Zelda Phantom Hourglass Gets 9.0 At IGN

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Jaysonguy

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#1 Jaysonguy
Member since 2006 • 39454 Posts

Looks good. I think they're a little wrong with the DS stylus control. Just because people need to get used to a new way of gaming doesn't make it bad. I think this game in a lot of ways lends itself to the more hardcore player then the casual because the hardcore players are going to go nuts mastering the new controls while the casuals will learn just enough to get by.

Check it out for yourselves HERE

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XlpranksterlX

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#2 XlpranksterlX
Member since 2005 • 7438 Posts
I think the GS score will be around there, but a little lower.
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Denjin_hadouken

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#3 Denjin_hadouken
Member since 2007 • 5927 Posts
Sweet. I love zelda!!
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Younggun135

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#4 Younggun135
Member since 2006 • 1853 Posts
GS will give it a 8.8.... er... umm 8.5, "sigh"
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Goten_king

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#5 Goten_king
Member since 2004 • 4327 Posts
i agree. while the controls aren't bad, they could have been a bit more robust or complex for hardcore gamers. Its just too... basic in my mind.
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Goten_king

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#6 Goten_king
Member since 2004 • 4327 Posts
Remember everyone, these are handheld games. So the rating system is different. I still excpect a 9.0. Handhelds have no "big" games this season so really, this is teh biggest thing they will reveiw.
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chuckleechuck

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#7 chuckleechuck
Member since 2007 • 107 Posts

I think the GS score will be around there, but a little lower.

Why do you think that?

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m1993

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#8 m1993
Member since 2004 • 1167 Posts
GS hates nintendo, and handhelds in general...it seems like they always give nintendo games a significantly lower score than games on other systems, no matter how good they are
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yakk_3

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#9 yakk_3
Member since 2005 • 1442 Posts
GS hates nintendo, and handhelds in general...it seems like they always give nintendo games a significantly lower score than games on other systems, no matter how good they arem1993
That is true. I predict an 8.5. I'm hoping for a 9 though. Famitsu gave it 39/40, making it one of the 17 greatest games ever made, in their opinion.
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Ellimist314

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#10 Ellimist314
Member since 2007 • 1375 Posts
Great news. This looks like it will be one of thebest DS games yet.
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zeppelin_64

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#11 zeppelin_64
Member since 2006 • 3924 Posts
I can believe it getting AT LEAST a 9.
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femme7

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#12 femme7
Member since 2006 • 319 Posts
GS hates nintendo? Whatever, sure they scored MP3 and Twilight Princess lower than other sites (not even that significantly), but their reviews are mostly fair to Nintendo. Wind Waker, high score, A Link to the Past, high score. It's sickening when fans think MP3 or TP should get something like 10 or 9.5 though. Their averages are in the 90-92's anyways.
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Vyse_Legends

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#13 Vyse_Legends
Member since 2007 • 9387 Posts
OK people. ZELDA! What did you expect?
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yakk_3

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#14 yakk_3
Member since 2005 • 1442 Posts
GS hates nintendo? Whatever, sure they scored MP3 and Twilight Princess lower than other sites (not even that significantly), but their reviews are mostly fair to Nintendo. Wind Waker, high score, A Link to the Past, high score. It's sickening when fans think MP3 or TP should get something like 10 or 9.5 though. Their averages are in the 90-92's anyways.femme7
MP3 and TP both deserved 9.2 IMO. To give MP3 the same rating as Eternal Sonata is just plain wrong.
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femme7

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#15 femme7
Member since 2006 • 319 Posts

^^ Yeah I know they deserve the 9.0+ ranges, but it's not like GS rates all N games low is what I was sayin.

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NeonNinja

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#16 NeonNinja
Member since 2005 • 17318 Posts

Big deal, I hate how everyone is overly obsessed with the stupid scores for everything. You were going to get it anyway, right? So what do you care?

As for me, I'll wait for the next Wii Zelda adventure.

