We gave Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception a perfect score . Eurogamer did not.
Their 8/10 review has raised eyebrows of gamers and critics alike, and it has generated plenty of heated arguments in gaming communities across the Internet. God of War creator and current Eat Sleep Play boss decided to address the controversy over at the developer's blog .
Firstly, it's important to note that he doesn't bash Naughty Dog's latest, and he points out that Eurogamer's review doesn't bash it, either. In fact, Jaffe – like most others – are amazed at Uncharted 3 . But he cites the major point in Eurogamer's review as something worth considering and discussing:
"It doesn't bash U3 at all (for to do so would just be trolling for hits since it's clear there ain't a thing in U3 that is bash worthy) and it clearly sings the game's many wonderful praises and achievements. But it does call out what some people consider a fundamental flaw in many of today's console titles where making 'cinematic experiences'**** seems to have become a more important goal than making games. And it's nice to see that level of criticism and insight in games journalism, especially with a game as hyped and anticipated (and as amazingly great) as Uncharted 3. How refreshing that a great, hyped, and soon-to-be much loved game can be praised while at the same time intelligently and non mean-spiritedly criticized for what a reviewer thinks (agree or not) are genuine issues. Wow, that's just like big boy writing! And I love it! :)"
Now, you have to admit, he has a point. As we progress at a rapid pace and gaming begins to feel more and more like interactive movies, we do see significant alterations in the standard video game formula. Furthermore, given the required mainstream appeal of blockbusters like Drake's adventures, developers really can't afford to produce an inaccessible game. Hence, the long-time hardcore fans routinely bemoan the relative ease of titles today in comparison to games of yesteryear.
So all this begs the question: if a game is cinematic and that is clearly the developer's goal, and it is indeed more about "the experience" than direct total control, is it less of a "video game?" Jaffe doesn't suggest the cinematic approach results in a lesser product, but it's important to note that Jaffe has, in the past, said game storylines aren't as great as some people believe and in truth, we may not need novel-esque plots and narratives in this industry. What's your response to all this?
Related Game(s): Uncharted 3
So they had no problem in giving Uncharted 2 a 10 but now the series has become too cinematic? Ohhh….kay.
Yea I know, right? Ridiculous!
Yeah, assuming Uncharted 3 is the same as Uncharted 2. Does that deserve to plunge from 100 to 80 score?! I understand if they give Uncharted 3 a 95 if they don't enjoy it, but an 80?!
I appreciate Dave's candidness, and yours, as well, Ben. But, honestly, it comes down to the response you gave to Alienange the other day. We're talking about different genres, here. Uncharted is not Skyrim. It is a linear action adventure, designed as perfectly paced blend of cinema, story-telling and action. It was the kind of genre that Dave was clearly going after with GOW. Mr.Jaffe mentions how he appreciated Eurogamer's criticism of "Calling All Cars", but I wonder what he's feelings would be if he got a similar review of GOW's. Maybe, he feels the genre is outdated, which is why he said that if he were to do a GOW now, it would be a mix of Zelda, like Darksiders. But again, that is knock on the genre. And, Gears of War 3 and even Heavy Rain might as well be thrown out the window, too, then. I ask Mr. Jaffe to remember his comment how he thought MGS4 was the better experience but Gears of War 3 is the better game. What I think he meant by that is that there is place for both.
Mr.Jaffe mentions how most people just wanna f* around in an open world game like GTA. He does not mention, though, that "most people" (like 70% of "gamers" supposedly) don't even complete the games they play. He mentions how "everyone" is unfairly attacking this reviewer at Eurogamer, though, though I'd say, comparing Uncharted sales with the likes of COD, and GTA, those who are reacting are not the vast majority, but a vocal minority. But that isn't even the problem.
The problem is, that the review doesn't quite match the score. The reviewer heaps praise how Uncharted 3 is the best of it's class. And Dave acknowledges that. He says that the review is both positive and critical. But what Dave is ignoring, is that although the reviewer praises the game, he ultimately ends it on a lower note, saying although it is the best of it's class, it is ultimately "shallow". The reviewer gives it an "8". Fine. But then, I'd like to see what games get the 9's and 10's. If Uncharted 3 is not a 9+ game, what games are the top 10%? What are those 25 to 40 games this gen that are ultimately better, or less shallow than Uncharted 3?
