[Discussion] The Call of Web 2.0 ? Modern Reviewers feature

[charlesr]

Thanks to Blair for the words. Blair's first editorial for ntsc-uk.

http://www.ntsc-uk.com/feature.php?featuretype=edi&fea=ModernReviewers

Thanks to Jamie for the banner.

[eastyy]

thats cool though i think that kane and lynch thing was gamespot not game trailers....not sure though

[honeymustard]

Excellent article, totally agreed. I don't think I've ever bought a game on release day since the rise of the internet (though to be fair, that's mainly down to price).

The article covers both Gamespot and GT, eastyy.

[PeteJ]

Nice feature, I hope you write more for the site Blair because that was a good read.

I agree with what you are saying but for me there is one exception - Oblivion. That epic RPG was the last title I went absolutely insane about prior to release - I pretty much scooped up every bit of info I possibly could, including all the interviews and podcasts, because to me it sounded like The Best Thing Ever. When I actually got my hands on it, I was surprised to find it was The Best Thing Ever.

I don't know what happened during my first 50 or so hours in that game, but it completely lived up to my expectations. The game was pretty poorly written and the history of the land, races and characters wasn't well convayed, but because I had gone the extra mile of reading up on everything, I seemed to pick up a lot more than I perhaps would have done if I had gone in blind.

On the flip side I completely ignored the pre-release information of Fallout3, and since buying it just before christmas I have really struggled to get into it. I just don't care.

I still rely on reviews but I get really irritated by reviewers needing to spoil the highlights in order to get across a point. When I wrote for this site I did my best to ensure I never actually went into any specifics of the title because I know how important it is for a gamer to experience things first hand. Rather, I much prefered to talk about the feel and the impact, and ultimately the 'is it worth buying'.

Reviews are too blunt and too lazy. If they want to remain relavent they need to spark debate, and a debate that isn't about the little number at the end.

[Concrete donkey]

Enjoyed the article, hope to see more from you.

I still find it relatively easy to do a self imposed media blackout and have being doing it with almost every game and film I’m interested in since Halo 2 which I feel was ruined by high expectations.

I realised when I was new to gaming and knew nothing of the scene my favourite games were one’s I knew next to nothing about so I’m doing my best to return to that state of ignorance. I can avoid headline and first play threads and look only for announcements and release dates. I’ve been basing my buying habits on previous experience with the developer, demos, or recommendations from friends. It does mean I miss out on a few games at launch but it’s made the games I do play more enjoyable. If I had read up on it I would have missed one of my favourite gaming moments concerning the Vampires of Oblivion.

http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showpost.php?p=1059141&postcount=63

I generally read reviews after I’ve played the game and for once I really love I’ll look at previews and interviews retrospectively.

[ItsThere]

Thanks for the comments guys.

There will definitely be more content from me in the future. I'd like to say that they will be ore analytical in the future but I prefer to write opinion pieces so I will just stick with that for the next couple of features.

Re: Oblivion - I'm glad that the full media experience improved your experience of the game Pete, strangely I feel the same way about Fallout 3, but only post release.

I have been using a guide to help me with the side quests etc (finding them) and if I wasn't I would have missed out on a LOT (as CD points out with the Vampires in Oblivion) because the game world is just so massive.

Looking back I can add one more point of reference to the discussion on reviews.

I think that eBay is a comparable example for import gaming shops. Now that literally everyone in the world can be a trader if they want to you have to sift through more crap to get what you want. In the same way the web allows everyone to be a reviewer. So in the same way you need to ignore a lot more content to get to the good stuff!

In a way RavenGames are CVG, Tronixweb are Superplay and so on - the "old" way to engage with our hobby.

Muddled thoughts but I am pretty hung over today!

[ShadowDancer]

I thought if a Mantra was shared, it no longer becomes one.

Great piece of writing though. End paragraph was particularly beautiful.