Topic: Bionic Commando: Rearmed Devs Resurface

[Ian Sane]

Yeah, like Mario Kart 64. It got a 6.4 from GameSpot.

Yeah, I never understood that one.  Every other reviewer loved the **** out of that game.  If I recall it was weird nitpicky stuff.  It's like when some super hardcore fan of a game hates a sequel because some tiny small change no one else notices ruined the game for him.  Only it was a professional review, not some user review from Mr. Super-Mario-Kart-Expert who doesn't like how the feather isn't in the sequel.

[Stratos]

No, but the reviewers admitted that they based their scores on what they thought the readers would rate it. I guess no one told them that the whole point of a review is for the reviewer to give us their opinion, not try and guess what the reader thinks. Here is what they wrote on their official forum after the controversy (and what took away ay credibility the two reviewers had, and hurt the credibility of the magazine's editor-in-chief):

"GI-Jeremy wrote:

Lisa and I both knew that our Paper Mario scores were going to cause controversy. Yes, we know that many people out there will love it. We also know that it is a well-made game. However, it also WILL NOT appeal to many people - I would safely say that more people will dislike it than like it. Why? Like we said in the review, it's a very kiddie game - it's target audience is clearly young gamers - I would say 10 and under. For that reason, we had to score it low. Remember, we aren't scoring games strictly on our personal opinions, we're also scoring them based on how much we think THE GAMING PUBLIC will like them. We've all played games that we personally disliked and scored them well because we've known that most people will like them, and we've also scored games low that we love, because most people won't enjoy them.

For example, I really like the bizarre frog golf game Ribbit King, and I gave it a 7, because it's just not for everyone. Paper Mario 2 also scored low because it's just not for everyone. If you think it's a 10 in your book, it's a ten in your book, and that doesn't change if we disagree. We're here to guide you on what games to pick up, but ultimately your personal opinion is what will make you buy a game or not.

I hope this helps."

Wow...that's sad. Rate a game low because it is 'kiddie'. At least some other sites will rate them properly despite who they appeal to. So parents looking for good games for junior is sunk (the people most in need of reviews I would think) since every 'kiddie' game is rated poorly.

[Mop it up]

Yeah, like Mario Kart 64. It got a 6.4 from GameSpot.

Yeah, I never understood that one.  Every other reviewer loved the **** out of that game.  If I recall it was weird nitpicky stuff.  It's like when some super hardcore fan of a game hates a sequel because some tiny small change no one else notices ruined the game for him.  Only it was a professional review, not some user review from Mr. Super-Mario-Kart-Expert who doesn't like how the feather isn't in the sequel.

Yeah, it was a vague and also short review. The complaints were that there wasn't enough depth, that the single-player was too easy, and that the battle arenas were too large. The reviewer doesn't really give reasons to validate these claims, with "lack of solid play design" being as close as they came. It does kind of feel like they wrote the review with the intention of trolling the Nintendo 64, since it ends with a line akin to "It's a Mario game so you're going to buy it no matter what." They also never mention the controls, which I feel are terrible and are the main reason I didn't like Mario Kart 64.

[TJ Spyke]

The only part of that review I would agree with is that the battle maps were too large (especially if you only used two players). I can't tell you how bored I got playing Block Fort and Double Deck because it was very easy to stay far enough from the other players that you can play 10+ minutes matches before you pop all balloons from other players.

[NWR_Lindy]

Hey, I'm not dissing Just Dance.  But it seems like any smart developer has to have a Just Dance, or an EA Active, or a Deca Sports, or a Cooking Mama before they make any money.  God forbid they make something a core game.

[NWR_Neal]

Having played Just Dance, it's a really crappy game. It's just straight-up broken.

However, I can attest that it's mildly fun if you get a room of people to play along.

[TJ Spyke]

I am a solo gamer (I don't have anyone else to play with in person), so I probably would not enjoy it.

[Rize]

I'm willing to bet all you folks talking bad about Just Dance both:

1) never played it and are basing your opinion on review scores more than anything

2) have very much enjoyed a Nintendo game that's gotten similarly bad scores

Just dance got an average ranking of 48%.  I can't think of any game I've played and enjoyed with a score that low.

[vudu]

Just dance got an average ranking of 48%.  I can't think of any game I've played and enjoyed with a score that low.

How about Pokemon Dash or Magical Mirror: Starring Mickey Mouse?  You reviewed both games and gave each of them a 7.0.  Pokemon Dash has an overall rating of 49.21% and Magical Mirror has an overall rating of 48.26%?

[ControlerFleX]

Just dance got an average ranking of 48%.  I can't think of any game I've played and enjoyed with a score that low.

How about Pokemon Dash or Magical Mirror: Starring Mickey Mouse?  You reviewed both games and gave each of them a 7.0.  Pokemon Dash has an overall rating of 49.21% and Magical Mirror has an overall rating of 48.26%?

"Oooooooooooo!............."             
                 "Oh no he didn't!!"
                                 "Unh Hun guurl!!, he went there, brought it back and served it fo dinna!"

      Ahem....Sorry, that was uncalled for....