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Masseffect Reviews (self.Games)

ntime60 が 投稿

I've been watching the major outlets salivate all over Masseffect Andromeda (ME:A). Now RPS comes out to say it sucks. My bet is the truth is somewhere in between.

A certain reporter with Kotaku is well know for writing fluffy pieces. Which brings me to the root of this.

You may ask yourself what happened to all the gaming reviews you can trust. Simply money. Money is the root of all evil. The majority of established gaming rags will not write anything bad about any software title or development house for fear of not getting a preview and a free trip to play land on the next game release.

It's sad but true. I've been there and done that, can't/won't do it anymore.

I'm one of those older gamers, probably ancient by most standards. I expect things like deep game play before fluff er eye candy, graphics. I expect my games to be reasonably free of bugs and without a day 1 patch. We as gamers should be entitled to those basics.

I played ME, ME2 and yes ME3. I could not be more turned off by the ending of ME3, I promptly uninstalled it and never looked back. I've been watching ME:A develop along with the hype train. As much as I said I wasn't going to pre-order ME:A, I did.

My reasoning was simple, I watched enough actual game play from a couple that streamed the preview, that I think I'll like it. Honestly I've always liked Bioware games, all of them and especially Pre EA buyout. I was seriously concerned until I finally played DA:I. The game is great, or maybe I'm easily entertained, the but the fact is, for me, I liked it.

What originally pissed me off with ME3 was all the broken promises leading up to ME3. How the choices you make will affect the end game. After all they did a good job of that in ME > ME2, why should we have doubted it? And then the day happened, it really didn't matter what our choices were the end was the same for everyone...WTF!!!

So, after seeing these two reviews we have one that constantly glows and one that doesn't like Bioware's style of games. The truth is somewhere in between. I am reasonably sure I'll like it. Why? because it will fit my play style. Is it going to be for everyone? Nope and nor should it be.

So whose with me? Waht will our ME:A story be? Overwhelmed or Hated?

We all know all the pro-gaming rags no longer publish anything honest.

Come back to this thread and let's do a review after the weekend and share notes for others to see. Whatcha think?

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[–]AlbinoJerk [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

All mass effect review being pushed are fake news so sad.

If you are an older gamer (like me) then you should not be going to criticism of anything and expect some objective truth. There are product reviewers out there that strive for objective evaluations of quantifiable stuff, but would that really tell you if you would like something or not? A game isn't a radio. There are so many creative choices that can be taken during development, and all of them are going to delight or disgust people.

You need to find games writers you like, learn their tastes, then judge for yourself. With all the people I follow, I can read a negative review and tell that I probably will like it more than they did (or vice versa). If you think that games journalism/criticism hasn't improved, than you have insane blinders for the old print days. Just because you don't know how to navigate the landscape and can't understand varying tastes for yourself, it doesn't mean the system's broken.

Repeatedly declaring that all media are shills doesn't actually prove anything. Consumer press is always going to have to nurture a relationship with publishers/manufacturers. It is how the industry works, it is how it always has worked, and it is the only way you get information that is valuable for purchasing decisions, especially if you are an early adopter.

[–]enigmatikone [スコア非表示]  (11子コメント)

Why rely on reviews at all?

The game is being streamed on Twitch right now. In a few hours people with EA Access will be able to play ten hours of the game.

Watch it, play it, make up your own mind.

[–]Lobster_Science [スコア非表示]  (3子コメント)

A good review is meant to be holistic. An assessment of the whole product. They're a lot more useful than just watching how the game begins. What if the ending sucks again? Can't see that in a Twitch live stream.

[–]Gummy_Venus [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

A good review is meant to be holistic. An assessment of the whole product.

Yes and no. I think the bigger outlets will stick to this approach, but I would also like to keep in mind that gaming criticism can be about more than analyzing the sum of a game's parts. I think more and more reviewers/critics are putting their own subjectivity into their reviews, and I think that is a good thing that should be welcome. Games are more nuanced than just being objectively "good" or "bad" and different aspects will appeal to different people for different reasons. So while they will be giving a holistic review, it's still cool if they deviate from the consensus.

(sorry, not arguing with you per se - I've just seen too many people yelling for "objective reviews" lately and wanted to rant for a second)

[–]enigmatikone [スコア非表示]  (1子コメント)

They're a lot more useful than just watching how the game begins.

Ten hours of EA access is a really good way to get a feel for whether the game will appeal to you or not. Maybe you've heard of this thing called a 'demo'?

What if the ending sucks again?

You expect a review to give away the ending?

[–]Lobster_Science [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

Demo? Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time...

You expect a review to give away the ending?

Of course not but a review can certainly touch on story, pacing, pay off, etc. Any review of a story based game should comment on whether or not the developers pulled it off.

