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Alan Wake reviews have Remedy 'pretty damn far from disappointed'
Though he insists that the Remedy team doesn't check the Alan Wake Metacritic score too frequently (sure guys), Mikko Rautalahti, a writer for the studio, said the team is "pretty damn far from disappointed" with the critical reception of the game, which will be released next Tuesday, May 18. Currently, the game has an average rating of 84, a score Rautalahti said Remedy would "have to be complete goddamn idiots to not be satisfied with." Here in the future, we've already fallen in love with Alan Wake, gotten bored of it and moved on to wondering what Remedy has planned for a follow-up; a question Rautalahti addressed in another forum post: "Well, it's certainly no secret that we'd love to make a second one if the first one does well. But since the game isn't even out yet, it's really up in the air." Wait ... up in the air? You heard it here first: Alan Wake 2: Wake's On a Plane. [Via The Mind Channel; Videogamer.com]
PAX Poll: Raise your hand if you like review scores
Okay, so maybe a few hands actually went up when Gaming Nexus Editor-in-Chief Charles Husemann asked attendees of a PAX East panel today to raise their hands if they liked review scores -- but no more than 10 hands. And then, when Husemann asked for a show of hands from those who don't like scores, the room practically exploded in armpit B.O. Interestingly, Husemann observed, a PAX Prime audience last September showed the opposite responses to the same questions. (We should note that Huesmann's polling at PAX East today immediately followed strong remarks from one of the panelists of PR representatives, who basically hates review scores, perhaps influencing the votes of the audience -- "Puppet Masters," indeed, as the panel was titled.) %Poll-43519%
Infinite Space puts two launch videos into orbit
Did you pick up Infinite Space yet? The DS spaceventure was released from its docking station by Platinum Games yesterday, and so far the reviews are actually better than we expected. We've got two more launch trailers to share with you: one above which seems to be the intro to the game (complete with Star Wars-style crawl and the weird narration we've come to expect from this game); and another after the break which will walk you through the game's battle tutorial. If you've tried the game out, let us know what you think below. The battle system seems different and the story isn't supposed to be too bad, either. You wouldn't think that an infinite void of open space would have that much going on, but maybe it's worth a shot.
The Digital Continuum: The 'Next Big Thing' in MMOs
Is All Points Bulletin the "Next Big Thing" in MMOs? While I'm fully aware that Realtime Worlds doesn't specifically prefer to associate the game with this genre, it's very much a part of it -- but it also orbits the fringes of what we commonly refer to as a massively multiplayer online game. Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2 and All Points Bulletin come from a different school of business models. These games hinge on the idea that most people dislike coughing up 15 bucks a month to keep playing their favorite title. Just look to the success of the original Guild Wars, having a year ago passed six million copies sold. That's a pretty great start for non-subscription MMOs, and because of that success we now have GW's sequel and APB on the way.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars now available on iPhone and iPod touch
Rockstar Games told us a while back that they'd be releasing their DS hit Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the iPhone, and sure enough, last night it appeared on the App Store [iTunes link]. Touch Arcade got a head start on the game -- they've got some quick impressions and some gameplay video up on their site right now. The game appears to be a pretty faithful port of the highest-rated Nintendo DS game over on Metacritic, offering up GTA gameplay in a more isometric view that hearkens back to the original games in the series, before GTA III took things fully 3D. The main difference, of course, is that there are no buttons to play with, so you've got to deal with the usual touchscreen controls, and you can now listen to your iTunes playlists along with the in-game radio, but other than that, this is Grand Theft Auto officially on the iPhone. Cool. We've confirmed with Rockstar that this is an official release (they didn't drop it accidentally, though like Touch Arcade, we expected a little more warning), so you can head on over to the App Store and pick it up for $9.99 right now (half the price of the DS version, in case you thought that was high). We're playing with a copy of the game right now, so you can look for a more in-depth review later this week.
