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| 22 JUN 2008 at 6:48pm |
TerramaxIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 89
Joined: 26 NOV 2004
Status : Online | Hi guys.
I not sure if this is the best place to start this topic but I couldn't find a section on the forums that specifically talks about the site so I’m placing it here.
I don't do this often, as I understand it's ok to disagree with a review, but at this point I really feel this review was unnecessary and possibly even mildly offending.
I'm talking about the Art of Murder - FBI Confidential review on this site.
I honestly can't figure out who thought it was a good idea for this Greg Collins to have reviewed it.
For instance, he doesn't put into consideration of the types of readers on this site. I assume he thinks we're all American--
You can’t really tell it was made in Poland, aside from the occasional oddly translated term (i.e., “study” for “office”)
That may be odd for you Greg, but I personally find it odd when Americans refer to biscuits as 'crackers'. Or refers trousers as ‘pants’. Fair enough, he's trying to make a point that there moments of conversation lost in translation, which there obviously is because other reviews mention this also, but this was not the best example.
I like that it’s 3rd person. First person almost always makes me feel like I’m playing the game from inside a big water pipe. It also can make me seasick if there’s too much swinging about.
What in the name! How is this relevant? How’s about describing whether 3rd person perspective suits the game’s narrative or presentation?
The soundtrack wasn’t too bad. If it doesn’t break into my train of thought and annoy me during gameplay, then I like it. I don’t play adventure games to listen to Bach, or, in this case, I guess, Chopin.
Just give us the facts Greg, this information doesn't help me in the slightest. Why not explain what the soundtrack was like. Was it subtle, did it draw attention?
But I suspect that most adventure gamers are not the type who have the biggest and baddest hardware. We’re playing these games on the machines we use for our word processing and emailing. We just want a good game, not a rock concert.
Well speak for yourself. It's admirable you're mentioning the game is capable of being played on older computers, but there's no need to talk like you know what we all want and use our computers for.
Further more, maybe some of us DO want a ‘rock concert’. I personally hope for an adventure with the best graphics possible, as this will likely entertain me more than if it were bog standard graphics.
slapped Art of Murder onto my brand spanking new Gateway running Vista. Only this new computer came with what’s called a widescreen LCD monitor. Which I really like, except when playing games, especially ones that won’t run in a window. I played Art of Murder with everyone in it stretched out like Silly Putty images.
Yet again, is this really relevant to the review? If you've got a grip with your monitor, talk to the person you bought it from!
That’s okay. I don’t play adventure games for the plot either. A good one is just icing on the old cake. I’m not sure you can even have a genuine plot in an adventure. How do you maintain suspense when everyone’s looking around for small, obscure items half the time? The plot in an adventure is simply an excuse to send everyone off on a wild goose chase. To me, an adventure game is mostly about being transported to someplace exotic, even magical, where I have to uncover all the secret passages.
To me this passage is a testament of how this was the most inappropriate person chosen to review this game. He doesn't care about plots. He doesn't understand how looking for small obscure items is a major part of any murder enquiry and has been since the test of time, and he then pretty much damns all adventures with a plot.
Then he goes on about what he likes. But this is the thing. Surely a review is not just about what the reviewer wants, but it's there to inform readers if they will enjoy the game or not. Or at least partially rate it on the merits on what adventure gamers will enjoy and what not.
If he'd put these comments on what he likes about adventures on these forums, I'd have no beef with him. But this is supposed to be an informative review for goodness sake!
Agent Bonnet has what appears to be a Chevy Camaro that she drives everywhere, and always gets a parking space right in front of the big museum. Just how it really is in Manhattan.
Well, earlier he goes on about how games are about fantasy then knocks the game because it's not a spitting image of Manhatten and we don't spend half the game looking for a parking space. I'm sure if he played a game set in France with the French all dressed like artists, onions tied around their necks, drawing pictures of naked people and eating snails and other stereotypes he wouldn't have as much of an issue with how unrealistic it probably was.
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| 22 JUN 2008 at 6:51pm |
TerramaxIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 89
Joined: 26 NOV 2004
Status : Online | I started to get the feeling that Ms. Bonnet was not a Special Agent for the FBI at all, but my Third Grade teacher, just hovering over me hoping I’d chance upon the correct answer, but, if not, ready to jump in and “assist.” Instead of playing the game concentrating on the puzzles, in other words, you end up playing the game trying to outmaneuver the interface. I mean, come on. It’s not like the puzzles are that hard to begin with.
Hey man, not everyone has the amazing, genius brain you have. Some people enjoy being given a few pointers. You certainly need one on how to write an informative review.
Hint systems have been implemented for gamers who aren’t seasoned adventure gamers, or those who, when stuck on a puzzle, would rather a hint then closing the game down then looking up the answer on an internet walkthrough. Fair enough, you didn’t need it, and didn’t like it, but it is there for a reason and it’s likely others will welcome its presence.
But I am going to bring up a few adventure games that tackled the “crime drama” to far better effect. LucasArts’ Grim Fandango plays like a tongue-in-cheek noir mystery, and it is one of the greats.
