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[SpongebobSquaredance]

You can post 20 more of these isolated cases of publishers trying to be shady, it doesn't really prove that there's some large scale bribe system in place to buy high scores.

Not every site obviously and it's not exactly about money, more about having an ongoing relationship. I don't think this is about accusing reviewers of accepting money in exchange for a positive review. I don't think that's how it works.


For publishers, a reviewer from a known site is basically another form of marketing, another form of exposure for their games. Therefore some of them are getting things for free, getting invited to important events, and getting other favors and as a result, it influences the writer and is therefore noticeable in more positive reviews, where the reviewer is shutting one eye or two, or ignoring certain things. It's definitely not always the case but it happens and there is a track record of publishers having very strict regulations of what is allowed to say or not and them trying to blacklist you if you say something not in favor of the game. So, in the end, this whole thing is less about the game as it is about keeping good contacts because if you give the game a negative review the publishers most likely won’t do business with you again and sites like IGN want this type of relationship. Usually, it is not only the review but also tons of advertisements all over the site. All of this influences the reviewer's perception of the game.

A nice read on the subject: https://web.archive.org/web/2006011...do/blogEntry?bId=6228583&publicUserId=5379799

Yeah, I know, the article is old and a lot has changed obviously... but has it though? I feel more like it drifted towards a different crowd with companies having a bigger focus on influencers than reviewers to market their product. Reviewers are losing relevance by the day.

I guess all those 62 sites that gave Battlefront 2 low scores are black listed now, since then they've been getting all the new EA games early through black magic!

CRITIC REVIEWS​

1. Positive:23
2. Mixed:36
3. Negative:3

Either way, those "other games" are just blurring the lines. Not every critic review has the same value. Sounds weird, but what it means is that out of those 62 reviews not everyone has the same worth for EA. Kane & Lynch has a score of 65/100 by the way. The Gamespot writer still got fired for his review though. Meaning, no matter if the game has aggregate scores of 65, 68, or 81, it still happens.

Also, it should be mentioned that EA realized that their games will sell even if they don't review well, especially if has so much prestige as Star Wars.

 

[MMaRsu]

Always knew this was gonna be mediocre, should have come out three years ago

 

[GHG]

He actually liked it lmao.

Marmite: the game.

 

[Phase]

Hmm, my initial optimism has faded. The fact that I'm hearing "Ubisoft-esque" for the open world is disappointing. I don't mind open world games when things inside the world are important and impactful to your playthrough, but if it's a collect-a-thon with repeat forts and repetitive fighting I might pass.

 

[GymWolf]

To answer your question, no. I don't think every critic is always right. If I hear from a bunch of people I trust that a game is great, even though the critics took a shit on it, I'll try it out. But how often does this happen? Literally never. I don't have the time or patience to play mediocre or shitty games in an attempt to find their "hidden beauty". And I'm not sorry about that. I'd rather do something else than play a mediocre videogame. Most games can barely hold my attention as is.

I actually took advantage of the $3 price glitch on EA Desktop last week, so it's possible I might be playing the game anyway. At which time I'll be happy to be wrong. Curious also to hear your hands-on impressions.

I get your point of view but i disagree with that bit.

I'm gonna try to be as honest as i can possibly be, people who read my posts knows that i'm pretty brutal even with game i adore

Onestly my biggest fear is the game being too easy.

 

[Elder Legend]

I get your point of view but i disagree with that bit.

I'm gonna try to be as honest as i can possibly be, people who read my posts knows that i'm pretty brutal even with game i adore

Onestly my biggest fear is the game being too easy.

It is quite easy if you minus the crappy input lag and unresponsivenes. The game is a laughing stock even on hard. This is coming from a huge Souls fan.

 

[cash_longfellow]

I feel like if this was going to be a sleeper the enthusiasm from streamers and the like would be pouring out. Not really seeing that (with most streamers moving on after that first day of access).



. . .so if a game reviewed at 20 you'd still need to try it out for yourself?

A 20 is a whole different ball game. I'm referring more to the hover between 50-80 games.

 

[GymWolf]

It is quite easy if you minus the crappy input lag and unresponsivenes. The game is a laughing stock even on hard. This is coming from a huge Souls fan.

If i remember well, you like Ac saga a lot, and those games are piss easy even on max difficulty, why is not a problem there?

And don't even try the "at least the combat in ac is good or fun" narrative.