Metareview: Bayonetta
We may still have a few more weeks before the hair-based weapon wielding Bayonetta arrives on US shores, but that doesn't mean that reviewers haven't gotten their hands on the region-free, fully translated PlayStation 3 Japanese release (and the lucky folks at Official Xbox Magazine seem to have secured an extra early Xbox 360 review copy). Regardless of the downright silly nature of the game's story and characters, Bayonetta has thus far received universal acclaim from the critics. Here's what some had to say. Edge (100/100): "A beautiful and graceful fighting game that lets imagination loose, and winks before slapping Dante, Kratos and every other hero back to the drawing board." Eurogamer (9/10): "It's in combat that Bayonetta's splendour is fully revealed ... a blast of creative brilliance, both technically accomplished, strategically deep and infused with rare imagination, Bayonetta represents the pinnacle of its chosen niche." Official Xbox Magazine (90/100): "Every one of these dazzling battles is thrilling without overstaying its welcome - and also challenges you without being cheap" Play.tm (95%): "Bayonetta could - and should - breathe fresh life into the ailing Japanese action genre ... an unrivalled showcase of imagination and creativity." Source 1 - Metacritic PS3 Source 2 - Metacritic Xbox 360 %Gallery-22955%
Science: Uncharted 2 is the best game of 2009
Who says so? Science says so. Just look at the numbers in this Metacritic round-up of the year's top games and it's pretty obvious that Uncharted 2 is the best. Also, according to math, the PS3 is better than the 360. This isn't us or even Metacritic saying it, people, these are innocent, irrefutable numbers. In all seriousness, while Metacritic has collected some interesting, worthwhile data in its report, we're not sure what the point is in trying to pick the best system or game of 2009 just going by statistics. We've relied on numbers just to help us organize our annual Game of the Year selection, and even so, just look how much damage they were still capable of.
Analyst: Metacritic scores don't drive success
The idea that review scores don't matter is nothing new around Joystiq. We've seen the argument made by EEDAR's Jesse Divnich, specifically in reference to DS games. Michael Pachter and Peter Moore have leveled the same claim at Wii games as well. Now, Cowen Group's Doug Creutz tells Gamasutra that the score generated by aggregators like Metacritic is the least important factor in how well a game performs. Creutz notes that scores can be "somewhat predictive" of a game's success, but are "unlikely in and of themselves to drive or undermine the success of a game." He then mentions the industry scuttlebutt that many publishers work very hard to jockey scores, saying that publishers' time would be better spent on development instead of "grade-grubbing." The major factors in purchasing decisions, according to Creutz, are genre, whether a player liked the previous game in a series and, unsurprisingly, price. So there you have it publishers, to be successful, all you have to do is make a sequel to a popular game in a genre that a lot of people like. And make it cheap. If that's not possible, two out of three ain't bad.
EEDAR: 37% of Wii games went unreviewed in early 2009
In his latest "debriefing" on IndustryGamers, EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich suggets that the average score for Wii games may be improving because a significant portion of titles aren't being reviewed. Strictly comparing January to June, in both 2008 and 2009, the analyst group graphed the total number of titles released for the three major platforms and the percentages of those titles that were not reviewed (see above). The number at the bottom of each bar represents the number of titles released for the platform in the stated time period; while the percentage at the top corresponds to the quantity of those titles that was not reviewed.Divnich recognizes that "while the Wii has experienced a rise in average review scores (from 60 to 66 in one year), this has come at the benefit of critics ignoring some titles that could have possibly dragged down the Wii's average." However, it's possible that such reviews could have also raised the average score -- we know, that's unlikey, but still. Additionally, the report notes that the unreviewed Wii games weren't "core-targeted titles," which also holds true for unreviewed games on Xbox 360 and PS3.Divnich maintains that Wii games are getting better, but he concludes, "It is just coming at the cost of not reviewing the increase in casual and low-budget titles." He believes that a similar issue could appear occur with respect to PS3 and Xbox 360 as the consoles' casual demographics increase in conjunction with the continued growth of their install bases.
Parents don't read Joystiq
Or, you know, any other review outlet for that matter. That's a criminally oversimplified version of the point that John Davison is making over at What They Play today. Davison says that, by-and-large, review sites aren't giving a fair shake to kids' games. Which is just as well, because parents aren't really reading them, relying instead on consumer reviews like those found at Amazon.com.We at Joystiq would be tempted to laugh it off, but, as we learned in Back to the Future: Part 2, by 2013, every game played with the hands will be considered a "baby game," which is going to make reaching parents desperately important to us.
