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[jj984jj]

It's like most of these reviews were all based on hype on NeoGAF instead of how good the games are, games like Wartech, SimCity DS, and Grim Grimoire got low scores while Pokemon, Odin Sphere, and Ninja Gaiden got high scores. Oh well, just reminds me how much I hate magazine reviews the most, these magazines are really for new information.

WTH is team Silent working on? They aren't doing the PSP game or the next-gen. game?

 

[Tristam]

I've never kept up with the EGM topics, but when do you have access to the rest of the magazine info (news, previews, etc.)?

 

[Y2Kev]

It's that time again.

Rumors
- A new 300 game coming for the PS3 and 360.
- PaRappa the Rapper 3 for the PS3 is real.
- Silent Hill 5 is coming to the PS3 and 360 next year... but a new American team is going to make it, not the original Japanese team.
- New sequels soon to be announced for Midnight Club, Bully, and Red Dead Revolver.
- EA looking to get the MLB and NBA licenses.

Yep. Great, SH5 as I expected.

 

[mabuza]

It's like most of these reviews were all based on hype on NeoGAF instead of how good the games are, games like Wartech, SimCity DS, and Grim Grimoire got low score while Pokemon, Odin Sphere, and Ninja Gaiden got high scores. Oh well, just reminds me how much I hate magazine reviews the most, these magazines are really for new information.

so would you say pokemon got high scores cos of gaf hype, or are you just bitching about non nintendo games?

 

[Amir0x]

EGM saying a game is bad or mediocre doesn't mean the game is bad or mediocre.

I thought people stopped taking their reviews even remotely seriously a very long time ago.

That's Famitsu, EGM tends to be hot or cold depending on who is reviewing. Anyone who takes Famitsu's reviews seriously, however, should be violently attacked or something though.

Garnett
- "Because neither of the two zoom levels work well, construction planning really built up my frustration."
- "Even the slightest bump made it impossible to be accurate with the stylus."
- "Just because you can put SimCity on the DS doesn't mean you should."

Shoe
- "Those annoying citizens that are constantly asking me to build random things (that aren't really helping the city) have got to go away."

Nick
- "Having to regularly hit the 'Undo' button due to imprecise touches and a janky camera sucks out some of the fun."
- "I can definitely relate to the headache of having to sit through the whiny requests of my tiny denizens just in case they offer something important."
- "The DS just isn't the best medium for burgeoning city planners."

Ah. Touch screen ****s with something else, big shock. Guess I'll try it out though, i like Sim City.

 

[A Link to the Past]

That's Famitsu, EGM tends to be hot or cold depending on who is reviewing. Anyone who takes Famitsu's reviews seriously, however, should be violently attacked or something though.

EGM is too harsh/lenient a lot of the times, that's why I don't really hold their opinion at face value.

 

[Rancid Mildew]

so would you say pokemon got high scores cos of gaf hype, or are you just bitching about non nintendo games?

He says Pokemon in his post.

 

[jman2050]

Yeah, all complaints or praises about Sim City DS aside, the biggest deal-breaker of the whole thing is the fact that YOU CAN ONLY HAVE ONE SAVED CITY AT A TIME. Why I don't recall this being mentioned is a mystery. I'll stick to the PC versions, thank you.

 

[Zombie James]

Can you go into a little more detail on the Grim Grimoire review please? Thanks.

Sure.

Greg S. thought the lack of multi-player hurt it, and it was super repetitive. Rips off Harry Potter too much (even has a "Philosopher's Stone" item). Ray said the controls end up getting cumbersome and feels that the game deserves a high-def presentation. Andrew Fitch thought that it's Harry Potter similarities "borders on criminal."

 

[duckroll]

EGM tends to be hot or cold depending on who is reviewing.

Hey, sounds exactly like why Famitsu reviews don't matter! :lol

 

[Zombie James]

I've never kept up with the EGM topics, but when do you have access to the rest of the magazine info (news, previews, etc.)?

I have the entire issue. For some reason I get my issues a lot sooner than everyone else here :lol

 

[Meier]

The Sim City score is disappointing, but I'm still there on day 1 along with Anno 1750 or whatever it's called.

 

[lyre]

I'm surprised Di/Pe scored as high as it did, since, from what I remember, Ru/Sa (the better games of the series) got only an above average score from them (or at least no where near the 8 and 9's as Di/Pe).
But regardless, it's one overhyped gaf game beating another overhyped gaf game.

