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[WindyMan]

...is not really one.

http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/sitedetails.asp?siteid=15

Number of All Reviews: 8291
Site's Avg Score for All: 6.8

Or is it?

 

[Priz]

Oh great. With a title like that, it's like you're trying to summon Frank Provo to this thread.

(Expecting mosaic's post in 3... 2...)

 

[Sanjay]

so they gave shenmue a 6.8 then changed it to a 7.8 due to abuse from gamers

 

[pewye]

this thread will be locked. No doubt about that

 

[Catchpenny]

Didn't they claim the original score was an "import" review? Or was that Dragon Quest VII?

 

[mosaic]

This is the last time I'm gonna re-hash this. I didn't like Shenmue all that much and probably let my personal dislike get in the way of writing an objective review. It was my first year as a freelancer. They called me up, we discussed it, and they gave me the chance to re-write and look at things more objectively. The end result was a 7.8. Personally, for me, the game is a 6.8 or less. It's more style than substance. Forklifts?! But, considering all audiences and coming from an objective mindset, I think a 7.8 is right.

It happened SIX years ago. Get over it.

(BTW, I had played the game for 2 months up to that point... Sega sent me the game early so I could write a strat for Ziff's now-defunct Unofficial Dreamcast Magazine. Also, an 8.8 is a GREAT score.)

 

[BorkBork]

(BTW, I had played the game for 2 months up to that point... Sega sent me the game early so I could write a strat for Ziff's now-defunct Unofficial Dreamcast Magazine. Also, an 8.8 is a GREAT score.)

I don't give two shits about the 8.8 score (my beef really is with the contents of the review), but you'll NEVER convince anyone that 8.8 is a great score for a main Zelda game, I'm sorry.

 

[RiZ III]

:unches Mosaic in the face::

Spoiler

 

[Joe Molotov]

Thread of the Year.

 

[Slurpy]

This is the last time I'm gonna re-hash this. I didn't like Shenmue all that much and probably let my personal dislike get in the way of writing an objective review.

So, one would assume Gertsman is in the same boat as you. I guess the real score of the game is then 8.8+1 = 9.8. Thanks for the heads up and the honesty about lack of objectivity at GS.

 

[Aaronology]

So, one would assume Gertsman is in the same boat as you. I guess the real score of the game is then 8.8+1 = 9.8. Thanks for the heads up and the honesty about lack of objectivity at GS.

Twisting people's words must be fuuuun business. :lol

 

[Dice]

It's more style than substance. Forklifts?!

Those forklifts were the most fun part of the game. Man, I got so ridiculously fast and efficient with them. As far as I'm concerned, it could be expanded into it's own arcade game.

 

[White Man]

This is the last time I'm gonna re-hash this. I didn't like Shenmue all that much and probably let my personal dislike get in the way of writing an objective review. It was my first year as a freelancer. They called me up, we discussed it, and they gave me the chance to re-write and look at things more objectively. The end result was a 7.8. Personally, for me, the game is a 6.8 or less. It's more style than substance. Forklifts?! But, considering all audiences and coming from an objective mindset, I think a 7.8 is right.

It happened SIX years ago. Get over it.

(BTW, I had played the game for 2 months up to that point... Sega sent me the game early so I could write a strat for Ziff's now-defunct Unofficial Dreamcast Magazine. Also, an 8.8 is a GREAT score.)

Dude, 6.8 was generous. 6.8 is maybe what Shenmue 2 should've got, and even that would be overlooking some glaring flaws.

 

[Y2Kev]

So, one would assume Gertsman is in the same boat as you. I guess the real score of the game is then 8.8+1 = 9.8. Thanks for the heads up and the honesty about lack of objectivity at GS.

mother of god

 

[Corwood Rep]

Shenmue sucked.

FIGHT ME, BITCHES.

 

[Geek]

I don't give two shits about the 8.8 score (my beef really is with the contents of the review), but you'll NEVER convince anyone that 8.8 is a great score for a main Zelda game, I'm sorry.

I'm totally convinced.

 

[radeonxt]

SHENMUE Best G4M3 3V34H!

 

[Dahbomb]

I think the 8.8 is the bigger controversy.

