PomPom in Edge... again.
by Aubrey Hesselgren · in General Game Discussion · 09/04/2003 (3:23 am) · 10 replies
There's a two page spread on rebel developers (with a few unmistakably bongy quotes), and then later, a mention next to Robotron.
It's always nice to see Edge give you guys a helping hand.
I hope they can give me a hand with what I've got. *sigh*.
It's always nice to see Edge give you guys a helping hand.
I hope they can give me a hand with what I've got. *sigh*.
About the author
#2
09/04/2003 (3:52 am)
LoL careful mike you'll join the EDGE hit list and you know how all the "hardcore" gamers treat the word of EDGE as the be all and end all of all opinions! BAAAAA :)
#3
*cough* and atleast they'd never say 'LOL' without a supersized side portion of irony ;) *cough*
09/04/2003 (5:44 am)
I dunno about all that, guys. Trash it if you want, but it tends to be a damn sight less idiotic and kneejerky than most games mags. Their readership is hardly their fault, either.*cough* and atleast they'd never say 'LOL' without a supersized side portion of irony ;) *cough*
#4
Cas :)
09/04/2003 (6:05 am)
They still rate games out of ten which is annoyingly jeuvenile and arbitrary though.Cas :)
#5
As good or bad as it is, its a whole lot better than the rest.
I tend to enjoy the read, even if I dont agree with all off it.
09/04/2003 (6:13 am)
Im with Aubrey here. It may not be the best games magazine, but compared to what?As good or bad as it is, its a whole lot better than the rest.
I tend to enjoy the read, even if I dont agree with all off it.
#6
09/04/2003 (6:23 am)
Caspian - that is true. But they did try an issue without marks out of ten, and everyone complained. The same shit happens every day in game development - sometimes you need to make such concessions to simply stay afloat. You don't need to read the rankings. There's still room for a perfectly good review there. 
#7
09/04/2003 (6:27 am)
Hmm, I hate their marking system too. I think the best marking system is out of five (and no halves! Good lord don't get me started...), but out of 100 is cool too.
#8
I think the real problem is that a score implies that any game's quality can be accurately quantifyable. But it can't be; there is always going to be a strong element of subjectivity. Always.
But abolishing scores wouldn't change anything; the reviews themselves are JUST as subjective. The best you can get from a review is a) factual information about the game and b) the reviewer's opinions about how well the game has been pulled off. A) is easy to get right, and idiotic if it's gotten wrong. B) is the only thing that you, as a reader, should worry about. More important than scores, are knowing which staff memeber did the review. On EuroGamer, for instance, I tend to agree with Mugwum, so I listen to what he has to say. Mouse's tastes tend to be the exact opposites of mine, so I tend to take anything he has to say with a pinch of salt.
So find a magazine that tends to suit your tastes so that you have a rough chance of being in tune with the reviewer, but don't critisize people for having other tastes.
09/04/2003 (6:56 am)
I wish I knew if you were joking, Ian. All scores should be out of nine point five bananas!I think the real problem is that a score implies that any game's quality can be accurately quantifyable. But it can't be; there is always going to be a strong element of subjectivity. Always.
But abolishing scores wouldn't change anything; the reviews themselves are JUST as subjective. The best you can get from a review is a) factual information about the game and b) the reviewer's opinions about how well the game has been pulled off. A) is easy to get right, and idiotic if it's gotten wrong. B) is the only thing that you, as a reader, should worry about. More important than scores, are knowing which staff memeber did the review. On EuroGamer, for instance, I tend to agree with Mugwum, so I listen to what he has to say. Mouse's tastes tend to be the exact opposites of mine, so I tend to take anything he has to say with a pinch of salt.
So find a magazine that tends to suit your tastes so that you have a rough chance of being in tune with the reviewer, but don't critisize people for having other tastes.
#9
Sure, there is a score, and some magazines have the old 'pros/cons' sections - so yes, part of the reviewer's intention is to value the game with a score. But isn't it more helpful when the review text conveys the facts you need to know, allowing you to combine it with the score to provide a better idea for yourself? Would you really buy a game based only on someone else's score out of 5? Or 100? And what is the difference between those systems anyway?
I like Edge for several reasons. It has lots of Retro stuff. It has loads of news and interviews from Japan, and I like all things Japanese. And it very rarely contains the usual mass-market crap that you see reviewed most games magazines. Admittedly there are a few strange opinions, and large words are often used when completely unnecessary - but the reviews are pretty frank, and they do try to give a good overall picture of how a game plays, feels and works.
If you want reviews of Wrestling games and Tony Hawks 15, with 'deadly accurate' review scores, read the mainstream mags. If you want reviews of decent entertainment, interviews with quality teams like PomPom, and a score that might help, read Edge.
:-)
09/04/2003 (6:57 am)
Personally, I agree with Edge's point when they did the 'no scores' issue. A review should not be wholly intent on expressing how 'good' or 'bad' a game is. A review should give the reader an insight on how the game works, how it fits together, and if possible which target audiences the game applies to.Sure, there is a score, and some magazines have the old 'pros/cons' sections - so yes, part of the reviewer's intention is to value the game with a score. But isn't it more helpful when the review text conveys the facts you need to know, allowing you to combine it with the score to provide a better idea for yourself? Would you really buy a game based only on someone else's score out of 5? Or 100? And what is the difference between those systems anyway?
I like Edge for several reasons. It has lots of Retro stuff. It has loads of news and interviews from Japan, and I like all things Japanese. And it very rarely contains the usual mass-market crap that you see reviewed most games magazines. Admittedly there are a few strange opinions, and large words are often used when completely unnecessary - but the reviews are pretty frank, and they do try to give a good overall picture of how a game plays, feels and works.
If you want reviews of Wrestling games and Tony Hawks 15, with 'deadly accurate' review scores, read the mainstream mags. If you want reviews of decent entertainment, interviews with quality teams like PomPom, and a score that might help, read Edge.
:-)
#10
Other than that I just have a nasty habit of reading reviews for games I've already purchased. I almost enjoy doing that more than reading the ones for games I don't own.
09/07/2003 (6:46 pm)
For game reviews to determine if I want to purchase, I generally look at the byline for a review and try and keep track of which reviewers I tend to agree with; a tricky thing to do with so many of them. I also look at gamerankings, which is handy for getting a general gauge of mainstream games due to its taking an average. Other than that I just have a nasty habit of reading reviews for games I've already purchased. I almost enjoy doing that more than reading the ones for games I don't own.
Associate Ian Omroth Hardingham