He also says, this is just one guy's opinion. But, people are not reacting because it's an opinion. People are reacting because it is not just an opinion, but an agenda, that some writers and sites have a history of perpetuating for the sake of being controversial, and generating traffic. And even that is not the crime. The crime is those sites generate traffic at the expense of the reputation of quality developers. Hell, even it ain't damaging, over this virtual space called the internet, it isn't exactly helpful, either.
Correction: When mention Dave's previous comment about MGS4 and Gears 3, I meant Gears 2, not Gears 3.
While I respect Jaffe, I have to agree with you Shams. Uncharted has always been an epic blend of gameplay, cinematography and story-telling, in a captivating and satisfyingly interactive Hollywood-esque style. How can Eurogamer give it an 8 based on their comments? If that were the case, should a game like Heavy Rain get a 2? You can't judge an apple, according to the definition of an orange. You have to compare an apple to other apples, and an orange to other oranges, for f* sake! I honestly believe sites like Eurogamer take turns to create controversy and in so doing pump up their site traffic. Maybe there is something more sinister to their motives than just increasing site traffic? Will we ever know what "perks" are exchanged behind closed doors?
The problem is that Eurogamer has made a mockery of Naughty Dog, possibly thee most committed video game studio of our generation. Worst case scenario: Eurogamer may have generated an unfounded doubt about Uncharted 3, which in turn has the ability to sway a few thousand or tens of thousands of people from perhaps buying the game and supporting such a great game developer. It may have laid the foundation to have the the same negative effect on selling tens of thousands of PS3 systems. It gives fuel to the X-bots who are fairly bare in the console exclusive department to make that Xmas PS3 purchase they knew, deep down, they were always likely to make. I am furious at sites like Eurogamer, and Jaffe should have known better being a stalwart of the Playstation "family": signs of jealousy?… Sad if that's the case.
Well said, Dukemz_UK. My sentiments exactly.
I agree with both of your sentiments but I will add the following: If people let a review sway whether or not they get a proven and excellent franchise game, well, they don't deserve to be playing the game in the first place.
I am getting this game D1 whether Eurogamer gives it a 2 or a 10. The only people that I think would be swayed are those that haven't played the 1st 2 games, therefore, they shouldn't be looking at the 3rd game until they play the first 2. Just my 2 cents.
Uncharted IS way too easy, even on hard mode, but that's not what makes it good. It wouldn't be as good as a movie, but it also wouldn't be much of a game without the cinematic elements. I remember watching FMVs in Final Fantasy VIII and thinking it was more like a silent film (which I love) than Hollywood cinema. It felt completely and utterly like an RPG game, though, and not a movie. That game also happened to be way too easy too 😛
There's a place for hard games – and a good challenge is getting really hard to find on the current gen – but in order to get the money to make such a great game, it has to be easy enough for anyone.
Back in the NES days a developer could toss out a really hard game like Solstice or Blaster Master and everyone loved it. Now hardcore gamers love Dark Souls. It's just that less games are what we'd call "hardcore."
Darks Souls is hard making it very unenjoyable. I'd rather take the new format with the choice of choosing hard difficulty with checkpoints which I usually do instead of the heavy punishment Dark Souls puts on its audience. I loved Demons Souls because it was fair, but too many times…I find Dark Souls just plain unenjoyablel. I usually find myself playing just to prove I can beat this damn thing and maybe thats the point, but at the same time…Dark Souls takes to much time and effort only to end up pissed…lol
I agree that Uncharted on even crushing mode is not as difficult as Demon's Souls or the Ninja Gaidens on Master Ninja Mode, but it is hard enough that it requires you master all the mechanics. So I agree with FM23. Notice how games like Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and Ninja Gaidens are all about the challenge, but are threadbare in story. Uncharted is a very happy medium.