Have you played on pc? because you are literally the only review that talk about input lag or unresponsive controls, and i readed some pretty negative ones...i mean they talk about problems like guns being op or the game being easy or a bit clunky but first time i read about input lag.

But tbh i only readed like 4-5 review and watches some streams, like i said, i don't really give a damn about other people judgement.

Thanks for the answer about the level of challenge.

 

[Elder Legend]

If i remember well, you like Ac saga a lot, and those games are piss easy even on max difficulty, why is not a problem there?

And don't even try the "at least the combat in ac is good or fun" narrative.

Have you played on pc? because you are literally the only review that talk about input lag or unresponsive controls, and i readed some pretty negative ones...i mean they talk about problems like guns being op or the game being easy or a bit clunky but first time i read about input lag.

But tbh i only readed like 4-5 review and watches some streams, like i said, i don't really give a damn about other people judgement.

Thanks for the answer about the level of challenge.

If you watch the beginning of the review. It clearly states i am playing ot on Xbox Series X. So, I have not played on the PC.

As for AC versus this. AC actually has a combat system that works well together and feels cohesive.
I explained in the review that dodging and parrying feels very unresponsive and off in Biomutant.

If you want to have a good combat system then it needs to feel smooth and be fluid all throughout the loop.

Sekiro and Bloodborne and Nioh are perfect examples of good fluid combat. Missing parries or dodges are no ones but your own fault at that point.

Biomutant tried to borrow quite a bit from 3rd person view action game, including DMC because of its emphasis on being able to fire a gun in a middle of a combo. It did it very poorly, feels very janky and is not properly executed.

AC may not be as fluid as the souls games, but at least it knows what its trying to do and works around its systems.

Biomutant, shoves multiple things into the combat system and ends up falling flat on its face.

I hope this clears out some info in regards to the lag i was experiencing.

 

[GymWolf]

If you watch the beginning of the review. It clearly states i am playing ot on Xbox Series X. So, I have not played on the PC.

As for AC versus this. AC actually has a combat system that works well together and feels cohesive.
I explained in the review that dodging and parrying feels very unresponsive and off in Biomutant.

If you want to have a good combat system then it needs to feel smooth and be fluid all throughout the loop.

Sekiro and Bloodborne and Nioh are perfect examples of good fluid combat. Missing parries or dodges are no ones but your own fault at that point.

Biomutant tried to borrow quite a bit from 3rd person view action game, including DMC because of its emphasis on being able to fire a gun in a middle of a combo. It did it very poorly, feels very janky and is not properly executed.

AC may not be as fluid as the souls games, but at least it knows what its trying to do and works around its systems.

Biomutant, shoves multiple things into the combat system and ends up falling flat on its face.

I hope this clears out some info in regards to the lag i was experiencing.

I'm gonna check tomorrow on pc, hopefully i'm gonna be less bothered than you since i played and enjoyed some games with really terrible combat systems (elex for example).

About Ac, i don't really feel like valhalla was that fluid or cohesive, the game is souls light with cooldown abilities and after you get 3 precise abilities you are basically unbeatable, i wrote a post about this in the ot if i remember well, i stopped playing after 20 hours because the combat was just no fun or challenging anymore and the raid mechanics was pure copy and paste buffonery after 3-4 of them.

Hopefully in biomutant i'm gonna lose 50+ hours searching and upgrading quirky shit, the devs really sold me the game with their first trailer with the jumping bubble that traps enemies and the mechanic hand mount tbh

 

[IbizaPocholo]

Fans have been eager to get their hands on Biomutant ever since it was announced nearly four years ago. So after all that waiting, does the game live up to the hype? Find out in our review of the PlayStation 5 version.

 

[Hinedorf]

Wow did this game get shit on......

 

[Humdinger]

62, huh? Lower than I expected. I expected around a 70.

I watched Worth a Buy's review. It looked like a game I'd enjoy, although I'm playing through a detail-heavy and loot-heavy RPG right now, so I'll need to wait a while before I tackle another one. A little of that goes a long way with me. But I'll play it eventually.

 

[Sir Vilhelm]

Eh, still will purchase. I just can't trust game reviews anymore.

 

[Phase]

Eh, still will purchase. I just can't trust game reviews anymore.

Yeah I think I may still enjoy it. I need a relaxing game in my life sometimes, and it sounds like this one might fit the bill. Going to wait for a sale though.

