Latest EGM slams three recent shooters

[professor ganson]

Threads on reviews should be banned, i think.And people reading gaming magazines, excommunicated from the holy church of shmups, of course

I realize I'm a non-expert when it comes to games generally, and I constantly rely on others to avoid total ignorance.
If I want to know something about a shmup, then I come here. If I wanted to know something about Batsugun, then I would write you, Rando, a PM and hope that you would respond. Just the other day Rob helped me with some basic questions about Gunbird 2. I really appreciate that you experts are willing to teach us who are not or who are at least trying to become experts.

I do think that the gamers at EGM are experts of sorts. They have a broad knowledge of videogames and are skilled at playing through a wide variety of games. I think it makes sense to rely on them occasionally for information about non-shmups.

I know what it takes to be an expert in something, and I think I am often capable of deciding whether someone is an expert in something I am not an expert in. Sometimes I am not. As I've mentioned before, some review of Battle Garegga on the web convinced me (back in the day before I found this site) that analog control was superior for shmups. The important thing is to take on "expert" advice with a skeptical frame of mind. It is in that frame of mind that I read magazines like EGM.

[Blade]

The same could be said of other "low Rated" games, I found Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus, to be awesome for parties and whatnot, plus it has a port of the original Turtles Arcade game (Sans Music of course ;__;). Still, nowadays major Game Magazines don't review based on Genre, they review based on what other games are putting out, they don't look at the games for their own merits.

Not to mention most Game Reviewers don't exactly go beyond the United States border anymore...ignorant morons, they don't even look at Imports at all and see what we're missing out on.

The last "decent" set of Gaming magazines I've read are Tips N' Tricks (who don't review games so much as preview them and give strats and codes although they have their Picks of the Month), Playstation Official (I did it all for the Demo, THE DEMO!), and Nintendo Power (although Biased for NES Games) has yet to offend me or anyone else with reviews).

I didn't say Game Informer because I haven't read enough of it, I know they give decent Anime reviews though.

As far as I'm concerned Gamespot, IGN can blow it out my butt...the only websites I go for good reviews are This place (yeah I'm a suckup), and www.rpgamer.com who gives Stellar RPG reviews.

[sethsez]

I search for the games with low scores because those are propably the ones I will like . That strategy often works for finding hidden gems like the "slow and boring" ICO, the "ugly graphics" Rez, the "too short" Panzer Dragoon, the "too little action" Shenmue etc..

Though I feel like I'm going to get hives from defending them again, you wouldn't get far with EGM regarding those games because they all got good to great scores. Actually, if I remember correctly, those games got good reviews all throughout mainstream gaming sites and magazines. I certainly don't remember any mainstream publication voicing those complaints you listed.

[MadSteelDarkness]

Threads on reviews should be banned, i think.And people reading gaming magazines, excommunicated from the holy church of shmups, of course

Ahhh, Rando...You're such a card!

Well, I have always enjoyed being a bit of a heretic, myself.

[Dylan1CC]

I edited my post to also point out that they gave Mars Matrix an 85% (which is an average of, at the time, four reviews, so they were probably 8,8,9,9). And that game can be really, really difficult.

I think EGM sucks, but I also don't think they're any more biased against shmups than anything else. They're inept in general, not just when it comes to this. And you're never going to get an in-depth shmup review from them because they don't do in-depth reviews outside of a game or two an issue. The rest are all shitty little blurbs. Even if they were to comment on the scoring system, they barely have the space for anything beyond "the scoring is good."

OK, after a lot of thinking I will conceed now that I went waaay overboard on the gimmick comment by Shoe. And there are still EGM editors I like such as Shane Bettenhausen and former editor/occasional contributor Jon Dudlak.

edit: Tho I still think the "less popular than text adventures" quip was way outta line.

[Rob]

Because all of the stuff I like must be popular!

[Dylan1CC]

Because all of the stuff I like must be popular!

[Rob]

And it's upsetting when it's called out like that.

[Dylan1CC]

And it's upsetting when it's called out like that.

I am not gonna explain again why the quote in the Shikigami impression was stupid, refer to everything else that was said before and by others who were annoyed by it too. So you can stop with your funny little devil's advocate BS.

[Rob]

At least you find it funny.

[Elixir]

Nobody expects massive gameplay changes in a title that's trying to simulate a real-life activity.

Wrong. Hello Gran Turismo 4? Everybody thought of real life graphics and every car since 1980?

They're rated based not just on how fun they are, but on how accurate they are.

Wrong? They're rated on their level of playability, like almost every. single. game. Replayability and gameplay shortly follow.

When they compare two sports games that simulate the same sport, generally the higher rating goes to the more accurate one. Shmups don't simulate anything, so they're not judged on this criteria.

Wrong. They rate them overall by gameplay, sound, graphics, replayability. I was a reviewer. I would know.

Final Fantasy games change quite a bit from one game to the other.

And people compare one RPG to another? Wrong?

Shmups ARE judged on this criteria, which is essentially "does it bring anything new to the table, or does it do what's already been done better than anyone else.

Wrong. Shmups aren't judged by garbage for opinions. When was the last shmup released that brought something new to the table? Ikaruga? And it was praised with what? "hay americanz, dis got tha hard diffcuilty level!" and the civilization of today saying how hard it was. No, disregard the quality of graphics, the inspiration behind the system, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if it recieved a lower score due to it's difficulty level.

In the case of, say, Nanostray, it doesn't bring anything new to the table, and there are plenty of better games in the genre. Thus, it's average and earned its score.

Jesus, are you ever right? You should write for EGM.

