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Alan Wake
Oct 30, 2023 19:40:55 GMT
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Post by Jambowayoh on Oct 30, 2023 19:40:55 GMT
I seem to have regressed these days. Back in the mists of time I would buy a game based on screenshots on the back of the box. I essentially do that now. Couple of trailers, a few screens and a basic description and I’ll buy it. Which is, going by a large proportion of my purchases this year, a massive mistake. Meh. I also rarely ever finished games in those days. Fond memories of standing in HMV examining the big boxes while my dad waited patiently though
Do people really need mechanics spelt out for them? I've never played Alan Wake and I know it's a horror game and you shine a torch on enemies and then shoot them. I don't think one review has to cover every single thing about the game. You can read another review for that stuff or the gameplay section of Wikipedia if you've really never heard of Alan Wake before
I think if people are putting down 60 quid or whatever and your whole service is for reviewing products then at a basic level you need to explain what mechanics are involved. |
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Frog
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Post by Frog on Oct 30, 2023 19:41:42 GMT
Not overly, few jump scares but it's more creepy and atmospheric than scary.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Oct 30, 2023 19:52:10 GMT
It seems EG like their esoteric reviews so if you don't like that, I just wouldn't go there or read them. EG aren't asking you to put down any money for a game (just their subscription) It just seems like the same complaints about their reviews come up again and again. Their reviews, like any of their articles, are just content about games to get people on the site. If someone puts down 60 quid on a game based on a single review from a website they clearly don't value, that's on them to be honest. I can't imagine there are many people who do though If all reviews were written the same, with basic facts, objectively, they'd all basically be the same and that would be pointless
Find multiple sources, each which focus on the things you care about. Like, ACG bores the arse off me going on about audio ranges of weapon sounds and stuff. I really couldn't give a fuck
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Alan Wake
Oct 30, 2023 19:55:16 GMT
via mobile
Post by Jambowayoh on Oct 30, 2023 19:55:16 GMT
It seems EG like their esoteric reviews so if you don't like that, I just wouldn't go there or read them. EG aren't asking you to put down any money for a game (just their subscription) It just seems like the same complaints about their reviews come up again and again. Their reviews, like any of their articles, are just content about games to get people on the site. If someone puts down 60 quid on a game based on a single review from a website they clearly don't value, that's on them to be honest. I can't imagine there are many people who do though If all reviews were written the same, with basic facts, objectively, they'd all basically be the same and that would be pointless The comments on their reviews seem to heavily imply that people base their purchases around what that say. |
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Post by Aunt Alison on Oct 30, 2023 19:56:13 GMT
They're silly people, Jambo. Not like us
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Frog
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Alan Wake
Oct 30, 2023 19:58:17 GMT
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Post by Frog on Oct 30, 2023 19:58:17 GMT
Ironic coming from you Aunt Alison who posts in threads for games you don't like telling people it's shit on repeat 😂
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Post by Aunt Alison on Oct 30, 2023 20:03:00 GMT
What games
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Alan Wake
Oct 30, 2023 20:05:16 GMT
via mobile
Post by Jambowayoh on Oct 30, 2023 20:05:16 GMT
I think user Frog is referring to...cough... ELDEN RING.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Oct 30, 2023 20:06:26 GMT
And how is it the same when this is a forum where you interact with people personally, regardless of the topic or thread. If a game is popular, people are talking about it. You talk about it
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Post by Aunt Alison on Oct 30, 2023 20:06:48 GMT
I think user Frog is referring to...cough... ELDEN RING. He should get over it then and I made my points in that thread. I didn't just say it was shit |
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Post by Jambowayoh on Oct 30, 2023 20:07:40 GMT
And how is it the same when this is a forum where you interact with people personally, regardless of the topic or thread. If a game is popular, people are talking about it. You talk about it Talk user Aunt Alison. Talk as free as the wind. |
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Oct 30, 2023 20:18:24 GMT
The thing is, I kind of do want the mechanics of a game delved into in a review. Yes, okay, writing is important too. Yet as I can understand going in depth on the story of a book or film, which are completely passive, I cannot understand it being the focal point of a video game review. Games are not passive experiences. Yes we are guided along a path, with plot beats etc, yet it’s an interactive experience and as such, I would expect that interactive element, which I am buying, to be examined in more detail.
