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Scott
Eager Tradesman
Joined: 20 Jan 2003
Posts: 31
Location: Colorado |
| I Really Dont Understand Something... |
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I read EVERY review posted on this board by all of the sites posting one on a daily basis. I love the site, the links, the way things work and the ease of use. And yes, here comes the "but"... I really dont understand one thing. All I hear from people who have played AC2, is how bad it is. I played the first AC and loved it, and have played the 2nd AC and I hate it. Everyone I talk to hates it, there are people running around in other games already (like E&B, DAoC, and EQ) broadcasting in various channels about how bad AC2 really is. I personally know 8 people online that have quit playing AC2 already. I can log on at 7pm (I live in the U.S.) and I see around 400-500 people logged in on each server. Compared to 1,800 on each server in DAoC, and 1,500 per server in EQ, 500 people on at primetime is a joke.
So here's the part that really boggles my mind...Why is it, that every site that reviews this game, says its good? I mean, if everyone hates it, and you're in the business of reviewing games and your view differs from 90% of the MMORPG world, how do you not feel you're losing credibility?
I think some of you guys might want to catch up with the rest of the world, your job is to inform us, not try to change our minds. AC2 is a joke, and the people who walked away by the thousands in beta, and the thousands in the 40 or so days its been available, are shaking their heads at your reviews. YOU may like the game, but how will THEY like it. Isn't that what keeps you in business?
I really dont understand that 
_________________
The arrows flew at us so thick as to blot out the sun, so I says to young Angus, "Well, at least now we'll be fighting in the shade." |
Mon Jan 20, 2003 2:57 pm |
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Hexy
High Emperor
Joined: 28 Jun 2002
Posts: 621
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It MUST be because of Microsoft's BEST PR guy, Mr. Franklin.
_________________
Like some bold seer in a trance;
Seeing all his own mischance |
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Mon Jan 20, 2003 3:11 pm |
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States |
| Re: I Really Dont Understand Something... |
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quote:
Originally posted by Scott
I read EVERY review posted on this board by all of the sites posting one on a daily basis. I love the site, the links, the way things work and the ease of use. And yes, here comes the "but"... I really dont understand one thing. All I hear from people who have played AC2, is how bad it is. I played the first AC and loved it, and have played the 2nd AC and I hate it. Everyone I talk to hates it, there are people running around in other games already (like E&B, DAoC, and EQ) broadcasting in various channels about how bad AC2 really is. I personally know 8 people online that have quit playing AC2 already. I can log on at 7pm (I live in the U.S.) and I see around 400-500 people logged in on each server. Compared to 1,800 on each server in DAoC, and 1,500 per server in EQ, 500 people on at primetime is a joke.
So here's the part that really boggles my mind...Why is it, that every site that reviews this game, says its good? I mean, if everyone hates it, and you're in the business of reviewing games and your view differs from 90% of the MMORPG world, how do you not feel you're losing credibility?
I think some of you guys might want to catch up with the rest of the world, your job is to inform us, not try to change our minds. AC2 is a joke, and the people who walked away by the thousands in beta, and the thousands in the 40 or so days its been available, are shaking their heads at your reviews. YOU may like the game, but how will THEY like it. Isn't that what keeps you in business?
I really dont understand that
I totally completely agree with you Scott, because i have been wondering the same thing for months. I bought AC2 and it was a WASTE of my money. I wish the store would refund me, but they wont. Anyway, i think these reviewers are getting BIG INCENTIVES from Microsoft to give AC2 good scores. Usually i never give in to conspiracy theories, but this one is so blatantly obvious its disturbing. I have lost respect for a lot of reviewers out there, that i DONT TRUST REVIEWS anymore. Its sad. AC2 is sad, and anyone who gives it 90% review is going against all the players. Makes me wonder if these reviewers have ever played an MMORPG before AC2?  LOL. 
