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  • HRDKyoSaNim
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4Dec 06

Politics in video game reviews...

Warning: This editorial contains mature subject matter. If you are not of appropriate age, avert your eyes

This issue came up when discussing the low scores given to DOAX2 on the Team Ninja Clan Board, and I wanted to make this topic into an editorial blog post.

 

  • Gamespot: 5.9
  • IGN: 6.4/10
    TeamXbox: 6.7/10
    1UP: 4/10

As you could see, it got rather low scores from American reviewing sources. However, the question is, did it really deserve such low scores. The fact of the matter is, it brings great joy to gamers, including of course but not limited to DOA fans, guys and girls alike. Now, anyone who knows American history knows that America was founded in large part by Puritans, some of the most prude people the world has ever known. The truth is, that culture still perseveres to a certain extent to this day. Yes...there's sex, drugs and violence available for the viewing pleasure of those of age (theoretically), but there's still a stigma about nudity and sexuality. Though the U.S. is probably the biggest producer and exporter of pornographic materials, there's shamefulness surrounding it in this country. In Europe, nudity is not a big deal. You see it on tv ads in primetime. In many touristic areas, every beach is a topless beach. There's no separation due to shame and embarrasment. I'm not saying that porn is a good thing and we should all embrace it, in fact I believe otherwise. However, I also believe that there's nothing inherently wrong with nudity. However, my point is that nudity and sexual content in this country is desired in one's personal life, but must be shunned publicly. Let's not be hypocrits folks. 

This stigma about nudity and sexuality is magnified tenfold when portrayed in certain art forms. To admit sexual pleasure from "cartoons" or CGI is especially taboo. You know, I find this interesting...GTA has been known for it's portrayal of sex in video games. In its early days, this meant taking a hooker into your car. Now, they don't actually show you having sex, but with suggestive audio and the car bouncing all around (How funny is it when you would switch views to the side of the car and they were both just sitting there even though the car looked like it hydraulics?), the suggestion was clearly there. Later on, you still had this option, along with pimping, or spending the night at your gf's house, which offered plenty of interesting audio to let you know what was going on. Though GTA games get hammered by the politicians, certain parent and Christian groups, and the general media, their scores from reviewers have never suffered. Here's the reason why. They never cross the line of sexual discomfort. The sexuality in the game is more like a big joke. Take as another example:

 

Gamespot score: 8.1

Gamespot score: 6.6

Now, is the gameplay between the two really that different. I think there's another matter at hand here. In the quick summary of the review it says: "and the game's sense of sexuality is still rather unseemly." So, it's blatantly stated right there... visual sexuality in a game can hurt the game's rating in this country. The funny thing is, WWE SvR 2007 has diva matches in it. However, it's not a major part of the game, which makes it easily overlooked. Also, I think it's more socially acceptable because they're based on real-life women, instead of "ridiculously idealized polygonal female models" as so graciously stated in the review summary for DOAX2.

To Japan, where RRXX and DOAX2 were born, as well as hentai. They are apparently not bound to the rule where they must publicly denounce possible arousal from CGI or "cartoons". Famitsu scored DOAX2 a 35/40 (8.75). However, another question actually arises if you look at the situation more closely. Did they score it that way because it's a good game and aren't held back by the game's sexuality, or, is it for another political issue we may find in video game reviewing...

In this world of ours, money talks and bs walks. Famitsu 360 is a 360 magazine The sponsoring and promotion for Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 have been rather intense for this game over the past month. DOAX2 received a 35/40 and Capcom's flagship title Lost Planet "only" got a 34/40. What we may be seeing is Famitsu refraining from biting the hand that feeds. Then again, maybe they were the only ones ballsy enough to admit to a truer value of the game.

Money isn't the only reason one may see inflated scores. They say, it's not what you know, but who you know. This may have been a huge contributing factor to Cliffy B and his dev team's recent success. GOW is a great game, no doubts. However, I've heard many people complaining about it. Usually, superb games get little opposition from the general public. Here's the fact of the matter. Let's compare GOW to Resistance:FOM.

Gamespot score: 9.6

Gamespot score: 8.6

Let's be honest. There's nothing entirely innovative about GOW. It's gameplay is virtually a carbon copy of kill.switch. However, the overall presentation makes it a memorable game. Much in the same way, Resistance:FOM incorporates aspects from various successful FPS games and presents them in spectacular fashion. So, what about GOW makes it worth an entire point more on the rating scale? Could it be because Cliffy B makes such a concerted effort to befriend those in the gaming community. He actually takes time out to interview with editors, invites them to events, and gets to be buddy-buddy with them. In return, reviewers show a little more favor when rating his game. Now, this is of course speculation, but every time I see him, he seems to be buttering up reviewers, and as he puts it, "selling the game."