We can argue the finer points but in my opinion a large portion of EGs reviews are nothing more than an excuse for the writer to indulge their own pretentious aspirations to elevate the site to be the thinking man’s gaming site. And it doesn’t work.
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Alan Wake
Oct 30, 2023 20:25:14 GMT
via mobile
Post by Jambowayoh on Oct 30, 2023 20:25:14 GMT
It doesn't really work when they regularly post clickbait. But anyway, is everyone still loving the game? I got this planned for a Friday purchase.
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Frog
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Alan Wake
Oct 30, 2023 20:27:40 GMT
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Post by Frog on Oct 30, 2023 20:27:40 GMT
Had to shelve it for the time being but was thoroughly enjoying it until then. Hopefully a patch or a driver update will pop up soon and I can get back on it.
Won't be my goty, and probably not even the month but it's well worth a play through.
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wunty
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Alan Wake
Oct 30, 2023 20:28:23 GMT
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Post by wunty on Oct 30, 2023 20:28:23 GMT
Yeah despite my earlier criticism I do genuinely think it’s fucking fantastic. The first run through something, particularly if it’s anticipated, is juggling your expectations with your experience.
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Derblington
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Post by Derblington on Oct 30, 2023 20:32:08 GMT
If all reviews were written the same, with basic facts, objectively, they'd all basically be the same and that would be pointless
The problem with EGs review is that it doesn’t tell you anything about the game. It’s more literary review and nothing of a product review. By all means, embellish the writing with all of the intelligent words and comparisons but explain what the game is somewhere, and then layer the opinion over that. Otherwise all the words are a bit pointless, and the only thing that you can read from it is the score. I’ve seen some praise that the reviewer was intentionally wordy and “meta” because of the style of the game, but even that doesn’t really work. You can’t be meta with something that you have no experience of - you need the reference of the subject to relate to, or the meta context is just vague. If the review is that way intentionally, fine, well done, but it only works for the reader after they’ve played the game, at which point the review loses a chunk of its value. As a critical piece, have at it. Write whatever you want. Arguably, that was always where EG were best, but all of their content seems a bit all over the place now. |
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Post by Aunt Alison on Oct 30, 2023 20:56:30 GMT
"Gameplay switches between Alan and Saga as they explore Bright Falls and its surroundings as well as The Dark Place; Alan reworks story drafts in his Writing Room to reshape his prison, and the suspiciously intuitive Saga uses her "Mind Place" - her version of a mind palace - to organise her thoughts, analyse clues, and make deductions."
"Saga follows a more or less straightforward detective trajectory - explore, examine, and retreat into the Mind Place to arrange her case board; she also collects oddly predictive manuscript pages and uses a Control-style weapons system that involves collecting said pages. Alan, while in the Dark Place, must out-write his nemesis by finding new scene inspirations in his environment - ideal settings like abandoned train stations and old-school cinemas that form the bread and butter of hardboiled detective fiction. His light mechanics, which help shift the reality around him and rewrite his own story, are some of the most satisfying portions of the game; the Writing Room is where he combines suitable scenes with different plot elements to push the story along. It quickly becomes clear that what Alan does affects Saga's world, and vice versa. Saga's journey, presented as the more materially "real" one, feels a lot meatier in combat; my go-to combo was the revolver and sawed-off shotgun, throwing in the odd crossbow shot when I unlocked the "magnetic pull" arrow upgrade."
