Ben-DutkaIt probably isn't true but consider this for a moment.
I was recently asking myself if critics should issue new Grand Theft Auto V reviews based on Grand Theft Auto Online . Should they amend the original scores after taking GTAO into account? Should GTAO receive an entirely separate score?
Then a thought struck me:
Rockstar warned everyone well ahead of time that the online portion of GTAV would have significant "growing pains." They knew it would happen; they were prepared for it, which is probably part of the reason they responded so quickly to the multiple issues. I often wondered why the online part came out two weeks after the single-player campaign; at first, I just assumed it was due to a lack of time. But really, what does two weeks get you? I think it's possible that Rockstar may have held back GTAO on purpose, knowing that the issues it faced could – and likely would – have a negative impact on the overall GTAV scores.
I mean, I seriously doubt they expected many critics to award GTAV less than a 9 and of course, they didn't. It was averaging about 97% during those two weeks before GTAO launched and that undoubtedly helped spur the game's record-breaking sales performance. Granted, it would've sold like mad, anyway, but super high scores always help, especially if they're historic high scores. And it's not out of the realm of possibility that the developers knew what might happen if GTAO launched alongside GTAV. Not only would it take a little longer for scores to hit the Internet, but the overall scores would likely have been a bit lower. Maybe a lot lower.
Look at some of the separate GTAO scores thus far. They're much different, aren't they? Obviously, as time goes on and Rockstar continues to fix all the major issues, the multiplayer segment will just get better and better. But right off the bat, it wasn't going to work quite right. It just wasn't. So, I believe there's a chance that the two-week grace period was intentional and coldly calculated…what say you?
Related Game(s): Grand Theft Auto V, Grand Theft Auto Online
If they did it worked out well and the practice could catch on. MP needs its own score, it's just a whole other set of complications to try to roll into a single review and at some point when the online is really huge you are basically doing 1 review of 2 games.
Well, not interested in GTA but the smart move would be to treat and score single player and multiplayer separately. Especially if they are coming across as totally individual games.
Trophies and achievements should be treated this way as well.
I think they were smart in the end. They fans are not going away. They are waiting so it seems to not have hurt them that way.
Keep playing.
Either way, GTA V is great and the online can be quite addicting. Maybe they should be looked at separately. Aren't there rumblings that GTAO maybe its own thing in the future?
What Rockstar did with the online portion of GTAV doesn't trouble me one bit. What does however, is the fact they got away with it. Bethesda got away with "it" with Skyrim right?
I am extremely confident in stating that if this stunt was done by a lesser title, those 9's would have disappeared across the board under a flag of "just looking out for the gamer" style of reviews.
How do I know this? A simple look at the past is all that is necessary really. So called "journalists" took every mole hill in Gran Turismo 5 and turned it into a mountain. This same type of approach will be duplicated with Gran Turismo 6 in a few months as well.
All of this is why I have repeatedly called for a governing agency to set forth guidelines and protocols to ensure professionalism is carried across the board. Not all websites are as genuine as PSXE afterall. 🙂
But you have to remember, while GT5 was a great simulator the game featured many flaws (online included). I loved GT5, but the premium/standard car thing, the engine sounds, the unlively AI in races, the underwhelming single player portion, and other issues all plagued this game upon release. Let me repeat…I love GT5. But I agree, critics tried so hard to tear down a game that offers one singular experience no other race car game on PS3 offered. It's politics really.
As for GTA5, the online portion is very underwhelming in my opinion compared to the actual single player. But I really couldn't find any real flaw with the single player. The online portion feels like its own game thus I think that justifies the separate scores. IDK. Who cares right MAX…play what we like.
And Skyrim…definitely gotta a pass with those bugs.
There is a lot of biast in the game industry as well as in the community. If game meets peoples tastes they will cherish it and defend it, with all its flaws and such. If they do not like a genre of game and are afraid others are praising it… they pounce and trash it. Many, and I mean many never having played the game.
If they just would say, not my kind of game but I hope others like it if its their thing.. that would be fine. Nope, its called the gaming community and whether we like it or not.. it stinks of gaming politics. And I am not talking government. I am talking about those who keep trying to tell us WHAT IS A GAME and if it does not meet there criteria, trash it and it sucks.
Beginning to realize the gaming community is harsher on its own community than government it. It actually tries to beat submission to make people like and hate games and tell them whether they are playing a game or not. Like there is a power struggle to control the gaming world. Sheesh. I thought this was entertainment and with it, a choice of what you would like to play.
Keep playing what you like!
You raise a good question Ben, but I don't think they were ever really ready for the online portion. Look at how they slowly released the trailers and never truly showed off the online portion till the game almost released.
So to rap my opinion up I think the online wasn't ready and they already set the date for the game and decided to ship without it.
Sorry I misspelled rap. Wrap* it's hard to get it all right on a phone.
Everyone complains that they held off on GTAONLINE for better scores. They held off because it wasn't ready. Two weeks later it still wasn't ready. The only alternative was delay the whole game an you would have a group complaining about that. Fact is single player deserved those scores. Multiplayer now that its working deserves those scores.
i just read something cool. it seems that if you take your map that you got with the special edition of the game and put it under a black light there is a special message. i have to go get a black light now
Ive been saying this since it released and heres the deal. Regardless of what their intentions were it worked. But the problem here is that the mp portion just wasn't ready to be released. Yet GTA is getting a pass. It shows how immature and unprofessional the industry really is.
after seeing the state it launched in how can you ask such a stupid question!?
it launched later because it was not ready to be launched the same time as the campaign.
im really good friends with the manager at my local EB and he was saying a few key EB staff were given access to the beta even before the campaign released and it was a f*cking mess!
2 weeks wont buy them anytime to make things better. Not a stupid question.
oh bullshit!
2 weeks is plenty of time to make changes.
Or maybe Rockstar just wanted the players to finish or enjoy the single player campaign for two weeks before letting them dive into the multiplayer. Just maybe. Haha.
Offline GTAV by itself is enough of a stand alone game that it shouldn't warrant the need for a online portion. It's great that it got one, but doesn't distract my impressions of an otherwise great single player game.
I believe the same way with "The Last of Us" too. I believe many of it's review scores were made without the reviewers having access to the online portion of the game. That game was enough of a masterpiece that really the online portion of the game wasn't needed.