by Jeff Woleslagle on Sep 28, 2009
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MMOs shouldn't be reviewed hit-and-run style like console games, but that doesn't stop a number of sties from recycling stale opinions from the forum flames and troll sites and posting their review scores first, just to get some cheap web traffic. Two major MMO releases had barely gone live when premature reviews began to appear. We'll examine the phenonmenon, how it's a disgrace to all of us in the media, and tell how Ten Ton Hammer is fighting back in Loading... Reviewing it Fast and Loose.
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During the holiday ramp-up every year (hard to believe it's happening already, isn't it?), I get more and more concerned about how review sites look at MMOs. Contrary to the tacit opinion of many reviewers, it's not just a contest to see how much flowery jousts, apples-to-oranges comparisons, and snarky nad-kicks you can squeeze into your 1000-word piece before taking your mercenary paycheck to the bank. Unlike console games, MMOs have a live team whose jobs depend on how well a game is received. The least you can do is give an MMO an honest chance.
Champions Online has gotten almost 50 reviews in the last few weeks, resulting in a fairly decent metacritic score of 74. There's a lot of pressure to get your review out quickly, that is, while the majority of players are making their buying decisions, but we'll maintain that it's impossible to review an MMO even in the space of a month. Not only do these games take months or years to master, much of the gameplay depends on the interactions of large numbers of people, and that doesn't come together in a week or even a month.
Case in point: Aion's been out for a week (a little more with the headstart), and according to the server info page, roughly 99% of the playerbase is not even halfway to level cap on every server. How RPGfan and Eurogamer could accurately review all aspects of the game when so much of Aion depends on large scale player interaction in the latter half of the game boggles the mind, but then again Eurogamer's doesn't have the greatest reputation when it comes to slipshod reviews.
Don't get me wrong: reviews are important to everyone - you, me, game developers, and publishers. So because one of our aims is to buy and play these games so you don't have to waste your hard earned money on bad games or games that simply don't suit you, we plan to do our future reviews in four parts over the course of three months. First comes previews, which will provide all the "background info" on a game without straying too far into the realm of opinion. It's not fair to anyone to form an opinion about a game prior to launch. Next comes our first impressions pieces, posted within a weekthat after an MMO launch, covers the tutorial and basic gameplay and will hopefully give you enough of the flavor of the game, from our perspective, that it roughly equates to a mainstream review without masquarading as a full review. You've seen plenty of first impressions articles here in the past, and there a perfect way to get the ball rolling.
We'll then review the entire game in three parts - early game (exploring all the game's systems - grouping, PvP, crafting, so on), level-up (the broadest possible perspective of how characters develop, and how much of a grind it truly is to get to level cap), and elder game (what's waiting for you when major character development comes to a halt, and whether it's worth all the trouble to get there). Our review process isn't going to happen quickly - MMOs typically take 60-100 hours just to reach the level cap, then just as much of that time to get well acquainted with the endgame. Not every MMO And it's not like we can devote this kind of time to every MMO that comes down the pike, which is to say that we'll probably take favorable reviews to the next stage and leave unfavorable reviews where they lie. We'd rather not do a review unless we can give a game the time it demands.
What do you think? Do you want an in-depth review or a fast review? We'd like to give you both, but what's more important to you? Feel free to share
your thoughts are welcome in the
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Remember the 80s and 90s, via cartoons!!
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or Captain Caveman or Danger Mouse or Samurai Pizza Cats (Samurai Pizza Cats?), then you need a dose of today's epic thread.
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Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread
"HAHA, you are all diggin up
ancient relics for me as a kid. I remember Speed Racer, Kimba, Captain
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there is a ton of stuff I am missing but hey, 3 large glasses of Pinot
in me so I am a bit discombobulated at the current moment."
- OneEyeRed
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Today's New MMO Coverage and Features
World of Warcraft: Onyxia Guide - How to Slay DragonsHottest Content:
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