Doesn't that cover the gameplay mechanics? People have said in this thread numerous times that Remedy's strength is style and storytelling. From what people said, most of the gameplay is just walking about so there can't be that much else to say about it. I can't be arsed to read the rest of the review but what I read up to that point seems fine to me - positive
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wunty
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Alan Wake
Oct 30, 2023 21:10:12 GMT
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Post by wunty on Oct 30, 2023 21:10:12 GMT
There is more to say about it though. Quite a lot.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Oct 30, 2023 21:13:33 GMT
Is it good
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askew
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Post by askew on Oct 30, 2023 21:14:00 GMT
My lips are seals
Arf
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Derblington
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Post by Derblington on Oct 30, 2023 21:15:00 GMT
If the gameplay is “just walking about” then maybe include that? Or define what a “Control-style weapon system” is, or what the “light mechanics” are, or talk about how the dark place, the mind place and writing room operate. Just saying their names doesn’t explain anything.
As I said previously, after reading the review I don’t have any better understanding of the game than before I did so.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Oct 30, 2023 21:26:02 GMT
Obviously people want different things from reviews or have ways to find protential games they might like differently. I think from what I read there in that review, I'd either think it sounds interesting and look for more information if I needed to or be turned off. So it's good in that sense (for me). Most of my attachments to my favourite games are emotional and some of them have pretty terrible gameplay, so a review like that is fine to me. The Sinking City (random example) has crap gameplay but it didn't matter to me because I enjoyed the rest of it. A review about the gameplay being shit wouldn't have helped. You can get an idea of gameplay from some videos but how a game leaves you feeling after you've played it is something you need someone else's perspective on (who has experienced it)
I want a review to interest me in a game or let me know it's not my kind of thing. Very few games have new or unconventional gameplay mechanics anymore. It's a survival horror game (from Remedy who have a distinct style) so I'd expect certain things
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wunty
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Alan Wake
Oct 30, 2023 21:27:29 GMT
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Post by wunty on Oct 30, 2023 21:27:29 GMT
I think it’s more that the people who are actually playing the game think the review is light on the details of what it’s like to play the game.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Oct 30, 2023 21:32:09 GMT
If they're playing it, why do they need details on the gameplay, wunty!
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wunty
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Alan Wake
Oct 30, 2023 21:34:44 GMT
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Post by wunty on Oct 30, 2023 21:34:44 GMT
They don’t. It’s easier to highlight negatives and positives in a review under discussion having had experience of the game though.
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Derblington
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Post by Derblington on Oct 30, 2023 21:39:47 GMT
I think from what I read there in that review, I'd either think it sounds interesting and look for more information if I needed to or be turned off. So the review might intrigue you and then you’d go to look for another review to answer more questions? Doesn’t that make the initial review a bit redundant? |
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wunty
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Alan Wake
Oct 30, 2023 21:41:41 GMT
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Post by wunty on Oct 30, 2023 21:41:41 GMT
Anyway this is making me want to fire it up again. I just can’t decide if I want to do Saga’s bit or Alan’s next.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Oct 30, 2023 21:45:15 GMT
I'm not saying you're wrong - it's fine if you want details on gameplay - just that I think it's OK for different reviews to focus on different things or styles and there doesn't have to be one Ultimate Review. There are dozens of reviews at your fingertips at any one time, so it's not like you've forked over 5 quid for a magazine and are stuck with a useless review. People were obviously able to make the decision on whether or not to get the game (with or without EG's help) and I imagine many of them were going to get it regardless. So the review can't have been that important to them
I thought the review was fine
Sorry if I've come across as combative, I should start with something like 'I see your point and I disagree' and end with 'imho' more
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Post by Aunt Alison on Oct 30, 2023 21:46:50 GMT
I think from what I read there in that review, I'd either think it sounds interesting and look for more information if I needed to or be turned off. So the review might intrigue you and then you’d go to look for another review to answer more questions? Doesn’t that make the initial review a bit redundant? Not really because I have the internet and can find more information in seconds. I just feel like it's not that deep
And as I said, I'd probably just go and watch a bit of gameplay
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wunty
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Alan Wake
Oct 30, 2023 21:48:38 GMT
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Post by wunty on Oct 30, 2023 21:48:38 GMT
It’s fine you like the review. It’s also fine I don’t like the review. It’s a great big wonderful world.
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