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NeonNinja

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#17 NeonNinja
Member since 2005 • 17318 Posts

[QUOTE="femme7"]GS hates nintendo? Whatever, sure they scored MP3 and Twilight Princess lower than other sites (not even that significantly), but their reviews are mostly fair to Nintendo. Wind Waker, high score, A Link to the Past, high score. It's sickening when fans think MP3 or TP should get something like 10 or 9.5 though. Their averages are in the 90-92's anyways.yakk_3
MP3 and TP both deserved 9.2 IMO. To give MP3 the same rating as Eternal Sonata is just plain wrong.

For some reason, I doubt you've even played Eternal Sonata.

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femme7

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#18 femme7
Member since 2006 • 319 Posts
Nah, I was going to cancel if this game got a 7.0 or something. I have to be picky with my games, not enough time and money to get everything. Reviews do matter, they give you facts about what is in the game and how it plays, and I can judge if that suits my interests and style. Without reviews, I would have a bundle of crap games in my collection, and I've tried some 5.0 and so scored games, the reviews are pretty much dead on on those abominations.
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born2runak

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#19 born2runak
Member since 2004 • 414 Posts

Looks good. I think they're a little wrong with the DS stylus control. Just because people need to get used to a new way of gaming doesn't make it bad. I think this game in a lot of ways lends itself to the more hardcore player then the casual because the hardcore players are going to go nuts mastering the new controls while the casuals will learn just enough to get by.

Check it out for yourselves HERE

Jaysonguy

I disagree. While I wont knock it till i tried it, I admit i am not optimistic about the controls. GS described the touck screen controls in Spidey 3 as enhancing the gameplay, i disagreed. As far as I'm concerned the controls in that game were borderline broken. And like IGN states, after playing LOZ with traditional controls for 20 years, it's gonna be a hard habit to break.

I completely forgot about this too...im gonna be so broke for the next few months...dylan concert, new springsteen album, springsteen tour,halo3 , LoZ PH, Mario galaxy, assassins creed... wow, im not gonna have a whole lot of time to actually have a life either

looking forward to this though

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deactivated-5e7d3c08ed601

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#20 deactivated-5e7d3c08ed601
Member since 2007 • 6696 Posts
im pretty positive gs will give it 8 or 8.5
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femme7

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#22 femme7
Member since 2006 • 319 Posts
IGN didn't say the controlswere bad, just a few problems, but nothing that ruins the experience, unless the player lets it, which would mostly consist of elitists.
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TheCheat23k

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#23 TheCheat23k
Member since 2004 • 1240 Posts

Nah, I was going to cancel if this game got a 7.0 or something. I have to be picky with my games, not enough time and money to get everything. Reviews do matter, they give you facts about what is in the game and how it plays, and I can judge if that suits my interests and style. Without reviews, I would have a bundle of crap games in my collection, and I've tried some 5.0 and so scored games, the reviews are pretty much dead on on those abominations.femme7

That's really a bad way to go on things...as many reivews are just...well, horribly written. If anything, I hope that you don't just look at the Gamespot/IGN reviews and buy games based on that....hopefully you read through the player reviews to get the overall story. Research is key, but some of the best games I've played have been rated 5/10 or lower on websites...so its your own loss if you just trust some dude reviewing a game that he may hate before he even tries it.

I always thought that Gamepot hated Sony in reviews...so if they hate Nintendo too, maybe they just hate video games in general :P

Gamespot seems to score most Zelda games around 8.8-9.0 though, so I am expecting it to be somewhere in that range. Its not like it will matter anyways.

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yakk_3

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#24 yakk_3
Member since 2005 • 1442 Posts

[QUOTE="yakk_3"][QUOTE="femme7"]GS hates nintendo? Whatever, sure they scored MP3 and Twilight Princess lower than other sites (not even that significantly), but their reviews are mostly fair to Nintendo. Wind Waker, high score, A Link to the Past, high score. It's sickening when fans think MP3 or TP should get something like 10 or 9.5 though. Their averages are in the 90-92's anyways.NeonNinja

MP3 and TP both deserved 9.2 IMO. To give MP3 the same rating as Eternal Sonata is just plain wrong.

For some reason, I doubt you've even played Eternal Sonata.

