Ben-DutkaDestiny was not only the most anticipated game of the new generation, it was one of the most hyped titles in history.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the game has already generated over $500 million and that number will only continue to grow. But is this in spite of the lower-than-expected review scores…?
Currently, based on 17 review scores, the game holds an average Metascore of only 74. That's awfully low for a game that was supposed to be downright mind-boggling. However, it's also important to note that 17 reviews is a very low number; this means a lot of critics haven't yet weighed in. Maybe those who spend more time with the game will give the game a higher score, I don't know. But I do know that the sales thus far don't seem to reflect the 74 average review score.
For the most part, higher scores translate to higher sales. There are always exceptions, of course, but there's a reason publishers give developers bonuses when a game tops a certain Metascore. That's not just a "hey, job well done" pat on the back; that incentive exists because publishers know that well-received games make more money. In some cases, a lot more money. But maybe when hype is high enough and when gamers are completely convinced heading into a launch, those scores just don't mean as much.
What other explanation is there?
I only glanced once and only saw a bunch of "pending" reviews.
All I know is BlinkBoy and I are burnin it up out there!
It is fun when other people are along. I helped Xenris the other night on some mission he wanted to do on "Hard" mode.
Heck yeah you helped me 🙂 I wanted help because I was in the middle of it and got booted from the server earlier, so I wanted to roll through it fast with you!
I had fun playing with you though, it is much more fun with people.
World add me on PSN, my id is Xenris same spelling as here.
Alright, but I'm a weakling at level 6. I'm a great shot with my hand cannon though 🙂
Hand cannon is the way to go. Riding up like a gunslinger, helping out some poor bastard in trouble with some well placed headshots, and blasting off before they have time to thank me. Good times….
Damn right, I'm a cowboy baby!
Handcannon is my weapon of choice for PVE, although once you get a good one you will realize that the auto rifles are still even after the nerf OP as heck.
I don't care about yo level World, I can help you with low level stuff or drag you into some high level stuff that you are in no way ready for 😛
Yes it's been awesome, I like the pulse rifle a lot.
I really don't care about reviews anymore. The 1 to 10 scale feels broken, like if it is under 8.5 it failed.
Add me anyone here who wants to co op.
I am BlinkBoy on Psn too.
I found grabbing some easier bounties for some crucible matches really helps to speed up level building and increases your chances to get uncommon/rare loot rewards. it's also a way to break up the pacing of the game's regular action.
I'm already lvl 14 and I don't feel I've done much of any grinding.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 9/13/2014 11:26:07 AM
crap. Gamespot just weighed in with a 6 out of 10.
I must be totally out of touch with games these days because I'm just not feeling that.
Its so weird that its getting such low reviews lol.
Oh well, I'm having fun with it for now. I agree a good way to not feel the grind is jump around doing bounties and different things.
A tip to those who want to level up their subclass faster, you can keep your main class on and then switch it before you finish the mission or hand in your bounty. Makes things less hard to grind out.
It's something else. here we have a game receiving tons of marketing from a respected developer and we have a beta that allowed millions of gamers to try several hours of it's game play before buying. For the most part I'd imagine most people were buying exactly what they thought they were getting from that beta.
It passed muster with millions.
But what has changed because the scores are so low?
Years ago we always had a demo foretell a quality of a game before buying it. Fence sitters could just wait for reviews.
But I think most gamers liked what they played from the Alpha and the Beta and wanted more. Sure, there wasn't a whole lot of options for their dollar so that's a factor there. Standards are bound to be lowered if a gamer feels deprived of game releases. But I think there's something more at play here.
Perhaps there's just a whole lot of gamers out here who live in a genre vacuum and their desires don't consider the homogoneous gamer, or in other words, the game critic, who has seen, played and experienced a lot of different forms of a video game. There's a lot of gamers who want a cool big budget multiplayer FPS shooter and that is that.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 9/12/2014 10:16:54 PM
I do have to say the game doesn't feel 7'ish in quality.
