Squire Grooktook wrote:Warp_Rattler wrote:Read that earlier today. The "game reviewer doesn't get/doesn't want to learn a shmup's system and so dismisses it offhand" is so prevalent that it's almost come to be some kind of stupid cliche. I'm curious--honestly so--why fighting games, another genre with generally complicated techniques required for high-level play, are generally so well received in gaming media and have a more forgiving treatment by reviewers.
They aren't THAT well received. It depends on the reviewer.
This is an argument that comes up all the time in the streaming communities. DJWheat is quite vocal on this and I tend to agree. Street Fighter, as an example - it's an incredibly easy game to watch as a spectator and understand what's going on. Compare that to say "League of Legends" and as a new viewer, you have a hard time understanding what's happening unless you've played a moba before.
Same with shmups vs fighting games. Yes, there's high level techniques in a fighting game -- but one thing is clear. Once guy A smacks guy B's health bar down to zero, guy A wins. The reviewer is a 'new viewer' in this sense. If he or she can mash a few buttons or special moves and get through a few rounds against the AI before it starts to actually counter his play, then he's having fun.
In the old days of Vanilla SF4 - you could mash fierce SRK all day long for the first 5-6 fights and get by. A reviewer might say something like "The AI is pretty well balanced. For the first few fights, it's forgiving and gives you a chance to show off your special moves -- but after 5 or so fights, things really start to get challenging and you have to work for the win"
Compare that to trying to review a shooting game. Let's use Dodonpachi as an example. Straight after I got sucked back in to the shmup scene by the "Hardest Boss Ever" video - I discovered Dodonpachi. (I'd been whoring Tyrian and playing Xenon on an emulator up until that point).
As a new player, I did not give one solitary shit about score, chaining or uncovering magical score increasing bumblebees - I just wanted to hold fire, flail like an idiot and blow shit up.
Tell you what though - that massive laser bomb was fun and credit feeding my way to the end of the game was a blast. I remember having a nice feeling of "Oh, this isn't so bad" during stage 1 after reading all the articles about Dodonpachi being ridiculously nuts.
That's pretty much the same boat a reviewer is going to be in. If the game comes at you guns blazing from the start, without any sort of gentle curve then a reviewer is going to be put off and deem it fit only for the hardcore. Similarly, if there's not enough explosions or gunshots going off - the reviewer is going to find it slow and boring. Scoring mechanics generally don't come in to reviews, as for a casual player - sensory overload and having fun are going to be more important.
Sorry, that turned in to a bit of a rant...:0)