I won't deny it. I haven't played it. But looking at the average review scores for both games, there is a rather large difference. Not that I'm dissing Eternal Sonata or anything. It still looks good, just not nearly as good as MP3.
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femme7

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#25 femme7
Member since 2006 • 319 Posts

Um, I said I've played some pretty horrible games just to see how bad they can be. You must have a high tolerance level, but after playing many AAA games, every 6/10 and lower rated game at this site and IGN were indeed, pretty awful. Only fans and particular niche groups of people will find some enjoyment in these titles. I can't fully enjoy a game like Dirge of Cerberus, God hand, Chocobo Racing, Cooking Mama and etc., they have huge flaws and just aren't up to snuff with games like Okami or Bioshock. Good games are rated for what they are, and bad games are rated accordingly. IGN and Gamespot are respected sites, sure they make some mistakes mostly only fans will notice, but their reviews and overall structure of their articles far surpasses many, if not all, reader reviews I've read. I never trust reader reviews, incredible amounts of bias most of the time, it sticks out painfully, too painfully.

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yakk_3

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#26 yakk_3
Member since 2005 • 1442 Posts

[QUOTE="femme7"]Nah, I was going to cancel if this game got a 7.0 or something. I have to be picky with my games, not enough time and money to get everything. Reviews do matter, they give you facts about what is in the game and how it plays, and I can judge if that suits my interests and style. Without reviews, I would have a bundle of crap games in my collection, and I've tried some 5.0 and so scored games, the reviews are pretty much dead on on those abominations.TheCheat23k

That's really a bad way to go on things...as many reivews are just...well, horribly written. If anything, I hope that you don't just look at the Gamespot/IGN reviews and buy games based on that....hopefully you read through the player reviews to get the overall story. Research is key, but some of the best games I've played have been rated 5/10 or lower on websites...so its your own loss if you just trust some dude reviewing a game that he may hate before he even tries it.

I always thought that Gamepot hated Sony in reviews...so if they hate Nintendo too, maybe they just hate video games in general :P

Gamespot seems to score most Zelda games around 8.8-9.0 though, so I am expecting it to be somewhere in that range. Its not like it will matter anyways.

Would you care to list any of those great games which have scored lower than 5/10? I'm just curious; who knows, maybe I'm missing out, because I too avoid any games which score lower than a 7.
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Brainhunter

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#27 Brainhunter
Member since 2003 • 2201 Posts

Regarding the lettering system, what are these ranks?

A = 8.5?

AA = 9.0?

AAA = 9.5?

AAAA = 10?

As for LoZ :PH, I hardly think it would score anything lower than an 8.5. I mean, with all the positive reviews that has been received, and with Famitsu giving it a near perfect score, it is hard to imagine it scoring a mediocre 8.0...

As for 9.5, it is also highly unlikely, Halo 3 scored 9.5, since GS, for all we know, is a Halo fan. MP3 scored an 8.5, a disappointing low for possibly the best FPS shooter on the Nintendo brand to date.

It is likely to score either 8.5 or 9.0. 9.5 is generally reserved for uber-hyped console games that fulfill GS reviewers' tastes.

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#28 dirktu
Member since 2005 • 717 Posts

IMO a 9.0 is pretty low for IGN, and their main reasons for lowering the score is obvious as well: the controls and simplicity.

And of course the controls should have been the main strength of the game and not one of the -relative- weaknesses. I'll still buy the game though.... but I would be interested to see what GS has to say about the controls..

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Tonindo

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#29 Tonindo
Member since 2006 • 563 Posts
The way you control in Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is great. The only problem I had was to make that roll attack. Aside from that, it's great.
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KingBowser91

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#30 KingBowser91
Member since 2007 • 2638 Posts
just what I expected.
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Articuno76

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#31 Articuno76
Member since 2004 • 19799 Posts

Regarding the lettering system, what are these ranks?

A = 8.5?

AA = 9.0?

AAA = 9.5?

AAAA = 10?

As for LoZ :PH, I hardly think it would score anything lower than an 8.5. I mean, with all the positive reviews that has been received, and with Famitsu giving it a near perfect score, it is hard to imagine it scoring a mediocre 8.0...

As for 9.5, it is also highly unlikely, Halo 3 scored 9.5, since GS, for all we know, is a Halo fan. MP3 scored an 8.5, a disappointing low for possibly the best FPS shooter on the Nintendo brand to date.