I don't agree with Jaffe here. MGS4 is one of the most cinematic games ever. It also happens to be one of the most worth while games I have ever played.
The game was a blast the whole way though. Even when I sat there for an hour watching a cut-scene or when I was slowly sneaking through grass, ready to choke someone out.
The same applies to other games of its breed like Uncharted, or games more dependent on story like Heavy Rain, which is one of my highlights of this generation.
However I am not saying that a game needs to be cinematic to be good. Portal(1) for example had very little in the way of story (until the very end) and it was an extremely fun game with the combination of a fresh puzzle game and darker humor.
But we all know that these games are meant to be cinematic, so all they're doing is being critical of what this series has always been.
Last edited by FxTales on 10/25/2011 10:06:54 PM
Simple as that.
It's what the game is and should be reviewed as such. Did it achieve what it set out to be? Not criticise it for it's aim. That's like criticising Demon's Souls for what it set out to be….most reviewers awarded this game accordingly, though, and many added "not for everyone" at the end to justify. That isn't happening with Uncharted via some outlets.
Basically, it's still a required taste. I'm not a fan of Uncharted and if i was reviewing on opinion to my tastes, i'd give it a 7 at max for technical innovations alone. But that would be unfair because it didn't set out to be to my tastes and should be marked accordingly.
Last edited by Lotusflow3r on 10/26/2011 8:06:59 AM
I usually always agree with Jaffe, not here though and not personally. This is just my opinion but if the game doesn't drag me in with it's story and cinematics I tend to get bored! The cinematics and narrative is part of what made GoW so good to me and millions of others. So for him to act like it's not an intrigual part of gaming then, I'm curious how TM will turn out. Now I know as well as anyone TM isn't about cinematics at all, it's about car combat, but anytime you create a campaign there needs to be substance, and to me the more the better.
We are not talking about a car combat game though, this isn't Madden, or Tony Hawk, or Need for Speed, even MK. This is Uncharted. This is what the GAME does best and far beyond what any other game does, to knock it because it's better than the rest at something, especially something so important to the series is absolutely NOT "intelligently criticized." sorry Jaffe I can't back you on this one!
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 10/25/2011 10:16:10 PM
I agree. Like sirbob6 said, portal wasn't cinematic but to be honest, what kept me going was wanting to hear more GLaDOS dialogue after each puzzle.
I love this…
God forbid developers attempt a narrative beyond "you are the last survivor in a wasteland now there will be no more story until the final boss."
Just because they make a game with a GOOD story and GOOD mocap actors doesn't mean they are making a movie.
Looking at you Dark Souls
I, for one, liked the way Eurogamer's review was written. But it focused too much on the game looking less like a game, and more like an interactive movie. It didn't touch upon gameplay mechanics, sound, etc. Their analysis is very good, and criticisms/flaws(especially how killing one enemy stealthily alerts all guards of the area, which I've also seen in many gameplay videos. That just kills the realistic feel that the game has for the most part) are genuine. However, Uncharted 3 is MEANT to be like interactive cinema, with non-stop over the top sequences. I guess they added multiplayer to fill in the gamey(Jaffe's word) stuffs. Though, I don't play online, U3's multiplayer seems awesome, and I think I'll play it a lot after the campaign ends. But for those that don't want the multiplayer, the title is indeed open to criticisms.
Jaffe is correct that reviews that don't give any criticisms are the ones that are controversial. I was excited at first to know that IGN gave U3 a 10/10, but the reveiver looked more like a blind mark for Uncharted in his video review. He just vaguely praised the game in every sentence without even describing how the game plays. I praise Eurogamer for being honest to what they think, and not get caught up in the hype wind.
GOod topic discussion. I haven't read the Eurogamer review, and I probably wont, but I have thought on the cinematic vs game play thing myself. Cinematic scenes are usually tied directly to story telling. I think if a game rides on a cinematic narrative in linear system of progression, then the game does adhere to a track in which the story rolls. It seemingly has to in order to tell an effective "movie-like" story. Uncharted has always been a very movie'esque game. The developers don't deny that, and it's their goal to deliver an experience like that. I don't think any product that a developer makes should be caste into a critic's perspective of how a game ought to be, as this Eurogamer apparently has.