 

[Linkup]

It's the end of the world
as we know it
It's the end of the world
as we know it
It's the end of the world
as we know it
And I feel fine

 

[----]

This is the last time I'm gonna re-hash this. I didn't like Shenmue all that much and probably let my personal dislike get in the way of writing an objective review. It was my first year as a freelancer. They called me up, we discussed it, and they gave me the chance to re-write and look at things more objectively. The end result was a 7.8. Personally, for me, the game is a 6.8 or less. It's more style than substance. Forklifts?! But, considering all audiences and coming from an objective mindset, I think a 7.8 is right.

It happened SIX years ago. Get over it.

(BTW, I had played the game for 2 months up to that point... Sega sent me the game early so I could write a strat for Ziff's now-defunct Unofficial Dreamcast Magazine. Also, an 8.8 is a GREAT score.)

Shenmue is a weird game. Opinions are all over the map on it. I really liked it and found it easy to get absorbed in. There were some mundane activities because they were trying to go for a truly immersive realism, but it was also one of the most engrossing games I've ever played. I think that Bully makes a lot of the same stylistic choices as Shenmue did. I think with these types of games if you don't get fully pulled into the world and you feel disconnected with the character then it doesn't work at all. If you become absorbed in the game and you feel like you are the character then it's a completely different experience. That's my theory why some people think Shenmue is the greatest thing ever and some hate it.

 

[Aruarian Reflection]

This is the last time I'm gonna re-hash this. I didn't like Shenmue all that much and probably let my personal dislike get in the way of writing an objective review. It was my first year as a freelancer. They called me up, we discussed it, and they gave me the chance to re-write and look at things more objectively. The end result was a 7.8. Personally, for me, the game is a 6.8 or less. It's more style than substance. Forklifts?! But, considering all audiences and coming from an objective mindset, I think a 7.8 is right.

It happened SIX years ago. Get over it.

(BTW, I had played the game for 2 months up to that point... Sega sent me the game early so I could write a strat for Ziff's now-defunct Unofficial Dreamcast Magazine. Also, an 8.8 is a GREAT score.)

Wait, so you're actually Frank Provo? :lol

Anybody remember the GamingNoise Frank Provo awards? Classic stuff.

 

[Particle Physicist]

:lol

 

[The Faceless Master]

i still remember how i played all the way thru shenmue so i could get to 'the good part' and it never came... then the game ended... i was stunned...

 

[usea]

you'll NEVER convince rabid fanboys that 8.8 is a great score for a main Zelda game, I'm sorry.

fixed.
Just because you love the franchise doesn't mean people should inflate their reviews to avoid fanboy hatred. They have integrity.

Spoiler

I'm being serious.

Why is it that people hate reviewers who are honest about what they think about a game? I have seen dozens of people sincerely angry that a zelda review wasn't 9.8 or higher, when they haven't even played the game themselves. Do you even comprehend how ridiculous that is? Do you know why publications never score games below 7.8? Because you retards send them hate mail like a 6.5 means the game is gutter trash.

As for shenmue, I wanted to love the game but I literally fell asleep while playing it. I had just finished playing Ecco for dreamcast, so to be fair any game in the world would have seemed boring. Still...I had controller marks on my face 4 hours later.

 

[gamergirly]

If Zelda continues to score around 9.5, it has a GREAT chance of getting into the Top 10 Highest Ranked games of all time. Maybe even the Top 5

 

[wave dial]

i still remember how i played all the way thru shenmue so i could get to 'the good part' and it never came... then the game ended... i was stunned...

who told you there was a good part

 

[The Faceless Master]

who told you there was a good part

a good friend of mine

 

[Sanjay]

wait hold on so mosaic was the one that gave it a 6.8, KILL HIM and destroy his wiki page..

 

[----]

If Zelda continues to score around 9.5, it has a GREAT chance of getting into the Top 10 Highest Ranked games of all time. Maybe even the Top 5

Why does this matter to anyone? Does anyone really look at those rankings and think it is a legitimate list?