The solution? Dont let reviews make up your mind. Instead, go to message boards and listen to what the REAL PLAYERS are saying about the game in question. They are much more reliable than reviewers, which is sad. |
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Mon Jan 20, 2003 3:33 pm |
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EverythingXen
Arch-villain
Joined: 01 Feb 2002
Posts: 4342
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We haven't written a review of AC2 yet (I don't know if one's in the works... I'm the D&D review guy.  ). We post links to every review, good or bad, that we can find checking our news sources. If it looks like we're trying to paint AC2 in a good light by linking to only 'good' reviews... we're really not.
The thousands that have walked away haven't written any reviews that I've found when crawling around the web trying to beat my fellow newshounds to a newsbit (and losing horribly, I might add... ). If you have a link to one, or find a link to one... please feel free to e-mail it to the news team.
RPGDot sometimes prints user reviews, too (it's how I got onto the team). If you want to write one up for AC2 for possible publishing on RPGDot... PM me and I'll pass the idea on to the boss-man.
A review is always colored by 'fun for me'. Since everyone has a different idea of a fun... a review should be looked at mostly for the technical opinions on a game. Graphics. Sound. Gameplay. Fun IS a big part of our review score (45% actually)... but no reviewer can say with absolute authority 'this game is fun'. I loved Freedom Force, for example.... I gave it the full 45% in fun because I had a blast playing it. Some people hate it.
_________________
Estuans interius, Ira vehementi
"The old world dies and with it the old ways. We will rebuild it as it should be, MUST be... Immortal!"
=Member of the Nonflamers Guild=
=Worshipper of the Written Word= |
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Mon Jan 20, 2003 3:37 pm |
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Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada |
Ok, well I am doing a review for AC2 for RPGDot  hehe! It should be up on the site this week, I think. In the mean time, let me give you the scoop on why I don'T think the game is bad, although I can certainly understand why people aren't flocking to it in droves.
Although you'll mostly read my detailed views on the game in the review, I can honestly say that AC2 was fun for me... for a while at least. If you forget every other game it's competing with, the world would be a good place if there was only AC2. Now, of course the problem that AC2 has is that it's not alone in this world and it's just not fun enough to convince me to stop playing that other game I've been playing for so long. Why? It's still the same of everything that every other game has already. Why would I switch?
That, I think, is why people say that AC2 is crap. But then again people use the word "crap" far too much I think. The game is not crap, it's good. only it's not better than everything else out there, and it certainly doesn't offer much more to the player that has already invested hundreds of hours in their other game. AC2 is decent on it's own, and THAT is what a review is for: to judge a game by its own merits first, not just comparing it to others. In that regards, if someone looks beyond the numerical value and reads my entire review, I do mention that veteran players probably won't see anything to their liking in AC2, and that has some bearing on the rating. But to newcommers to the genre, AC2 is a very nice game to get.
Anyway, read the review when it comes out and let me know if I was specific enough, but don't just look at the rating and stop at that, please! 
_________________
=Proud Father of a new gamer GIRL!=
=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild=
=Worshiper of the Written Word= |
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Mon Jan 20, 2003 6:52 pm |
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States |
Ah, now i understand. I can see that it could be fun for amateurs, surely. But the hardcore people find it, like Ekim said, too much of the same. With all the great games coming, including Star Wars Galaxies, EVE Online, Darkfall, Dragon Empires, Warhammer Online, et cetera, compared to those mmorpgs, Asheron's Call 2 just doesnt compete. I was going to play AC2 until EVE, but i changed my mind after 2 days of AC2. It just isnt good enough for me. That said, some people will like it, and like Ekim stated, its a good game to a certain extent -- its just that its not really really good, hehe. I am looking forward to your review of it, Ekim, to see what another mmorpg player thinks. |
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Mon Jan 20, 2003 7:09 pm |
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Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada |
| Re: I Really Dont Understand Something... |
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quote:
Originally posted by Ammon777
The solution? Dont let reviews make up your mind. Instead, go to message boards and listen to what the REAL PLAYERS are saying about the game in question. They are much more reliable than reviewers, which is sad.