 

[rkofan87]

review 101 gameplay is repetitive knock down score side quests that are just fetch quests knock down score.

 

[Yamisan]

Not random at all.

The OP writes for that site, so he's plugging his own review.

I realized he does, its the only reason that random ass site was included. No one goes there, its dead af.

 

[Sir Vilhelm]

Yeah I think I may still enjoy it. I need a relaxing game in my life sometimes, and it sounds like this one might fit the bill. Going to wait for a sale though.

Been cranking at resident evil village so this will be a nice change of pace lol

 

[rkofan87]

my ps4 is that this unlocks at 9 pm cst on the 25th wtf

 

[Karak]

I

I've been on the fence hard with the previews of the game, going back and forth between extremely interested and massively underwhelmed depending on the video being played. Even with it's underwhelming score I still want to check it out but I'll wait for a sale. I think Karak 's review was well made and kind of confirmed what I had already suspected. I look forward to playing it down the line after a few patches and maybe a 35% off sale or so. O well, hope the devs stick with it and keep polishing it like the NMS devs have. Was hoping it could fill that BotW hole I've had since my most recent BotW PC playthrough.

f you are a zen gamer and ok with a lot of down time but cool locations. This is for you. I am not sure I can say at FULL PRICE it is. But it will speak to that kind of gamer

 

[saintjules]

Always knew this was gonna be mediocre, should have come out three years ago

It would still be mediocre 3 years ago wouldn't it?

 

[eastcoastkody]

i watched a bunch of reviews and actually am more intrigued than put off by them. If i didn't have a million other things that im playing rn....i would pick this up tbh

 

[captainraincoat]

Don’t rely on the reviews would be my advice…I’m playing it atm and enjoying it

it’s not ground shattering great but it’s a good time wasting game

 

[Derktron]

reviewing 101, if the game is that bad then the game could be good, if the game is too hyped then it will be bad. Look at Cyberpunk for reference.

 

[anothertech]

Dam that sucks.

 

[jaysius]

I think the high price of this takes away any sympathy points the game might have scored. It's $75 CND!!! That's too much for what it's offering, it should have been priced at maybe $60 or $55 CND.

 

[Arsic]

Isn't it always a telltale sign a game is cheeks if they are waiting till last minute to let you see review scores ?

I don't recall many games recently that wait until a day before or day of for embargo lifting and end up being 90+ meta games.

This game was a long shot to end up being great. So it's no surprise it didn't end up hitting the mark.

 

[elliot5]

Isn't it always a telltale sign a game is cheeks if they are waiting till last minute to let you see review scores ?

I don't recall many games recently that wait until a day before or day of for embargo lifting and end up being 90+ meta games.

This game was a long shot to end up being great. So it's no surprise it didn't end up hitting the mark.

Dishonored 2 wasn't given out until a day prior to release and that's at 88 MC (close enough) and is widely regarded as a great game. It's definitely an indicator of no confidence in a lot of scenarios, but not a guarantee.

 

[balls of snow]

If ever there was a gamepass type game, this furry trash panda would be the mascot.

 

[Max_Po]

If ever there was a gamepass type game, this furry trash panda would be the mascot.

No worries, GamePass got it covered. Found this on Twitter... LOL

 

[retsof624]

Isn't it always a telltale sign a game is cheeks if they are waiting till last minute to let you see review scores ?

I don't recall many games recently that wait until a day before or day of for embargo lifting and end up being 90+ meta games.

This game was a long shot to end up being great. So it's no surprise it didn't end up hitting the mark.

RDR2 embargo lifted day before release.

 

[namekuseijin]

review 101 gameplay is repetitive knock down score side quests that are just fetch quests knock down score.

didn't seem to affect Botw...

 

[LMJ]

No worries, GamePass got it covered. Found this on Twitter... LOL

God that's an awful photoshop... looks like he has a cheek erection

 

[namekuseijin]

Hmmm,it's a game about a furry creature running around in a fantasy land from a european dev......not a lot of room for wokeness there.....probably gonna get marked down by the US critics I think.

nailed it

 

[Elder Legend]

Added Gamespot, Gameinformer, GameXplain and Gamingbolt

 

[chris121580]

The marketing for the game has been so bad. I’ve watched all the trailers for the game and still have no idea what it is or what you’ll be doing for 60+ hours. Feels like this game was sent out to die

 

[Fare thee well]

Eh, still will purchase. I just can't trust game reviews anymore.