First off. The graphics are excellent. 9 calibur for sure. The control feels perfect too. I also think the music is nice and varied and well composed.
The game play seems solid enough. I'm not far enough in to really know for sure but it would have to go south pretty fast for me to feel a 7 from it. That's for sure.
EDIT: I can already tell the 10 hours or so I spent with it so far were a heck of a lot more enjoyable than all of Killzone ShadowFall. A game that scored similarly. It seems totally wrong to say otherwise in my mind.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 9/12/2014 10:36:09 PM
I watched a friend play it and within an hour I was instantly hooked in, like afish, and drawn into the game. Its freaking awesome and a ton of fun. Don't care what reviews it got. If somethings fun, its fun.
Many reviewers are out of touch with the gaming public! I read reviews only on sites that let real gamers put their own thoughts down.
That's the way it should be, I lost faith a while back when reviewers were giving Ninja Gaiden 3 8/10 and crap, IGN gave it a worth 3/10 which made me feel like they were the only legitimate review source out there
I think the lower scores are a backlash from the arrogant and disrepectful comment Bungie made about day one reviews, basically saying there game was so f'n great only an idiot rushing to crap out a review would give it a score less than 11. Sad part is the majority of weak willed reviewers got so scare they started doing damn two week long reviews as if the game is an MMO, which it is not even close. Im only a level 13 Awoken Titan (anyone want to do some strikes, add me on XBL: Tornado Grapple) but I can tell you what happens at this fabled level 20, stronger enemies amd better weapons, just like every other game ever made. And these same reviewers who would play a game like Nier for three hours and give it a 5. Pathetic. And then they actually have the nerve to expect some sort of awards or recognition for being so backwards.
As far as Destiny, it definitely is good stuff. Selling on hype but word of mouth will keep it going. Is it gonna beat Advanced Warfare? Hell no. But it will do good for itself.
I found NIER for 5 bucks at EB when I was picking up Destiny and snatched it up. What an under rated gem of a game.
My only beef with the game so far is lack of mission variety. It has a very MMO like structure to the quests, hold a position while you fight off enemies, kill x enemies, collect x items from enemies etc.
However there is one mission on the moon that changed things up and I was really happy I wont spoil it but if you play it you will know which one I'm talking about. I hope we get more of that.
I would also like them to maybe have some sort of stealth type missions, or escort missions to change things up.
The gunplay is so solid that even though the gameplay isn't that varied I am still having a blast with it, especially with friends.
If anyone has it on the PS4 add my PSN its Xenris, and just in the message put that your from PSXextreme and give me your username here. World I'm looking at you 🙂
Think I know the mission you are on about xenris… amazing! I want more of that!
Was always going to be lots of get x number of dropped items, good job the fps mechanics are so solid.
Only problem I have found in with the matchmaking on pvp – ended up against a team with 2 20+ guys on – I was lvl 8 at the time
I'll add you man! I'm FlyingKickPunch on PS4 as well.
well i guess u could say it got a good score not a great one but the sales seem to reflect that atm atleats so well lets see how it goes.
happy gaming
I think review scores hold less water now days than in the past. I'm not saying the are irrelevant because they justify a games accomplishments. But I'm not sure review scores translate into sales. Sure they help but some of the highest rated games ever don't come close to sales as games that score less sometimes.
Then there's the real fact that some reviews hold strong opinions and it's easy to disagree with opinion. No longer are we in the days where people would read magazines for professional breakdowns.
And on top of that, advertisement sells. And advertisement is everywhere, even on this site. A game with lots of advertisement will get a lot of attention. Not only that but when gamers want a game they typically won't wait for review scores especially with midnight releases and being able to digitally download games. There's a reason most reviews don't arrive until the day the game releases, because it can only hinder the game. Most consumers have already made up their mind at that point.
" What other explanation is there? "
The complete lack of games to play , first game i bought in the last 3-4 month ( excluding indie ) .
