SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic - Alone in the Dark 5: Two different reviews

Joined: Aug 26 2007 Posts: 2752

Armake's Review

Spoony's review:

So, it either sucks or rocks . . .
I'll admit the graphics are stellar but again graphics don't make the game. So for those of you who played this game, what do you think?

Posted: Jul 14 2008 07:24 pm

The game got shitty reviews from just about everywhere so I'm willing to bet it sucks...hard.

Posted: Jul 14 2008 08:12 pm

I love Alone in the Dark and I'm gonna get this game regardless of the bad reviews. Armake's review reinforces my core believe that the game is worth playing, even if it's not game of the year material.

Honestly, I tend not to trust most professional reviewers. They're jaded assholes, and they're not actually looking for good games. They're looking for something with pretty graphics, a retardedly easy learning curve, and zero challenge, so that they can breeze through it and meet their deadlines. Any game that fails to meet this criteria is going to get a bad review from IGN and Gamespot... unless the developer throws a shitload of money at them. When I want a realistic look at whether or not a game is good, I go to GameFAQs and read the user reviews. Why? Because these people are actual gamers. They play games for fun, not because some asshole pays them to review them. And right now, there are 8 user reviews for AITD5 on GameFAQs. Seven of these reviews are 7/10 or higher, and 7/10 is a solid rating. 4 of these reviews are 8/10 or higher, and that's a pretty strong endorsement. So if the type of people who were inclined to buy this game in the first place actually enjoyed it, I imagine I will too.

Or take Heavenly Guardian, which I mentioned I bought in another recent thread. Reviewers panned it for being too retro and too hard, which are exactly the qualities that actual gamers like about it. And of course, they complained about the price. $20 is too much for this game. Oh really? You'd be hardpressed to find a retail console game with an MSRP less than $20. And aren't you reviewers the same assholes who just said that Mega Man 9 was a "steal" at only $10? So Capcom's doing us a favor releasing a glorified NES ROM for $10, but Starfish SD is greedy for releasing a glorified SNES ROM for $20? That seems a lot like a double standard. Oh wait, it is. Capcom releases more than two games a year and they'll stop feeding you exclusive preview shots if you don't constantly suck their e-dick. I forgot.

Joined: Aug 26 2007 Posts: 2752

Armake does a well done review, enough to bring my attention to the game and not just agree with the Usual reviews. For one thing, i liked the aspect of loading the save file and getting a preview of what happened in the story last time, which would have come in handy with longer games like the final fantasy series.

And even people who bash the game agree that the graphics and soundtrack are well done. I always want an awesome soundtrack to the game, otherwise it feels dry and munatinous.

Spoony grips about the mix and match aspect of the inventory. i like the concept even if it's not realistic. It's what made the arsenal of the HL mod Gunman Chronicles so unique. Goldeneye had the mix and match glitch which allowed a gamer to use two different guns at the same time, which really added to game play. Sadly this glitch's absence from perfect dark is a huge letdown to otherwise a superb game. I haven't seen it in other games and i can only hope it makes a come back.

And i know why people hate the drive, it's because of GTA 4 and they expect the same mechanics to fallow suit. Well, the driving was not part of the main focus and this is another development team who made AITD. Armake managed to get through the driving scene without problem.

Another problem with today reviews could be is no one is willing to adapt to the game. I love N64 adventure games, they all have the same concept of collecting a main collection of items but they have vastly different controls and it takes time to get use to the mechanics of the game. Practice makes perfect and many people have a problem with a game that is relitevly good, is that they refuse to practices the controls and immediately go balls to the walls. I remember playing NES metroid recently for the first time in years and it took me a few minutes to get use to the controls again and after a while, i actually progressed better then i did before.

Crappy Games exist, no doubt about that but when a game's only flaw is a learning curve then it shouldn't be penned.

