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EDGE Jan 09 Scores - come for the review scores, but stay for the whine!

Hunter D said:
In edge 5 is average and 6 is above average. I can see why they gave castlevania a 6.
Actually...
6e3va8.png


And if you're just talking numerically, 5 is below average.

Zapages said:
I know about that man... I don't find the new PoP just an average Mo in the crowd of games out there... I found it above average due its story and graphic presentation although parts of the game feel automated, but this is a different game not Sands of Time Trilogy... There seems to be a lot of production value put in the game though. So it should at least get a 6+ based on the Edge's scale////But that's just my opinion. Edge saw this game to be just a regular Mo in the crowd of games out there. *shrugs*
If it makes you feel any better, their principle complaint was the combat not the platforming. Though they do bemoan the repetition and backtracking. They also found the story to be awful.
 

Zapages

Member
ElAlcesDiablo said:
Actually...
6e3va8.png


And if you're just talking numerically, 5 is below average.


If it makes you feel any better, their principle complaint was the combat not the platforming. Though they do bemoan the repetition and backtracking. They also found the story to be awful.


Yeah the combat is a bit lacking... I see the orb collect-a-thon killed the game unlike in the previous games ever. There were fetch quests although most were on the path. I guess they did not use the Elika button during the game... *shrugs*
 

Zapages

Member
zoukka said:
So production values should automatically amplify the score?

Look at GTA, Gears, Metal Gears, Halo and other games just gte high score just based upon their production value and hype...
 

wouwie

Member
I would have given Pop 5/10 aswell. I never felt so bad spending 65 euro on a game. I absolutely didn't feel the combat (and i still don't get it after clearing 12 levels). The platforming is always the same over and over again. In fact, i have a hard time finding a game in Pop.

It's a shame because i love platform games and i was very much looking forward to this one. And it looks smashing at times.
 

Zapages

Member
wouwie said:
I would have given Pop 5/10 aswell. I never felt so bad spending 65 euro on a game. I absolutely didn't feel the combat (and i still don't get it after clearing 12 levels). The platforming is always the same over and over again. In fact, i have a hard time finding a game in Pop.

It's a shame because i love platform games and i was very much looking forward to this one. And it looks smashing at times.

I'll see what I feel like after beating the game... I just cleared about 6 areas so far... So far so good...

PS: I don't like the collect-a-thon mentality of the game either... Combat is chunky on the PC though as I don't have any gamepad.... But the story is there, well let's see if it develops further...
 
i have absolutely no problem with edge's low scores for most games, i give them credit for speaking out with their opinions and wish more gaming magazines would do the same

the only problem i have is with the discrepencies in their scores

when they give certain games like halo 3, orange box, etc. perfect 10s when clearly a significant portion of the commuity and even edge-lovers disagree with that... then it brings their credibility into question

halo 3 is a good game, but definitely not a perfect 10 by any stretch of the imagination, especially given the very, very evolutionary step up from the xbox iterations

orange box had ep2 and portal as its redeeming features, with some saying tf2 was good, but frankly, i don't see where the perfect 10 comes from?

call of duty 4's 9 was also pretty insulting, as was gta4's 10 (i mean it's not a BAD game. but it left much to be desired frankly)

if edge was being objective with those games, halo 3 deserved a 7 at best, orange box was a solid 8, cod4 was a 6, and gta 4 was at most a 9 despite being terribly crippled compared to the other games

oh yes, LBP as best game, please. i was one of the biggest supporters of the game and bought it day 1 (i have the unedited version infact).

biggest dissappointment in a long time. the gameplay just isn't there. it's briefly interesting, but it just lacks clever level design from MM and compelling gameplay like mario where you want to replay it over and over again. the collectathon crap really killed the experience as well.

just because you can "build and share" isn't enough to make this game the best. otherwise we should go back and award doom 1 game of the year over and over again since WADs significantly advanced the user-creator community onto online (from dial up BBS).

i could go on but the point i am making is that it seems they make execeptions when it comes to being objective, and when they are especially harsh on certain games, you begin to wonder whether they are playing favorites?
 

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
ItsInMyVeins said:
So what makes Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia so worthy of a higher score? Sure, I haven't played it, but it looks a lot like the other DS Castlevnias, even though it may be better. I'm pretty sure I'd be bored with it fast since I found the concept kinda tedious by the second game. I mean they're good, but there's not that much difference between the ones I've played.

