Nation on PSN. I checked the online scoreboards and with the exception of a few, most were playing on Braindead, which is the easiest level.

If people are to respect a reviewer's opinion, they have to at least respect the reviewer's playing ability. And while they don't have to be the best, playing on easy just makes it seem like they're hardly even putting the effort in. How can you determine the game's difficulty or challenge when playing on the easiest setting?

Raven_Nomad5311d ago (Edited 5311d ago )

Why are people freaking out over a game that rated a 8? A score of 8 is still great. I didn't complain when Gears 3 scored an 8, even though I knew Gears 3 was superior in every way to Gears 2 it scored lower on Metacritic and I can understand some of that. The sequel to a sequel needs to do a lot to prove itself, needs to prove it upgraded a lot, for some reviewers it might not have been enough.

People need to stop getting all hung up on something like a 8 score. I'm surprised there weren't some more 8's thrown in on both Gears 3 and Uncharted 3.

*Edit* I did read the review, but who cares really? we all have different opinions and I don't think any game is "perfect".

I warned people that when your at the top the only place to go is down.

Hockeydud195311d ago

It was'nt the score that pissed people off (okay maybe some) but what the reviewer said about the game. Go read it for yourself and you'll see.

attilayavuzer5311d ago

Actually I'm pretty sure it is the score they were upset about. If every professional outlet gave it a 10 and in the reviews said it was dog shit, I doubt anyone would be complaining that their game had 100/100 on metacritic. Jus sayin...

radphil5311d ago

@attilayavuzer

I would. I actually read the reviews than said number.

If someone gave a game 5/10 and said "Blah blah blah I hate it blah blah blah", I wouldn't pay much attention to that. If someone else gave it the same score and said, "Well the technical aspect of the game has some flawed executions such as...", "the camera while a nice point of view becomes a hinderance, etc", I'd be more inclined to continue reading.

attilayavuzer5305d ago

@radphil

So would I, but lets be honest here...rationally-thinking gamers are in the minority on this site.

JellyJelly5311d ago

I think some of the Battlefield 3 reviews have been more controversial. In many cases I don't feel that the reviewers put in enough gametime to give just verdicts. The multiplayer in Battlefield 3 is bigger, deeper and better than any other FPS game released this gen yet the reviewers choose to focus 80% of their time talking about the single player.

It's as if they wrote a GT5 review and only focused on the go karting. They miss the core of the games sometimes.

Show all comments (50)
50°

Uncharted Cast Doesn’t Take the Games’ Success For Granted at MCM Comic-Con

During MCM Comic Con London X EGX, CGM got the chance to be part of a press group interview with the stars of the Uncharted titles, namely the legendary Nolan North, who played protagonist Nathan Drake, Emily Rose, who portrayed Elena Fisher and Richard McGonagle, who took on the role of Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan,

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cgmagonline.com
160°

Analyzing 'Uncharted: Drake’s Deception' – Wait, What is The Game About?

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception has a lot to live up to as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is an incredible and near-perfect game.

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goombastomp.com
Profchaos1655d ago

It's about retirement...oh wait

UNCHARTED2FANATIC1655d ago (Edited 1655d ago )

I cant even say what the point was its easily the worst story in the series. The online was a whole lot of fun though but overall doesn't come even close to 2

porkChop1655d ago (Edited 1655d ago )

It was a step back for sure. Personally, I thought even the MP was way better in U2. Solid game, glad I played it. I just think they didn't push as hard as they did with U2.

UNCHARTED2FANATIC1650d ago

Yes both the online and story was better in 2 no doubt

Flewid6381654d ago

The "young Drake" portion was pretty top notch, story-wise. But yeah, everything outside of that I felt was inferior.

DanielEndurance1655d ago

Villains were all over the place in this… one second they wanted Drake dead, the next they needed him, then they want him dead again, then they coulda killed him, but poisoned his friend instead, then coulda shot him again, but had brunch with him, then needed him alive, then coulda mowed him down, but decided to kill him by fire and let him escape… Uncharted 2 was way better. 😅😅

slowgamer1655d ago

=D Sounds crazy. I don't remember any of that. Played it on ps3 and I remember thinking that why was this game so bashed compared to second one. I liked it.

Chocoburger1654d ago (Edited 1654d ago )

Another thing that annoyed me about UC3 events was the agent Talbot teleporting around Turkey. It just felt off to me, and made no sense.

Also, for about one third of the game, you go on a wild goose chase to rescue Sully, who wasn't even there to be rescued, and you end up back where you started again. There was simply no pay off for all the events you go through, so it fell flat in that regard as if they couldn't figure out how to make the game longer, so they decided to side-track you to do something with no pay off, hoping you wouldn't notice due to all the incredible action set pieces they made.

Overall though, even with its flaws, I still enjoy the game.