Yea everyone told me Outward was a mediocre game, but I found it refreshing and do a playthrough at least once every year with my gf.

Hell, the mainstream games of my youth fell off the cliff ages ago. Im still stomping around in mechwarrior.

I guess I just don't trust the newer zoomer Apex-driven reviewers tbh. They aren't bad games at all, but reviewers have become excessively tied to catch-all demographics. I can't remember the last time I even glanced at IGN, Gamespot or PCGamer (aka all the console ports brought to pc). This game tries to do something very different imho, and so I side with 'Worth a Buy's' review. Mac has almost never lead me astray.

 

[namekuseijin]

It honestly is, some will be missing out some great games just because it doesn't have 90 + meta score.

Score alone wont tell you nothing about the actual game, even if it gets 90+ score there is no guarantee you gonna enjoying the game.

metacrap is nothing but food for ego

I decided to just look up one of my top games I've played on PS4: Sundered, the best spiritual sequel to Super Metroid I've played so far. It sits at 70-76%.

fuck this. Life is too short to miss good stuff because of opinions of assholes. It's 2021, go check streams of gameplay videos for free and make your own opinion based on what you saw rather than take heed from imbeciles.

Edit: I like this take:



I was trying to point a finger at what made me curious about this and indeed it reminds me some Rareware...

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Stuart360 you nailed it! I actually expected something higher than 75, but your expectation was spot on. 62 is probably what I felt when saw the latest gameplay. Damn, expected better from this game now I can see it go to PS Plus and Gamepass by July.

 

[Danjin44]

metacrap is nothing but food for ego

I decided to just look up one of my top games I've played on PS4: Sundered, the best spiritual sequel to Super Metroid I've played so far. It sits at 70-76%.

fuck this. Life is too short to miss good stuff because of opinions of assholes. It's 2021, go check streams of gameplay videos for free and make your own opinion based on what you saw rather than take heed from imbeciles.

If you played games long enough you should know what you enjoy regardless what score it gets. But too many people only and ONLY look at the score, they don't even bother read/watch actual review to see if the negative and postive points is relevant to them or not.

 

[Bernd Lauert]

My favorite reviewer gave it an 68, which means the game is a piece of shit sadly. Will still try it once it comes to Gamepass.

 

[RPS37]

I am saddened, yet not surprised.

 

[Stuart360]

Stuart360 you nailed it! I actually expected something higher than 75, but your expectation was spot on. 62 is probably what I felt when saw the latest gameplay. Damn, expected better from this game now I can see it go to PS Plus and Gamepass by July.

Yeah i should of stuck with my orig 60 prediction.
I watched quite a few people play the game early, like CohhCarnage, and the game just didnt look very good imo, and i'm a huge fan of these open world games.
Plus there were a lot of clues already from people who had played the game over the last few months, and tried to tell people to keep their expectations in check.
The game had 6/10 written all over it i thought.

 

[TheSHEEEP]

He actually liked it lmao.

Marmite: the game.

I think the last 3 minutes of the review describe the game perfectly.

Innocently good casual fun.
Certainly not for me (lacks challenge in every regard and is just too childish in theme), but I can see this is a good game for young ones or adults who just want to totally chill out.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Yeah i should of stuck with my orig 60 prediction.
I watched quite a few people play the game early, like CohhCarnage, and the game just didnt look very good imo, and i'm a huge fan of these open world games.
Plus there were a lot of clues already from people who had played the game over the last few months, and tried to tell people to keep their expectations in check.
The game had 6/10 written all over it i thought.

It saddens me, really. Had high expectations of this, at least in the 80's.

 

[Stuart360]

It saddens me, really. Had high expectations of this, at least in the 80's.

Its probably still worth a playthrough, just when the price has dropped from the pretty ridiculous price it currently is.
I mean i'm sure i will give it a shot in the future.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Its probably still worth a playthrough, just when the price has dropped from the pretty ridiculous price it currently is.
I mean i'm sure i will give it a shot in the future.

I think it'll hit PS Plus or Gamepass pretty soon. Somewhere around July.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Stuart360 don't miss tomorrows match!

 

[Spukc]

It saddens me, really. Had high expectations of this, at least in the 80's.

shame it's the lack of experience of the team i guess?

 

[Kdad]

Watched some live playthrough for an hour last night (CrypticFox) and it seems fine. Derivative, but fine.