Separate single player and online scores?

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CptFalcon

Separate single player and online scores?

Postby CptFalcon » April 28th, 2017, 9:03 pm

Hello,

I've kept up with the site for a little while and like to check up on reviews every so often because the opinions typically are pretty similar to mine. I tend to favor the old school, pick up and play with depth, arcade style sensibilities - and get jaded with the ever growing 'games as a service' trend of heavy online play, micro-transactions, and bloatware.

That being said, this year might be the 'banner' year of the pay-to-play online gaming brand. Star Wars Battlefront II, Destiny 2, Red Dead Redemption 2, Call of Duty WWII, among other big hitters are almost going to be mandatory online play anymore.

Unfortunately, even Nintendo, who was the last bastion of 'free' gaming online will charge for the service later this year. Rumored to be cheaper than competition, but still mandatory to play online, it's going to heavily affect the playability of games like Splatoon and possibly ARMS, among other upcoming games.

All this, yet I can't find a single media outlet who will grade a game in the eyes of a standard single player gamer versus online play. Has this been considered in the future for the site? It would be a great benefit to individuals like myself. Thanks.

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: Separate single player and online scores?

Postby VideoGameCritic » April 29th, 2017, 8:53 am

It sounds like you're in the right place. I primarily judge games on their offline quality, although I will try the online multiplayer if it's a major component (like Splatoon or Battlefront).

I won't purchase online-only games like Destiny 2. These are not my kind of games, and I don't have the time to invest. Of course, a few games tricked me into thinking they were offline, like Steep and Doom. In those cases I was extra critical in the review.

I do not plan on having two separate scores for each review. I don't think I spend enough time online to be able to accurately grade the online experience for most games.

CptFalcon

Re: Separate single player and online scores?

Postby CptFalcon » April 29th, 2017, 9:07 am

VideoGameCritic wrote:It sounds like you're in the right place. I primarily judge games on their offline quality, although I will try the online multiplayer if it's a major component (like Splatoon or Battlefront).

I won't purchase online-only games like Destiny 2. These are not my kind of games, and I don't have the time to invest. Of course, a few games tricked me into thinking they were offline, like Steep and Doom. In those cases I was extra critical in the review.

I do not plan on having two separate scores for each review. I don't think I spend enough time online to be able to accurately grade the online experience for most games.


Thanks for the response, it sounds like you don't focus heavily on it regardless. Online is such a moving target that I feel like I don't even want to bother messing with in the first place. For example Splatoon apparently improved a lot over it's release, but is now on a legacy console, so the servers will probably be shutdown within 1-2 years. Or say, Grand Theft Auto Online, which sounds broken with modders on PC and the in-game currency system is run by exploiters.

They're consumable videogames that are planned to be obsolete after a certain amount of time. I'm not sure what to ever make of anyone who says its a good online or a bad online when you get the game at any point past launch, because that opinion is no longer timely. Ten years from now, Super Mario Bros 3 will still be Super Mario Bros 3; and the hot games this upcoming holiday that consumers drop $100+ for a special edition of, will be in some Gamestop bin for $2.99. It's really an unfortunate trend.

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Re: Separate single player and online scores?

Postby VideoGameCritic » April 29th, 2017, 3:12 pm

Personally I'm just glad physical media has lasted this long. In the early 2000's, the experts were predicting consoles would be online-only by 2011. It's 2017 and I can still keep my Switch offline and purchase cartridges (!) for it at the store.

I agree it's hard to review an online game because it's constantly in flux. What annoys me most is when a critic gives them the benefit of the doubt "there are some frame rate issues, but they'll probably be fixed in a patch so no big deal".


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