I think the Uncharted series is a top of their class production by way of fulfilling the measure of it's purpose with excellence.
Naughty Dog's efforts with Uncharted 2 pinned the scope of it's design down to a tee. If every developer could recognize the design of their game as Naughty Dog can, whether it be open world, game'playish, competitive, or not, and to execute it with as much exacting proficiency in every tangible sense of the medium as Naughty Dog has, I think most games would benefit. I definitely don't think there should be a cookie-cutter approach to games by way of play design. THere's enough room for gamers of all interests in this market to find and treasure something like Dark Souls, Gran Turismo, or Madden, but I think every game could benefit from holding themselves to a standard of excellence as Naughty Dog clearly does, and is an 8 representative of that excellence? I haven't played U3, but it certainly wouldn't have been fitting for U2 to bear a score that places itself on par with the majority of other games on the market.
Even though I don't like UC3 getting 8's I must say Eurogamer didn't come off to bias. They praised the game and all that good stuff. It got me curious to see if they were being bias so I went back and looked at there Blops score which also received an 8. Blops is also very cinematic in nature so I used that as a reference. Although I do believe that they should have given UC3 at least an 8.5 by there standards. They were critical of the gameplay and if they didn't want to lose some credibility they should scored UC3 higher than COD because even if they believe the gameplay is stale it is a lot more varied than COD.
Last edited by PasteNuggs on 10/25/2011 10:24:42 PM
I understand what the reviewer is saying and what Jaffe is saying. But it doesn't make it less of a game, it makes it more of an experience. It is evolving games from simply being games into interactive entertainment the way that Metal Gear Solid and Heavy Rain have also done.
Naughty Dog has taken what Hideo Kojima pioneered and are making their own cinematic masterpiece that is part game, part film to raise the level of interaction within the game to create what isn't a game, but to create what is the ultimate entertainment experience that is not defined by game or movie, but is its own thing.
MGS, HR and Uncharted are the only series (or games in Heavy Rain's instance) where I feel like the line between cinema and game has been blown to pieces. Maybe they aren't games in the traditional sense, but is that really such a bad thing? Is is such a bad thing that people want to make real characters, and stories that dictate the game design that heightens the game experience with its emotional presentation, that translates to amazing action?
I get that they may not be games in the traditional sense, but fu** anyone for saying that's a bad thing, because quite frankly, taking chances and evolving an art form, and taking it in a new direction, is anything but a bad thing.
I agree, BUT the problem is that it's being favoured over traditional playing games (you can still innovate with just that) and it's moving games into something else that also exists and thus erasing the unique media we call video games.
I said i agree because as you said, it's creating it's own unique thing and it's a beautiful thing.
The problem lays within how much they ignore the traditional for it.
You can still be cinematic whilst maintaining the traditional video game foundations. The original MGS games did this, early Silent Hills did this or Final Fantasy.
Silent Hill 2 is renowned for having the most intelligent plot in game history and it's not akin to a Heavy Rain, but still a traditional video game.
It seems David Jaffe could use some back up, but he won't get it from me. I haven't read Eurogamer's review, but I do believe gamers went off on them for what they perceived to be a disservice to a very talented game developer.
In my opinion, it's no more or less of a game, whether it has cinematics or not, as long as I can interact with it. It's up to the developer to make the experience worthwhile.
Off topic: Seems weird that MS is spell checking my use of the word cinematics and it's something their DVD games can't handle a lot of.
First and foremost, I don't read reviews for games from many websites. When I do, I read them for what 99% of them are. Reviews require some level of opinion. This opinion, you see, varies and shouldn't reflect on the games factual structure, gameplay and storyline, etc.. This opinion means nothing to me, since I know my taste always differs from modern day critics and gamers alike. This opinion has absolutely NO place in the overall score a game deserves. It's not much different than Gamespots' 9.0 review, whereas Batman's AC saw a higher score. How can you tell me this is a well-balanced review and score when you pull something like that off? Don't get me wrong, Bats is awesome, but it doesn't do anything new for me. Personally, I think Assassin's Creed 2 did more for my gaming hunger than AC did. And that, my friends, is the main reason someone else's made up numbers mean zilch to me.