Metareview: The Conduit (Wii)
While you're patiently waiting for the end of the week so you can cash that paycheck and pick up High Voltage Software's The Conduit for your Nintendo Wii, why not take a gander at what the rest of the interweb had to say about the game? Considering the lack of correlation between Metacritic scores and the sales numbers of Wii games, though -- at least according to Peter Moore -- you probably shouldn't let these numbers get to you too much. GamePro (70): "The Conduit is the closest you will get to recapturing the magic of Goldeneye ... To be blunt, The Conduit is a by the numbers shooter that offers a couple of thrills but ultimately doesn't make much of an impact ... anyone who loved Goldeneye will want to give a look as well if only to get a nice dose of nostalgia, but the rest of you shouldn't feel a need to abandon your favorite next-gen shooter for this one." GamesRadar (80): "The Conduit is fun, controls well, and is, at times, quite beautiful ... Both humans and alien drones are animated with competent physics and personality that puts High Voltage Software's Quantum3 engine outside the realm of the "GameCube 1.5" criticisms ... The truth is you probably wouldn't bat an eye at The Conduit had it appeared on PC, PS3 or Xbox 360 ... The solid, yet unremarkable single-player won't win any awards, but The Conduit still features the most finely honed online outings available on Wii." IGN (86): "The Conduit is not a revolutionary first-person shooter, but it's a damned good one ... the title features the tightest, most comfortable control scheme of any console-based first-person shooter to date ... The Conduit features a robust list of modes and maps to play online and nearly 20 weapons to use as you rip through arenas blasting foes ... it's not revolutionary, but The Conduit is a great first-person shooter designed just for Wii owners." %Gallery-33787%
The industry chimes in on the importance of reviews for Wii games
Various industry figures have come out in support of Peter Moore's claims that review scores don't impact the success of Wii games. One developer told Eurogamer that how a Wii game does is contingent entirely upon marketing, calling Wii games "pure risk." "A lot of these games that you think are the perfect game for Wii don't sell because companies don't have the money to market them," the developer said. "Whereas Nintendo is spending gazillions of dollars marketing their games."Michael Pachter suggested that review scores aren't important because many Wii owners don't read reviews. ""I think that Metacritic scores are irrelevant for people who don't look at them - how's that for obvious?" Pachter said. "While there are many Wii owners who are hardcore and who care very much about scores, there are many - perhaps half - who are quite casual, and wouldn't know Metacritic if it fell on them." He offered games like Carnival Games and Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum as examples of successful titles with little critical acclaim.However, 2D Boy's Kyle Gabler offers an instance in which Metacritic scores and reviews do make a difference: indie games, like his own World of Goo, which happens to be the third highest-rated game on Wii. He compares mainstream games to Will Smith movies, which draw audiences without reviews."But for indie guys like us, Metacritic and review scores matter a lot," Gabler said. "In fact we link directly to them from our web site. So does Steam. It makes a lot of sense - potential players don't feel comfortable dishing out cash for some random unknown indie game without an aggregate thumbs-up from solid reviewers."
Moore says Metacritic not so relevant to Wii sales
We've heard stories of PR reps and devs obsessing over Metacritic scores, but EA Sports' Peter Moore's not sweating them, at least when it comes to Wii games. Noting that some titles in the low 70s can still move millions upon millions of units, Moore says that the people buying casual games and health titles like EA Sports Active aren't getting their info from Metacritic. Moore's bigger concern? User reviews on Amazon. We'd like to snicker, but that's how we buy vacuums, so what do we know?
Edge asks 'How good are Xbox games, really?'
It's the moment we all dread: Opening a carefully wrapped video game gift from a non-gaming relative. The chances that you'll need to hang onto that gift receipt? Astronomically high -- unless they are given explicit buying instructions. Wishing to put a number to the above hypothesis, Edge and Electronic Entertainment Design and Research have teamed up to graph the Xbox 360 library based on Metacritic scores. According to the research, 13% (48 titles) of all Xbox 360 software released in North America between 2005 and 2008 have received an average score of 85 or higher while 38% (136 titles) scored a 65 or lower. Of course, this stylish graph only means anything if you take stock in review scores -- and if you follow our WRUP posts, you know we don't. PS3 users don't fret -- EDGE and EEDAR are tackling the big black (on the outside, blu on the inside) box next week.
Ubisoft 'least consistent,' Rockstar 'most consistent,' concludes study of Metacritic
Prepare yourself for some simple math and inflammatory statements. Gaming industry analysis site GameQuarry recently performed a breakdown of Metacritic ratings for titles released by major publishers to determine whose releases were of a consistently high quality. Assigning each release an A - F grade, then using a simple point value cipher (A = 2, B = 1, C = 0, D = -1, F = -2), it ranked each publisher by their final scores, providing some fairly interesting results.Rockstar Games took home top honors in this respect, with a grade score of 19 over its 23 releases. Telltale Games was a close runner-up with a score of 14 for its 23 titles. On the not-so-braggable end of the spectrum (chart posted after break), Ubisoft was listed as the "least consistent" publisher, with a final score of -148 over 237 games, with Activision hot on its heels with a score of -138 for its 227 games.Is this study the final word on which publishers are currently putting out the highest quality product? No, not exactly, as the list includes the entire portfolios of the publishers listed (at least for titles current enough to merit Metacritic ratings), so it doesn't do much to point out current publishing trends. Also, the more prolific publishers seemed to be somewhat penalized for their largeness -- Activision, who ranked second from the bottom, had more Grade A titles than anyone else on the list. However, it does provide a little food for thought -- and more than a little fuel for a few flamewars, we suspect.