I just want to address this on it's own (sorry for double-posting )
I wouldn't put so much blame on reviewers myself. But I do agree that anyone should not put too much faith in reviews themselves because they are actually written by human beings who can differ in opinions. What you should get out of a review are the specific details of a game and read how they are treated in it to see whether you like them or not.
For instance, a reviewer might detail the death system in AC2. A player that is fed up of his current MMORPG because he feels the death system in it is too harsh and wants to move on regardless of everything else would do well to read up on reviews and see what reviewers might say about it, and then make a decision based on that and the general feelings of a reviewer. Even if the reviewer believes that the death system is good in AC2, the reader might decide that the way it is described makes it even worse than the game he's currently playing, and because of that pass on the title even if it was given a fair rating. If that happens, then my job is done!
I'm not here just to tell anyone how great or how bad a game is and try to convince you that my opinion is the best one around (that's an editorialist's job), but to explain the reasons whyI think a game is so good or so bad, and then go into more details about what brought me to think this way. You can agree or disaggree with me, and that's fine, but in the process you might understand that the game is not for you even though I liked it. Or, on the contrary, you might think that the game merits to be given a chance even if I disliked it. If the review was well written enough to allow both, then I think it's a good review and that's what I strive for. I'm not saying that I achieve it, but that's for you guys to judge and review (no pun intended  ).
By the way, if you go to most message boards for most MMORPG out there you will mostly find players complaining about the game. Just go browse through the Vault boards for DAoC and you will understand what I mean. The game might have continuously over 1000 players online per server, yet if you read the boards you'll start wondering why... Players who are enjoying themselves don't comment for the most part, and that's why getting a feeling on a game through message boards is the not a very good idea, in my opinion. Nor is basing a purchase on a single review for a game either.
Sorry for the long rants
_________________
=Proud Father of a new gamer GIRL!=
=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild=
=Worshiper of the Written Word= |
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Mon Jan 20, 2003 7:11 pm |
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vaticide
Put food in here
Joined: 21 Feb 2002
Posts: 1122
Location: One step behind a toddler bent on destruction. |
| Re: I Really Dont Understand Something... |
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quote:
Originally posted by Ekim
quote:
Originally posted by Ammon777
The solution? Dont let reviews make up your mind. Instead, go to message boards and listen to what the REAL PLAYERS are saying about the game in question. They are much more reliable than reviewers, which is sad.
...
By the way, if you go to most message boards for most MMORPG out there you will mostly find players complaining about the game. ... Players who are enjoying themselves don't comment for the most part, and that's why getting a feeling on a game through message boards is the not a very good idea, in my opinion.
...
I've always said that the people who aren't having technical problems or love a game aren't in message boards because they are too busy having fun playing the game. Thus the message boards are filled primarily with people unable to play the game, and mad, or people who don't enjoy the game and feel jaded. Message boards are a good place to find solutions to hardware problems though for this reason.
-vaticide |
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Tue Jan 21, 2003 5:56 pm |
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NidPuterGuy
Fearless Paladin
Joined: 08 Jan 2003
Posts: 237
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Reviewers almost never come out and say this or that games sucks. For some reason their policy is to not do that. a 6-10 rating with a this game will be fun for some people is the standard. My new method is to scour the web for player reviews, ignore the fanboys, and look for the same complaint about why the game sucks. If you can find that then you know the game is a dog. Like SimCity4, if you look hard enough you will find a recuring theme about frame rate issues. Many good reviews but a handful that will tell the truth and about the same thing. I'll let you know how my new method goes. |
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Fri Jan 24, 2003 11:58 pm |
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EverythingXen
Arch-villain
Joined: 01 Feb 2002
Posts: 4342
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I find it hard to say anything truly 'sucks'. It would feel like I'm completely belittling the time and effort some people put into making a product.