Solid gameplay, graphics, and excellent difficulty with plenty of new sprite and the usual awesome music. More original games wish they were half as good
 

domlolz

Banned
TheGreatDave said:
And it's British!

This is a pretty incosistent argument,there are two UK developed 10s

What do people base this on exactly?It's just pointed out everytime Edge gives a UK made game a high score
 
tehrik-e-insaaf said:
if edge was being objective with those games, halo 3 deserved a 7 at best, orange box was a solid 8, cod4 was a 6, and gta 4 was at most a 9 despite being terribly crippled compared to the other games
k
 
JonathanEx said:
Objective opinions.

Yup.

again chief i have no problem with their reviews, i'm just saying it doesn't add up

either you point out the flaws in all games and use your entire review scale, or you don't

when you pick and choose, it hurts your credibility

i have no agenda... if they gave mario galaxy a 5/10 i'd be fine with it, same with halo 3, same with uncharted... the point is that consistency is important... i just don't see the consistency... i see gimmicky attempts to appear objective
 
tehrik-e-insaaf said:
again chief i have no problem with their reviews, i'm just saying it doesn't add up
Just out of curiosity. Which of the Edge reviews did you read? Out of the ones you cited (Call of Duty 4, Halo 3, Orange Box et cetera)
 

Jswanko

Member
Im sorry, who reads EDGE for the reviews?

They almost never match critical or personal opinions yet people seem surprised every month.

Even though i dont agree with the reviews they're usually very well written and the rest of the mag is still top notch.
 
tehrik-e-insaaf said:
again chief i have no problem with their reviews, i'm just saying it doesn't add up

either you point out the flaws in all games and use your entire review scale, or you don't

when you pick and choose, it hurts your credibility

i have no agenda... if they gave mario galaxy a 5/10 i'd be fine with it, same with halo 3, same with uncharted... the point is that consistency is important... i just don't see the consistency... i see gimmicky attempts to appear objective

Do you read what the bloody hell you write?

Reviews, in the form they are in EDGE, and pretty much all gaming sites, consist of opinions.

Opinions, are subjective.

You keep pointing out 'objective'.

Objective is not subjective.


How on earth is giving games scores that they subjectively think they deserve on a subjective scale that is subjectively different on every publication a "gimmicky attempt to appear objective"?
 
Visualante said:

im not saying that's what I would have rated them, i'm just saying based on the text reviews i have read (in Edge) for games within the genre and the typical complaints they have, i'd think they would rate them that way
 
JonathanEx said:
Do you read what the bloody hell you write?

Reviews, in the form they are in EDGE, and pretty much all gaming sites, consist of opinions.

Opinions, are subjective.

You keep pointing out 'objective'.

Objective is not subjective.


How on earth is giving games scores that they subjectively think they deserve on a subjective scale that is subjectively different on every publication a "gimmicky attempt to appear objective"?

philosophically speaking you are right, at the end of the day it's just an opinion, so it doesn't matter, everyone has an opinion, so you just read it and move on

but that's not the point - there are people in this thread saying "edge uses the entire review scale, they rate games how they really are, they are trying to be objective" - i'm trying to point out at the end of the day they have biases and judge games based on factors that we may or may not understand, so trying to make claims about them being objective is silly, beacuse the lack of consistency proves it's never objective
 
tehrik-e-insaaf said:
philosophically speaking you are right, at the end of the day it's just an opinion, so it doesn't matter, everyone has an opinion, so you just read it and move on

but that's not the point - there are people in this thread saying "edge uses the entire review scale, they rate games how they really are, they are trying to be objective" - i'm trying to point out at the end of the day they have biases and judge games based on factors that we may or may not understand, so trying to make claims about them being objective is silly, beacuse the lack of consistency proves it's never objective

"people in this thread"? Hang on, YOU were the one who said they were doing gimmicks to make them look objective.

tehrik-e-insaaf said:
i just don't see the consistency... i see gimmicky attempts to appear objective

Yet you failed to actually say how they're doing that. They're doing gimmicky attempts to appear objective by BEING SUBJECTIVE?

tehrik-e-insaaf said:
if edge was being objective with those games, halo 3 deserved a 7 at best, orange box was a solid 8, cod4 was a 6, and gta 4 was at most a 9 despite being terribly crippled compared to the other games

There is so much wrong with this I don't even know where to start.
 
