2013/7/7: Tiger Game.com: Centipede, Resident Evil 2, Sonic Jam

[PSX1]

[QUOTE=scotland17]I also agree with Sut about the grading.  Yes, the grades are all internal to the system, and the Tiger monochrome Gamecom has a low bar, but there should be something that shouts that fact out.  Since you have already used a comparison between the SNES and the Genesis for reviews, shouldn't the Game.com be rated versus the other handhelds of the time, Nintendo Gameboy Color, Neogeo Pocket Color and the Wonderswan Color.   Just seems deceptive to say if you get an hour of fun from a game, it gets a B or better, when other times you have said that even a game getting a C on your site is a respectable score.[/QUOTE]

I see your point, but have to disagree.  As mentioned above, having played most of the Game.com games, I agree with the Critic here -- F- is exactly the score I'd give Sonic Jam, and B is exactly the score I'd give RE2.  RE2 is an impressive feat to anyone who has played any games on the Game.com.  Considering what they had to work with, the developers made a good game.  Sure, if it was on Game Boy, it would probably be scored as a D or worse.  But the Critic has been using one scoring system for almost 15 years, and it works perfectly and we all understand it, so you can't suddenly expect him to change it just because of one Game.com game.  Imagine the implications... every Game.com would be a D or F.. every CD-i game would be a D or F.. every Virtual Boy game would be a D or F.. what help what that be to the people that want to collect for those systems?

[scotland171]

I am not advocating the VCG change from his system of 15 years, but commenting that the system has possibly evolved a bit.   That, well, "no console is an island."

The  VGC does compare across consoles he considers similar, like the SNES and Genesis.  In response to some of the 'Hey, you gave my favorite game a C' kind of comments, he has said that a C is a respectable rating on this site.  That is a global statement, not dependent on what console he was discussing.  The letter grades themselves were chosen precisely because they are familiar - a B is something that is pretty good, but still has plenty of room for improvement. Whether you get Pitfall on the 2600, or Neutopia on the TG-16, or Space Channel 5 on the Dreamcast, those are all B games for their time, and across time. Good games, with room for improvement.  So, over the 15 years of reviewing, I submit that the Critic has an idea of what it means to be a B game, a C game, etc.   This global idea seems to have been modified here for the Game.com, and the RE2 letter grade. 

I agree, don't change what works, and this review letter grade system has worked for 15 years, I just submit the system has evolved a bit and that the Game.com has made that evolution more apparent.  I do thoroughly enjoy each and every review, and the dedication behind the site, but just thought that this set of grades is all skewed too high.

[VideoGameCritic]

I think the grades are correct, but sometimes my comments can be confusing or misleading.  Resident Evil 2 really IS a good game.  It's a pretty slow though, so you'd need a lot of patience and free time to complete it.

I agree there is a contradiction in these reviews and I will fix that.

[a1]

[QUOTE=PSX] Imagine the implications... every Game.com would be a D or F.. every CD-i game would be a D or F.. every Virtual Boy game would be a D or F.. [/QUOTE]

Sorry to derail, but I have to jump in to the Virtual Boy's defense. The system has a small library but quite a few very good games. I would give Wario Land, Mario Clash and Galactic Pinball an A on any system.

[PSX1]

[QUOTE=scotland17]

I am not advocating the VCG change from his system of 15 years, but commenting that the system has possibly evolved a bit.   That, well, "no console is an island."

The  VGC does compare across consoles he considers similar, like the SNES and Genesis.  In response to some of the 'Hey, you gave my favorite game a C' kind of comments, he has said that a C is a respectable rating on this site.  That is a global statement, not dependent on what console he was discussing.  The letter grades themselves were chosen precisely because they are familiar - a B is something that is pretty good, but still has plenty of room for improvement. Whether you get Pitfall on the 2600, or Neutopia on the TG-16, or Space Channel 5 on the Dreamcast, those are all B games for their time, and across time. Good games, with room for improvement.  So, over the 15 years of reviewing, I submit that the Critic has an idea of what it means to be a B game, a C game, etc.   This global idea seems to have been modified here for the Game.com, and the RE2 letter grade. 

I agree, don't change what works, and this review letter grade system has worked for 15 years, I just submit the system has evolved a bit and that the Game.com has made that evolution more apparent.  I do thoroughly enjoy each and every review, and the dedication behind the site, but just thought that this set of grades is all skewed too high.

[/QUOTE]




Two things.  First, comparing SNES to Genesis is, in many ways, an apples-to-apples comparison.  The two are pretty closely matched from a hardware perspective.  They were also both mainstream, successful consoles.  Game.com, however, was a failed system, and it doesn't make sense to compare it to more capable and successful systems of the era.  Obviously, Game Boy had hundreds of games that are better than the 20 or so games on Game.com, so why compare the two?  Anyone buying a Game.com is not expecting it to compare to the GB.

Second, from what I have seen, the Critic only using his cross-platform comparison scores for games released on multiple systems.  Take Primal Rage, for example, which the Critic is currently reviewing.  It makes sense to compare the SNES and Genesis versions of Primal Rage, so that a collector who wants the best overall version of the game knows which system to buy it for.  But it would make no sense to compare, say, Genesis Primal Rage to SNES Street Fighter II, and I have never seen the Critic scores games based on that.  Likewise, RE2 was only released in portable form on Game.com, so it wouldn't make sense to compare it to random games on the Game Boy.  Like... "RE2 is pretty neat, but it's no match for Metroid II-- I give it a D."

[PSX1]

[QUOTE=a][QUOTE=PSX] Imagine the implications... every Game.com would be a D or F.. every CD-i game would be a D or F.. every Virtual Boy game would be a D or F.. [/QUOTE]

Sorry to derail, but I have to jump in to the Virtual Boy's defense. The system has a small library but quite a few very good games. I would give Wario Land, Mario Clash and Galactic Pinball an A on any system.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I agree that those games would rank higher than a D on any system and was just using it to illustrate the point.  No offense meant to the Virtual Boy.

[Captain_Crunch1]

Nice reviews, Critic. But I felt sort of sad you had to explain the gameplay mechanics of Centipede...