I posted the Gamespot review of Ratchet & Clank a few days ago and got flamed horribly by a few people.
Well it appears the Gamespot review caused quite the internet controversy and since it is still relevant I thought I would post the video review.
This is not to cause more problems on flamebait Friday but rather to follow on from Andre’s great article yesterday about game reviewing.
While the game is great and looks like a lot of fun it has problems, some of which are quite large. So a score of 75 is fair I think. Anything about 70 is a good score and only the very cream of the crop games should get over 90. There are way to many top scores being given out at the moment.
Last Updated: October 26, 2007
Jinja
October 26, 2007 at 08:31
Um…
http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/932369.asp
SlippyMadFrog
October 26, 2007 at 09:09
The game looks pretty good. Why on earth would gamespot put the reviewers face on the screen??? Thats one ugly SOB
hilt_ctn
October 26, 2007 at 09:58
Yeah I think that guy needs to know there’s a world outside of his front door. That review seems far too serious for a game that doesn’t take itself seriously
Maybe he should look into a Wii – he could use the exercise. Clearly he doesn’t get off the couch much
Mailowl
October 26, 2007 at 10:07
I’m glad I’m having some influence on you LazySAGamer 😉 I’ve always enjoyed the Ratchet & Clank series on my PS2 but it’s not a title that’ll guide us to the promised land; and it shouldn’t get a top rating.
SlippyMadFrog
October 26, 2007 at 10:45
Judging by the above review, the graphics looks quite good. I’m not realy into the comedic platform adventure games but I can easily see why that game will be popular. If I had a PS3 I would definitely give it a go
LazySAGamer
October 26, 2007 at 11:15
The game looks great, it’s just not perfect (no game is)…
If we could rate this game at 75 and then future games be measure against this I think we could get a more accurate rating score…
Milesh Bhana
October 26, 2007 at 11:53
Again, it’s this obsession with numbered reviews. Some games are meant to move to the next gen with almost the same gameplay with better graphics. I don’ see what the outrage is. Look at racing games. How has racing games really changed in the past 10 years ? Better graphics and physics. Each gen just throws on new cars and fresh coat of higher-fidelity paint.
It looks like R&C did the same, and if it’s still done well, then this game will rock. They marked it down for not adding much in terms of gameplay and for it being too short (it seems to be the trend with most games these days). Which is why you’ve got a 7.5 review and everyone you know saying it’s awesome.
Bob
October 26, 2007 at 12:13
I think that given that the game is probably tops in its genre at the moment, the score is justified, just 90% plus scores for Bioshock are correct because it is the leading-edge single-player FPS atm. (and despite common belief, Bioshock also has its flaws, but as in R&C they don’t break the game enough to distract from its core strengths).
How can you say – without playing the game yourself – that the 15 reviewers who scored it above 90% are wrong? The Gamespot reviewer made some startling statements from the viewpoint of the R&C fan.
For example, to say it has no identity because it has a number of mini-games is incorrect because the mini-games a well-loved are staple of the series. They’re always done in a coherent way and never distract from the core gameplay.
Also, having played the demo, the graphics and production values are so impressive that it puts the game right above 90% of the games available on any platform.
Bob
October 26, 2007 at 12:14
Er I meant the 90% plus scores are justified, not Gamespot’s 7.5
LazySAGamer
October 26, 2007 at 12:36
I think a few people are missing my point here.
I think Ratchet & Clank looks like a great game and fully deserves a 7.5, BioShock is a great game but does not deserve 90%.
90+ Should be reserved for genre defining games or games of absolute class (Halo 1, R&C1, Tekken 1)
80+ Games that are not redefining a Genre but which have done the Genre proud and are great games (BioShock, Halo 3, MGS3)
70+ Games that are very good but not groundbreaking or have to many bugs to break into the eighties
and so on..
I feel the glut of 90+ games is ridiculous. Possibly the only 90+ game in the last few months would be Portal and hopefully Assassins creed. Even the fantastic looking COD4 deserves to be in the 80+ bracket as it is not redefining anything.
Keenest
October 26, 2007 at 16:23
Having made the effort to download the R&C PS3 demo when it came out on the US PSN Store, I can honestly say it is the most fun I had playing a game this year.
Can’t wait for the full game to come out in a couple of weeks time.