Long story short, reviewers allow personal favors and politics to influence their scoring of games, whether it be because of cultural stigmas, money involved, or friendships. It's a shame, but it will probably allways be a present part of game reviews.

Special thanks to flandrien and the others at the Team Ninja Clan.

  • Posted Dec 4, 2006 3:10 am PT
  • Category: Editorial
  • 34 Comments

34 Comments

  • vgmkyle

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 4:23 am PT

    I think this is the smartest thing you have ever wrote on gamespot.

    "However, my point is that nudity and sexual content in this country is both desired in one's personal life, but must be shunned publicly. Let's not be hypocrites folks."

    Great points.Shove this on a soapbox.Sadly editors only seem to put those up on points they agree with though,and they will find some way to disagree with yours,and spew out a bunch of crap in the process.

    EDIT:Nice banner btw.I was going to do that with the DOAUnion.But now that so many people are doing it,I think I will pass.

  • Gamer1985

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 9:49 am PT

    my question to you is have you ever played those games you were comparing?

  • Scorpinox1989

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 10:15 am PT

    I have to disagree,Gears of War deserves the score that it has regardless so it has nothing to do with Cliffy B.

    Everything else I basically agree with.

  • HRDKyoSaNim

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 1:21 pm PT

    vgm...that's what I was hoping for, but like you said, I doubt they'll put a post like this up.

    gamer...I haven't played DOAX2. However, my statements don't revolve around what I think about the game, but what I've heard from others about the game. The fact of the matter is, I never played the game because I don't like the concept. However, that doesn't mean it's a bad game. I also didn't like GRAW, because I don't like the HUD. That doesn't mean that's it not a good game and others can't get into it; after all, it got a 9.2. My personal tastes don't change the quality of a game, and as such, political and cultural norms and opinions shouldn't change reviewers' scoring of games. I never played RRXX or WWE SvR 2007. However, I've seen them being played. They are indeed, virtually the same gameplay...Slow and clumsy fighting mechanics, which is why I never got into either of them. I like the fast-paced fighting games much more. Again, regardless of what I think, if they are so similar in gameplay, why is there such a rating discrepency b/w them?

    Scorp and gamer... I never played Resistance:FOM. Unfortunately, I don't have a PS3, and don't intend to buy one either. I have not played GOW either, however, I will. It's all ready been bought for me, but I won't get it until my birthday or Christmas. I'm not saying that the game didn't deserve a 9.6 Scorp. What I am saying, is that from what I can tell from watching FOM is that it is just as good (though different) as GOW. A better comparison might be FOM to Halo...and Halo also got ratings above a 9. Like I said, sometimes it seems that the extra push may come from favoritism among reviewers.

  • Scorpinox1989

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 9:12 pm PT

    I understand that,but I'm saying that Cliffy B didn't help Gears of War get it's good score,other than being part of Epic(the creators).Resistance would have got a good score if it was as good as Gears,but it didn't because Sony spreads too many lies about their console+games and can't back that sh!t up.

  • HRDKyoSaNim

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 10:59 pm PT

    LOL...you're not going to get too many arguments from me there Scorp!

  • Scorpinox1989

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 11:04 pm PT

    That's the truth and it only proves it that you don't give arguments about it.

    I'm glad we actually agree completely on something.

  • HRDKyoSaNim

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 11:55 pm PT

    Well...hold on. I'm just agreeing that Sony keeps making checks that they can't cash...from hardware decisions to software marketing. In the case of FOM however, I think they underplayed it, and that's why it didn't get more recognition. Before Halo first came out and the guys at Bungie went over there to demo it, the editors at GS were not especially impressed. However, the powers that be at C-Net were uphauled that they showed such disinterest. WHY? Because the people at Bungie made sure there was enough hype surrounding the game, which in turn got reveiwers caught in the hype, making it easier to get recognition and make their game memorable. Cliffy B did the same for Gears of War. They all made sure to schmooz those who could get their game good publicity. Maybe the producers and devs of FOM just didn't do enough to surround their game with hype and make the right friends, because it certainly seems like it's good enough to get a score in the 9.5 range.

