So I read a comment made by Unicron about how we need to stop letting reviews dictate whether we buy a game or not (a very valid argument), and I decided to reply with a sort of rebuttal. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I liked what I wrote and i want to see if I could get some feed back soles on the subject of the importance of reviews and how Killzone 2 has been treated by game reviewers.
My post goes as follows:
"If it wasn't
for the awesome reviews of RE4, I wouldn't have even given it a second
look. Same with Rouge Galaxy, Onimusha 3, or Syphon Filter: Dark
Mirror. Reviews can be very useful, and thats why I get pissed when
magazines or sites post scores to get hits. I use reviews to help me
with my purchases damn it! Stop playing with me!
One thing
I have to say is that reviews generally are on point. The only games
that [I] can think of off the top of my head that where notably over
rated are Halo 3 and GTA4. I'm not saying that they were[n't] fun games, I
happened to enjoy both, but I feel they were not deserving of a massive
praise they received. If a game truly sucks, review scores tend show that. Likewise, if a game is good the score tend to show that as well.
When it comes to Killzone 2, I do think there is this shock from
reviewers about how good the game truly is. Reviewer[s] are suddenly
pulling out all these criticisms that apply to almost every [s]hooter out
there and thats a bit annoying. However, I think Killzone 2 has receive
a massive amount of support from game reviewers all over the world and
these few poor reviews should not be taken as the whole of gaming
journalism [view] of the game."
*Sorry for all the corrections : (
http://www.n4g.com/NewsCom-276662.aspx?CT=1&Page=1&Page2=1#C2053549 (comment number 5)
An absolutely unhinged body horror clicker/idle game that is also extremely cozy and has layered themes about life and consumerism, Tingus Goos is worth seeing to believe.
A new Sony patent suggests improvements for PSSR 2.0 on PS5 Pro and hints at fixes for FPS drops and native resolution issues.
VGChartz's Thomas Froehlicher: "The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon is a very satisfying follow-up to a partially disappointing Trails Through Daybreak II. It has a much stronger narrative, dramatically improved combat, boasts great returning characters, delightful enhancements, and even more enjoyable side content in the form of Grim Garten. It’s worth every euro I paid - indeed, I'd pay twice the price for it, given the fantastic experience it provided. Given the dramatic cliffhanger at the end, I’m rather surprised to see that Falcom is going to spend two years remaking Trails in the Sky; I wager that many fans, me included, will be eager to see Van’s final episode."
Reviews are only a small part when it comes to buying games. Or should be for that matter. However it's gone past the review and gone to what people expect the review to say.
We at N4G know about a game years before it actually comes to being and we track it, follow it's progression, get all hyped for it and expect it to be the best.
Then someone says it isn't and now they are the biased, blinded so and so who is only going for hits. Either that or they are right on the money and thank the lucky stars someone understands that this game is the best.
Our hopes go beyond 9/10 it goes to 9/10 or bust. Reviews are important but actually reading them without the need of them to say what you want them to is the trick.
Tell me, how can a game get so many 9s, 9.5s, a few perfect scores, and then get an 8/10 or 7/10??
From what I've read, Killzone 2's main flaw is that it doesn't innovate and feels like just another shooter. Frankly, I can't wait to see what FPS games this year will INNOVATE so much.