VGC latest 3DO reviews

[Trev]

I've no problems w/Doom getting an F, but considering he gave the original Shockwave a C, I thought the sequel should've got a higher grade.

http://videogamecritic.net/

[sneth]

Shockwave 2 is an A in my book.

With so many games, I'm sure most of these reviews are first impressions.

[Trev]

Yeah, I tend to agree. An approach like that isn't very favorable to 3DO imho, as the console is lacking in 'pick up and play' games' when compared to others. I've always enjoyed the depth that most 3DO games have, but you do need to spend more time w/them to truly appreciate it.

[3DOKid]

Let's all be honest. He's not me is he?

[bitrate]

Crash N Burn is ranked higher than Need For Speed?

I like Crash N Burn too, but a higher grade than Need for Speed???

[3DOKid]

Crash N Burn is ranked higher than Need For Speed?

I like Crash N Burn too, but a higher grade than Need for Speed???

Madness.

[3DOKid]

Just a minute Immercenary F?

I just declared war.

[Trev]

Just a minute Immercenary F?

I just declared war.

To be fair, I can see why he gave Immercenary bad marks. I used to think the same back in the day. Of course, now that I've spent time w/it, its probably one of my favorites! He should review it, and be willing to give it a fair shake.

[Austin]

Yeah.. Immercenary is definitely not a pick-up-and-play type of game. I dismissed it pretty quickly when I got it "back in the day", too. Still need to make time to try and really "get into" it.

As for Need for Speed versus Crash 'n Burn, they are two different styles of racing games. Some people dislike sim-based racers (which we all know Need for Speed leans more towards). Crash 'n Burn, while far more flawed in my opinion, is a lot more arcade-like, something that appeals more to certain people (like myself, generally speaking.. not so much in this case though).

I also agree that Shockwave 2 should be higher.

*edit: Looking at his CNB and NFS reviews, he gave one an A, and the other an A-.. That's not really a huge difference.

[JohnnyDude]

I as well noticed the F on Immercenary. The game's goofy, but it's no "Shadow: War of Succession" or "Plumbers Don't Wear Ties".

Ya know, Plumbers Don't Wear Ties should get a modern day reboot. Complete with team-based online deathmatch and tournaments. Or maybe an MMO.

[ArfredHitchcacku]

I have mixed feelings about this guy. I can't count the amount of unfair reviews he's made. He's one guy, so don't take his opinion more than anyone else's just because he has a nice site and has reviewed hundreds of games.

Which brings me to my next problem: you CAN'T rate a game. I'm sorry, you just can't. How can you rate a game like Novastorm on 3DO to a game like The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess on Wii? (Modern game reference sorry ) Every different game has a different standard, some are low budget, low ambition, and simpler, some are high-budget, high ambition, and complex, and there's so many different genres and systems and time periods. And I've heard the argument, "well, reviewers narrow down the games BY those factors" but how long do you think VGC and IGN really think about all of this? Besides, some games do have SIMILAR standards, but it IS always different.

And to have a standard to begin with, you need a game that is the absolute WORST in that category and a game that is the absolute BEST. This is impossible, not only is it an opinion if someone even likes a game to begin with, but no game is completely awful or completely good, every game has both bad and good qualities to it. I dare you to show me a game that's 100% good or 100% bad, and again, that's all opinion anyway; so it comes down to having to say, "I don't like this genre to begin with but there are no flaws so if you do like the genre it's a 10/10.) VGC even said in his Myst review for the Atari Jaguar CD (OK yes I go to his site quite a bit) that maybe it IS the best game ever made and he just doesn't see it, he doesn't have the patience to play more. That's all well and good BUT he gave the game a D. Just...Really?

Look, I think he's a great guy for making a website with tons of descriptions, and pictures of games and systems all in one place, but that's the only reason I visit his site, because I can just never take his opinions into consideration when he gets so many facts wrong (Doom couldn't be handle on 3DO let's blame Trip Hawkins) and gives games absolute ratings. This wasn't meant to be a rant, I'd just like people to reconsider if he has any more say in his reviews than anyone else, because he really doesn't.

[Austin]

I am not a fan of rating games either. I'm not seasoned reviewer myself, but I personally like to go about it along the lines of, "this may or may not be for you, depending on what you do and do not like".