I call things as I see them, though. If I find something about a game I really don't like... I put it in the review. If I find something I really DO like I put it in the review. I also try and emphasize that what's good for me isn't good for everyone. Ultimately you have to make a leap of faith when you decide to buy a game. I just do what I can to present everything good or bad that I see.
I received some hostile e-mail about IWD2 from a few people who had nothing but problems with it (getting it to run, etc). That I shouldn't have said it was error-free in my review. In point of fact I didn't... I said I encountered no errors (not a single crash to desktop in the 40 hours I played it). If mine was the only review they read and the reason they 'wasted' their money I would feel badly about that.
Reviews are to get a feeling for something. Never, ever buy a game from reading just one. That said... when I review a game I work hard at playing it as thoroughly as I can and then spend time writing something up that I hope will be entertaining and informative. I'd rather people didn't 'ignore reviewers', though it is certainly their choice to do so.
_________________
Estuans interius, Ira vehementi
"The old world dies and with it the old ways. We will rebuild it as it should be, MUST be... Immortal!"
=Member of the Nonflamers Guild=
=Worshipper of the Written Word= |
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Sat Jan 25, 2003 5:33 am |
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Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada |
You know, I think it's easy to say that a game just sucks, and pin point everything that's negative and make a review out of that. It's another matter to be constructive in reviewing a game though. I must agree with Xen when he says that ultimately buying a game is a leap of faith. No one in the entire world can tell you what you will like a certain game or not, or whether a game will work well for you. You have to use your own judgement.
Technical problems are one thing, but they don'T necessarily make a game bad. Such problems might be fixed a couple of fast patches after release. So if those technical problems you complained so much about are gone and you gave the game a bad review because of them, what do you do if they disappear? Do you go back and write another, more positive review? No, you have to look at the game itself. Bugs certainly don't help, and they certainly aren't positive features, and a reviewer should talk about them (when he himself actually encounters them of course), but it should never take precedence over the actual game.
_________________
=Proud Father of a new gamer GIRL!=
=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild=
=Worshiper of the Written Word= |
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Mon Jan 27, 2003 6:51 pm |
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Farseer
City Guard
Joined: 30 Apr 2002
Posts: 131
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I hope you post a review of Shadowbane when it gos retail. Based on that shall I judge the merit of your site(reviews) for future purchases.  |
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Thu Feb 13, 2003 10:16 am |
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Zakhal
Captain of the Guard
Joined: 13 Oct 2002
Posts: 188
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Problem with mmorpg reviews is usually the fact that you have to play them for a long time before the game reviels its real skin. Whether its another boring treadmill or somthing that can keep its interest.
A new person to mmorpgs usually does not have any idea how simple most of these games are. Mmorpgs look like massive complex games with a lot of content though basicly they are just treadmills with lot of fake clothing to disguise that fact. |
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Thu Feb 13, 2003 10:24 am |
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Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada |
quote:
Originally posted by Farseer
I hope you post a review of Shadowbane when it gos retail. Based on that shall I judge the merit of your site(reviews) for future purchases.
If anyone at RPGDot reviews Shadowbane, it certainly will not be me.
As far as judging the merits of a site based on a review, you would be wrong to. You can judge an individual reviewer's merits according to his/her reviews, but not an entire site! Xen posts reviews sometimes, and I post reviews sometimes, but that certainly doesn't mean that we would both review games alike. And if you read my review and disagree with me, it certainly does not mean that every review on RPGDot will not match your own views . You might disagree with me in general, but agree with Xen in most of what he has to say. It does not make me of Xen worse or better than the other, it just means that you're tastes are closer to one or the other.
_________________
=Proud Father of a new gamer GIRL!=
=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild=
=Worshiper of the Written Word= |
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Thu Feb 13, 2003 8:12 pm |
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