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Post by Manspeed on Mar 22, 2007 15:22:40 GMT -5
Popular in terms of what? Sales? The critics? A lot of the most die-hard Sonic fans I know didn't like it that much. There were some who did, but not as much as they liked previous Sonic games. But I guess you're right if you're comparing to tripe like Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Mar 22, 2007 15:49:20 GMT -5
A review cannot ever be objective. It is a person's opinion, and all you can hope for is that a review is by someone who can be trusted to hold similar opinions to yourself. Just to add my two cents, I don't think it has as much to do with finding a critic with similar opinions to your own as it does with finding a critic you have consistent agreements or disagreements with. That is, a critic you agree with 75% of the time is less useful than a critic you disagree with 100% of the time. Saying that a review is all opinion is almost trite at this point. What I think a lot of people actually get hung up on is that the perspective of all reviews lays on a spectrum between two different reviewing methodologies. On one end is an opinion that encompasses "Do I like this game?", and on the other is "Do I think others will like this game?" For instance, I don't particularly like first-person shooters, but there are two extremes to which I could write a review about one. One on hand, I could give the game a weak rating and say "I don't like this game because it's just another FPS that holds no appeal for me." On the other hand, I could give the game a good rating and say, "Fans of FPS's may like such and such about it." The first case is more honest but perhaps less applicable to other people. The second case may be useful to more people, but since I don't like FPS's, I'm kind of blowing smoke. All reviews will be some combination of these angles. IGN's review could be explained by noting that the written part is from the "will others like it?" point of view (external), and the number rating is more from Matt's "do I like it?" point of view (internal). In fact, Matt even states as much near the end of his closing comments. I do think the disconnect is a bit sloppy, however (as well as the source of controversy). |
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Post by Fryguy64 on Mar 22, 2007 16:44:33 GMT -5
I do agree - disagreeing with someone all the time is just as useful (does this explain IGN's ongoing popularity?)  You can often tell when a reviewer has been forced to play a game in a genre they aren't comfortable with. This is most obvious with RPGs, and a wily publication will make sure they have a healthy mix of people who like different genres. But then you have to play the card right back. I don't enjoy RPGs on the whole, but I do enjoy Pokemon and the Mario RPGs... I would definitely recommend them, but I imagine they're easy tidbits for someone who is into finding everything in every Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest game. So I wouldn't necessarily recommend them for die-hard RPG enthusiasts. It's a delicate balancing act. You have to be very aware of videogame history, the legacy of each series, and other games of the genre you find yourself reviewing. But somewhere out there is someone who enjoys playing Winnie the Pooh's Fun Time Happy Arse Sticking Out Of A Tree on the Game Boy xTreme. Doesn't mean the game isn't a rushed pile of cack compared to everything else on the market though, and definitely doesn't mean you should recommend it to all of your readers. |
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Post by Wildcat on Mar 22, 2007 17:01:12 GMT -5
lol That's a great title, there.
I write reviews on my site. I used to write in a more generic, "list out the typical parts of a game review"-style, but thanks to my journalism courses, I tweaked the review style to be more of my opinion on the overall experience. I highlight what I enjoyed, what I didn't, and then sum up my overall impression. It works a lot better for me, and I've enjoyed writing them a lot more. Reviews are meant to help inform and influence readers on games. That's all they essentially are. Reviews are not evil, nor are they God's word. They are simply an opinion. If it's been bought, that's another matter.
If you read that a game you're interested in is a 8 or 9, it's more likely to be purchased than one that gets lower scores. I dislike scores myself and don't use them on my site at all (I do a concluding paragraph that sums up my thoughts instead), but for most consumers, it's a quick reference guide to someone's opinion. If I read a positive review, I would be more inclined to become more interested in a game that I might not be in the first place. I don't consider them to be my method of picking out games, but more as a tool used to help study them to see if it's worth my money.
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Post by kirbychu on Mar 22, 2007 17:31:18 GMT -5
Popular in terms of what? Sales? The critics? A lot of the most die-hard Sonic fans I know didn't like it that much. There were some who did, but not as much as they liked previous Sonic games. But I guess you're right if you're comparing to tripe like Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog. The only die-hard Sonic fans who didn't like it are the ones who haven't liked anything since Sonic & Knuckles. Sonic Rush was uniformly popular across the board with sales, critics and fans. If you go to a Sonic forum, like SonicStadium, most people there either adore Sonic Rush, haven't played Sonic Rush, or don't like Sonic at all any more anyway. While I wasn't active here, I was active a lot over there. And Sonic Rush was treated as the second coming of Jesus Sonic by around 90% of the fanbase. |
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Post by Manspeed on Mar 22, 2007 19:21:29 GMT -5
I resent that. The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was an awesome show. I kid you not.
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Post by Smashchu on Mar 22, 2007 19:35:10 GMT -5
On thing I do try to do is add a "Should I buy this" secttion, tyring to highlight who will enjoy this gamee. I must admit it's hard as you can't always know just who will like it.
I also feel I am using Belief Bias. If you look at my ealier post, tyou'd see I was estatic for this game. While I enjoy it, I may be putting it on a petestal. This is why I say I can undertsand average, but in relaity I may only accpet a little above average(7.5 for most)
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Post by kirbychu on Mar 23, 2007 5:37:44 GMT -5
I resent that. The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was an awesome show. I kid you not. I loved the movie Home Alone. Doesn't mean the game wasn't a steaming pile of horse crap. |
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Post by Fryguy64 on Mar 23, 2007 6:11:38 GMT -5
I resent that. The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was an awesome show. I kid you not. You loved the show - so you buy the games? Winnie the Pooh always ends up with his arse sticking out of a hole somewhere. You can't really resent that fact. You are allowed to resent the scenario I imagine follows every one of these, where Rabbit starts humping away at Pooh's posterior. Hohoho. Buttsex. |
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Post by Manspeed on Mar 23, 2007 12:12:35 GMT -5
I know the games are crap, I just thought you were making fun of Pooh in general, and you are now.
Pooh only got his arse stuck in a hole once, and that was due to overeating. Quit ruining my childhood.
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Post by Fryguy64 on Mar 23, 2007 12:32:46 GMT -5
He also got his head stuck in a jar, blinding him for just long enough for Tigger to have some happy bounce time with his visually impaired buddy. Hehehe, oh the innocence of childhood. ;D EDIT: And then there's this that I first saw a couple years back. If this doesn't ruin your childhood dreams, I don't know WHAT will |
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Post by Manspeed on Mar 23, 2007 16:24:20 GMT -5
 There's also an article demonstrating how you can fool people by pulling certain bits of text out literature entitle "Was Winnie the Pooh a Good Muslim?". Get your mind out of the gutter, Fry. Why do you even ponder things like that? You're almost as bad as the Yaoi fangirls that make up 65.7% of DeviantART's population.
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Post by Fryguy64 on Mar 23, 2007 19:13:34 GMT -5
Because there are two kind of people in this world... people who think innocent thoughts, and people who find it funny to pick on the first bunch of people.
I fall into the second camp. The gutter is where my mind has been for years, and will forever remain.
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Post by Manspeed on Mar 23, 2007 21:01:56 GMT -5
Sounds more like you're abusing your power as AdministrTerminator. Good thing I turned down that glass of lemonade...
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Post by Fryguy64 on Mar 24, 2007 6:36:37 GMT -5
I'm not the administrator, I'm the overlord. The difference being that it's impossible for me to abuse my position, because I define that position myself. And everything I do is okay by me! ;D
God, you really do like Winnie the Pooh, don't you. I've never seen someone get so offended by a passing comment about hot teddy love.
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