  • Scorpinox1989

    Posted Dec 5, 2006 12:36 am PT

    I don't understand how you can say that when Sony has already lied about the graphics,saying that they are better than Gears of War's graphics.I've seen the gameplay,and the graphics aren't all that close to Gears of War and at the very least they disappoint.

    Halo actually didn't have alot of hype,it's Halo 2 that got all the hype and it annoyed me to hell!!

  • vgmkyle

    Posted Dec 5, 2006 2:57 am PT

    Sony is not showing all the PS3's power yet.FOM was just a sample of what the machine can do.

    Halo 2.A great game.The game has a great style and is a fun FPS,and an amazing sound track to top it off.What drags Halo down is the majority of its audience.

    HalO is teh bezt GAme EvA!....Don't you hate hearing that 24/7?People think there just so hardcore when playing it,that it drives you to the brink of insanity.

  • Scorpinox1989

    Posted Dec 5, 2006 8:16 am PT

    Yeah,that last line is what I'm talking about.

  • HRDKyoSaNim

    Posted Dec 5, 2006 9:09 pm PT

    What do you mean the original Halo didn't get hype Scorp? It was a release title for the original Xbox. Microsoft was banking on its success to help sell its console. FOM is the PS3's original Halo. While there was hype surrounding FOM, it was nowhere near as much as that surrounding GOW. GOW just stole its thunder. A lot of that came from Cliffy's shmoozing and connections with the game reviewing community if you ask me. From what I can see from FOM though, the game is just as deserving of a 9.7 as the original Halo. The creators of the game just didn't rope the reviewers in to give it that extra umph, and I really think it has nothing to do with the quality of the game.

  • HRDKyoSaNim

    Posted Dec 5, 2006 10:44 pm PT

    Don't get me wrong either, I'm a huge fan of Halo. And I'm not saying that Halo, or GOW, deserves a lower score. I'm saying that it just seems that FOM is just as worthy of a "superb" score.

  • GreggD

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 7:32 am PT

    I dunno, this whole thing seems kinda sketchy to me. I mean, I like FPS's and TPS's just as much as the average gamer. However, I don't think they are the best genre out there. And believe me, I'll play anything. Anyway, about that statement on Puritan logic, it's a bunch of bs these days. If that really were the case(and I'm going to stretch the idea here), we would all be walking around so tightly wound that you could probably shove a coal up one's @$$ and expect a fine-cut diamond. And our women would be dressed like nuns, sans the habit, to boot. That's not to say that certain communities aren't extremely hypocritical here in the States, but we're not all like that, my friend.

  • GreggD

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 7:52 am PT

    My Post, cont:
    Also, I'm not a big fan of the DOAX games, but I do like the fighting games.
    And I understand what you mean about the sexual themes, but I'd rather keep that in my movies, mags, and bedroom. Yes, it's okay once in a while, but to branch off an entire series for it? It seems kinda pointless. And as everyone probably knows from my icon, I'm a fan of Take2 Interactive, Rockstar, and inevitably, GTA. But when I heard about "Hot Coffee", I was pissed. It didn't need to be there for the game to be good! And it's not so much the sex, but the fact that Rockstar knew it was in there when they shipped it, and knew some dumb jack@$$ would dig it up, and announce his find to the world. I was embarrassed because my family knows I play the game, and somehow would associate me with degeneracy. And yes, some people in my family share Puritan logic with my ancestors, and hypocracy will probably reign supreme in my country for a long time. That is, until all of the "old values" citizens die out. Now, I would just like to say, for the record, that I'm not trying to offend anyone, or make them angry at me or anyone else. However, I am voicing my opinion in a discussion with(I hope) level-minded, respectful people, regardless of heritage, customs or background. Thanks for listening to my very long-winded opinion.

  • HRDKyoSaNim

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 11:59 am PT

    I wanted to start off by saying thank you for posting...I like to think of myself as pretty level-headed, and as you will soon find out, I'm also always up for a good debate.