I was just dying for something new to play .
I don t regret it tho , had plenty of fun with it . Just too bad the story was complete trash .Even the souls games had better story and we all know there is barely any present .
Destiny is all about grinding over and over for better gear once you reach lvl 20-21 .If you don t like to so so and don t enjoy the pvp much , that average score is more then fair .
yep the complete lack of games is the answer. Thats why when the hyped up marketed destiny came out loads of people went out to get it.
I'd have to say that it was the hype that was pushing the game forward. I bought into it, I readily admit that.
Right now, I'm lvl 24, and honestly, I can't say the 74's were wrong. I would give it a solid 7 – 7.5. Fun, but they built it much like a COD or Battlefield game regarding DLC. The abilities are fairly sparse (you can have about 10 active for each subclass, and so far, you can't activate the two subclasses together (something Borderlands reveled in for its endgame play). My biggest issue currently, is that there are 6 strike missions, which played at higher difficulty levels, are the only way to gain the legendary loot necessary to reach higher levels.
The shooting mechanics are solid; there's a decent variety of enemies (4 alien races, each with so many variations). The story is a bit lackluster — fun enough, and ultimately unimportant. For me, it suffers the same issues as the Halo series' attempts at story — it's thin, there really are no characters to grab on to (you see the faces of 2 by the time you finish the campaign as it currently is). There are also more nitpicky issues about grouping and social aspects that will hopefully be addressed, but keep the game from moving from "solid" and "fun enough" to "great".
Overall, it's a good start, but they'd better keep the updates coming fast and plentifully or in a month or two it may start fading from people's memories.
My biggest complaint is size. Everyone acts like this game is huge and it's relatively small actually. It's biggest drawback is the size and repetitive nature outside the main story which also is guilty of at times.
They created an illusion of it being big and it's easy to fall for. But let's put it this way. Take the moon for instance, big planet, but they've made it a hub and in that hub – while in orbit – you select a part of the story you want to play. So you select it and although it's positioned somewhere else on the moon you end up in the same place. I was traversing the moon last night and decided to veer away from the story. I made it as far as I could and realized I was in the same place the story mission would lead me to. If this game is so big how does something like that happen? I want to get lost and travel far away from the happenings but you just cant.
I don't focus on review scores that much, I like to see what they got, but it usually doesn't swing me, I play the games I want to play and avoid the ones I don't.
However while we're on the subject, when can we expect your review Ben?
Played it and hated it, why game like this can sell like crazy but great game like infamous 2nd son barely hit 3 million…
On first impressions, approx. 15-20hrs, I would give it somewhere between 8 and 9. Everything seems very polished and finished. It's great fun to play.
Hopefully will only get better and not get repetitive. Saying that, have only been to Old Russia and the moon, so got another couple of planets to go to. Looking through the Grimoire cards there is mention of Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury, so they could be the expansions lined up already.
PSN is SnowMadClaude if anyone wants to add me.
Last edited by Broady on 9/13/2014 5:59:22 AM
I just wish I had more people to play with. I have no buddies on PS4 and noone I've met is interested in using their mic at all.
Destiny looks to be developed around the idea of swarms of DLC (ala COD). Well some of that content better be free as an incentive to keep the player base alive because although I love the basic structure of the game I just wish there was…you know…more of it
I don't know where you are at in the world but if your time zone doesn't conflict my buddy and I are looking for a third person once in awhile. My psn name is same as here.
I hate that the missions are 1-3 people. I'd much rather have the option of a fourth. However after playing for awhile it was probably a balancing thing.
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 9/13/2014 5:11:37 PM
Look – Bungie knows they have a fantastic product. They shared it with the public through Alpha and Beta (a demo before release? yup.) Anyone who has hit level 20 knows that getting there requires some amount of time – AND – that really the game in a sense DOES just begin there. The game has many different modes to play – and they are all executed very well.