That said, these types of games are a new genre. The Uncharted series has incorperated multiple genres of gaming, most evident are the shooter and platformer. So, in my opinion, there wasn't a formula to be followed/compared form the get-go. Toss in the cinematic story into the mix and we're further from having a gaming formulat to abide by it. This is a new genre of gaming altogether, as far as I'm concerned, and there hasn't be a meaningful competitor to measure the Uncharted series' greatness to.
What Naughty Dog does with this game changes everything. Storyline DOES matter, regardless of how much you try to avoid it. What you get to observe instead of play throughout the game (most of the environmental changes occur during cutscenes) barely give you enough time to revamp your guessimated tactics for your next move. It's like strategy with a very short wick in most cases.
Do I walk away with less? Absolutely NOT. As with the first two games, I walked away with far more interest and satisfaction than watching a movie and an unmatched level of gaming that nothing else can remotely offer to cure my hunger.
Totally agree. Like Arnold mentioned in his review, there are moments of cinema in Uncharted that even Hollywood is not capable of replicating. Those are the moments of banter, or even monologue of Drake talking to himself, Moments that are typical of only live theatre, or even real life, when you are with your friends or by yourself.
I think the thing is, Uncharted is a fusion of game and film. It's certainly not a bad thing. We can look at Super Metroid and say, "That's game storytelling," or we can look at Final Fantasy Whatever and say, "That's film-like storytelling in a game." Uncharted is a game built around film-like storytelling, and criticizing it for being that doesn't make sense. I'd be mad if Samus Aran started cracking one-liners while facing off against Mother Brain, but it's right with Nathan Drake.
Temjin, Twisted, i couldn't agree with you more.
Making a game more cinematic is a bad thing? They are going to knock a game for accomplishing exactly what it set out to do and for doing it exceedingly well?
Seems silly to me. It really seems like they are going against the grain just to go against the grain.
I remember playing DMC4 and thinking that the action sequences in the beginning with Dante and Nero were incredible. I remember thinking that Capcom could teach Hollywood a thing or two about cinematic action sequences and camera angles!
While I considered the story itself in DMC4 as only being good (as opposed to stellar), those cinematic action sequences were both imaginative and technically impressive.
Personally, I am more of a person that likes single player campaigns, so for me a good story is absolutely essential for me to keep interested in the game.
Some people knocked MGS4 for it's cinematics. Was it a good story though? Yes. And the gameplay was exceptional.
Good story = staying interested
Good gameplay = wanting to continue playing
Good gameplay + good story = A fantastic experience! – one that has really captured me and something I think about even when I'm not playing.
If gamers are complaining that that's a bad thing, then I feel sad for the future of gaming. Do they expect the industry to thrive on FPS multiplayer clones, maddens, and generic action games with no substance? They've already killed the JRPG, don't kill our action games with great, exciting, cinematic stories as well.
Agreed. It seems like that's where the industry wants to go. It seems as if they just want to shove out, casual or short campaign FPS at us. Don't kill our story and cinematic driven action/adventures!!!!
DemonNeno, Tes, I agree 110%.
Jaffe recently expressed his "disdain" for storyline in a PAX panel earlier this year, yet supposedly most major characters in the new Twisted Metal will have some sort of backstory…. What gives Mr. Jaffe?
His comment and the Eurogamer review seem to be ignorant of Uncharted's integrated cinematic narrative. I hardly think this removes from the game experience; it's still ME shooting the hordes of baddies, climbing walls, solving puzzles, and stumbling when the environment goes to hell. The parts where the game removes control places me in a position where I can care more about the characters and the story that unfolds. That experience is memorable, and I can't say I've ever cared that way for any of Jaffe's games.
This is one of the rare times I don't necessarily agree with Jaffe. The Uncharted games have always been cinematic, so I can't understand why people are still "complaining" about its nature even if it's now on its third iteration.