Visualante said:
Just out of curiosity. Which of the Edge reviews did you read? Out of the ones you cited (Call of Duty 4, Halo 3, Orange Box et cetera)

I read them all actually - the weirdest one was orange box, their final argument in the review was alluding to the fact that despite portal being the best inclusion in the box (even though it was really short), the review score was based on the "value" included in the box which included two games that had already been released, a game that was short, a sequel to a sequel of a game that was released several years ago and had versions come out on the earlier platforms, and tf2, which is hardly what i would call an incredible multiplayer experience

i don't have my copy of edge right now - is the review posted online? i'm sure you can find it.

if we start rating games according to the "value" in the box (with old games), then nintendo should get perfect 10s across the board for including a free SNES game in any of its new releases... I mean metroid prime 3 could have had a free super metroid download code and edge should given it a perfect 10...
 
vireland said:
Holy crap. I don't usually get into rating threads because people have and are entitled to, you know, opinions.

But these two scores show that something is terribly wrong with their ratings:



These scores are way off the mark. PoP 360 is way, way too low. It deserves a 7 at the minimum. Conversely, AC4A is way, way, WAY too high. It's the crappiest, laziest Armored Core in quite some time. A 5 tops, and probably more like a 4 if you're grumpy ol' slightly-retarded-of-late Edge.

I can't even think of how someone could come up with 5/10 for Prince of Persia.
 

ibu

Member
We can bash and criticise EDGE as much as we like, but I know that its still going to be the magazine I subscribe too in the New Year alongside my Mens Fitness.

I for one was kind of EH with the GTA 4 review. But they were guilty of what we all were, feeding into the hype. In hindsight I do like GTA 4 but it has so much potential that has yet to be realised, roll on Vice City next gen and San Andreas next gen.
 

TTG

Member
ItAintEasyBeinCheesy said:
Hrmmm im not enraged by any of those scores......... and i like their GOTY and stuff..... hrmmmm good job....


I'm enraged that you're not enraged. If you were looking at this objectively then surely your views would align with mine.
 
Synless said:
No, the new PoP game sucked. It was the most repetitive game so far this gen. Beautiful yes, good no.
Huh, never would have guessed the people behind Assassin's Creed would make a repetitive game!
 

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
ItsInMyVeins said:
Both DQVIII and TP are good, yeah. Although the latter definitely is reusing OoT's formula and because of that simply isn't as memorable as Wind Waker, OoT or A Link to the Past.

And OoT reused LttP's formula. Oh my!
 
JonathanEx said:
"people in this thread"? Hang on, YOU were the one who said they were doing gimmicks to make them look objective.



Yet you failed to actually say how they're doing that. They're doing gimmicky attempts to appear objective by BEING SUBJECTIVE?



There is so much wrong with this I don't even know where to start.

my point, and i'll repeat it once again, is very simple

edge is a subjective magazine and is filled with human biases.

they are no holy grail of gaming journalism or are they any better than IGN, gamespot or any other magazine or online website.

in my earlier posts, i pointed out how i felt certain review scores, they overreached and gave undue praise, whereas certain games that have come out, they give 5's and 6's, giving the impression that they are "fairly" reviewing these games by using their entire scale.

for me this is a gimmick and simply an attempt to be different and appear more objective. it's silly for them (and they say they use the entire review scale for the purposes of reviews to give proper opinions on each game they play) or anyone in this thread (of which there are several) to say they are "objective," or somehow more "fair" when clearly their review decisions in the past suggest otherwise.

they give opinions based on any number of factors that affect them. the whole 'we use the entire scale' routine argument is silly.

the best anyone can do is to read an edge review and take it for what it is worth - an opinion - somehow elevating their reviews to a standard beyond anything but that is stupid, because they are just as biased and influenced as any other magazine.

the difference is that they are particularly harsh with certain games in an attempt to either get attention, or suggest to readers that they are fairly reviewing games across their scale.

as for your last comment, i already replied to that, you can read it above.
 

