2018/5/14: Playstation 3: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Let me know what you think about my reviews.
DaHeckIzDat
Posts: 1997
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 1:41 pm

Re: 2018/5/14: Playstation 3: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Postby DaHeckIzDat » May 24th, 2018, 7:02 pm

Kajicat wrote:A reviewer of a JRPG should play through at least 70% of the game. Playing, say, only 25% of the game is ridiculous and a review should not be written off such little exposure. Why play more than 50% of it? Because a game can change a lot in the second half. Maybe the story doesn't make much sense in the first half but everything gets tied up nicely by the end. Maybe earlier dungeons and too easy and later ones see an increase in challenge. Maybe the game world opens up much more once a certain vehicle is acquired. Maybe new characters join your party later on that you actually like.

When I see a score given from a reviewer that is an outlier from the median across other outlets and find that the reviewer mentions they didn't finish the game, it immediately raises a red flag. I'm not saying they need to 100% it by collecting all secret items, doing all side quests, and level up all character abilites, but they should at least really hold themselves accountable to try to finish the main game.

Rev wrote:if you go 60-70% through the game and you dislike it, why are you going to finish it?

Well, as a reviewer it's basically your duty to really know the ins and outs of the game, if your word is actually to be trusted. Personally, if I said I was going to review a game, I'd be sure to complete the main game at the very least.

Reviewing a game doesn't mean you're always going to enjoy it. You have to gain as much knowledge of it even if you're not having fun doing so. That's the reponsibility of the reviewer.


Question: if a game sucks 70% of the way through, why should I put up with that for 30% of it to be good? Especially if I have no reason to think it becomes good later. Do you expect the Critic to play all the way through Aquaman on XBox on the off chance that it stops being crap on the last level? To me, a developer should aim to make 100% of a game fun and worth playing, not assume that their customers will put up with bad design and poor storytelling because of some unspoken obligation they've put on themselves.

GameOfThrones
Posts: 369
Joined: August 30th, 2017, 10:24 am

Re: 2018/5/14: Playstation 3: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Postby GameOfThrones » May 24th, 2018, 7:10 pm

Just to say that I played FF13 part 1 for 10 hours and it changed the battle system so I gave up on me. For me the FF series became less about the game and more about the bs.
Now the person who thinks you should play 100 percent of a game before reviewing it might think that is not a valid critisicm but if I get bored with a game I say it is average and that is that for me.

Though I got Troll and I recently which everyone says is pants to we shall have to see.

User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18106
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Re: 2018/5/14: Playstation 3: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Postby VideoGameCritic » May 24th, 2018, 7:15 pm

I don't review many RPGs, but when I review games my review generally solidifies in the first few hours - often sooner. I can't recall a time when my opinion changed significantly based on what happened in the last 50% of a game. I mean, a story can only carry so much weight. A great ending isn't going to turn a D game into a B, especially if you had to sink 25 hours to get that far.

I'd rather read a "quick-hit" review of a game than none at all.

I do however agree that RPGs do require a larger time investment to review, which is why I leave those to my enthusiastic volunteers. And if someone wants to offer an alternate review I'm open to that too.

User avatar
JustLikeHeaven
Posts: 333
Joined: April 8th, 2015, 9:35 am

Re: 2018/5/14: Playstation 3: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Postby JustLikeHeaven » May 25th, 2018, 10:39 am

Gotta disagree with the strong rating of Kingdoms of Amalur. I actually went back to play this game within the past couple of months and my opinion of it has waned quite a bit. It's buggy as all hell and the game-play is just a total drag. Walking around obtaining quests and listening to boring dialog is tedious. Running around completing very simplistic side-quests just isn't my idea of fun. The main quest and world is uninteresting as well. About the only decent thing going for the game is the combat. Even that grows stale after a short while and isn't nearly deep or satisfying enough to keep you playing. I was shocked at how poorly this game aged for me.

Kajicat
Posts: 14
Joined: February 24th, 2017, 7:30 pm

Re: 2018/5/14: Playstation 3: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Postby Kajicat » May 25th, 2018, 3:54 pm

DaHeckIzDat wrote:Question: if a game sucks 70% of the way through, why should I put up with that for 30% of it to be good? Especially if I have no reason to think it becomes good later.

You shouldn't. You're not reviewing the game.

DaHeckIzDat wrote:Do you expect the Critic to play all the way through Aquaman on XBox on the off chance that it stops being crap on the last level?

Honestly, yes. It's an Action-Adventure game and shouldn't take too long to finish the main quest. As a reviewer, one takes it upon themself to be thorough. A reviewer isn't usually doing it for themself - they're writing reviews for the sake of informing the the public. If a reviewer isn't actually dedicated to what they're doing then maybe they should just stick to playing video games and not writing reviews of them. If you choose to review Aquaman, then do it and stick to it. If you've heard the game is pretty bad... maybe don't review it in the first place.

