Topic: Yikes, what is going on with PlanetGamecube reviews?!?

[FFantasyFX]

Originally posted by: AiAi

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I disagree with the "half-hour" statement.  Eg:  When I first started playing Metroid Prime, I thought it would have became the best game I have played, but after about 15 hours, I got bored if it and couldn't be half-assed to finish it.

That's really odd.  Based on the first half hour, my initial impression was that Retro had really screwed up the game.  In fact, after my first sitting, I didn't play the game again for another three months.  However, when I finally got around to to playing again, I discovered that the more I played the game, the happier I was with the product.  After completion, my opinion is that it's the best game for the Gamecube so far.

Anyway, I'm backing up your general point that you shouldn't prejudge a game after only a half a hour.  Our completely opposite experiences with Prime will attest to that.  

[Bloodworth]

I usually have a ballpark idea of how I'm going to score a game, but I'm always pretty strict on waiting until I get all the way through a game to commit to a number.  

I think Final Fantasy VII did that to me.  I was a big fan of the series and I loved the first disc of Final Fantasy VII, but after that it seemed that it just began to infuriate me more and more until I got to the final battle completely hating the game, continuing simply in the hope that it might redeem itself. (Note: please don't turn this into a flame war about FFVII.)

[Ocarina Blue]

Heh. I played the first disc of FFVII and hated it.

[Jonnyboy117]

Some games unravel themselves in a short timespan, and some don't.  Our reviews hold up either way, because we play through most or all of a game before reviewing it, regardless of our initial impression and whether it held up or not.

[mouse_clicker]

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Furthermore, I'd submit that game reviews are largely based on a gut reaction and are exercises in justifying that reaction. Saying that it has anything to do with a press release (or more generally, hype) is so off-base that I can't even fully respond to it.

Eh, I don't think Termin8 was attacking anyone specifically, Rick. I think he was just saying a lot of reviews, at the very least too many, are more based on what the reviewer read in a press release or what he's been told about a game rather than what he or she has actually played of the game. For instance, when Halo came out it had been hyped so incredible much I think most reviewers were afraid to give it anything less than a perfect or near perfect score, whether they thought it deserved it or not. And maybe they did think it deserved it, but not wholly because what they PLAYED was great but because it had been hyped up beyond belief for so long. Termin8 wasn't saying YOU do that, or that it's good that anyone does it, just that it happens. I don't think you can deny that.

[RickPowers]

I think you guys are misunderstanding what I meant by "gut reaction".  I didn't mean your INITIAL reaction ... I mean it's how you feel about something on a level that you might not even be able to quantify.  Sometimes, it's when someone asks you why you like something, and your only response is "I don't know.  I just DO."  That sort of thing.  It's a visceral response, as opposed to anything quantifiable ... which is what I meant when I said that they are exercises in justifying that reaction.  People just don't think in terms of scores, they just like something, don't like it, or don't really care.

Yes, I frequently know what direction I'm going to lean in regarding a game in about half an hour to an hour.  But that's only in terms of positive or negative ... the SCORING itself is a much longer process for me.  Mainly because I have my own criteria that I've exstablished to keep my reviews as consistent as possible.  Sometimes, I'm surprised at the score I end up at, because my initial "guess" ends up being so different.  

[vudu]

Bump

[ShyGuy]

Vudu, you troublemaker. Delicious

[Shift Key]

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Originally posted by: DrZoidberg
i predict drama.

ZOIDBERG WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG

[Arbok]

Well they were right, PSOIII was awful (my local EB won't even take the game off my hands either...).

[IceCold]

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Originally posted by: S-U-P-E-R
I'm still disappointed that I never got any flames because I hate FFCC

[S-U-P-E-R]

Where the PSOIII fanboys at?

Oh, right, there aren't any.

[TheYoungerPlumber]

Move along, kids.