What the heck! Sure, Grim Fandango is a crime game, but to compare them is absurd. It's not that they're on the other side of the pond as to being on the other side of the country!
Like I said earlier, I very rarely complain about reviews. I disagree with many reviews, but with most I can take their points into account or at least get the impression the review's there to help me make a decision whether to pay further interest or not.
But this review is littered with so many inappropriate remarks. Greg does make some notable points that I've read in other reviews, but how am I to take even his relevant points into account when he writes absolute nonsense 80% the time?
Before anyone convicts me of not considering this, I do understand this guy attempts humour with the use of wit and sarcasm (or humor) but it just isn't funny in the slightest.
Mr. Collins seems like the perfect person to review something like the Rhem series, lots of hard puzzles, little to no plot, and he shouldn't get seasick playing it, but I just find his review on Art of Murder like asking a FPS fan to review a My Little Pony game.
What strikes me also is that this isn't a review on some obscure site, like amateur reviewers on youtube, but from a site like JustAdventure that's been around for years, has thousands of readers, and should be up to a higher quality of reviews.
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| 22 JUN 2008 at 9:01pm |
ShanyGuild Master
Posts : 3313
Joined: 19 JUN 2003
Status : Online | It seems JA+ sometimes gives the wrong game to the wrong reviewer.
For example Robert Washburne is an excellent reviewer when it comes to 1st person games - his review of Barrow Hill is great - but he is an aweful reviewer of 3rd person games - his review of Two of a Kind is terrible, it feels like he didn't even play the game.
This is the same as when big gaming sites let someone who doesn't like adventure games review them. Since this genre has two very diifferent sub-genres, why not match the game to the reviewer?
I'm not asking to give the reviewer a game he'd like, I'm saying give him a game he understands - giving a murder mystery to a guy who doesn't like stories in games is ridiculous.
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| 22 JUN 2008 at 9:43pm |
GonchiSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 337
Joined: 24 SEP 2007
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Terramax (22 JUN 2008 6:48pm)
slapped Art of Murder onto my brand spanking new Gateway running Vista. Only this new computer came with what’s called a widescreen LCD monitor. Which I really like, except when playing games, especially ones that won’t run in a window. I played Art of Murder with everyone in it stretched out like Silly Putty images.
Yet again, is this really relevant to the review? If you've got a grip with your monitor, talk to the person you bought it from!
He's saying the game doesn't have widescreen support, which seems like a valid comment to me.
He might have been able to fix the stretching by going into his display settings and selecting centered output though (might depend on his graphic card...)
But I'm not so complicated as to flee, &&or stand here in silence. &&But I'm not so simple as to not caution, &&that there aren't three minutes, or a hundred words, that could define me.&&&&[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlR-6Tw-5bE]Brief description of my person[/url] - Cuarteto de Nos
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| 22 JUN 2008 at 11:39pm |
pavel4444Space Cadet
Posts : 124
Joined: 2 MAY 2008
Status : Online | his review of Barrow Hill is great
I didn't read it, but A-? Very overrated.
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| 23 JUN 2008 at 1:05pm |
ShanyGuild Master
Posts : 3313
Joined: 19 JUN 2003
Status : Online | Don't judge a review by it's final score.
I just re-read it, and though it's not as good as I remembered it's still ok, and you can tell the reviewer knows what he's talking about.
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| 23 JUN 2008 at 2:01pm |
IviniaGuild Master
Posts : 4459
Joined: 7 JUN 2003
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Shany (22 JUN 2008 9:00pm)
It seems JA+ sometimes gives the wrong game to the wrong reviewer.
JA doesn't give the games to the reviewers. The reviewers select the games from JA. By default that means most of the games being reviewed are being reviewed by those who are generally interested in that particular title. There is nothing worse than reading a review from someone who has no interest in a specific game and watching them rip it to shreds. If you see a game being torn apart, you can rest assured that the reviewer wasn't 'forced' to review a title he wasn't interested in - he reviewed a title he was looking forward to and disappointed with the result.
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| 23 JUN 2008 at 2:03pm |
IviniaGuild Master
Posts : 4459
Joined: 7 JUN 2003
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By pavel4444 (22 JUN 2008 11:39pm)
I didn't read it, but A-? Very overrated.
They're only overrated when you don't agree with them.
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| 23 JUN 2008 at 2:56pm |
Mr Innocent.Journeyman
Posts : 1316
Joined: 15 JAN 2008
Location: GR
Status : Offline | I actually agree with every point Terramax made, that review read more like a rant in a blog than an informative review in a highly respected site. Few things could interest me less than the personal likes and dislikes of the reviewer, his job is to give relevant information in a descriptive way and let me make up my mind on whether or not the game suits me. His comment about plot in adventures in particular is simply laughable. Is the day near when we'll read an JustAdventure review where an adventure is bashed for having a point-and-click interface?
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| 23 JUN 2008 at 3:25pm |
IviniaGuild Master
Posts : 4459
Joined: 7 JUN 2003
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By nik2008ofs (23 JUN 2008 2:56pm)
Is the day near when we'll read an JustAdventure review where an adventure is bashed for having a point-and-click interface?