It is likely to score either 8.5 or 9.0. 9.5 is generally reserved for uber-hyped console games that fulfill GS reviewers' tastes.

Brainhunter

AAAA = 10.0

AAA = 9.0-10.0

AA = 8.0-8.9

A = 7.0-7.9

These are what you'll find not only on system wars but on many sites out there.

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Brainhunter

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#32 Brainhunter
Member since 2003 • 2201 Posts
Ah, thanks for the great clarification, Articuno76.
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thisguy51

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#33 thisguy51
Member since 2006 • 5319 Posts
Well this is lame. I was really hoping they would include the ability to play with traditional controls. Won't be a pick up for me but thanks for letting me know about the review OP.
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classicgameR4

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#34 classicgameR4
Member since 2007 • 384 Posts

Big deal, I hate how everyone is overly obsessed with the stupid scores for everything. You were going to get it anyway, right? So what do you care?

As for me, I'll wait for the next Wii Zelda adventure.

NeonNinja
yeah it d
[QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

Looks good. I think they're a little wrong with the DS stylus control. Just because people need to get used to a new way of gaming doesn't make it bad. I think this game in a lot of ways lends itself to the more hardcore player then the casual because the hardcore players are going to go nuts mastering the new controls while the casuals will learn just enough to get by.

Check it out for yourselves HERE

born2runak

I disagree. While I wont knock it till i tried it, I admit i am not optimistic about the controls. GS described the touck screen controls in Spidey 3 as enhancing the gameplay, i disagreed. As far as I'm concerned the controls in that game were borderline broken. And like IGN states, after playing LOZ with traditional controls for 20 years, it's gonna be a hard habit to break.

I completely forgot about this too...im gonna be so broke for the next few months...dylan concert, new springsteen album, springsteen tour,halo3 , LoZ PH, Mario galaxy, assassins creed... wow, im not gonna have a whole lot of time to actually have a life either

looking forward to this though

yeah im not a big fan of touch controls
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classicgameR4

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#35 classicgameR4
Member since 2007 • 384 Posts

Big deal, I hate how everyone is overly obsessed with the stupid scores for everything. You were going to get it anyway, right? So what do you care?

As for me, I'll wait for the next Wii Zelda adventure.

NeonNinja
yeah it d
[QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

Looks good. I think they're a little wrong with the DS stylus control. Just because people need to get used to a new way of gaming doesn't make it bad. I think this game in a lot of ways lends itself to the more hardcore player then the casual because the hardcore players are going to go nuts mastering the new controls while the casuals will learn just enough to get by.

Check it out for yourselves HERE

born2runak

I disagree. While I wont knock it till i tried it, I admit i am not optimistic about the controls. GS described the touck screen controls in Spidey 3 as enhancing the gameplay, i disagreed. As far as I'm concerned the controls in that game were borderline broken. And like IGN states, after playing LOZ with traditional controls for 20 years, it's gonna be a hard habit to break.

I completely forgot about this too...im gonna be so broke for the next few months...dylan concert, new springsteen album, springsteen tour,halo3 , LoZ PH, Mario galaxy, assassins creed... wow, im not gonna have a whole lot of time to actually have a life either

looking forward to this though

yeah im not a big fan of touch controls
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Patorishia

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#36 Patorishia
Member since 2007 • 81 Posts
Yay! I betchya it'll stay around that score. I am so excited for more Zelda!
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#37 wnba15
Member since 2005 • 63 Posts

New Super Mario Bros. got a 9.0, which is arguably way too high (imo, it is)

Yoshi Island DS got a 9.1

Nintendogs (the original three) all got a 9.1

I think Z: PH, with all the positive talk we've heard so far, should easily match a NSMB's 9.0 or higher.

