It's the same way with BG&E. It is far more than the sum of its arbitrary score values. No individual score would really stand out, and if forced to review the game, I would probably give it an 8. But you know what? It's so much more than that. There is no score for "heart and soul" or "identification with the main characters" or "that was freaking awesome!"
Oh yes there is a score for that, it's the final score. If the experience was so ****ing awesome why wouldn't you give it a ten? I think for example EDF2 deserves one, it's not terribly polished or anything but playing it feels so awesome it deserves no less than top marks because in the end technology, polish, controls, game time, etc are just means to an end: A better experience. If a game gives an awesome experience don't be afraid to rate it highly even if it's not high budget or whatever. Rate how great the experience is. Rate how much you think people should play it. Don't rate the "total package" because that's a way of saying that you add/subtract points because of some technical or other secondary issues, things that you think make a game deserving of a different scorre despite of the core experience.
By the way, I think BG&E is overrated, the game isn't that interesting to play. Too much stealth.
Final score is great, but when people look at your other scores (Graphics, Sound, Control, Gameplay, Lastability) and those are mediocre, and then they see the final score and it's perfect, there's a disconnect there. Numerical values do not equal reason to play a game. Here at NWR, we're lucky enough to be able to choose our poison, as it were, or what games we review. It is rare that anyone is assigned anything. So we generally review what we think we'll enjoy, or at the very least, not gouge our eyes out over.
(Homie Rollez was a hilarious exception!)
But even so, it's still ONE PERSON'S view on a game. I loved Tomb Raider: Underworld (DS), but Metts might hate it. Our numerical scores might differ significantly. So to me, it's more important in a review to express how the game feels, what the experience is like. If I were to write reviews my way, you wouldn't recognize them as such. Again, we're tied to the numerical score system here, and that review system forces you to, in some way, justify those numbers. If I'm raving about BG&E, I'm not going to mention, in any great fashion, the midrange graphics or floaty platforming. I'm going to talk about the experience, the plot, everything that makes the game worth playing.
But this is a rant for another day.
BG&E isn't all about stealth. If you're good with the disk glove, you can disable most of the troopers in any given dungeon, then wander around at your leisure.
Topic: Advice to PS3 Fans from a Nintendo Fanboy Part III (Read 18478 times)