 

[Amir0x]

Hey, sounds exactly like why Famitsu reviews don't matter! :lol

Famitsu is like throwing a dart: they always suck, no matter what, even if the dart occasionally hits the right score. EGM has certain reviewers that consistently hit the target (even if the space allotted to write the review is always too tiny to express the logic for the scores all the way) because they aren't bumbling apes and don't have hilariously xenophobic views on games

 

[Tristam]

I have the entire issue. For some reason I get my issues a lot sooner than everyone else here :lol

So what other interesting information is there besides the reviews and rumors? I haven't glanced at an EGM since the mid-90s (when they were the best magazine for import news and previews), but I'm sure they still preview games.

 

[jj984jj]

so would you say pokemon got high scores cos of gaf hype, or are you just bitching about non nintendo games?

Basically I said I don't agree with their reviews, it's like they were score based on hype here on GAF. I'm still picking up Grim Grimoire and SimCity DS and until I play both Odin Sphere and Grim Grimoire I still looking forward to Grim Grimoire more.

That's Famitsu, EGM tends to be hot or cold depending on who is reviewing. Anyone who takes Famitsu's reviews seriously, however, should be violently attacked or something though.

Just as it is with any review, it depends on how much you value the opinion of the reviewer.

 

[Amir0x]

There are zero Famitsu reviewers with value.

 

[Zombie James]

So what other interesting information is there besides the reviews and rumors? I haven't glanced at an EGM since the mid-90s (when they were the best magazine for import news and previews), but I'm sure they still preview games.

Well let's see...

- There's the BioShock cover story.
- They compare New York City to Liberty City
- A section on why developers are so reluctant to do war games in Iraq or Afghanistan.
- Splinter Cell: Conviction, Need for Speed: Pro Street, Alone in the Dark, and No More Heroes previews.

And the usual stuff (Retro, Seanbaby, Hsu and Chan, Last Word, etc).

 

[Zerodoppler]

I wonder what they gave Theme Park DS. I borrowed that game over a weekend and the DS basically never left my hands while I had it.

 

[Mefisutoferesu]

There are zero Famitsu reviewers with value.

That's not true. There are plenty of FAMItsu reviewers that have value, in fact all of them.

>.>
<.<

Well, I dunno what that value is, but it's pretty obvious Sony, MS, and Nintendo do...

 

[Amir0x]

That's not true. There are plenty of FAMItsu reviewers that have value, in fact all of them.

>.>
<.<

Well, I dunno what that value is, but it's pretty obvious Sony, MS, and Nintendo do...

:lol :lol

Winner of thread

 

[Tristam]

Well let's see...

- There's the BioShock cover story.
- They compare New York City to Liberty City
- A section on why developers are so reluctant to do war games in Iraq or Afghanistan.
- Splinter Cell: Conviction, Need for Speed: Pro Street, Alone in the Dark, and No More Heroes previews.

And the usual stuff (Retro, Seanbaby, Hsu and Chan, Last Word, etc).

Hm, so I guess magazine dudes didn't get to play Metroid Prime 3 at the media summit then?

 

[Zombie James]

Hm, so I guess magazine dudes didn't get to play Metroid Prime 3 at the media summit then?

The summit was a week ago :lol

 

[duckroll]

Famitsu is like throwing a dart: they always suck, no matter what, even if the dart occasionally hits the right score. EGM has certain reviewers that consistently hit the target (even if the space allotted to write the review is always too tiny to express the logic for the scores all the way) because they aren't bumbling apes and don't have hilariously xenophobic views on games

You base these conclusions on the tons of Famitsu reviews you have read I suppose...?

I find EGM reviews just as useless as Famitsu reviews honestly.

 

[Visualante]

- A section on why developers are so reluctant to do war games in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Interesting. Will have to get hold of this on Zinio.

 

[Tristam]

The summit was a week ago :lol

This IS the July issue, though, isn't it?

Well I guess they've up and printed it, all the same.

 

[Amir0x]

You base these conclusions on the tons of Famitsu reviews you have read I suppose...?

I find EGM reviews just as useless as Famitsu reviews honestly.

Yes, I've read more than a few of the translated/summarized reviews floating around. I'm sure one or two were even from you! Significantly more than enough to realize the nature of Famitsu, and their complete worthlessness as a publication of editorial content. The fact that, as I said earlier, they're also a bunch of pathetic xenophobic bunnies just heightens this perspective. That's even before we get into how easily purchased the reviewers are, as JackFrost's succinct post on the subject enlightened me to.

