critics
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Huawei is suing French critics who say it's tied to the Chinese state
Huawei is taking a more aggressive stance against critics who say it has ties to the Chinese government, according to Bloomberg and French investigative site La Lettre A. The telecom giant has filed three defamation suits in France against a French researcher, broadcast journalist and wireless network expert, all of whom made comments on different television programs. Huawei has confirmed that the claims were filed back in March.
Rotten Tomatoes is changing what it looks for in movie critics
Rotten Tomatoes has overhauled its criteria for which critics and outlets get to contribute to its Tomatometer scores, opening the platform up to more voices and points of view. The company said that when it got started, it largely included critics from major publications and broadcasters with a large audience reach, which fit with the media landscape at the time. "In the intervening decades, a lot has changed," said the company, noting that staff positions at major outlets have dwindled and many critics are producing good work elsewhere, through smaller online outlets, podcasts and YouTube, for example.
Facebook tests critic reviews in your restaurant searches
Ever had a Facebook friend rave about a restaurant, only to find out that it leaves your own tastebuds underwhelmed? Facebook might just come to your rescue. It's experimenting with a feature that adds critic reviews to certain restaurant pages in New York and San Francisco, so you'll know whether or not that burger joint is really as good as your aunt says. This is ultimately a response to Google's Zagat ratings, but you probably won't mind if it saves you from taking some bad dinner advice -- here's hoping that the feature expands quickly.
The Soapbox: On MMO negativity
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. Last week I was given a link to an op-ed piece at Thade's place, and in lieu of posting a comment there, I figured I'd do it on the Soapbox and hopefully generate some discussion (and traffic) for all concerned. In a nutshell, Thade questions whether MMO pundits actually like MMOs, and he comments on a perceived rise in negativity amongst what are assumed to be fans of the genre. I don't know if the blogosphere has taken a turn toward the negative, but if so, there's a pretty simple explanation for it. The games have changed, and the old guard who grew up with MMOs (and are willing/able to devote time to blogging about them) have to try a little bit harder to enjoy themselves as each new title gets further and further from what they like. That's OK, though, and it's also OK -- and even essential -- for the disaffected to speak up.
Don't trust the critics: Four Apple products they thought would fail
Ever since the iPad's introduction a month and a half ago, the internet has been awash in criticism of the as-yet-unreleased device. "It's just a big iPod touch," many have said. "No Flash, no multitasking, no sale," others bemoaned. And a few have gone so far as to say, "It doesn't do a lot of things that a netbook that costs half as much will do." For these reasons and many more, many of the pundits and forum dwellers have but one prediction: the iPad is going to crash and burn. Don't you believe it, because the critics have been wrong before. Several times, actually, according to The Week, which provides a list of five Apple products the critics thought would fail. Out of those five, only one, the Newton, failed to find mainstream success. The other four were industry-defining products which went on to sell millions of units each. What did the critics have to say about these four "failed" Apple products when they first debuted, and which products were they? Click "Read More" to find out.
Metareview: Tony Hawk Ride
We're so proud of the individuals who managed to play through the pain radiating from their twisted, throbbing ankle, and craft a review for the latest (peripheral-infused) installment in the Hawkman's gaming franchise, Tony Hawk: Ride. Here's what these brave, persistent critics had to say about the experience. Game Informer (5.75/10): "As a skateboarder and as a gamer, Tony Hawk: Ride is a curious idea but a letdown in practice. The huge level of frustration is not worth the time it takes to master the awkward gameplay idiosyncrasies." IGN (5/10): "The idea? A more immersive skateboarding game that would ride the recent wave of hit games featuring their own custom controllers. The result? An expensive proposition that neither casual nor hardcore gamers will get much out of." GameSpy (2.5/5 Stars): "As expected, Tony Hawk Ride is an experiment -- an interesting and ambitious experiment, but one that doesn't come together as a fully functional experience. I love the basic feel of the board, and had occasional bouts of fun amidst frequent frustration, but THR's gargantuan buy-in price is an awful lot to ask of an effective guinea pig audience." Giant Bomb (1/5 Stars): "While the Tony Hawk franchise has been down on its luck lately, and was probably in need of a reboot as dramatic as this, the execution is such a miserable failure that it manages to splash even more mud on Tony Hawk's legacy. I'm left with a firm belief that whichever side of the Tony Hawk/Activision partnership has the out clause in the contract should just exercise it and part ways for good. Enough is enough. "
Bury the Shovelware: Metal Slug 7
After seeing the ho-hum critical response to Metal Slug 7, I decided to give the title a look in the ol' shovelscope in order to further explore how critics' scores can heavily affect our perceptions of a game before we're ever able to form our own opinions. Plus, I just wanted an excuse to talk about it. Pedigree While the Metal Slug series doesn't have much mainstream recognition, it's generally regarded as a well-kept secret amongst 2D enthusiasts. Furthermore, it's near-gospel to fans of side-scrolling run and gun titles, such as Contra and Gunstar Heroes. The original title is interesting in that it served as a glorification of 2D gaming right at the exact time when 3D gaming was taking over. It looked and played like a 16-bit title on steroids. Its characters were cute, its colors were bright, but the game orchestrated sprites into an all-encompassing celebration of hand-drawn beauty and retro charm. And with great fandom comes great pressure. Let us not forget the support of all things SNK by the company's monomaniacal fans, a group arguably more devoted than Nintendo's fan club. Although SNK must greatly appreciate the support and instant-buzz generated by the fans, they are also subject to very high expectations.