Publishers: Movie tie-in games don't need critical acclaim
While publishers may unleash the PR hounds over some games, apparently they aren't so concerned when it comes to movie tie-in titles. MCV spoke with several company representatives behind this year's movie-licensed cash-ins, revealing the opinion that megaplex titles are enjoyed by fans of the film and reviews don't really matter.Activision Blizzard's head of marketing, David Tyler, notes that many licensed titles are targeted at kids, who really don't pay attention to scores. He believes success or failure depends on how fun a game is, and that game ratings are largely the concern of an older target audience. Meaning, if there was a movie tie-in game for The Bucket List, chances are, the publisher would make sure it's amazing.
Sega discusses the importance of Metacritic scores
Speaking to GI.biz, Sega Europe president and COO Mike Hayes discussed the importance of Metacritic, specifically to publishers approaching developers about future projects. Hayes said that being able to "put objectivity" into the video game business is very important when publishers are putting millions of dollars on the line. "You have to try and find that objectivity," said Hayes, "and it's going to come from how much it costs, when it's coming out, and how good the game is."In particular, Hayes said that Metacritic scores are important for "high-end Playstation 3 or Xbox 360" titles that are attempting to "break out" in a particular genre. "You have to target that quality," said Hayes, "because otherwise you don't have a hope in Hell." He added further that there is "too much evidence" that games that fail to surpass a certain Metacritic score "are not going to cut through."Still, according to Hayes, Metacritic isn't the only consideration, as several factors -- such as release date, platform availability, and whether or a not a game is part of an established franchise -- affect a game's success. Hayes believes it would be wrong to make Metacritic score targets a part of every developer contract, but notes that it's not unfair for publishers to have "certain expectations of quality levels" for expensive projects. "But to demand it on absolutely everything," he said, "wouldn't be right at all." There's a Sonic Unleashed joke in there somewhere.
Meta-Metareview: The best reviewed games of 2008
With almost all of the big games of '08 now on shelves (we're looking at you, Prince of Persia) or available via Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, you're left with a lot of choices. Some of them you've already bought; others you've been on the fence over; others you didn't realize were "supposed to be" any good – but, if you're anything like us, you don't want to miss any of the must-plays this year has to offer.Enter our "meta-metareview," a list of every game released this year that's scored above 85% on average from reviewers around the world. You won't be surprised by the games that made the list; you will be surprised that some of your (and our) favorites didn't make it. Check out the full list after the break and please, before you send us a nasty email because Castle Crashers didn't make it on, remember that them's the (sometimes painful) breaks with aggregate scoring.Some fun facts: October was the most crowded month for quality titles with 12 released, followed by November (8), September (7) and April (6). Breaking it down by console, PlayStation 3 has the most presence on the list with 22 titles, followed by Xbox 360 (20), PC (15), Wii (8), DS (7), PSP (2) and PS2 (1). The best-reviewed game this year? April's Grand Theft Auto IV (98%), followed by a three-way tie between LittleBigPlanet, BioShock (PS3) and World of Goo (95%) -- all three of which were released in October. Metal Gear Solid 4 and Wrath of the Lich King are the next tier below at 94%. Of the 55 titles listed, 12 (or approximately 22%) were not based on an existing franchise: Sins of a Solar Empire, Patapon, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Braid, The World Ends with You, Boom Blox, World of Goo, GRID, Pure, LittleBigPlanet, Dead Space and Valkyria Chronicles.
Metacritic to crack down on phoney user ratings
Thousands of suspiciously low user ratings for Gears of War 2 were evidently the tipping point for aggregate reviews site Metacritic. With the game averaging in the low- to mid-90% range from various media outlets, just shy of 4,000 user votes have it at a measly 3.5/10 – this before it has even hit shelves. In this specific case, Metacritic games editor, Marc Doyle, advises visitors to the site to, "focus ... attention on the Metascore for this game and not the thousands of user votes, most of which have been submitted before said users have played the game." Doyle also promised that the site will "post the full legitimate user reviews upon the game's release.""If people want to stuff the ballot box, there's not much I can do at this point," Doyle said, revealing that, "When we upgrade the registration requirements for participation on the site in the near future, this type of thing won't happen." Haters, you have been warned.
Download now, or forever hold your points: Potential delisted Xbox Live Arcade titles
Our Xbox-toting brethren at 360 Fanboy recently came across a list of Xbox Live Arcade titles which may be up for expungement in Microsoft's spring cleaning of their online store. The list (available after the break) includes all titles that fulfill the first and second criteria of Microsoft's new standards -- that is, they've been available for six months, and currently hold a 65 percent or lower average score on Metacritic. A steady conversion rate (the number of people who purchase the complete title after downloading the demo, a figure only Microsoft has access to) is the only thing standing between these games and a date with the delete button -- so if you've been holding out on downloading Shrek-N-Roll, you may want to pick it up in an expedient manner.