[elitegamer]

Alf and Austin have issued the most reseasonable points to consider in light of reviewing games. Just because "i" think something lame doesn't mean that it is. Just might not be what i prefer or something that a gamer needs to explore in solace/solitude.

As I've said Ice Breaker wasn't my thing 10 yrs ago. Now its n my tip 5 rotation. Excellent points of perspective gamers.

[3DOKid]

I have mixed feelings about this guy. I can't count the amount of unfair reviews he's made. He's one guy, so don't take his opinion more than anyone else's just because he has a nice site and has reviewed hundreds of games.

Which brings me to my next problem: you CAN'T rate a game. I'm sorry, you just can't. How can you rate a game like Novastorm on 3DO to a game like The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess on Wii? (Modern game reference sorry ) Every different game has a different standard, some are low budget, low ambition, and simpler, some are high-budget, high ambition, and complex, and there's so many different genres and systems and time periods. And I've heard the argument, "well, reviewers narrow down the games BY those factors" but how long do you think VGC and IGN really think about all of this? Besides, some games do have SIMILAR standards, but it IS always different.

And to have a standard to begin with, you need a game that is the absolute WORST in that category and a game that is the absolute BEST. This is impossible, not only is it an opinion if someone even likes a game to begin with, but no game is completely awful or completely good, every game has both bad and good qualities to it. I dare you to show me a game that's 100% good or 100% bad, and again, that's all opinion anyway; so it comes down to having to say, "I don't like this genre to begin with but there are no flaws so if you do like the genre it's a 10/10.) VGC even said in his Myst review for the Atari Jaguar CD (OK yes I go to his site quite a bit) that maybe it IS the best game ever made and he just doesn't see it, he doesn't have the patience to play more. That's all well and good BUT he gave the game a D. Just...Really?

Look, I think he's a great guy for making a website with tons of descriptions, and pictures of games and systems all in one place, but that's the only reason I visit his site, because I can just never take his opinions into consideration when he gets so many facts wrong (Doom couldn't be handle on 3DO let's blame Trip Hawkins) and gives games absolute ratings. This wasn't meant to be a rant, I'd just like people to reconsider if he has any more say in his reviews than anyone else, because he really doesn't.

I agree with you. Numbers are meaningless. But then some people do need / want them.

I agree you can't compare Uncharted 2 (which was awesome) with something like Immercenary. However, when looking purely in the context of 3DO, a number rating and few pearls of wisdom helps. For example:

Samurai Shodown: 10, SSF2 Turbo: 10, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon: 9, Primal Rage 4, Shadow War is succession.

You can argue semantics: Samurai is a 9 or an 8 or whatever, but it's a high scoring game, Shadow is low scoring game. And Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, a game that's not so common appears to be as good as SF2 turbo. Worth digging out and importing right? If you're starting a collection that's pretty useful information.

As with so many things, I think informations usefulness is in the eye of the beholder.

Just my 2p on it

[ArfredHitchcacku]

I guess it's really a matter of people wanting to devote time or not to read a full-on review VS just looking at a rating. I can understand a collector going on the website and checking games off a list, but imagine all the great games they'd miss out on, or if you'd allow me to phrase that better, all the games they would like they'd miss out on. PO'ed got a D and Killing Time got an F, while Night Trap got an A-. Bottom line, the only way to really tell is to watch a gameplay video and judge for yourself; I still think Kasumi Ninja looks like a good game although I've never played it.

Ratings can be OK but he doesn't filter it at all. He puts Total Eclipse and Super Street Fighter II Turbo in the same category with no explanation. He said something along the lines of, "Games are rated on how fun they are to play but other factors such as graphics are taken into account as well, and games are rated based on the library for the system" but that's completely gone now, and that's just not narrow enough and fun factor is separate from actual quality since the former is more relative.

I didn't mean this to turn into a debate about the guy, (OK, I totally did) but in the end, but he did give the 3DO a D and call the library unremarkable and only containing a handful of good games, so we can all 100% agree on some things.

Also, I think the CD-I is a good system.

[Trev]

Also, I think the CD-I is a good system.

So do I.

Not sure if you already know this, but this forum has a sister CD-i forum. This is the link ...

http://www.cdinteractive.co.uk/forum/in ... 6e65406e45

Sadly it's pretty dead, but a few of us do chat there on occasion. The vgc is overly harsh on the CD-i I think.