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Tungsten88

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#38 Tungsten88
Member since 2006 • 1121 Posts
Hrmph. The controls are messed up? This eliminates the game right off the bat. I bought the DS over the PSP because of "superior control," not better games (that was a sacrifice I had to make, controls over games), and now Nintendo can't even have optional D-pad support? What utter s***.
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classicgameR4

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#39 classicgameR4
Member since 2007 • 384 Posts
Well this is lame. I was really hoping they would include the ability to play with traditional controls. Won't be a pick up for me but thanks for letting me know about the review OP.thisguy51
including normal controls would be awesome
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Jaysonguy

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#40 Jaysonguy
Member since 2006 • 39454 Posts

Hrmph. The controls are messed up? This eliminates the game right off the bat. I bought the DS over the PSP because of "superior control," not better games (that was a sacrifice I had to make, controls over games), and now Nintendo can't even have optional D-pad support? What utter s***.Tungsten88

It's not that the controls are bad it's that they take time to get used to.

Plus you bought a system that features touch screen controls for most games, expect games to take advantage of it.

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#41 KenpachiSama
Member since 2007 • 274 Posts
[QUOTE="Jaysonguy"]

Looks good. I think they're a little wrong with the DS stylus control. Just because people need to get used to a new way of gaming doesn't make it bad. I think this game in a lot of ways lends itself to the more hardcore player then the casual because the hardcore players are going to go nuts mastering the new controls while the casuals will learn just enough to get by.

Check it out for yourselves HERE

born2runak

I disagree. While I wont knock it till i tried it, I admit i am not optimistic about the controls. GS described the touck screen controls in Spidey 3 as enhancing the gameplay, i disagreed. As far as I'm concerned the controls in that game were borderline broken. And like IGN states, after playing LOZ with traditional controls for 20 years, it's gonna be a hard habit to break.

I completely forgot about this too...im gonna be so broke for the next few months...dylan concert, new springsteen album, springsteen tour,halo3 , LoZ PH, Mario galaxy, assassins creed... wow, im not gonna have a whole lot of time to actually have a life either

looking forward to this though

Do not compare this with Spiderman 3, seriously. I imported this back in June from Japan, and it seriously was a fantastic game. I thought the controls were the best part about it, much like how the controls of Metroid Prime 3 were the best asset of that game. The stylus controlling takes all of 10 minutes to get used to, and from there, fighting enemies and sailing the seas just feels so right on the DS. This is an amazing port, and the only beef I have against it was the length. There were not a whole lot of dungeons, and if you don't do the side quests, you could seriously beat the game in one sitting.

I thought IGN's review was pretty solid, and I feel that Gamespot's will probably be along the same lines. I already said somewhere else that if the game gets a review score of 8.5 or higher, I'll respect that. It had its small flaws, but all around, this was a great game and a phenomenal DS port.

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yakk_3

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#42 yakk_3
Member since 2005 • 1442 Posts

New Super Mario Bros. got a 9.0, which is arguably way too high (imo, it is)

Yoshi Island DS got a 9.1

Nintendogs (the original three) all got a 9.1

I think Z: PH, with all the positive talk we've heard so far, should easily match a NSMB's 9.0 or higher.

wnba15
Yes but you must remember, this is GS we are talking about. And like Jeff Gerstmann once said, E3 may no longer be crazy, but Gamespot will always be crazy.
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classicgameR4

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#43 classicgameR4
Member since 2007 • 384 Posts

[QUOTE="femme7"]Nah, I was going to cancel if this game got a 7.0 or something. I have to be picky with my games, not enough time and money to get everything. Reviews do matter, they give you facts about what is in the game and how it plays, and I can judge if that suits my interests and style. Without reviews, I would have a bundle of crap games in my collection, and I've tried some 5.0 and so scored games, the reviews are pretty much dead on on those abominations.TheCheat23k

That's really a bad way to go on things...as many reivews are just...well, horribly written. If anything, I hope that you don't just look at the Gamespot/IGN reviews and buy games based on that....hopefully you read through the player reviews to get the overall story. Research is key, but some of the best games I've played have been rated 5/10 or lower on websites...so its your own loss if you just trust some dude reviewing a game that he may hate before he even tries it.

I always thought that Gamepot hated Sony in reviews...so if they hate Nintendo too, maybe they just hate video games in general :P

Gamespot seems to score most Zelda games around 8.8-9.0 though, so I am expecting it to be somewhere in that range. Its not like it will matter anyways.

yeah i read the player reviews more then gamespots