Posted: Jul 14 2008 10:11 pm

ReeperTheSeeker wrote:

Armake does a well done review, enough to bring my attention to the game and not just agree with the Usual reviews. For one thing, i liked the aspect of loading the save file and getting a preview of what happened in the story last time, which would have come in handy with longer games like the final fantasy series.

And even people who bash the game agree that the graphics and soundtrack are well done. I always want an awesome soundtrack to the game, otherwise it feels dry and munatinous.

Spoony grips about the mix and match aspect of the inventory. i like the concept even if it's not realistic. It's what made the arsenal of the HL mod Gunman Chronicles so unique. Goldeneye had the mix and match glitch which allowed a gamer to use two different guns at the same time, which really added to game play. Sadly this glitch's absence from perfect dark is a huge letdown to otherwise a superb game. I haven't seen it in other games and i can only hope it makes a come back.

And i know why people hate the drive, it's because of GTA 4 and they expect the same mechanics to fallow suit. Well, the driving was not part of the main focus and this is another development team who made AITD. Armake managed to get through the driving scene without problem.

Another problem with today reviews could be is no one is willing to adapt to the game. I love N64 adventure games, they all have the same concept of collecting a main collection of items but they have vastly different controls and it takes time to get use to the mechanics of the game. Practice makes perfect and many people have a problem with a game that is relitevly good, is that they refuse to practices the controls and immediately go balls to the walls. I remember playing NES metroid recently for the first time in years and it took me a few minutes to get use to the controls again and after a while, i actually progressed better then i did before.

Crappy Games exist, no doubt about that but when a game's only flaw is a learning curve then it shouldn't be penned.

You know, Armake21 isn't afraid to state when his opinion is different from most other people, but he says don't even listen to him. Play the game and get your own opinion.

2010 SLF Tag Champ Joined: Jun 07 2006 Posts: 12294

guys. you can SET THINGS ON FIRE.

Posted: Jul 15 2008 01:09 am

I have other games to get before I try a crapshoot.

Posted: Jul 15 2008 01:54 am

It looks amazing to me, people complain about the control in any survival horror game anyway.

Posted: Jul 15 2008 02:09 pm

I'll admit, the first dude makes the game sound pretty damn awesome. I may try it out eventually, but only at a reduced price. In the meantime I still have a lot of better games left to beat.

Joined: Apr 09 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 3112

Syd got it just about right. This game is very good, if you're willing to overlook some very rare bugs. I'll admit that the problem is that when those bugs do hit, it's pretty nasty (but rare, I only got the random damage bug once).

Otherwise, this is one of the most innovative games in a very long time, in terms of adding new ideas to old concepts, and it's a VERY fresh breath of air for survival-horror. Instead of confining you to alleyways, tenements, and sewers, the game takes place in a whole version of New York City thrown into a paranormal catastrophe. Everything you pick up can be made into some kind of a weapon (think MDK2, but EVERYTHING can be mixed, instead of just select objects), and the real-time fire is a hell of a lot of fun to play with in the game.

It's impossible to explain this game in words. You HAVE to play it to really understand it, as videos and reviews don't paint enough of a picture of the game. All of what I said is coming from a person who's hated every survival-horror game he's ever played since Resident Evil 1 came out, so maybe that has merit.

Joined: Feb 16 2008 Posts: 832

Also syd, I'd also like to point out that most 'professional' game reviewers rate games like you would rate an appliance or something like that, not on the actual merit of the game.

Quote:

In the last post I talked about how game reviewers often approach their reviews of games as if the games are consumer products. They evaluate each feature in isolation from the others, and at the end assign a score based on some attempt to objectively determine the "quality" of the game. This is in stark contrast to reviews of other media, such as books and film and music, which are reviewed based on the reviewer's subjective opinion of the work.

http://dreamdawn.com/sh

2010 SLF Tag Champ Joined: Jun 07 2006 Posts: 12294

this is why my reviews are always recpounts of my expereinces with teh game, and never have a score.