TheEnigma3131654d ago

This was actually my least favorite in the series. Didn't have that same impact that part 2 set.

Flewid6381654d ago

Uncharted 2 is the pinnacle of the series (to me).

Granted, 4 had the best story in my opinion, but 2 was the overall best game.

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210°

Uncharted 3 Anniversary Retrospective: Shackled By Its Precursor's Legacy

A decade after its release, how does Uncharted 3 fare today? Does its story still work? Was its precursor’s legacy a bedrock or quicksand for its own aspirations?

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techraptor.net
1656d ago Replies(2)
SullysCigar1656d ago

When arguably the weakest game in the series is still awesome and more fun than most games today, you know you're onto a winner!

coolbeans1655d ago

I'd extend "arguably" before awesome too. Many technically demanding scenes were jaw-dropping for the time, but it's tough to ignore the sub-par context propelling the action forward.

SullysCigar1655d ago

Tough for you, perhaps, and that's fine. I enjoyed it very much. Perhaps a little less than the others in the series, but then the bar is extremely high.

I remember being blown away by the water and sand tech in U3 for the time too. It certainly was a visual treat!

LucasRuinedChildhood1655d ago (Edited 1655d ago )

It is very good, but when I originally played Uncharted 3 it was the most disappointed I'd ever been in a video-game because Uncharted 2 was just that good. I enjoyed 3 much more when I replayed it in the Nathan Drake Collection though. I could just enjoy it for what it is and accept that it's not Uncharted 2 - it's not a roller coaster, and it doesn't balance and rotate between action, puzzles, platforming and set-pieces in the same way.

Uncharted 3's gameplay is a bit more compartmentalized and focused on one thing at a time. I'm not surprised the scrapped version of Uncharted 4 was going to have no gunplay for the first half. It's also paced much differently - it takes a long time to get to the notable set-pieces. Uncharted 2 is insane from Nepal onwards which is about an hour into the game. haha.

I did like the introduction of chase sequences, and I love first hour (bar fight, young Drake) and from the airplane sequence onwards but I just think the rest of it just sort of meanders along without as much purpose as 2.

When it comes to the script, you can feel the absence of Neil Druckmann and Josh Scherr (writer on every other console Uncharted game). Drake gets hit in the face, and the game goes on a random side plot for an hour to give you some boat set-pieces. He then washes up on a beach close to where Elena is staying to get you back to the real plot. Drake just says "How convenient" to try make you laugh off how sloppy the plot got.

In retrospect, I'm not sure if Naughty Dog were ready to work on 2 different games at once. 3 clearly had production issues that 1 and 2 didn't have, and Hennig's version of 4 didn't work out. They had to crunch so hard to get the rebooted version done on time that Bruce Straley gave up making video-games.

coolbeans1655d ago

I'll give you some props for the extra analysis. I remember Druckmann climbing his way to a writer spot in UC2, but wasn't aware of Josh Scherr. I didn't know that was the reason for Straley's departure either. That's pretty damn rough.

GhostofHorizon1655d ago

They had to make some weird choices as far as story went because the actor for Cutter had to bail which left a few holes in the story.

Uncharted is one of my favourite series and while the leap from 2 to 3 was not nearly as big as the leap from 1 to 2, I think it was an amazing experience none the less.

coolbeans1655d ago

Graham McTavish's departure wasn't easy, but I don't think that would fix many holes tbh. Because the main issue to consider is the precarious mindset Naughty Dog was operating on: an increased emphasis in set pieces that HAD to go in and worrying about the context later.

Petebloodyonion1655d ago

I really liked part 3 ( Among Thieves is still the best in my opinion) My only complaint was the interactions with the villains and how they were a missed opportunity, Linda MacMahon (Marlowe) was an interesting antagonist due to the history with Sully and Nate but it fails basically flat especially with her ending. And I couldn't care about Navaro 2.0.

What I did love and made me care was Cutter, in the short time he was in the game you could feel that the guy was a good treasure hunter for example when he pulled his own notebook with the clues he founds so the team can escape a room.
It was a small touch that add a lot to the character.

Good-Smurf1655d ago

Marlowe was played by Rosalind Ayres.

MadLad1655d ago (Edited 1655d ago )

I have mixed feelings on the series. I still own all of them on the PS3, and the collection for PS4, but I didn't truly "love" any of the games until 4.

They're good games, but they always stumble on some element.
The first is good, but the climbing mechanics weren't exactly fine tuned with the first showing. Not to mention the spongey enemies if you played on anything past normal; but you're then faced with a fairly unchallenging game experience.
The second mostly fixed the climbing, but added in a pretty clumsy stealth mechanic.
Three was just two with a new story.

Four got it right though.
I don't remember once getting annoyed by any mechanic had in the game.

I know that everyone has a soft spot for 2, and 3 is sort of the black sheep of the series; but they did, overall, get progressively better. Which doesn't always happen.

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