    Now, All of the "old value" citizens will never die out. If you're from a conservative family, chances are, you will be conservative as well. Regardless, as freely open about sex as we may become, I believe there will always be a stigma about nudity and sources of true attractive sexuality from "cartoons" and CGI. I watched Rich Gallup say "I hope my gf isn't watching this..." and this and that and the other about how it made him feel ditry when they were displaying DOAX2 before it was released at a big gaming event. You can't speak good of such a game otherwise you're a freak in this society. You know what the funny thing is about it though? People who I've spoken to who own the game say that their gf's and sisters like it more than they do. Why? Because the game isn't just about oggling bikini-clad CGI. Yes, the obvious sex-appeal is there for the guys, but the game is also about the volleyball and really mostly about the friendship and gifting system, which is what the girls who play the game are into. It is that very reason that I've never gotten into the game...I'm just not turned on by that. I have enough trouble deciding what gifts I want to buy my gf, I don't want to have to figure out what AI would like to make them be my friend. It's not because I find it ridiculous that they made a game revolving around sexually exciting CGI. You see, you consider yourself a pretty sexually liberal person, but you automatically dismissed the game's quality, assuming it was a garbage game meant solely to supplement the fantasies of pubescent boys.

  • GreggD

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 12:39 pm PT

    Who, me? No, never.

  • GreggD

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 12:43 pm PT

    Actually, I don't think it's so much for the fantasies of pubescent boys, as it is the fantasies of Japanese video game designers who are Hell-bent on creating the perfect digital woman. lol, but seriously, the core gameplay of the volleyball & what-not just doesn't appeal to me. No matter how sexy they make the DOA girls.

  • vgmkyle

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 2:12 am PT

    If the game is not your thing fine. I know adults who love these games,and not just because of the sexy pixles,but because of the games relaxing atmosphere.

    And girls love these types of games mainly because the DOA girls are like barbie dolls,and they can dress them up and do as they please with them.

  • GreggD

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 5:37 am PT

    First of all, I didn't say the thing about adolescent boys. Second, I like games with a relaxing atmosphere, too. Take Flint County from San Andreas, it's quiet in the countryside, y'know? And I like exploring said areas with a vehicle of some sort, which is why I don't like the way it's presented in DOAX. And third, I don't know any girls that still play with Barbies who are the type to play these games, nor would they find any games appealing, for that matter. So don't go yelling at me just because I'm "misinformed" about this stuff. It's just a different viewpoint, is all.

    By the way, wasn't this discussion about reviewer favoritism?

  • vgmkyle

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 8:14 am PT

    Flint County is filled with crazy old men who shoot you with shotguns.And ugly women.The only fun I had there was jumping off a mountain.

    DOAX2 you can go into camera mode and check every inch of the selected area.

    I'm just saying girls like the games because they can dress up pretty virtual girls!Like barbies.Now they don't even need those.And the games easy so they don't have to worry about losing.Hillary Duff would dig this.

    Reviewer favoritism?Well,I guess these sorts of things slip out of there reviews?

  • GreggD

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 12:08 pm PT

    Just wait until GTA IV for the 360. I'm sure they'll make the rural areas picturesque. And no, I'm not sure if I spelled that correctly. Anyway, let's just agree to disagree, and be friends. Agreed?

    *extends hand and waits*

  • HRDKyoSaNim

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 3:43 pm PT

    Apparently alot when on in my blog without my knowing. I don't think vgm was yelling at you Gregg, at least that's not the impression I got, so let's all calm down and take a deep breath. Now, to be fair, Gregg never said it was meant to be for pubescent boys, I accused him of it semi-jokingly. He corrected me by stating that he thought it was more about fulfilling the fantasies of Japanese game developers, also semi-jokingly. Now, this is about reviewer favoritism, but more accurately, it's about reviewer politics...And one of the political issues is allowing cultural stigmas to affect the score of games, which is why we were talking about DOAX2, a game which, seemingly is considered great in Japan, but somehow not in America. Soooo, I'm wondering why you asked that question Gregg. Are you trying to say that vgm is showing favoritism, or are you saying that he's moving ot?

  • HRDKyoSaNim

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 3:51 pm PT

    Heck...Let's have a big group hug!!!

    *forcibly brings the two of you into arms, making you feel extremely uncomfortable*

  • vgmkyle

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 4:39 pm PT

    O ok.Ya I'm yelling at nobody.

    Me showing favoritism.Maybe a little.But I love the DOA series in general so much I don't think it matters.

  • GreggD

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 8:12 pm PT

    Yeah, I don't know what I'm trying to argue over at this point. And yes, I felt that we were moving off topic. But it kinda does matter when people show that much favoritism one way or another. It's nice to be mutual, like I'll reserve judgment until I've experienced a game first-hand. Which in this case, I have, so I'm telling you guys how I feel.