Doubtful. Extremely doubtful.
I haven't played this particular game so I can't comment about whether I agree or not. I do think the widescreen comment was particularly unfair though. Not many, if any, adventure games support the widescreen format. The only game that can are those using true 3D where you can easily change the screen resolution. Any game that is made for 800x600, 1024x768, etc will 'stretch'. Heck, even widescreen TVs will stretch the edges of movies or TV shows. You want it crisp, then change your monitor settings. That's not the fault of the game developer. It probably says right on the box or system requirements what the game resolution is - can't see how you can fault the developer for that one. That's like if the game specifically says you need a 256M graphics card, how can you rip on it for not running on your 128M card? :-/
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| 23 JUN 2008 at 3:26pm |
ShanyGuild Master
Posts : 3313
Joined: 19 JUN 2003
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Ivinia (23 JUN 2008 2:01pm)
JA doesn't give the games to the reviewers. The reviewers select the games from JA.
Then I'm baffled as to why they choose to review games that they don't understand.
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| 23 JUN 2008 at 3:33pm |
alkis21Schattenjger
Posts : 2112
Joined: 23 OCT 2002
Location: GR
Status : Offline | I think we should create a web page where we can rate REVIEWERS! [smiley=devil_smiley_grintail.gif]
"Aya's graphics are very poor, his animation is clumsy and his voice acting is unrealistic. Furthermore, his character development is non-existent as he's had the same views since 1986. At least his price is low, but he's too big to fit in the budget bin. Grade: D-"
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| 23 JUN 2008 at 3:35pm |
IviniaGuild Master
Posts : 4459
Joined: 7 JUN 2003
Location: US
Status : Offline | It happens sometimes unfortunately. :-/
Like anything else, sometimes you are looking forward to something and find yourself very disappointed with the end result. Happened to me with Dracula Origin.
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| 23 JUN 2008 at 3:37pm |
IviniaGuild Master
Posts : 4459
Joined: 7 JUN 2003
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By alkis21 (23 JUN 2008 3:33pm)
"Aya's graphics are very poor, his animation is clumsy and his voice acting is unrealistic. Furthermore, his character development is non-existent as he's had the same views since 1986. At least his price is low, but he's too big to fit in the budget bin. Grade: D-"
[smiley=rofl.gif] That was good and fitting! D's are for things that resemble a high school project and with Aya being locked into 1986 I'll assume those were his high school days!
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| 23 JUN 2008 at 3:56pm |
Terry PenrodGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 6693
Joined: 16 OCT 2004
Location: US, Texas
Status : Offline | .
No doubt that personal tastes or preferences always have an impact on the subjective part of reviews. But a professional writer takes that out of the equation as much as humanly possible (without sounding like a robot). He or she focuses on a set of accepted editorial standards for judging / rating the relative quality of design, art direction, animation, writing, interface / controls, audio production, voice acting. music, programming, packaging, etc.
Professional reviewers therefore avoid using the words I, me, and my as much as possible. This is quite easy to do most of the time by simply writing in the third person and expressing any personal observations / comments as asides and/or in a separate author's bio.
Technical information should never be written in first person whether it describes system requirements / specs, programming errors / Q&A testing, user instructions, tech support, or performance-related issues.
These things often trip up even the most sincere amateur reviewers. They frequently begin and end their piece with a personal statement and insert way too many subjective phrases in between.
It really doesn't matter what the person is reviewing either. It could be a household product, a car, a restaurant, a movie, or a game. Their personal tastes are mostly irrelevant to the reader.
Cheers, Terry
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| 23 JUN 2008 at 4:14pm |
GonchiSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 337
Joined: 24 SEP 2007
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Ivinia (23 JUN 2008 3:24pm)
That's not the fault of the game developer. It probably says right on the box or system requirements what the game resolution is - can't see how you can fault the developer for that one.
It doesn't. At least not in the UK box.
But I'm not so complicated as to flee, &&or stand here in silence. &&But I'm not so simple as to not caution, &&that there aren't three minutes, or a hundred words, that could define me.&&&&[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlR-6Tw-5bE]Brief description of my person[/url] - Cuarteto de Nos
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| 24 JUN 2008 at 7:11pm |
TerramaxIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 89
Joined: 26 NOV 2004
Status : Online | Thanks for the replies guys. I was honestly expecting to return and been ripped apart and convicted by everyone of being completely wrong about the review and bang out of order.
What made me notice the poor presentation of this review was the standout review at Adventure Classc gaming:
http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/reviews/373/
Both generally make the same points, and yet ACG's is more thorough and avoids being too personal so that it's unrelatable. And notice how that review still gave it mediocre reviews. Yet I've still ordered a copy because it allowed me to weigh up the goods and the bads and decide whether the game consists of problems I could shoulder off.
I just didn't get that with this game. Although fair point about the monitor, it is nice to be warned there's a likeliness of having a stretched picture, but again his was of explaining it just didn't seem appropriate.
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