Molyneux asks for special review consideration; we ask 'what would other industries do?'
Reviewers received Fable 2 this week and found within the package a letter from developer Peter Molyneux asking for a few things. Variety explains one of the first things the letter asks (using the word "please" five times) is that the reviewers let a person who doesn't play games try out Fable 2 and to gauge their experience. Two paragraphs are also devoted by the designer to the game's well publicized and initially missing online co-op.Molyneux apparently details the online co-op feature in the letter, which will be added soon after launch. Variety ponders if publications should wait until the feature comes out before reviewers write their pieces, or if outlets should make a note saying this important feature couldn't be tested at the time? So, we asked Variety (well known for its movie and music reviews): what would one of its film or music critics do if they were asked to review an unfinished product? Find out the answer after the break.
'CliffyB' defends Too Human from critics
[Update 2: The Giant Bomb user formerly known as CliffyB has changed his user name based on a request from the Giant Bomb staff. Seems this was a case of mistaken/overtaken internet identity. Joystiq regrets the error.][Update: It seems there's some doubt as to whether or not this review was actually written by Mr. Bleszinski or just some Giant bomb user who took his common online moniker. Either way, the review is still an interesting, alternative look at the game. We're looking into it and we'll update as warranted.]After so much hype and so many years in development, many were surprised by the lackluster critical reception for Silicon Knights' Too Human. Count among the surprised Epic Games' Cliff "Don't call me CliffyB anymore" Bleszinski, who defended the game from its harshest critics in a recent Giant Bomb reader review.Bleszinski says he found the game more engrossing than either BioShock or Call of Duty 4, pouring 16 straight hours into it on his first sit down and readying for a second playthrough after a 42-hour quest. While admitting that the story "isn't God's gift to writing," Bleszinski still insists it compares favorably to a lot of other video games. His main beef, though, is with critics who derided the game's combat as too simple simply because they weren't willing to delve into what Bleszinski sees as some complex strategic depth. "It will require some attention to learn," he warns, "If this is too much to ask, do not fret. There is always the Wii." Ouch!The full review goes into an insane amount of detail on Bleszinski's experience with the game. Check it out if you're interested in a well informed, decidedly different perspective on this epic.
Ask Massively: What are you thinking?!?
It isn't always sunshine and kittens in the Ask Massively inbox. One of the things that keeps a columnist honest is fair criticism, which is not the same as pretty much anything you will ever find of a server community message board. Which brings us to this week's question (of sorts).So, my partially sarcastic question boils down to this: is Massively being paid to be biased against World of Warcraft and for other MMOs? Could you try criticising other MMOs more thoroughly in addition to World of Warcraft? Fairness makes for crappy reading, and bad advice.-Me, Myself, and I(rate)I could sit here all day long and issue stock denials of some of the claims made in this email, but to an extent, he has a point. No, we're not paid to be biased against World of Warcraft, nor are we paid to write favorable things about other MMO's and gloss over a new game's flaws. That doesn't mean that the bias doesn't exist. There is, however, a good reason for such bias.
