I showed a friend at work the number for perfect 10s Skyward Sword had received. He's a bit of a gfx whore so was astounded that something so basic looking could be awarded a 10. I pointed out art direction, gameplay etc. All the things that go to make up a game. But, that did get em thinking. If Skyward Sword was a PS3 game, using Move controls and EVERYTHING about that game were exactly the same as it is on Wii would it get a 10 from, let's say Edge as an example? Would they overlook the fact that a 1080p capable console was rendering internally at 480p and say that because of the art style etc. that it didn't matter? Or would they compare it to other games on that platform and say it was underachieving in terms of graphics (and sound - Pro logic < DD/DTS) and knock mark(s) off?
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Hmmm... interesting question. I think reviews can be platform dependent and I don't see really why they shouldn't be. But many games will be so strong in some areas that other areas simply don't matter, regardless of what platform they are on.
Edited because I totally buggered up the wording and gave the exact opposite of what I had intended. Sigh... -
I don't think you can seperate the platform and how well it utilises it from the consideration really. Look at more extreme examples from the past.
The C64 version of Hard Drivin was pish, the Spectrum version was pretty decent. But if the C64 version was a straight port of the speccy one, would it get the same scores it got on speccy?
Not every game has to push the platform, but if it's clearly using it in a lazy way, then you get marked down. Witness the number of times Amiga magazines marked games down for being ST ports. And how direct ports from 360 to PC get marked down for not 'utilising the power' etc...Comment
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Interesting question but lets hope the dread scenario you moot never comes to
pass. Quality will out. Grafx whores will always remain blind, but blind in ever higher resolutions.Comment
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I guess it's about context. Certainly if Skyward Sword was created for the PS3, the goalposts would shift a bit regarding how well the developer is utilising the hardware. The same as how we might have expected more from the Playstation than from the MegaDrive.Comment
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I guess the very subjective nature of reviews could mean a reviewers experience of a game running in a lower resolution spoils the experience a little, just as playing a fantastic game with a poor frame rate would spoil the experience for me (SoTC).Comment
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They should be. I mean how could you compare a Nintendo DS game to a Playstation 3 game for example? Or comparing a ?5 arcade title from two guys to a ?50 retail game from a 200 person team. I think it's all about how you utilise the platform you're making your game for and comparing it to the other games in the same genre. Naturally Skyward Sword should be compared to other Wii games in terms of pure graphics.Comment
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Wii should have many more high scoring games then since less effort is required to produce a high quality title on that platform. Thanks for all the input. I think it's fair to compare games on similar platforms but otherwise reviews (and scores) are really only relevant in the context of other titles on that same platform.Comment
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