Famitsu exists for one thing: revealing news before anyone else. That, at least, is something they have over EGM.

 

[Mmmkay]

- Silent Hill 5 is coming to the PS3 and 360 next year... but a new American team is going to make it, not the original Japanese team.

VADERNOOO.JPG

This isn't allowed to happen, not least because of the game that would be produced, but because it would mean PSM3 were right about something again... back in September 2006.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4459616&postcount=208

 

[Zep]

- EA looking to get the MLB and NBA licenses.

David Stern shot that shit down last year...EA wont be getting the NBA license.

 

[duckroll]

Yes, I've read more than a few of the translated/summarized reviews floating around. I'm sure one or two were even from you! Significantly more than enough to realize the nature of Famitsu, and their complete worthlessness as a publication of editorial content. The fact that, as I said earlier, they're also a bunch of pathetic xenophobic bunnies just heightens this perspective. That's even before we get into how easily purchased the reviewers are, as JackFrost's succinct post on the subject enlightened me to.

I don't really see how EGM is any different. The nature of the reviews mean that you have a few random guys every issue giving 3-4 sentencese about a game and some abitiary score. It means nothing and doesn't really help form a detailed opinion of the game. Famitsu makes the EXACT same comments in fact...

 

[Amir0x]

I don't really see how EGM is any different. The nature of the reviews mean that you have a few random guys every issue giving 3-4 sentencese about a game and some abitiary score. It means nothing and doesn't really help form a detailed opinion of the game. Famitsu makes the EXACT same comments in fact...

It's not about the amount of sentences. You can be on target, and only have a few sentences to write it logically. And far be it for me to say EGM has any sort of integrity. That wouldn't be true! But they do, as I said, have a few writers that have consistently trustworthy opinions, aren't purchased by big studios, and aren't repulsively - once more (and for emphasis!) - xenophobic.

That already by default makes it superior to Famitsu, which beside not having any integrity, is consistently purchased by big studios, is generally aggressively anti-Western, and their writers suck at life as well as games.

 

[Gamecocks625]

Yeah, all complaints or praises about Sim City DS aside, the biggest deal-breaker of the whole thing is the fact that YOU CAN ONLY HAVE ONE SAVED CITY AT A TIME. Why I don't recall this being mentioned is a mystery. I'll stick to the PC versions, thank you.

Was the SNES version like that too? I've never really played a SimCity game, but I was looking forward to getting it for the DS. Would you really want to have multiple cities going? What do people here at GAF who have the Japanese version still think about it?

 

[neojubei]

The confirmed

SC III Port on PSP

 

[duckroll]

It's not about the amount of sentences. You can be on target, and only have a few sentences to write it logically. And far be it for me to say EGM has any sort of integrity. That wouldn't be true! But they do, as I said, have a few writers that have consistently trustworthy opinions, aren't purchased by big studios, and aren't repulsively - once more (and for emphasis!) - xenophobic.

That already by default makes it superior to Famitsu, which beside not having any integrity, is consistently purchased by big studios, is generally aggressively anti-Western, and their writers suck at life as well as games.

Wait. Where is this anti-Western bullshit coming from? I'm not even sure wtf you're talking about anymore.

In fact, I don't know if you know this (probably not) but Famitsu has some REALLY GOOD WRITERS that do editorials every week. Just a month or so back there was an issue with a 3-4 page editorial about the evolution of dungeon RPGs from PC days to modern versions. It traces the evolution and sub-genres like roguelikes, wizardry, MMOs, etc. It was a really good read, oh but you WOULDN'T KNOW because no one scans those and no one translates those!

Let's face it, to the typical Japanese guy who just reads translations in Japanese of monthly threads like this listing nothing but scores, short translations/summaries of the already short reviews, and a bunch of rumors/scoops.... the opinion would be identical to yours of Famitsu. Did you know that EGM was founded by Ziff Davis to be the "American Famitsu" in the first place? That's why the formula is SO SIMILAR.

 

[Amir0x]

Was the SNES version like that too? I've never really played a SimCity game, but I was looking forward to getting it for the DS. Would you really want to have multiple cities going? What do people here at GAF who have the Japanese version still think about it?

Yes, of course you'd want multiple cities going on. You may form one strategy while building up a city and halfway through see that if you might have went another way, it would have been beneficial.

 

[Bebpo]

Review Scores - Playstation Portable
Final Fantasy: 7, 5, 8
PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient: 9.5, 7.5, 9

-Surprised at how high two of the people scored what GAF calls a "korean rpgmaker" remake sold seperately at a high price.