Game reviewers draft a 'Bill of Rights'
Though you may begrudge them for stamping a 4.5 across Highly Anticipated Shooty Game, or daring to rate The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess an outrageous 1.3 points lower than what you felt it truly deserved, game reviewers are known to have feelings too. Sensing the beating hearts beneath these calculating judgment machines, MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo has asked several reviewers to lay out the circumstances necessary for the wishfully "perfect" review. Their requests aren't as lofty as you might expect.Compiled in a "Bill of Rights," reviewers' requests include being granted access to a game's online mode during the review process, as well as receiving a final boxed copy of the game prior to the review. "I think all a reviewer should really have in their disposal is exactly what the person purchasing the game will have," says Giant Bomb's Jeff Gerstmann. Sometimes, even a review copy of the game is hard to come by on time, with critics asking to receive final code a week before the review gets underway. Modern production schedules frequently prevent this, forcing writers to peer into the future and take the publisher's word on what will be fixed in the final code. Oh, and developers? Please don't peer over their shoulders while they're playing your game. Check out the full Game Reviewer's Bill of Rights on MTV Multiplayer.
Report: Wii games aren't good
Based on data pulled from GameRankings, folks over at GameFunk have prepared the nice little chart above. Apparently, Wii games don't get that great of marks from reviewers. Compared to the marks of games on other consoles, it makes the Wii's library look even worse! Here's the numbers: Xbox 360: 374 games: 26% good, 24% bad PS3: 122 games: 33% good, 17% bad Wii: 189 games: 11% good, 37% bad But, before you punch your computer monitor in a fit of rage, know this: the Wii does have a lot of shovelware. It's just the price of success, as publishers and developers see the console as a means to make money. And that's what they're in it for.Also, keep in mind that the PS3 and Xbox 360 don't have Metroid Prime 3: Corruption or No More Heroes. So they pretty much lose.[Via Joystiq]
PS3 has best average review scores of current gen consoles [Update]
As you may or may not know, video games get reviewed. These scores, sometimes arbitrary in nature, add up over time as more games are released for consoles. Are we being elementary enough? Anyway, as things stand right now, apparently the PS3 library has a higher average review score than the other two current gen consoles.With the 360's longer life, it has had an opportunity to collect more "shovelware," lowering its average review score. Surprisingly, in spite of Wii's success, there are many titles the critics deem of poor quality. (Titles like Zack and Wiki and No More Heroes are quality, but don't sell for some odd reason). Still, we're impressed PS3 games can hold this title for the time being. Just like any other system, it will have its fair share of great games, average games, and downright awful games. Let's hope it can produce more of the former.[Via Kotaku]Editor's Note: Hey everyone. There are a few points we'd like to clarify for those of you arguing the comments section. These figures were provided by Next Gen (all our sources can be seen by clicking "Read"). Also, there are quality games on all three systems, no matter which one is your preferred system. Some of the more inflammatory language has been edited out of this post, and we apologize.
Critics' top 10: 2007 vs. kittens
2007 is almost over, and the end of the year brings joyous tidings of List Season. It's the time for taking stock of the last 12 months of gaming, and trying to make sense of it by putting things in numerical order. Join DS Fanboy for our best-ofs, worst-ofs, and other categories-ofs. When determining the best games of the year, it's a good idea to go at it from different angles: by referencing our own history of reviews, obviously, but we must also look to the wider journalism community. Our reviews, while insightful and entertaining, were not comprehensive. We just didn't play everything. In addition, one reviewer's opinion is simply not sufficient data to make definitive conclusions, even if that one reviewer is me. So we turned to everyone else in aggregate to see what they thought of this year's releases. We've gathered the top 10 DS games of 2007 according to their Metacritic ranking. Keep in mind that many of these games tied in Metascore, meaning that if we were to rank the games, there would be fewer than ten positions. It's still sequential, but with a lot of tie scores. We then carefully applied science to these games in order to convert the Metacritic numbers into a rubric we feel more accurately conveys the quality of these games. Head past the post break for Metacritic's top ten DS games of 2007, graded on a scale from adorable kitten video to unbelievably adorable kitten video.
Sony downplays Lair critics
Reptile romp Lair may not be a critical darling, but Sony isn't too worried. Speaking to Next-Gen (while preparing his grand exit), SCEA PR director Dave Karraker said that it doesn't matter what the critics say: it's all about the consumer."At the end of the day, I'll be interested in the consumers' response, because the consumer awareness for this title was so huge," he said. "I've spoken to any number of people who really like it, and there's other people that find it a challenge." Karraker makes a good point; who cares what a game review says if the game is well-loved by the gaming community at large (and, consequently, sells very well)? Should any consumers find fault with the game and its controls, just remember: the development was haunted. No, really.
