Games Beaten 2015

[dsheinem]

You are the one who brought Metacritic into it and couched the site as a place where one might find "dissent" from the prevailing view about the game.

Yes, to display individual opinions represented as quotes. That's what I did. Not to show a mass score and say the whole world loves it so it must be good. That's what you did.

But those quotes come from reviews that were on the whole very positive about the game.

You quoted...they scored the game:

Games Radar...87
GameShark...86
Cloudchaser...85
Next Generation Magazine...80
IGN...91
Nintendophiles...90
GameCube Europe...92
Eurogamer...90
GamePen...80
Total Video games...90

In most cases these publications note the challenge is ultimately a good thing and that the mechanics of gameplay are outstanding. You even went out of your way to exclude positive bits of the review summaries you quoted. For example, you quoted IGN as:

There are a few issues with a still unpolished camera scheme and unrefined ship physics. -IGN

but the full quote was:

Quite possibly the most beautiful title we've seen on any home console...There are a few issues with a still unpolished camera scheme and unrefined ship physics. But in the end the play experience is damn near great, if a little short.

Or, in another example, you left the line in the Nintenophiles review that said " The game plays perfectly, just like the original" out of your snippet.

It just seems to me that, to support your own view of the game as not being a bit of an anomaly, you cherry picked one negative part of what were otherwise glowing reviews. Along the way, you misrepresented the tenor of the reviews you selected, almost all of which were exceedingly positive. Beyond that, you also picked almost entirely quotes from the relatively few publications that didn't give the game a 90 or above.

I don't think that review scores or critical acclaim is the end-all be-all of how we can judge the merits of a game...but if you want to bring those into the discussion (which you clearly did), you need to do so a bit more honestly.

[Exhuminator]

Along the way, you misrepresented the tenor of the reviews you selected, almost all of which were exceedingly positive.

Nah. I only quoted actual statements authors wrote of their own accord. I did not alter a single word. From that point the take away tone was totally up to the reader. If you read enough game reviews you'll see that often the score of the review and the underlying message of the review are different animals.

I don't think that review scores or critical acclaim is the end-all be-all of how we can judge the merits of a game...but if you want to bring those into the discussion (which you clearly did), you need to do so a bit more honestly.

One more time, I did not bring scores into this equation. You did:

Metacritic's score for the game is a 90. Of the 45 reviews, only 14 gave it less than a 90. Only 2 gave it less than an 80. That's what they call "universal acclaim".

[dsheinem]

If you read enough game reviews

Ah, I didn't realize that the problem was with me not reading enough.

Even if we remove scores from the equation, you still were invested in using game reviews to support your claim. You said:

Don't just take my dissent for it guys. Here are some quotes from gaming media during the time of release

...and then found reviews with the "lower" scores, picked out the choice sentence that supported your "dissent", and ignored the rest of the typically very positive reviews.

[Exhuminator]

and then found reviews with the "lower" scores, picked out the choice sentence that supported your "dissent", and ignored the rest of the typically very positive reviews.

That's how investigative journalism works dude.


Anyway, it's a shit game really.

[elricorico]

1. Fatal Fury (GEN)
2. DuckTales Remastered (WiiU)
3. Final Fantasy IV (PSP)
4. Journey (PS3)
5. The Legend of Zelda - A Link Between Worlds (3DS)

6. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)

My 3DS has been getting a lot of love over the last six months or so. Last night I saved the princess in Super Mario 3D Land.

I played Super Mario 3D World on the Wii U first and loved it, leading me to pick this up a while back. The first third of the game I was frequently thinking that I was going to end up disappointed, as the stages didn't feel as well put together and fleshed out as they do in the WiiU game. The last third of the game made up for it as the stages got more and more interesting and the challenge started to make it more engaging.

Playing in the 3D space can still be a bit awkward, and I really needed to train myself to watch Mario's shadow to make accurate jumps. Luckily many of the more difficult spots play more 2.5D than 3D.

In the end I thought that this game was nearly as good as the Wii U entry. A little uneven at times, but overall very enjoyable. I haven't tested the waters on the extra levels yet(I don't consider myself to be all that good at these and challenge stages rarely hold my interest long), but I'll probably give them a try before taking the cart out to make room for the next 3DS game.

[Exhuminator]

I haven't tested the waters on the extra levels yet

There's some cool extra content and assets in the Special Worlds you won't see otherwise, so give it a shot. Personally I found the Special Worlds to be the real meat of the game. I finished all of them and enjoyed the challenge in comparison to the original levels which were fun but way too easy.

[Opa Opa]

Rogue Squadron 2 was probably Factor 5's greatest achievement.

I don't know how it's "ridiculously unfair"; it played pretty much like the last game wherein you had to replay levels to memorize enemy patterns, stage layout, and just plain "get gud".

Sorry to see that you didn't like it.

[Exhuminator]

Super Turrican 2 was probably Factor 5's greatest achievement.

FTFY

[MrPopo]

Super Turrican 2 was probably Factor 5's greatest achievement.

FTFY

Factor 5 is riding high making Star Wars games.

Then they make Lair and the studio gets killed.

[Opa Opa]

Lair had other problems than not being a Star Wars game.