Most people don't seem to think that Metroid Prime was a better more significant game series than Halo, but if you go by that list the people who reviewed it pushed it up higher. As an overall guide Gamerankings/Metacritic are helpful, but that's as far as it goes. If you try to break things down by the decimal point it doesn't work.

Putting too much emphasis on that overall ranking turns game reviewing into a contest of which game has more fan sites to inflate it's scores. Twilight Princess is worth buying regardless of whether it makes top 5 or top 10 and that's not something that gamers or reviewers should be focusing on when they talk about it.

 

[gutter_trash]

Shenmue 1 and 2 are two of my favorite games in recent years, they both got their share of review pounding, but personnaly i find them to be great games despite the reviews

the 8.8 on Zelda TP is not a bad score, it's good score. Take it into account that this is a Gamecube game 1st... the 8.8 score on the Wii version is generous

hey, what do I know, i still like Sonic games

 

[6.8]

6.8 is ****ing stupid.

 

[JavyOO7]

So, one would assume Gertsman is in the same boat as you. I guess the real score of the game is then 8.8+1 = 9.8. Thanks for the heads up and the honesty about lack of objectivity at GS.

What in the world is wrong with you.

Leave the internet for a while, jesus.

 

[Alex Anderson]

Translation = My first review was honest, but I wanted to continue drawing paychecks, so I wrote what Gamespot wanted me to write.

Sellllllllll outtttttttttt

Spoiler

*wonders if the statute of limitations for this incident has been passed*

 

[Rabbit Lord]

6.8 was being nice for Shenmue.

 

[BorkBork]

fixed.
Just because you love the franchise doesn't mean people should inflate their reviews to avoid fanboy hatred. They have integrity.

Spoiler

I'm being serious.

Why is it that people hate reviewers who are honest about what they think about a game? I have seen dozens of people sincerely angry that a zelda review wasn't 9.8 or higher, when they haven't even played the game themselves. Do you even comprehend how ridiculous that is? Do you know why publications never score games below 7.8? Because you retards send them hate mail like a 6.5 means the game is gutter trash.

As for shenmue, I wanted to love the game but I literally fell asleep while playing it. I had just finished playing Ecco for dreamcast, so to be fair any game in the world would have seemed boring. Still...I had controller marks on my face 4 hours later.

Touche. Of course the rabid fanboys concerned with the score are from all camps (not just Nintendo), so the mud-slinging just gets uglier with each game that's not scored "accordingly". That's why I like the idea of abolishing a numerical scoring system all together.

 

[mosaic]

Wait, so you're actually Frank Provo? :lol

Anybody remember the GamingNoise Frank Provo awards? Classic stuff.

Awww, no one informed me that there ever was such a thing! Were they funny? I hope they were at least funny. Are they still posted someplace? URL? I gotta admit, I'm a bit jealous that no one has ever photoshopped my face on top of the fat guy from Jerry Springer or made an animated gif of me conspiring with Greg Kasavin.

And yep, I am he.

 

[Shinobi]

Those forklifts were the most fun part of the game. Man, I got so ridiculously fast and efficient with them. As far as I'm concerned, it could be expanded into it's own arcade game.

Word...I loved that part of the game. Of course working around forklifts the last few years and now driving them, it might've been easier for me to appreciate it.

Personally I love Shenmue (though Shenmue 2 destroys it), but if you'd given the damn game a 0.8 it wouldn't mean shit to me. Changing the score just because a bunch of idiots thought it was unfair was just assinine to me. At the end of the day, everyone's got their own opinion on a game, and giving it a score just to appease the herd defeats the entire purpose of a game review.

Which is why the controversy over Zelda is even more embarassing...most rational developers/publishers would be delighted with an 8.8. NBots are just pissed 'cause it lowers the overall average at Game Rankings.

Shenmue is a weird game. Opinions are all over the map on it. I really liked it and found it easy to get absorbed in. There were some mundane activities because they were trying to go for a truly immersive realism, but it was also one of the most engrossing games I've ever played. I think that Bully makes a lot of the same stylistic choices as Shenmue did. I think with these types of games if you don't get fully pulled into the world and you feel disconnected with the character then it doesn't work at all. If you become absorbed in the game and you feel like you are the character then it's a completely different experience. That's my theory why some people think Shenmue is the greatest thing ever and some hate it.