As a gamer who played the first two games, I never felt the "experience" stepping over the "play". It's exactly that experience that drives me to play the game. I don't see myself finishing the games several times if I did not enjoy the characters and the stories being told. If I want a non-cinematic game, then I won't turn to Uncharted for that.
Like what I mentioned on another post, I don't care if someone gives the game a 7/10 if it is fully warranted, but expecting non-stop action from a game that is obviously cinematic from its conception is just beyond stupid. It's like expecting a Lady Gaga song from an Andrea Bocelli album.
Last edited by ZettaiSeigi on 10/26/2011 12:28:20 AM
as for this eurogamer review…it is a well written review. it has a lot of praise for uc3 but says it commits the cardinal sin of giving you the illusion you are in control while pulling you from set piece to set piece.
okay eurogamer seems to think uc3 might be suffering from a case of linearitis(alienage's term). i can understand that some people might have a problem with very linear games. i have had similar experiences with games that i thought were on rails so to speak. kz3's sp campign was so on rails that it was almost torture to replay it. i really dislike tiny little levels with only one way to go through. i think that is just lazy game design.
i just read eurogamer's review again and i don't have a problem with it. the quality of the review is good and it had a lot of great insights. the review actually made me more inclined to buy the game for some reason.
i will be very interested to see how this game performs. how many copies will it sell? i seem to remember uc2's sales were sluggish at first even though it had great scores.
Why do you base a games success on sales? I don't care if I'm the only person to buy Uncharted 3 (obviously I'm not), if it's good it's good!
Don't act like you don't either you always use it as a comparison… Always!
Honestly the sales probably won't be huge especially at first, considering it's right in-between two of the biggest shooters of the year.
@Excelsior1 Oh you bet they're going to sell quite a few of this bad boy 😉
Last edited by godsdream on 10/26/2011 1:10:50 AM
@godsdream: Quoting Jack Tretton, eh? Haha!
@ZettaiSeigi you got me ;b
@godsdream
ha! jack trenton's qoute. i expect uc3 to do well. i would love to see uc3 light up the charts. bigrailer…you make a good point about uc3 being between 2 big shooters. there is also elder scrolls on 11/11. the batman game seems to be doing well. the competition is stiff but surely uc3 can manage to sell a million copies in a week, right? it has a good meta score. this gets me thinking about release dates and competition.
I like a lot this cinematic things in games. I started loving this kind of stuff since my days with final fantasy series. I didn't get bothered at all watching a 30 minute movie in MGS4 and I loved that game. I said in other article that this kind of things makes a game feel special when you play it, at least for me.
But the thing is, uncharted also has the most enjoyable gameplay. It's probably the most refined TPS you will find in terms of shooting mechanics and movement, not to mention the jumping (which is tottaly removed in some games >:S). Naughty Dog are just trying to create a cinematic enviroment, then jump you INTO it, to yes, play it. People are just over-exagerating if they say that uncharted is more of a movie than a game- They said that about MGS4 too. I do think Jaffe has a point, but not once this generation (or any) have I sat back and said "that's practically a movie".
Okay SOME of the set-pieces give you limted control, but these scenarios would be no-where near as good without this. Most games wouldn't attempt it even with limted control, because its so hard to do (moving objects ON a moving object), and would sacrifice with a cutscene instead. So if you look at it that way, ND are actually striving to NOT take away control from the player and keep the continuity.
In my honest opinion, Uncharted is more of a GAME than any other. You can do things in multiplayer (jump off things making a quick escape, climbing back up and dragging them off) that you can't do in any another game.
But that's the point of Uncharted!!! It's the whole point of the whole freakin' series!!!
It was designed to be a cinematic experience!! It was designed to be tightly controlled with triggers for cutscenes or the next action setpiece!!
That doesn't mean it is a flaw. It is simply a design choice. Naughty Dog clearly did it well, but if you want a more open or choice driven game, play GTA, or Heavy Rain, or Mass Effect.
If you want a game that feels like an Indiana Jones Adventure that you're watching for the first time at the cinemas, Uncharted is perfect for that. Yes, it is scripted, but aren't all games these days?