  • HRDKyoSaNim

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 1:00 am PT

    Which game are referencing to have experienced first-hand...DOAX2, DOAXBV, or GTA: San Andreas? Also, the favoritism I'm talking about isn't the favoritism of fan. Let's not get things mixed up here. I'm talking about reviewers giving games a higher score because of friendships formed between developers and reviewers. I don't want game reviewing to become a big popularity contest like some middle school class government election. Now, the whole GOW thing is speculation. However, let me give you guys a more concrete example. I'm sure you guys remember Carrie Gouskos. She left GS to work for the company that's currently developing the newest Warhammer 40K (I think, but I don't remember for certain). Now, I would bet money that when the game she's working on finally comes out, it will get a higher score from GS than any other reviewing source. Why? Because they have a friend on the dev team which is going to automatically boost the score. That's what I'm talking about Gregg, not fanboyism.

  • GreggD

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 12:04 pm PT

    Oh, God. Here we go again. I meant I've played both GTA & DOAX, but at that time I was indeed talking about DOAX. And as for my comment on favoritism, it was meant to be about reviewers, but it still applies to both fields. So, having said that, I will say Gears of War did get a pretty high score from GS. I've played it, and it was fun, but it should've only gotten around 8.9-9.0. 9.6 just seems excessive, especially since most games on this site recieve lower than a 9, even if they are way better than others. Such as the Tony hawk series. THPS3 got a perfect 10, while everything since then has slowly gotten "worse" according to GS. I've played and own evey game in the series, and yes, there is room for improvement, but Project 8 for the 360 definitely deserved higher than a 7.9. And another thing, is it just me, or has Gamespot gotten stricter each year in terms of what scores they give out? I hear this a lot: "a great game, but certain technical issues bring the game down from greatness". What the hell is that? Like every game is supposed to be perfect. I think we're pretty lucky with how the industry has evolved over the years, and that it didn't just drop off the face of the Earth after the arcade crash in the 80's. Oh, and I've never played Resistance, seeing as how I don't have a bottomless wallet to buy a PS3 with. So I won't comment on that game.

  • HRDKyoSaNim

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 6:17 pm PT

    LOL...no one's attacking you, calm down. At least I get the impression you think I'm attacking you, but I'm not. You're not getting an argument from me about GOW. I've heard testimony from those who would lay down their life to defend GOW's honor. I've heard from others that say it's a great game but doesn't deserve a 9.6, citing things like brevity, lack of any real story line, lag online (which is usually not the developer's fault but peoples' crappy connections). I never played either game, but have seen both of them played. The fact of the matter is that they are very similar. Superb graphics, a memorable presentation, taking un-innovative gameplay and putting their own innovative spin on things. I said in my post that GOW either deserved to be rated lower, closer to FOM's score, or else FOM needed to be scored higher...Thus, the reason I thought there was something else at work other than just the game's merits, possibly reviewer favors for a friendly developer if you know what I mean.
    As for your other point, I completely agree with you as well. Refer to another of my editorial posts, entitled "Degrading Ratings," and you'll see for yourself. So, I think we're on the same page Gregg.

  • GreggD

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 10:36 pm PT

    Yeah, that post you were talking about is something I completely agree with. Another one you should've mentioned for the 360 was Burnout Revenge.
    8.8 vs 9.1, and the breakdown is as follows:

    9
    8
    10
    8
    9

    vs:

    9
    9
    10
    9
    9

    That sucks, don't you think?

  • vgmkyle

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 4:42 pm PT

    Are you saying the 360 version should have gotten the same score as the PS2/XBOX?

    O and Kyo,Carrie works at Mythic Stuidos in EA.

  • GreggD

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 10:28 pm PT

    It should have gotten a better score, because it included saveable replays, better graphics, and support for XBL, all of which were not in the original.

  • GreggD

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 10:30 pm PT

    Sorry, I meant to say that XBL was in the XBOX version, but it still deserves better because of the other features.

  • vgmkyle

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 11:35 pm PT

    I think that happened because it came out like three months later,I think anyways.

    And that meant Jeff had to go through single player once again,and probably didn't think the extras weren't really worth it.

My Recent Ratings

Title Score
Virtua Fighter 5 Online 9.0
Forza Motorsport 2 9.0
Gears of War 9.3
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin 8.5
Perfect Dark Zero 8.8
FIFA World Cup: Germany 2006 8.3
Forza Motorsport 9.7
Dead or Alive 4 9.3
FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup 4.6
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory 9.3
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