Agreed. Both Shenmue games sucked me into their world better and more completely then anything I'd played before. Shenmue 2 is simply the best non-racing game I've ever played. But if a person didn't get sucked in by it and therefore hated the experience, why should they say otherwise? That said, Shenmue haters who try to convince me and otherwise to think differently need to find a new hobby...as mosaic said, it's been six years.

If Zelda continues to score around 9.5, it has a GREAT chance of getting into the Top 10 Highest Ranked games of all time. Maybe even the Top 5

...what did I tell ya? :lol

That's why I like the idea of abolishing a numerical scoring system all together.

Word...been saying this for years. Too bad it'll never happen.

 

[Mr. Pointy]

Shenmu-gay is more like it hurhurhurhur. I'm serious by the way.

 

[beebs_basic]

8.8 for Zelda? Doesn't seem to compute with the other reviews I've been seeing.

Gertsman and Gamespot in general seem to be stuck on the graphics of the "next-gen". At some point they need to realize that Wii games are to be judged according to what the Wii can do and the other games available...not to what you'll find over on another console. If they continue to say "graphics look dated" their reviews will be entirely pointless.

As for the "Wii controls seem tacked on"...every other reviewer out there who went to the Redmond invite-only playathon said the controls were the be all and end all of how Zelda should be. Personally I think Gamespot needs a new "Nintendo guy". Somebody who "gets" the system.

 

[Timedog]

what about the score for NiGHTS? Didn't that get a 6.8 too? I want an explanation too .

 

[Timedog]

8.8 for Zelda? Doesn't seem to compute with the other reviews I've been seeing.

Gertsman and Gamespot in general seem to be stuck on the graphics of the "next-gen". At some point they need to realize that Wii games are to be judged according to what the Wii can do and the other games available...not to what you'll find over on another console. If they continue to say "graphics look dated" their reviews will be entirely pointless.

As for the "Wii controls seem tacked on"...every other reviewer out there who went to the Redmond invite-only playathon said the controls were the be all and end all of how Zelda should be. Personally I think Gamespot needs a new "Nintendo guy". Somebody who "gets" the system.

Hi! graphics got a 9/10!

 

[Antagon]

Btw, Yahoo games gave both Excite Truck and Twilight Princess a 4.5/5 :lol :lol

 

[Shinobi]

Shenmu-gay is more like it hurhurhurhur. I'm serious by the way.

Hi! graphics got a 9/10!

:lol Perfect example why review scores need to go...nobody even reads the summaries, nevermind the text body.

 

[CrapSandwich]

8.8 for Zelda? Doesn't seem to compute with the other reviews I've been seeing.

Gertsman and Gamespot in general seem to be stuck on the graphics of the "next-gen". At some point they need to realize that Wii games are to be judged according to what the Wii can do and the other games available...not to what you'll find over on another console.

It's Nintendo's fault. They released the console that's underpowered compared to its contemporaries. Customers will compare Wii graphics to other consoles. Why shouldn't reviewers do the same? Look, it's not like reviewers are there to placate the hardcore or fans. They're supposed to give an objective look that takes everything happening in videogames into account in a way that makes sense to all of their readers.

Suppose that Wii's control is vastly, vastly superior to the pads that PS3 and 360 use. Suppose that Wii takes over the market because of it. PS3 and 360 games would rightly take a hit because they're technologically defunct in an important way. It's the exact same thing with Wii graphics.

All that being said, I still think reviewers will only judge the graphics relative the system's ability, and not to that of other consoles.

 

[POWERSPHERE]

duuuudes, they're just numbers, maaan...

 

[Timedog]

:lol Perfect example why review scores need to go...nobody even reads the summaries, nevermind the text body.

the graphics do look dated. That doesn't mean they're not good for what the system is capable of. It was probably mentioned because of the fact that it's a next gen system and lots of casuals don't know what to expect from it.

 

[gamergirly]

Btw, Yahoo games gave both Excite Truck and Twilight Princess a 4.5/5 :lol :lol

And that's bad? TP is still almost at 97%