[–]ntime60[S] [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

I don't want to see too much spoiled. I will most likely get the demo down when it is available. The preload comes Friday, or so says Origin.

[–]Delsana [スコア非表示]  (5子コメント)

I mean it's on youtube too, pretty sure what I've seen is what I'd play.

I Like Video Game Sophistry.

[–]enigmatikone [スコア非表示]  (3子コメント)

I enjoy watching reviewers like ACG. I value his opinion, even if I don't always agree with him. Not sure I'd accuse him of sophism.

[–]Delsana [スコア非表示]  (2子コメント)

Video Game Sophistry is an actual channel.

[–]enigmatikone [スコア非表示]  (1子コメント)

lmao

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll have to check it out.

edit: that channel is a gold mine

[–]Delsana [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

I like Letalis as well. I use them usually for my game playthroughs, a few others too. Like I'm not going to actually play Sonic and the Black Knight but I do want to know the story since I love sonic. So I look for a playthroughw ith no commentary.

[–]wrath__ [スコア非表示]  (7子コメント)

I think ME:A will be a perfectly adequate game, overshadowed by so many amazing games. Zelda, Horizon, Nier, Persona 5 all releasing within two months of ME:A will sour ME in enthusiasts' and critics' minds.

However I bet it sells better than any of those games.

[–]Radulno [スコア非表示]  (1子コメント)

I don't know. For me, Mass Effect already gain massive points on all of them because the setting is way better. There is not enough space opera in games.

[–]wrath__ [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

Very true, the Mass Effect universe is as equally compelling as any other sci-fi universe imo.

[–]deanpmorrison [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

PC/Xbone gamers without access to Zelda and Horizon won't have to worry about overshadowing, but you may be right. It's a pretty stacked month.

[–]ntime60[S] [スコア非表示]  (2子コメント)

I pre-ordered when I said I wouldn't, but after seeing the first 15 minutes of real game play I was sold.

[–]wrath__ [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

I'm hoping it does well, I used to be a huge Bioware fan, so I'm hoping they kind of rekindle the magic I used to feel from their games

[–]Khanstant [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

I don't get it, why order based on 15 minutes of promo footage?

[–]Delsana [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

Let's not classify things as amazing before they're fully out in America long enough, plus japanese rpgs are always niche games so they usually get inflated reviews either up or down.

[–]Lobster_Science [スコア非表示]  (8子コメント)

You may ask yourself what happened to all the gaming reviews you can trust. Simply money. Money is the root of all evil. The majority of established gaming rags will not write anything bad about any software title or development house for fear of not getting a preview and a free trip to play land on the next game release.

This again. Is it just me or are these paranoid comments getting more prevalent on Reddit?

Big sites intentionally keeps editorial and marketing separate, so that there aren't these kinds of interference or influence going on.

If you really believe that journalists/critics are being bought off, why hasn't anyone come forth yet? Why hasn't anybody on both sides come forth and said anything about how reviews are bought and paid for?

When Jeff Gerstman was fired from Gamespot why didn't he reveal the truth of all the bags of money they got? When Greg Miller and Colin Moriarty left IGN why didn't the reveal all the stories of corruption when they went private? Why hasn't any of the "Press Sneak Fucks" from Kotaku uncovered the seedy underbelly of the media yet? Are they all in on it?

Is this like the fake moon landings where we are to believe that hundreds, if not thousands, of people in the media and in marketing, are all working together to cover up this conspiracy? Why hasn't anyone spilled the beans? Are they afraid of persecution? Surely they could write a book and get rich off of it? Are they afraid? Do you think the video game illuminati kills or replaces the journalists who wont write fake reviews for money? Or is it just that you believe that all people are corrupt and have no morals and as such nobody would object to being paid to lie about video games?

[–]Gummy_Venus [スコア非表示]  (2子コメント)

This again. Is it just me or are these paranoid comments getting more prevalent on Reddit?

I feel it too. There seems to be more and more of an effort to dismiss any uncomfortable ideas in any way. Calling things "fake news", paid shills, contrarians, click-baiters, etc. All of these things do exist, but their mere existence is not enough to start calling it out left, right, and centre.

[–]Artemis317 [スコア非表示]  (1子コメント)

Misinformation is becoming one of the most powerful political tools of the generation.

Most redditors will just align themselves with what agrees with what they believe regardless of what the real facts are.

[–]Gummy_Venus [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

It really is true that the internet is a battleground. It's places like here on Reddit that millions of young people are forming their worldviews. To dismiss it as "not real life" is a huge mistake. Honestly, all I think we can do it try to call things out and present balance and skepticism wherever possible.

[–]MapleHamwich [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

It's Trumpism at its finest. The same shit he peddles but instead of conspiracies of media and government corruption, it's conspiracles of gami g media corruption. I know it existed before Trump's rise, but its now be legitimized on a government communication level and is thus seeing a rise in all sectors of life. It's the worst.