There is also more game coming. A LOT more. The Raid won't even be active until the 16th. How can a review be complete without at least attempting the Raid? There is just waaaaay too much to do to have issued a comprehensive review of the game at this point. Frankly, anyone who has issued a score at this time is just hit whoring.
Another reason no one cares about the "reviews" so far – there was so much info and video available on this game prior to release, anyone who was interested had more than ample opportunity to see exactly what the game offers. If you already know that – you can already know if it's for you or not – why do you need some external justification when you already internally KNOW if you want it or not?
Bottom line – this is a superb game whether you like this kind of game or not. It appeals to millions of people. Millions! It's selling like fresh water in California. Call it a 6 or an 11 – I don't care. It's what I want to play.
Everyone keeps saying the fame begins at level 20. How can that be when you've probably completed it by then? I'm being serious. I'm at level 10, I'm taking my time and searching and doing bounties, side missions, and so forth. I'm almost done with the moon at this point. I don't anticipate completing the game (story missions) by level 20 because of my play style but I know others who have and they also like to grind. So I ask again how is that?
Being someone who appreciates a game like Borderlands 2 as much as me, I can trust your answer. Because to this point everything outside the strike missions and main story missions is nothing to keep me playing after I finish. The crucible might, but that would be to get my pvp fix. Everything else in this game (even the story at times) feels like rinse and repeat. That's not a good foundation for a game that is supposed to be never ending.
I think "fame" is a poor choice of words. What they mean is that the game becomes so much more once you reach level 20. Not only in terms of new stuff (you can now use new guns/armor/tasty treats/etc) but even in the options that make the game simply more fun and easy to play. For example, each class has a subclass that opens up when you reach level 15 BUT once you reach 20 with a character you can now create a new character and switch to the subclass as soon as you finish the tutorial (at level 2). Maybe even sooner since I didn't bother to check before finishing it. This just makes the game more accessible and that's what games should be about. It makes it easier for you to do what YOU want to do to have fun.
That was a typo for game.
See I know all about what happens at level 20. And it's not appealing. The core game is still finished. It's one thing to play through the story a couple times because legendary weapons and so forth are more available. But it's another when everything else in the game is blah.
The subclass is lame to me because what you've worked for in one is useless when you get to 15 and choose the other. Why put effort into one only to not be able to use it if you decide to use the other? It would have been better to let the player choose which one they would like to utilize at player creation and add skills via a sub skill set rather than a whole class.
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 9/14/2014 8:13:54 PM
First off, I hope only people who OWN the game are commenting. Anyone else's opinion is pretty much invalid…kinda like a man commenting on the quality build of Tampons.
That said…
Anyone that has weighed in with a review score is just casting for blind fish at this point. The game is designed to stand on it's social/multiplayer features so if you played the game for 1-2 days and made a complete opinion on that then you're a idiot. This is not a normal game that's done when it ships and is a stand alone package with some DLC coming later that also stands alone. Destiny is, in short, way more than the sum of it's parts and it's those parts that set it beyond what we have available from the start. I don't think it breaks any new ground here (as everything it does has been in PC games for awhile now) but what it does on a home console is simply mindboggling when you think about it.
Considering the Alph and Beta was open to try out enough people already know what the game is about because this may be the first game that you truly have to have in your hands to understand it. It's not just a shooter with online multiplayer, trust me. If you really need to know what it is, I suggest Redboxing it or borrow it in some way. I'm not saying ti is going to win you over, some people are not going to like it, but if you enjoy multiplayer aspects BEYOND competitive "I shoot you, you shoot me" then this game will appeal to you in some way.
Of course this is only my opinion and anyone else that OWNS the game may feel differently.
Word of mouth and marketing are a hell of a lot more influential than review scores.
Review scores only have an affect on those who care to read them, and honestly, HOW MANY people actually go read reviews and change their opinions based on it?
I am willing to bet it is nowhere as much as people think.
Destiny not only had hype and marketing, but it has great word of mouth.