-Wooooow and PQ2 scores. If the 7.5 guy had thought more like the others it would've been GoTM. :O

 

[jman2050]

Was the SNES version like that too? I've never really played a SimCity game, but I was looking forward to getting it for the DS. Would you really want to have multiple cities going? What do people here at GAF who have the Japanese version still think about it?

From what I understand, the SNES version of Sim City 2000 was like that, which also sucks. Also, Sim City isn't some linear action game. You can build up your city in one of several different ways, all employing different strategies and nuances, not to mention the difference terrain makes between cities. Having to delete your existing city to start a new one kind of hampers that aspect of the game, especially for someone like me who juggled 5-10 different cities when playing Sim City 2000

 

[jj984jj]

-Surprised at how high two of the people scored what GAF calls a "korean rpgmaker" remake sold seperately at a high price.

*is not trying to point out some conspiracy*

I just find many reviews hard to believe and disagree with them as usual.

 

[Gamecocks625]

From what I understand, the SNES version of Sim City 2000 was like that, which also sucks. Also, Sim City isn't some linear action game. You can build up your city in one of several different ways, all employing different strategies and nuances, not to mention the difference terrain makes between cities. Having to delete your existing city to start a new one kind of hampers that aspect of the game, especially for someone like me who juggled 5-10 different cities when playing Sim City 2000

Ah, I see how that would be annoying. Maybe there isn't enough storage to store multiple cities on the cart? Man, I still want to get it, though.

 

[LJ11]

no FM2? Last month's said the full review would be in this issue

John said they got FM2 review builds this past week.

 

[jman2050]

Ah, I see how that would be annoying. Maybe there isn't enough storage to store multiple cities on the cart? Man, I still want to get it, though.

Yeah, I might've overreacted a little bit, since this thread was the first I had heard of it. I might pick it up when it's cheaper.

That still really really sucks though.

 

[duckroll]

Ah, I see how that would be annoying. Maybe there isn't enough storage to store multiple cities on the cart? Man, I still want to get it, though.

Save ram is very, very limited. It's the same reason why Etrian only has 1 save slot. When there's too much data, you're ****ed on the DS.

 

[ethelred]

Sure.

Greg S. thought the lack of multi-player hurt it, and it was super repetitive. Rips off Harry Potter too much (even has a "Philosopher's Stone" item). Ray said the controls end up getting cumbersome and feels that the game deserves a high-def presentation. Andrew Fitch thought that it's Harry Potter similarities "borders on criminal."

Wow. Do these guys really believe that J. K. Rowling created the concept of the Philosopher's Stone?

The Sim City score is disappointing, but I'm still there on day 1 along with Anno 1750 or whatever it's called.

Same.

Was the SNES version like that too? I've never really played a SimCity game, but I was looking forward to getting it for the DS. Would you really want to have multiple cities going? What do people here at GAF who have the Japanese version still think about it?

It's an annoyance that I'll only be able to do one at a time, but I don't see it as a deal breaker (same as with Etrian Odyssey).

 

[Gigglepoo]

Wow. Do these guys really believe that J. K. Rowling created the concept of the Philosopher's Stone?

Based on what you quoted (I don't have the issue yet) it seems like there are a lot of reference to Harry Potter in the game. The fact that it also has a Philosopher's Stone just cements their theory that the developers simply ripped off ideas from those books. I'm sure most people older than 10 know that the Philosopher's Stone was not invented by J.K. Rowling.

 

[purnoman3000]

Parappa the Rapper 3 on PS3.....I'm going to buy a PS3 right now!!!!

 

[Anzu]

, they're also a bunch of pathetic xenophobic bunnies just heightens this perspective.

Whoa wait what?

They bukkake all over the western games in reviews. how exactly are they xenophobic? I'm with duckroll here, dont know wtf you're talking about

 

[OldJadedGamer]

NG Sigma
The Good: Most polished, value-added version to date.

Until the next rehash of NG is released...

 

[super funk]

Final Fantasy: 7, 5, 8

Wheres the third score for this game?

 

[grandjedi6]

Wheres the third score for this game?

You wish

 

[Kintaro]

- IIRC, EA already tried to get exclusive rights to both MLB and NBA. They were rightfully turned away. I don't see this changing anytime soon. If it did, sports gaming is dead.

- Kind of odd, but I don't recall any of our importers saying that Grim Grimoire was like Harry Potter in terms of story. What's the word on this guys?