What do we want from game reviews?

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I watched the whole movie "Downfall", and it was a good movie, but I was surprised to find out Hitler didn't actually kill himself over getting banned from Xbox Live...?

 

[Deleted member 11852]

He loved his mum and was kind to animals.

 

[MrFox]

He trained an army of dinosaurs, I learned this from the documentary series Danger 5.

 

[szymku]

https://medium.com/@adrianchm/the-b...on-polygon-s-the-witcher-3-review-f7ac8d7f0a5

Intersting take on the topic by Adrian Chmielarz, based on a recent lukewarm review of the highly praised Witcher 3.
Or in other words: review of review.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Intersting take on the topic by Adrian Chmielarz, based on a recent lukewarm review of the highly praised Witcher 3. Or in other words: review of review.

I try not to attack people on the internet but Arthur Gies, in the few articles I've read of his, does seem to be somebody with a chip on his shoulder. It's like he's got an axe to grind and sometimes, his current article, is the repurposed grindstone. But having had a quick scan at the Polygon review, it's clear he did little research on the game. The world which CDPR created? They are bringing to life a world created by Andrzej Sapkowski.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

Arthur Gies is simply doing his job.

It just so happens that his job is not to write honest reviews. His job is to generate controversy for clickbait ad revenue.
Lots of people will go to Polygon to read that review who claims the developers are sexists, mysoginists and racists. Many will post angry comments about how so very wrong he is and how much of an ass he is for his claims.
And that spike in Polygon's web hits for the week will mean that Arthur Gies did his job wonderfully.

Arthur Gies is also the same person who gave Bayonetta 2 a lower score than everyone else, calling out for the problematic sexual objectification of women in the game, because the character exists solely for the male gaze, which is demeaning for women.
Shortly after that, people found out that Arthur Gies is a big fan and >10 years financial patron of Suicide Girls (a porn website with only female models).

Just a reminder:

I had one editor tell me flat-out that the site needed a boost one month, and I needed to give a big-name release a low score. He even said he’d post it before the embargo because as everyone knows, early reviews get a huge amount of attention. Plus, early reviews that have a low score for a super anticipated game get the most possible attention.

I keep saying this, but I'll say it again: avoid Polygon like the plague. It's a terrible website that actively hurts the industry, the consumers and the developers for the sake of clickbait.

 

[Cyan]

https://medium.com/@adrianchm/the-boy-who-cried-white-wolf-on-polygon-s-the-witcher-3-review-f7ac8d7f0a5

Intersting take on the topic by Adrian Chmielarz, based on a recent lukewarm review of the highly praised Witcher 3.
Or in other words: review of review.

That's an excellent article, thanks for sharing it.

Arthur Gies is simply doing his job.

It just so happens that his job is not to write honest reviews. His job is to generate controversy for clickbait ad revenue.
Lots of people will go to Polygon to read that review who claims the developers are sexists, mysoginists and racists. Many will post angry comments about how so very wrong he is and how much of an ass he is for his claims.
And that spike in Polygon's web hits for the week will mean that Arthur Gies did his job wonderfully.

Arthur Gies is also the same person who gave Bayonetta 2 a lower score than everyone else, calling out for the problematic sexual objectification of women in the game, because the character exists solely for the male gaze, which is demeaning for women.
Shortly after that, people found out that Arthur Gies is a big fan and >10 years financial patron of Suicide Girls (a porn website with only female models).

Just a reminder:



I keep saying this, but I'll say it again: avoid Polygon like the plague. It's a terrible website that actively hurts the industry, the consumers and the developers for the sake of clickbait.

Very insightful and smart contribution. Many thanks to you too, you certainly saved me from ever going there again. I can't stand a place like that, and this has nothing to do with my admiration for The Witcher alone.

 

[szymku]

That's an excellent article, thanks for sharing it.

I know Witcher games and books quite well and the main theme in them was always merciless criticism of intolerance (based on dwarves/humans/elves/hobbits relations) and praise of strong women characters. In fact, I personally find feminism in the books a little too strong (and I'am my wife bitch on daily basis ). Thats why Gies review was really strange to me.

 

[Cyan]

I know Witcher games and books quite well and the main theme in them was always merciless criticism of intolerance (based on dwarves/humans/elves/hobbits relations) and praise of strong women characters. In fact, I personally find feminism in the books a little too strong (and I'am my wife bitch on daily basis ). Thats why Gies review was really strange to me.

Both that fact and the utter ignorance of accusing a game of whitewashing when the game is set in Poland, got my blood boiling and were the nail in the coffin. I was like... wth? Is this for real? No matter then when people accuse others of being a bit ignorant outside their borders. Where is this Gies from, I wonder?

@ToTTenTranz has recently shared a link on that particular issue in Hollywood movies, and that's an actual issue, anyone can see that.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

Point is made towards the last 3 minutes.

 

[Nesh]

Well there is also the other side. There are AWESOME games I would have never touched if I have never read reviews or touched magazines. Its not like we can trial every game out there and know if its good.

I might have never given Final Fantasy 7 a chance because of the ugly super deformed characters, random battles and turned based system. Compared to other games I have played, these sounded boring and unconventional. Yet because of the reviews I gave it a chance and it became one of my most memorable experiences ever.

If I have never read/saw previews of Metal Gear Solid I might have missed it. It also became one of my most memorable games ever.

Such examples are many.

You cant know if a game is fun by staring at it on a shelf. You can't always know if a game is fun by playing a bit at a kiosk. Some games are direct, some are slow paced. I can have fun with Mario Tennis at a kiosk but I would have never been able to understand Vagrant Story.

There are games I didnt even know existed until I read a reviews.

Long before I knew about reviews I choose games based on what was on the box cover. So as a kid I would end up playing crap games because there was no other information except corporate marketing trying to sell you pile of dog shit as the next best thing.

When I was going to purchase my 32 bit console my father was that close to get me a Goldstar/Panasonic/3DO console instead of a Playstation. They both had 3D games and played disks. They looked equally impressive to a 13 year old and a parent that knew nothing about videogames. But thank God he got me a PS instead. I would have missed so many great games.

After some time I got in touch with reviews. They helped me see aspects of games I previously ignored. For example Toshinden looked more impressive to me. It had large 3D stages you could dodge into, whereas Tekken looked less impressive and the gameplay was more two dimensional. I wasnt giving Tekken a chance. But guess which game was better and had a lot more to explore.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

That's true, but the conditions for spreading the popularity of a game 20 years ago are not the same as today.

There are many silent hits that got initially ignored by the press but then became great hits. Youtube, discussion boards, 9gag, etc. weren't available/widespread 20 years ago.

 

[Prophecy2k]

He trained an army of dinosaurs, I learned this from the documentary series Danger 5.

Like me he probably watched Jurassic Park World one too many times.