[–]Delsana [スコア非表示]  (2子コメント)

It's never been "bought off" it's been advertising revenue from having early access before others, developer interviews getting people to look at your channel or site first before others, etc etc. It's promotions and events. It's just conflict of interest. And from big things like the Big 3 or EA and Activision, of course there's far more slack given.

I'd definitely say we all know Kotaku is part of that.

[–]Lobster_Science [スコア非表示]  (1子コメント)

What you describe is a lack of ethics. Something that would damage the sites credibility if it went public.

People talk about these press events, parties, give aways, etc. as though they are an irresistible influence on the reviewers and critics, when in reality, if you listen to podcasts and the like, they are a chore.

It's the social gathering equivalent of paper work. It's stressful, it's boring and often times a waste of time for the people involved.

EDIT: To your comment on Kotaku. You believe Kotaku is in on this? The same site that has been or may still be blacklisted by Ubisoft and Bethesda? That Kotaku? Or are they just pretending to be at odds and in reality they've been fooling us all along?

[–]Delsana [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

Kotaku has always had a sordid history with a lot of users, here and elsewhere. Same with Escapist Magazine, IGN, Gamespot, Game Trailers, Joystiq, and so many others.

It's not really soemthing that'd damage credibility if people think everyone does it so they must not be influenced by it. Advertising revenue and early access benefits go hand in hand.

[–]neogaf_user [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

you are bieng incredible naive. and you are trivializing the entire issue.

does anyone remember when Ubisoft handed out free nexus 7 tablets at a Watch dogs press event? Or how publishers can decide who gets a review code or who doesn't?

what if you dont get your review code? Well, you simply wont get as many clicks. If you arent there day 1, too fucking bad.

Also, with how publishers constantly buy all the ad spaces, do you not think that puts a pressure on the staff? Do you think that having Mass Effect plastered all over your site makes no difference in your review?

the gaming industry has suffered from inflated review scores for a while now. There's so many AAA games out there that got rated extremely high at release, then a while later people (including the critics) talk about these games as if they got 2-3 points lower scores. Hype, advertisment, publisher pressure all play a part in inflated review scores.

[–]deanpmorrison [スコア非表示]  (6子コメント)

I think we may see a lot of 7s and 8s. The RPS article was written by a guy who compared Witcher 3 to eating cardboard and loved the Mass Effect 3 ending, so take that with a grain of salt.

As someone who modded my Mass Effect 3 ending, I don't have any negatives that soured me from the series, and I'm currently playing through and enjoying Dragon Age Inquisition - if Andromeda is at least as good as that, I think I'll enjoy it.

A lot of the negative impressions people are having are related to their dislike of Inquisition, and most of that is related to the fact that they never left the Hinterlands until they were already annoyed by the side quests.

I'd say just go ahead and try and enjoy it! I likely won't be picking it up right away, at least until a PC port report or two come out. Stoked to give it a shot, though.

[–]Gummy_Venus [スコア非表示]  (5子コメント)

What mods are out there for the ME3 ending?

[–]deanpmorrison [スコア非表示]  (4子コメント)

MEHEM - the mass effect happy ending mod. Combine it with the Citadel Epilogue Mod and you're golden.

[–]Gummy_Venus [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

Cool, thanks!

[–]Delsana [スコア非表示]  (2子コメント)

Except you know the fact the game entirely contradicts the established lore.

[–]deanpmorrison [スコア非表示]  (1子コメント)

I fail to see how that's the case - I didn't notice any issues with the lore in my playthrough with the mods.

[–]Delsana [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

... Wow. Ever wonder why you never saw a thanix cannon?

[–]Gummy_Venus [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

I think the release of both of those previews has held a number of interesting nuggets to talk about - specifically with regards to how people are perceiving and responding to them. The conversation we get is always so shallow, because it just turns into a shit-fit between the fanboys and the haters.

What gets me the most is how many people are losing their shit over the RPS impressions article. It's just one person's initial impressions, but 80% of the comments are people just tripping over themselves to discredit the writer, or find any reason to dismiss his point of view. Why is it so hard to just accept an alternate opinion to the one you expect? His dislike of it in no way impacts your own experience. If it does, you have bigger problems than what people think about a video game.

[–]Delsana [スコア非表示]  (0子コメント)

The truth is always somewhere in between. I usually find most games are a six to seven, average to slightly above. It's when love exists in the game and its polish that you start to see something greater.

I mean I use the aggregates people on this sub hate, because I trust user statistics (not individual reviews per se) to coincide with my own thoughts.

I wish I had a successful youtube channel so I could kind of try and combat the over inflation of reviews, but maybe I'd be corrupt because I want more advertising revenue, who knows.