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• Why Were Game Magazines So Cruel to Earthbound?

  Earthbound Central has been collecting old magazine reviews for Earthbound, circa Summer 1995. Thus far, the stable includes Gamepro, Game Players, EGM, and most recently, Video Games & Computer Entertainment. I recently blamed Gamepro for destroying any interest my fifteen-year-old self had in Earthbound, as I well should: their review was wretched. But having looked back at Earthbound Central's library of horror, I've come to realise that Gamepro is not exclusively to blame for turning me off to Ness' adventure. American reviewers despised this poor game. EGM's John Gurka reserved a coveted place beside the Throne of God for mentioning that the storyline rivals that of Final Fantasy VI, but even he can't resist sniffing at the “Nintendo-era graphics.” Every other review sneers at the very same, berating Earthbound's lovingly put-together world as “childish,” “cutesy,” and “McDonald's Playland meets Bobby's World.” (So, which ultimately endeared itself to the world? Earthbound or Bobby's World?) Earthbound is looked upon as one of gaming history's least appreciated games. The farts-n-pizza ad campaign didn't help, but the reviewers of olde probably didn't have them in mind when they snapped off the game and started banging on the keyboard. Why did Earthbound get shafted in the first place? Read More... Posted Apr 03 2009, 11:20 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: snes, earthbound, retro, gamepro, nadia oxford, egm, reviews, jrpgs

• Bringing Sexy Back: Rebecca Mayes's Musical Game Reviews

  Game People is a blog that has been amusing me for a little while now, playing to the idea that there are many different types of gamers out there (there are) and that they deserve to have their opinions on games heard (they do) because they're interesting and insightful (they are!). They've got a sports gamer and a teen gamer and a family gamer and even a haiku gamer who reviews games with haikus and origami. It seems the contributor drawing the most attention, though, is Rebecca Mayes, Game People's "audio gamer". Like so many people we know and love, Rebecca is new to the world of video games. She does not have a pedigree in Metroid, Rebecca is just diving into a mysterious pool of beautifully uncertain water and hoping she'll float. She does this by doing what comes naturally to her, writing and recording quaint little pop songs about whatever she's playing. If ever a genre was formed of "twee gaming," I think Rebecca and I would be right there in the same boat of uneasy wonder, she plucking her guitar strings and me thumbing my kalimba. What? Sorry, I seem to have drifted off there for a moment... Read More... Posted Mar 06 2009, 04:00 PM by Derrick Sanskrit with | with no comments Filed under: derrick sanskrit, bringing sexy back, music, reviews, flower, hotel dusk, game people

• Follow Up: Destructoid Reposts Crappy Review

  Yesterday I lambasted Destructoid's Jim Sterling for a lazy review of Halo Wars. I won't pretend that I'm the one who inspired the change of heart, but Sterling has chosen to play through the game to completion and spend some time on multiplayer. I'm not sure how he managed to do this in one day, and amend the review, but I'll take his word for it. Destructoid has updated the review accordingly. Read More... Posted Feb 25 2009, 05:00 PM by Cole Stryker with | with no comments Filed under: cole stryker, journalism, reviews, ron workman, destructoid, halo wars, jim sterling

• Should Developer Pay be Based on Metacritic Scores?

  That's the question that GamesIndustry.Biz's Phil Elliot is asking. Splash Damage studio director Paul Wedgwood thinks that this is a bogus metric because scoring methods are so  incosistent across websites and mags:  We know that some websites score quite high and some quite low, but in general, all websites tend to score between 60 and 100. There's never a 37. It's as if that whole section doesn't exist, so zero starts at 60, so three stars, and goes up to five. It's just not really an accurate enough measure. Read More... Posted Jan 21 2009, 04:00 PM by Cole Stryker with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: cole stryker, reviews, splash damage, metacritic, gamesindustry.biz

• Facepalm: Crispy Gamer

  Crispy Gamer's Scott Jones didn't really like Fallout 3. I tried very hard to convince myself that I was having fun, that I was intrigued, that I was moved in some profound way. I wasn't.  So how did he rate it? Weak fool that I am, I voted for Fallout 3 as GotY, wondering as I did so whether or not I'd be able to look myself in the mirror the next morning. Make no mistake: Fallout 3 is a remarkable game. Yet the question is, do I crown it with laurels and start up the "Chariots of Fire" theme simply because I admire it? Or, do I vote for what might be perceived as a less ambitious game; a game that, regardless of its limitations, sucked me in, and held my attention for weeks on end, at the risk of tarnishing my reputation? The latter, you spineless hack. That's what criticism is. Everyone knows Fallout is a revered series and everyone knows that Bethesda is one of the most acclaimed studios. Your job as a critic is to cut through the marketing morass and tell readers whether or not the game is fun. That's it. Read More... Posted Jan 13 2009, 04:00 PM by Cole Stryker with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: fallout 3, cole stryker, journalism, reviews, crispy gamer

• Mega Man 9 Review: Pay No Attention to the Numbers. For My Sanity and Yours.

  I don't get to review stuff too often in my writing "career." I'm far more thankful for this than you might imagine. I correct myself. I do actually review Japanese manga over at Mania.com and I'm pretty okay with receiving free manga. But reviewing manga is as easy as petting a dog. I read the story within an hour, write up my opinions and Bob's yer uncle, as my mom says (for some reason). Reviewing a game, on the other hand, is as treacherous as petting a wolf. You might get through it alive, but then again you might be missing your large intestine by the end of it. Writing a game review is such a nasty business because gamers decided at some point that they're allergic to reading. It all comes down to the numbers. Yes, numbers are the universal language, but come on. The world is so much larger than 8.8. Read More... Posted Sep 19 2008, 08:10 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: mega man 9, rant, nadia oxford, ign, reviews, 8.8

• Soulja Boy on Braid: "BWOOOOOOOP!"

  It's been said that some games actually improve under the influence of various substances. Braid isn't one of them. Or is it? Rapper Soulja Boy--who I was completely unaware of due to being afflicted with an extreme, violent case of whiteness--has his own half-baked take on Jonathan Blow's brainy, postmodern platformer that may just change your mind.  Watch it with someone you love: More thoughtful criticism after the cut. Read More... Posted Sep 17 2008, 05:30 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: braid, jonathan blow, drugs, reviews