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
xs_mini_neo said:
Did TP have time travel? Nope. It just used a bland gimmick wolf transformation that wasn't exciting or interesting, so TP bombed in the stand-out category for that reason alone. Everything else about TP was very good, though.

Both used the split worlds concept. Ya know, form LttP. Just with different coats of paint. TP also used the animal transformation thing from LttP as well
 
tehrik-e-insaaf said:
my point, and i'll repeat it once again, is very simple

edge is a subjective magazine and is filled with human biases.

So why are you saying they're wrong for some of the scores they subjectively made - as you continued to say?
tehrik-e-insaaf said:
in my earlier posts, i pointed out how i felt certain review scores, they overreached and gave undue praise, whereas certain games that have come out, they give 5's and 6's, giving the impression that they are "fairly" reviewing these games by using their entire scale.

for me this is a gimmick. it's silly for them (and they say they use the entire review scale for the purposes of reviews to give proper opinions on each game they play) or anyone in this thread (of which there are several) to say they are "objective," or somehow more "fair" when clearly their review decisions in the past suggest otherwise.
You were one of those people who said they were trying to be objective though!

And you're saying because they might have a different scoring system, which is CLEARLY ESTABLISHED, and have different opinions? It's a gimmick? Ugh.

I feel like Phoenix Wright here...
 
tehrik-e-insaaf said:
my point, and i'll repeat it once again, is very simple

edge is a subjective magazine and is filled with human biases.

they are no holy grail of gaming journalism or are they any better than IGN, gamespot or any other magazine or online website.

in my earlier posts, i pointed out how i felt certain review scores, they overreached and gave undue praise, whereas certain games that have come out, they give 5's and 6's, giving the impression that they are "fairly" reviewing these games by using their entire scale.

for me this is a gimmick and simply an attempt to be different and appear more objective. it's silly for them (and they say they use the entire review scale for the purposes of reviews to give proper opinions on each game they play) or anyone in this thread (of which there are several) to say they are "objective," or somehow more "fair" when clearly their review decisions in the past suggest otherwise.

they give opinions based on any number of factors that affect them. the whole 'we use the entire scale' routine argument is silly.

the best anyone can do is to read an edge review and take it for what it is worth - an opinion - somehow elevating their reviews to a standard beyond anything but that is stupid, because they are just as biased and influenced as any other magazine.

the difference is that they are particularly harsh with certain games in an attempt to either get attention, or suggest to readers that they are fairly reviewing games across their scale.

as for your last comment, i already replied to that, you can read it above.

So what game or console do you own, that will clear any doubts.....
 
JonathanEx said:
You, sir, need a checkup from the neck up.

opinions are like assholes, everyone has them, and they stink

however you can have a civil discussion without insulting or being self-righteous in your language or dialogue

this combined with your "there is so much wrong with this i don't know where to begin" really doesn't suggest you are interested in understanding my opinions, more like simply bashing them because you disagree with them.
 
tehrik-e-insaaf said:
I read them all actually - the weirdest one was orange box, their final argument in the review was alluding to the fact that despite portal being the best inclusion in the box (even though it was really short), the review score was based on the "value" included in the box which included two games that had already been released, a game that was short, a sequel to a sequel of a game that was released several years ago and had versions come out on the earlier platforms, and tf2, which is hardly what i would call an incredible multiplayer experience
2hed2m8.jpg
 

Odrion

Banned
i know this topic is suppose to be discussing about review scores but christ

but little big planet IS game of the year, a shiny diamond in a pile of mediocrity
 
JonathanEx said:
So why are you saying they're wrong for some of the scores they subjectively made - as you continued to say?

You were one of those people who said they were trying to be objective though!

And you're saying because they might have a different scoring system, which is CLEARLY ESTABLISHED, and have different opinions? It's a gimmick? Ugh.

