I saw an entry on MTV's Multiplayer blog yesterday that claimed it could reveal the secret behind PixelJunk Eden's wonky camera when playing with more than one person. I brought up this issue in my own review, so I was curious to see an explanation on why the camera seemingly acted by its crazy...
I saw an entry on MTV's Multiplayer blog yesterday that claimed it could reveal the secret behind PixelJunk Eden's wonky camera when playing with more than one person. I brought up this issue in my own review, so I was curious to see an explanation on why the camera seemingly acted by its crazy rules. You could say that I was pretty surprised to see Gamespot's review was called out by the lead creator of Eden, Dylan Cuthbert:
"Cuthbert added that those at 1Up and Gamespot who have been complaining about the camera have likely based their remarks on a "buggy" pre-release version of the game. He asked me to ask them to keep that in mind. Play the finished game, fellow reporters."
To clear up any confusion, I did not play a pre-release version of Eden. On July 31st, I downloaded the same finished version that was available to the general public. I spent that Thursday and Friday at work playing it thoroughly and, when I felt like I needed more time to properly judge the game, I played it during my free time on the weekend. Our review for the game went up Monday, August 4th. It was a few days after release, but I wanted to make sure I knew the game inside and out before I critiqued it.
Gamespot has a very strict policy on what we review. For the vast majority of games, we play through a finished retail product that is either shipped to us by the publisher or purchased at a local store. Sometimes we are given code with the promise that it is 100% complete, though we always try the retail product beforehand if we encounter any load issues or random glitches that could have potentially been cleared up before they packaged it.
As far as downloadable games go, I've had enough bad experience with pre-release games that I've learned to stay away from them. Our policy to only review 100% complete games is why our reviews sometimes appear a few days after a game hits stores. We would rather be a day or two late than provide false information. The best way to serve our readers is to play the exact same games they have access to; we would be doing a disservice if we dissected unfinished products.
"That's why it's good to use multiple sources rather than just one to tell you what you should think." - acerazer. I have to agree with acerazer, Gamespot is my number one review site but I still compare the review scores with other sites before I decide if I want a particular game.
Since when does Gamespot give all over-hyped titles good reviews? I have seen plenty of over-hyped games get scores they deserved, because they, well, suck. Kane & Lynch, Lair, Red Steel... they all deserved scores in the 5's in my opinion. If conquering the game's controls and/or camera is harder to conquer than the game itself, then where's the fun in that? But then again, there are some games that receive lower scores than I would think acceptable. That's why it's good to use multiple sources rather than just one to tell you what you should think.
"We would rather be a day or two late than provide false information." Hey GS where is the NHL 09 review? This game came out on Sept. 9.
did GS send any official response to cuthbert's comment? i have one more question too, because now a days most of the big games have download versions, do you guys review retail box edition or downloaded one?
Hey lostboy85, it's true that we no longer have a difficulty curve rating, but we have emblems for both "Brutal Difficulty" and "Too Easy" that call out games at either end of the spectrum.
I like the policy. though i do miss the difficulty ratings from the older reviews, they were one of the most helpful portions. Now its rare if a reviewer mentions how difficult a game is, or even the learning curve.
Don't worry Tom A LOT of people are with how would anyone get a pre-release of a downloadable game Cuthbert shut up deal with the fact there are other better games than yours
well done cuthbert you joke! while I find it frustrating when a games out and I have to wait for the review I also salute you gamespot for reviewing a game properly!we all know that most sites and mags BS through reviews of games which they may not have even played 10%! I have seen it many times over the years in mags where the reviewer comments about the lack of a feature only for it to appear for me half way through the game!
Aaron_Crossen, bylines our located at the bottom of all our reviews. If there's one reviewer you really enjoy, you can also find a list of every game they have reviewed on their profile, which you can find by clicking on our name.
I can totally get behind the camera thing. It basically ruins the later gardens. I think it's either Garden 8 or 9 but it's not fun when you can't see where the next seed is so you can make it blossom to towards the next Spectra.
This is unrelated to your blog post, but I was wondering why the reviews don't have bylines before the article or even on the main reviews page? There's a number of reviewers at GS that I usually enjoy, and if I saw a review by them I'd be likely to check it out even if it was about a game I didn't care about. This also provides me the impetus to read writers I like trash crap games. Just a suggestion.
I loved this game, and wow theres a timer in the levels! of course there is, if there wasn't where would the challenge be? and you can refil the timer by collecting items too, its not like its something that can't be made longer
syko76. Lair had tons of hype and I was crushed when I saw the Gamespot review. It meant the game sucked. So, with the possible exception of GTAIV, I don't think hype plays much at all into their reviews.
Holy crud Gamespot does have a system after all. its not just (Hype=10.0c)2 kudos to the editor on explaining the process and putting the developer in his place.
So basically he is trying to make up excuses and trying to shovel some of the fault onto Gamespot and 1UP. Not the ideal way to garner support for your game, Mr. Cuthbert.
In other news, I have seen errors corrected before (always with "Gamespot regrets the error" or something along those lines), but I don't know if I would go so far to say that they repeatedly publish errors. However, there have been errors published, so what emptyjuicebox says is at least partially true.
Well, Dylan did say "likely" not "absolutely" played a buggy pre-release. I mean, if you think the multiplayer camera is bad now, just imagine what it used to be like! Since I sit like two feet from the TV screen, I've had no problems when the camera zooms out haha
"repeatedly published false information" They have made a few errors in past reviews that have been addressed and updated. This most definitely is not the norm. The vast majority of their reviews are spot on.
emptyjuice, I would be interested in knowing of such a case. The information in your post is simply untrue.
Not saying that this is the case here, but GameSpot has repeatedly published false information simply due to reviewers' negligence rather than the use of pre-release games.
Sounds like another case of the developer trying to pass the buck - although they would still be responsible for sending reviewers buggy copies under Dylan's logic, so I don't see how he could claim that would absolve him of any blame. Don't like what reviewers would say after playing a buggy copy? Then don't send them buggy copies...
I saw an entry on MTV's Multiplayer blog yesterday that claimed it could reveal the secret behind PixelJunk Eden's wonky camera when playing with more than one person. I brought up this issue in my own review, so I was curious to see an explanation on why the camera seemingly acted by its crazy rules. You could say that I was pretty surprised to see Gamespot's review was called out by the lead creator of Eden, Dylan Cuthbert:
"Cuthbert added that those at 1Up and Gamespot who have been complaining about the camera have likely based their remarks on a "buggy" pre-release version of the game. He asked me to ask them to keep that in mind. Play the finished game, fellow reporters."
To clear up any confusion, I did not play a pre-release version of Eden. On July 31st, I downloaded the same finished version that was available to the general public. I spent that Thursday and Friday at work playing it thoroughly and, when I felt like I needed more time to properly judge the game, I played it during my free time on the weekend. Our review for the game went up Monday, August 4th. It was a few days after release, but I wanted to make sure I knew the game inside and out before I critiqued it.
Gamespot has a very strict policy on what we review. For the vast majority of games, we play through a finished retail product that is either shipped to us by the publisher or purchased at a local store. Sometimes we are given code with the promise that it is 100% complete, though we always try the retail product beforehand if we encounter any load issues or random glitches that could have potentially been cleared up before they packaged it.
As far as downloadable games go, I've had enough bad experience with pre-release games that I've learned to stay away from them. Our policy to only review 100% complete games is why our reviews sometimes appear a few days after a game hits stores. We would rather be a day or two late than provide false information. The best way to serve our readers is to play the exact same games they have access to; we would be doing a disservice if we dissected unfinished products.
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