[sethsez]

You're such a cute troll. ^_^

Sometimes I want to put you and Bar81 in a jar and shake it.

@Dylan: Fair enough. I still think the popularity comment is accurate, if not exactly tactful, but I see where you're coming from there.

[Dylan1CC]

@Dylan: Fair enough. I still think the popularity comment is accurate, if not exactly tactful, but I see where you're coming from there.

OK, and on the whole creation thing from way back I hope I didn't offend you in any way or come off as having a bad attitude. Also sorry for callin' ya "smug and arrogant," that was rude.

[sethsez]

I am smug and arrogant.

[Dylan1CC]

I am smug and arrogant.

Oh reeeally? Puts his war hat back on

[Elixir]

You're such a cute troll. ^_^

Don't insult your own race.

[Randorama]

I realize I'm a non-expert when it comes to games generally, and I constantly rely on others to avoid total ignorance.
If I want to know something about a shmup, then I come here. If I wanted to know something about Batsugun, then I would write you, Rando, a PM and hope that you would respond. Just the other day Rob helped me with some basic questions about Gunbird 2. I really appreciate that you experts are willing to teach us who are not or who are at least trying to become experts.

This is not the same thing as...

I know what it takes to be an expert in something, and I think I am often capable of deciding whether someone is an expert in something I am not an expert in. Sometimes I am not. As I've mentioned before, some review of Battle Garegga on the web convinced me (back in the day before I found this site) that analog control was superior for shmups. The important thing is to take on "expert" advice with a skeptical frame of mind. It is in that frame of mind that I read magazines like EGM.

Who wrote that review was totally inexpert and clueless. Battle Garegga is an arcade game ported on Saturn, and arcade games are played with 8-directions joysticks. Analog controls are simply pointless for arcade games, as they're analog ( i.e. they read every movement instead of fixed directions), and thus many movements wouldn't be read properly.
I think that this is the very basics of an analysis, or: know what are you talking about.

When i review games, i try to explain how a game plays,lasts sounds and looks, so you can decide if you're going to spend money on it or not.I'm not paid by anyone so i'm not forced to abide to market laws and, except for Chaos Field, i tend not to review new games.On the other hand, reviews might be helpful in choosing which new title to buy, if they could at least cover the basic elements of a game. It doesn't take a Ph.D. or an impossibly high I.Q. to cover some basic facts like: graphics, sounds, gameplay, longevity. It's about playing it and understanding what's going on.

[professor ganson]

This is not the same thing as...

Yeah, you're right. To write an informative and useful review does not require that one have the sort of expertise involved in writing a strategy guide. To write a good strategy guide you surely need to be an expert in the game you're writing on. To write a good review you probably need to have expertise of some sort, but you don't need to be an expert on the game you are reviewing.

Games I would like to be an expert on (the sort of expert that could right a strategy guide) right now: Shiki II, Gunbird II, Strikers II. Too bad Psikyo games are difficult for me, too difficult for me ever to count as an expert. Shiki II is a possibility...

[Specineff]

I'm going to put my mark on this thread before it gets locked.

I like tacos.

There. Thank you and good night.

[Thunder Force]

On the subject of weird shmup reviews.

I was just googling today looking for info about which Sonic Wings game has the most manic bullet patterns. I ended up accidentally coming across a review which almost puts EGM to shame. Well, maybe not, but it goes into quite weird detail about why they felt the third game was a disapponting sequel...

More critical diagnosis of Aero Fighters 3’s episodic ailment reveals the disintegration of many of the predecessors’ positive attributes, and the repetition or worsening of previous gameplay faults.

The intelligent enemy attack patterns that made Aero Fighters 2’s game engine seem so well conceived and applied is less finely executed here. Explanations for this come from the far briefer level duration, which simply do not allow enough of each type of enemy vehicle to appear so as to allow the user to become accustomed to the various offensive strategies needing to be employed. An effective response takes longer to formulate, and resultantly, survival is a far more random affair to begin with.

In an effort to create a more explosive sensation for the arcade player, levels have not only become shorter, but there are also fewer of them, making the appearance of end bosses a less impacting sight. Other disappointments arise in the form of inherited problems from forebearers. The inexplicable presence of childish characters still assume the roles of pilots, decreasing the sense of realism and involvement.

Another irritation is in the exclusive features included in the final mission. The penultimate enemy echoes the cartoon-style nature of the intermission sequences, and its sprite design and attack pattern is not in keeping with the under-water environment. Realism issues again arise.

[Elixir]

Another irritation is in the exclusive features included in the final mission. The penultimate enemy echoes the cartoon-style nature of the intermission sequences, and its sprite design and attack pattern is not in keeping with the under-water environment. Realism issues again arise.

Shit, I prefer my shmups to be realistic.

[al138]

I find EGM preferable to GI, who has one of the worst grading paradigms in all of history

Read about it

GI reviews are fine, and I put them on par with Gamespot.

Some people--especially the author of the article you linked--have a mistaken concept of what a review is. A review SHOULD include consideration for the audience of the publication. The only time any rational person should want to hear a completely personal opinion is when its coming from someone they know personally! Otherwise, you really have no idea where the person is coming from, and therefore little idea of how much weight to give their opinion. Most reviewers are complete strangers to readers, and those same readers should take that into account.

The author of the article you linked is a little pathetic for spending so much of his personal time lamenting a simple review, as well as for using unnecessary gruff language. Say with class, or don't say it at all.

As for EGM, I halted my subscription over ten years ago when the issues featured more ads than articles. Its not as bad today, but it certainly hasn't completely redeemed itself as a competant publication.