Re: Ghostbusters Game Review
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 4:47 pm
I don't trust any percentage or 10-scale review system these days. Plenty of my favourite games have scored low on such scales, and conversely, games I consider to be mediocre at best have scored highly. It has only goten worse recently, with marketing driving scores more than actual gameplay.
The only way I judge games now is through first-hand experience, or by trusting the opinions of forum members on the various forums I visit. I can even find a game I know I won't like by certain forum members loving them. Generally speaking, people who like the Halo or Gears of War series act as good examples in such cases.
Oh, and also, Rock, Paper, Shotgun is pretty damn reliable, and again, doesn't rely on a scoring system, but rather their readership's ability to read well-written criticism.
Case in point for a recent game I love but has been reviewing badly: the new Bionic Commando. Very much a gamer's game, the reviews all seem to have been expecting something the developer never promised. If they'd shut up about open-world bollocks, they may have realised that here was a completely bug-free game that looked pretty damn good, had great action and didn't compromise in the difficulty stakes. Only thing I couldn't stand about the game was the rather obtrusive in-game advertising, as highlighted by Yahtzee over on Zero Punctuation. Yahtzee's not great for basing your buying decisions on (see his Valkyria Chronicles review), but he's damn good at highlighting foibles.
Conversely, I've found the typically high-scoring inFamous and Red Faction Guerilla to be good games, but not great. Both suffer from Assassin's Creed syndrome, where they quickly become incredibly repetitive and rather a chore to play.
Red Faction Guerilla is probably more disappointing in this respect, as it comes from the same developer that brought us Saints Row 2, a game that I found incredibly fun, with an astounding amount of variety, and that pissed all over its contemporary, GTAIV. In short, I expected more from Volition, a kind of Saints Row 2 on Mars.
So in short, if Ghostbusters is reviewing badly, I wouldn't judge the game by that. Wait for some more informed response from people you trust.
The only way I judge games now is through first-hand experience, or by trusting the opinions of forum members on the various forums I visit. I can even find a game I know I won't like by certain forum members loving them. Generally speaking, people who like the Halo or Gears of War series act as good examples in such cases.
Oh, and also, Rock, Paper, Shotgun is pretty damn reliable, and again, doesn't rely on a scoring system, but rather their readership's ability to read well-written criticism.
Case in point for a recent game I love but has been reviewing badly: the new Bionic Commando. Very much a gamer's game, the reviews all seem to have been expecting something the developer never promised. If they'd shut up about open-world bollocks, they may have realised that here was a completely bug-free game that looked pretty damn good, had great action and didn't compromise in the difficulty stakes. Only thing I couldn't stand about the game was the rather obtrusive in-game advertising, as highlighted by Yahtzee over on Zero Punctuation. Yahtzee's not great for basing your buying decisions on (see his Valkyria Chronicles review), but he's damn good at highlighting foibles.
Conversely, I've found the typically high-scoring inFamous and Red Faction Guerilla to be good games, but not great. Both suffer from Assassin's Creed syndrome, where they quickly become incredibly repetitive and rather a chore to play.
Red Faction Guerilla is probably more disappointing in this respect, as it comes from the same developer that brought us Saints Row 2, a game that I found incredibly fun, with an astounding amount of variety, and that pissed all over its contemporary, GTAIV. In short, I expected more from Volition, a kind of Saints Row 2 on Mars.
So in short, if Ghostbusters is reviewing badly, I wouldn't judge the game by that. Wait for some more informed response from people you trust.