Last time a developer tried to do a live game that designed around the player's actions was too much of a strain on the animators and production team. 😛 (related to a Simpsons quote)
I read the Eurogamer review, and I'm still annoyed by it. Sure, they offered praise for the game, as they rightly should have, but their criticisms are simply off-point. They should NOT be attacking a game for doing exactly what it sets out to do, as opposed to what the reviewer thinks that a game should be. That being said, yes it was a well written article, but the complaints within it should have been addressed in an editorial.
As for Jaffe, to each their own. As he says, it's big boy writing, but not fit for a review.
As for cinema making a game less of a game… well, no. The gaming industry is expanding to offer a much broader range of experiences. This comes from DL titles, episodic gaming, Minis, pure action, role playing, thought-provoking, and oh yes, cinematic gaming. Certainly, we don't need extremely deep, engaging stories in games, but I, for one, am glad that we have them, and when it is tied into the gameplay, as it is in Heavy Rain, and somewhat so in Uncharted, then it only allows for near perfection.
Well said my Aussie comrade.
8/10 is a good score imo & regular Eurogamer readers (that use to be me) wouldn't be too surprised by this outcome considering Eurogamer often like to play the shady outsider readers source by handing out controversial scores to big name games (Red Dead Redemption, Gears of War & MGS4 got 8/10 scores too), I know it's just their opinion but it happens too regular imo, whether it's for site hits or to be "edgy" who knows. Either way it doesn't bother me too much as i play games myself & only read some reviews to see what others say about the same game i am interested in. It never ever has a final bearing on my buying decision, but i still enjoy the read nonetheless.
I use to be a regular reader over there & although they do have some interesting opinions i started to lose interest when most of their reviews read like previews & alot of reviews themselves never matched the final scores given, for example some 7/10 rated games read like 9/10 games. Imo, they're starting to become as irrelevent to me as GamesTM & Edge magazine.
On the cinema issue, i still hear some lads calling MGS4 a great movie, that "criticism" isn't as cute anymore & i find it a shame that people can't appreciate the vision of a mastermind developer instead of dismissing it as "an interactive movie lolz!1!1!".
Personally, some of my most favourite games are of a high cinematic nature (MGS, Heavy Rain & Uncharted)& these are the most enjoyable games i have played in years, so in that regard i say keep the cinematic gaming coming, the more the better i reckon.
Last edited by Kevin555 on 10/26/2011 4:14:25 AM
This was an mature (and in my opinion, correct) way of reading the Eurogamer review. All creds to Jaffe for this.
One must be allowed to have a different perspective on things without getting killed by the lynch mob. One must be allowed to disagree with the majority without being labelled "attention seeker" or "idiot".
Editorial comments based on opinion do not belong in an objective review. The ideas and thoughts are useful, yes, but they should not factor into the review. Jaffe himself said there is nothing bash worthy in the review.
Go to his blog and read Mike G's comment. It's a fantastic point. (I made one as well. Kraaft is what I went by)
Last edited by Underdog15 on 10/26/2011 9:15:06 AM
Beam-
You make a good point everyone should be able to say what they feel. But it can't be opinionated in a review, like underdog said.
But here's the issue! They are faulting the game for what they all have done better than any other games! And Jaffe is basically saying they were geniuses in the way they criticized the game, when the literally faulted it for doing what the game excels at! GoW was very cinematic in ways also, and that's why I like the games, and for Jaffe to act and say this, when his very own production included it, is pretty lame.
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 10/26/2011 12:01:24 PM
You need to read the blog, Big. He himself is drawing a comparison with GoW.
Excerpt: "(like they claim Uncharted 3 is and like- by my own admission- GOD OF WAR 1 is***) is wonderfully thought out and presented"…
Go read it. It's an interesting post.
Last edited by Beamboom on 10/26/2011 12:18:32 PM
I've read it. But the first God of War game isn't his only God of War game. GoW is good, but it certainly doesn't have a much deeper gameplay mechanic. I think he mentions GoW just to give himself legitimacy.
By admission, I do much the same thing in many of my posts.
(See what I did there?)