To me, it's simple: Are you going to take it upon yourself to review a game? If yes, then do it already. If you're wishy washy and don't want to dedicate the time then you probably shouldn't review it in the first place.

DaHeckIzDat
Posts: 1997
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 1:41 pm

Re: 2018/5/14: Playstation 3: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Postby DaHeckIzDat » May 25th, 2018, 4:10 pm

Kajicat wrote:
DaHeckIzDat wrote:Question: if a game sucks 70% of the way through, why should I put up with that for 30% of it to be good? Especially if I have no reason to think it becomes good later.

You shouldn't. You're not reviewing the game.

I'm not? You might want to go look at that review again.

DaHeckIzDat wrote:Do you expect the Critic to play all the way through Aquaman on XBox on the off chance that it stops being crap on the last level?

Kajicat wrote:Honestly, yes. It's an Action-Adventure game and shouldn't take too long to finish the main quest. As a reviewer, one takes it upon themself to be thorough. A reviewer isn't usually doing it for themself - they're writing reviews for the sake of informing the the public. If a reviewer isn't actually dedicated to what they're doing then maybe they should just stick to playing video games and not writing reviews of them. If you choose to review Aquaman, then do it and stick to it. If you've heard the game is pretty bad... maybe don't review it in the first place.

To me, it's simple: Are you going to take it upon yourself to review a game? If yes, then do it already. If you're wishy washy and don't want to dedicate the time then you probably shouldn't review it in the first place.


Your mistake is thinking that the common gamer is going to waste their time playing a terrible game. If I bought a game and it turned out to be crap, I'd turn it off, get rid of the game, and play something worth my time. If it takes twenty to fifty hours to suddenly become good, that nineteen to forty nine hours too late. I have better things to do with my time than play a broken, poorly designed game. If the developer wanted me to play their game, they would have made it worth playing from the start. As a reviewer, I adopt that same mindset. If the first few opening hours don't make a good impression for me, then it won't for a gamer either, and so neither of us have to waste our time playing a bad game.

And for the record, I made it more than halfway through the game before I decided to quit waiting for it to become good.
Last edited by DaHeckIzDat on May 25th, 2018, 5:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Kajicat
Posts: 14
Joined: February 24th, 2017, 7:30 pm

Re: 2018/5/14: Playstation 3: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Postby Kajicat » May 25th, 2018, 4:33 pm

^ I didn't know you were the one who reviewed Aquaman on this site (never read the review). Given that you decided to review the game... you should have followed through and stuck with it. That's my take.

Does this work both ways then? Like if a game is good for the first 30% that means you can stop playing it and just figure it remains good throughout the remaining 70%? I hope not.

Is it so hard for a video game reviewer to actually finish the game? Is this asking for too much? :lol:

Reminds me of the time Victor Ireland of Working Designs got into it with GameFan magazine's Nick Rox over not actually finishing Lunar (Sega CD) yet writing a full review of the game.

User avatar
VideoGameCritic
Site Admin
Posts: 18106
Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm

Re: 2018/5/14: Playstation 3: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Postby VideoGameCritic » May 25th, 2018, 4:47 pm

I think it also depends on the review site. If you're a professional working for IGN or Forbes, yeah I'd expect you to finish the game and write a full five page report and include at least a half dozen screenshots along with a video clip.

This site however has established itself as a "quick and dirty" review site run by me and a few volunteers in our spare time. I don't run this site for money and it's a good thing! It's a free service by people passionate about games for people passionate about games.

These reviews are only a paragraph but people like how I post them at a steady clip. The reason I started this site is because I got tired of reading 10 page diatribes; I just wanted to know what the game was about and if it was any good.

And in the rare cases when a review misses the mark we're always open to feedback (and revisions).

That said, I respect the opinion of everyone on this thread and thank them for taking the time to make their voices heard.

Kajicat
Posts: 14
Joined: February 24th, 2017, 7:30 pm

Re: 2018/5/14: Playstation 3: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Postby Kajicat » May 25th, 2018, 6:05 pm

Regardless of whether a review is ten pages or two paragraphs, I think the reviewer should finish the game they're reviewing.

Is it okay for a film critic to still write a review for a film they didn't finish? I'd say not. Same goes for a music album review.

Just my opinion.

DaHeckIzDat
Posts: 1997
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 1:41 pm

Re: 2018/5/14: Playstation 3: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Postby DaHeckIzDat » May 25th, 2018, 6:48 pm

Kajicat wrote:Regardless of whether a review is ten pages or two paragraphs, I think the reviewer should finish the game they're reviewing.

Is it okay for a film critic to still write a review for a film they didn't finish? I'd say not. Same goes for a music album review.

Just my opinion.

If a movie had a terrible beginning and I was writing reviews according to my own model and not a bigger company's, I would totally turn it off after a half hour and write a one paragraph review that pointed out everything I hated about that first half hour that convinced me that the rest wasn't worth watching.


Return to “Review Feedback”