I feel like Phoenix Wright here...


once again i'm not saying they are wrong my brother, all i'm saying is that they are subjective opinions, they will decide what they want to give it, regardless of their review scale

as a result, because they are so subjective it's a bit gimmicky to use the entire review scale to give the allusion of objectivity (which is what their staff says they do, and people in this thread say they do), especially when the top end of your review scale isn't any different and isn't consistent in terms of the standards they have laid out for revolutionary games worthy of a 10.

you know i studied at oxford and lived in London for a while, i have to say this kind of stuff is actually very british (bash everything, except for your favorites). no offense to anyone on the board. it's like you guys have the same opinions as everyone, but always throw in this half-hearted attempt to differentiate yourselves by being especially harsh on everything else.

maybe i'm wrong, i'm certainly no expert on british culture/uk culture - but that's the impression i've gotten out of it. hell, americans have their own crazy quirks, so to each their own.
 

ItAintEasyBeinCheesy

it's 4th of July in my asshole
TTG said:
I'm enraged that you're not enraged. If you were looking at this objectively then surely your views would align with mine.

Probly helps that i only own one of those games, LocoRoco 2 (although will be buying Patapon and some others still) one of the highest scoring titles and am not really looking for validation of my purchase. :D
 
Bluemercury said:
So what game or console do you own, that will clear any doubts.....

i have all the consoles actually, ps3, 360, and wii -

i barely play my wii and am pretty dissappointed for a poor lineup this winter from nintendo, although historically i would consider myself a huge nintendo fan (and from the point of nostalgia, i like nintendo a lot, regardless of whether their current games appeal to me or not)... i just wish nintendo would do a lot more to create compelling games that fans of their previous consoles can enjoy, i just don't see it to be honest

ps3 i got day 1, recently i tried resistance 2 but didn't find much about it to be redeeming, and lbp was a huge dissappointment, i really liked uncharted though and think that it is a very under rated game (just need to fix some of the quirks with the controls with regards to aiming), i am also very excited about team ico's next project (both ico and sotc are among my top 20 games of all time and complete masterpieces even despite their short comings).. also unlike a lot of people, i thought MGS4 was a very well-done game (and i won't be cliche and put game with quotation marks)... the story concluded very well and kojima connected the dots... the gameplay itself is obviously dated and hasn't even reached splinter cell as far as i'm concerned, but kojima does tell the story quite well and it was well done

360 is my most played console and for good reason, it has the games, and lots of them. i barely touched the xbox last generation, but this generation, microsoft has done a complete 180 and put together a great list of games. i also believe that they did what people thought was impossible - get RPGs on their console - very impressed with what they have achieved. mass effect was an amazing game, and my favorite thus far on 360, even if they could have done a lot of things better (inventory management was atrocious, and the seek and find planet sidequests grew boring).

pc - i love pc games, been playing online competitive for many years, and frequently upgrade to the tune of once every 12-18 months (it's a lot for pc)... recently there hasn't been much to be excited about... i consider WoW to be pretty derivative for the most part and never liked it at all (for me blizzard went downhill after starcraft/diablo 1)... but i love my PC and always try to pick up a simultaneous release on consoles/PC for PC because of the customizability...

honestly i have no agenda, i'm just saying what my opinions are. i loved portal (but think OB as a whole is highly over rated), i enjoyed halo 3's local multiplayer (but think bungie could have done a lot more, improved the graphics, and really made the single player more interesting), i despised COD4 and never saw what the fuss was about online or off, and unlike most people on GAF, i thought gta4 was a well-executed product (but certainly not a 10) despite the short comings in the gameplay and repitition and annoyance of certain things (the bank robbery mission was the best mission imho, and it was awesome enough to make the game worth playing through)...
 
tehrik-e-insaaf said:
as a result, because they are so subjective it's a bit gimmicky to use the entire review scale to give the allusion of objectivity

Is it gimmicky when a film reviewer uses the whole 5 star scale?
 
Graphics Horse said:
Is it gimmicky when a film reviewer uses the whole 5 star scale?

well see, it depends on the movie reviewer, i mean you can't lump them into one big category right? just like we can't lump game reviewers and ask if their use of the scale is gimmicky.

if there is a movie reviewer that frequently gives 1 or 2 stars out of 5 for lots of movies saying they are derivative, complain about things common in the genre, have given 5 stars to only but a few of the most exclusive movies, and then turns around and gives a string of movies 5 stars that most would agree should be criticized similar to what they have criticized all the previous movies of the year, then yes i would agree, it is gimmicky.

they may as well just say they are giving their opinion and highly subjective to their tastes and what they like, and not try to say their use of the entire scale somehow elevates their opinions to be more objective
 
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