Never Alone - Kisima Ingitchuna. The new Limbo.

Opinions, how do they work?

[iup=3618667]chalkitdown[/iup] wrote:Opinions, how do they work?

They have many, many layers, and sometimes people cry about them.

No, wait, that's onions. strawberry float.

In Photek's defence, the review is clearly a very personal piece of writing. Even within the realms of 'all reviews are basically opinions', it's clear that this game means more to this reviewer because of the setting and themes, and even its background and development.

I therefore think his point that the 10/10 should be taken with a pinch of salt is utterly justifiable, especially against a backdrop of all other reviews being fair-to-middling.

The Eurogamer review is interesting; it's unusual to have that personal angle on a game.

The idea of building a game based upon the relatively little-known culture of a community is intriguing and it's terrific if it helps to broaden the thoughts of the player. Even so, I have to agree that perhaps the reviewer's overall verdict has, understandably, been swayed by the unexpected wonder of playing a game that touches his life so closely.

The game doesn't sound like a 10... to me. To the reviewer, it was. I guess it's a stark reminder that reviews are opinion and that to use them as more than just a small reference in determining your own view is foolhardy.

I'm just pleased that Photek still has time to post on GR after taking the Wigan job.

[iup=3618695]Spindash[/iup] wrote:I'm just pleased that Photek still has time to post on GR after taking the Wigan job.

I dont think what I wrote was racist in anyway to be honest. It was a comment on the subject matter pertinent to the writer, much like when Rudderless wrote his FIFA 15 review for IGN he used Man City heavily in his first paragraph. :lol:

I've read all the reviews but that Ben Skipper guy is full of it though.

[iup=3618708]Dblock[/iup] wrote:I've read all the reviews but that Ben Skipper guy is full of it though.

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[iup=3618665]rudderless[/iup] wrote:For you it was, yes. For him, obviously not. Ergo: not bollocks. It's a brilliant, touching piece of writing.

strawberry float ME. For the love of God stop this circle-jerkiness.

I've played and finished the game. I met the lead writer Ishmael Hope and interviewed him at EGX. I spoke to the enthusiastic PR. I made a preview video with myself talking, excited by the possibilities. Never Alone - Kisima Ingitchuna has a fascinating back story, so different from what has come before. However a game should not be judged on the backstory. But what I've seen is the most atrocious of hack's like Evan Narcisse at Kotaku, self-fellatiate themselves to come up with superlatives about how they were moved, how the game is important, how the game proves that video games can be art, and every other cliche a hack writes trying to prove to their Twitter circle of friends how they really are the most important of game reviewers. In reality this is all an intricate game of the Emperor's New Clothes, and you the public are being treated as the dumb, suggestible, peasants.

Dead Good Media should be commended for the background info shovelled to the press which in turn i've seen paraphrased. This whole experience has revealed to me what a croc of gooseberry fool established games media writing can be. Of course opinions may differ, but this has given me an insight that some reviewers don't write for their readers, they are not honest with them, they are writing because they are not creators of art so they believe that if they can 'discover' art in games it in turn elevates them as writers and humans beings and in turn they become artists -bollocks does it.

I am in the process of doing my own video review-thing but in summation; yes, Never Alone is meant to be education through entertainment and it has noble and worthy ambitions which I personally completely respect and hope to see more of with regards to world cultures - genuinely. There is worth in watching some of the cultural insight videos. The game gets it's title from the Alaskan Native belief that everything is alive and therefore whether you are you are never alone. There is some value to be gained from this if you're not paying £11.99. However as a game after the initial charm I say it is too short, lacks variety, overly tricky, clumsy A.I. and the most damning thing of all is it simply isn't fun.

Please don't believe charlatans who tell you that a game has cured cancer.

B-but.. but it looks so gorgeous! Doesn't that help? And also, would it appeal to my 5 and 3 years olds?

Actually, it'd be more dishonest to give a game 7/10 because you're second-guessing that some of your readers might not like the dodgy platforming bits.

A review isn't automatically a buyers' guide. It's one person's opinion. You take from it what you want. Maybe you read other reviews to get a broader range of opinions, but that's ultimately all it is. If Evan Narcisse says he was moved by the game, I'm sure he genuinely was moved by it. He's not trying to become an artist by saying that; he just has a different opinion to you.

I swear, some people just want all reviews to cover the exact same ground. Or reviews that are basically product descriptions: a list of features, the resolution, the frame-rate, the number of missions, the time it takes to complete, the price and a score.

Perhaps the biggest problem game critics have is that they try too hard to write well, when most readers couldn't care less about the quality of the writing - unless, of course, there's a minor factual or grammatical error, in which case they'll be castigated for that and reminded of it every time they write something thereafter.

Can't disagree with that at all. I think this is a perfect case to highlight the very notion that reviewing is subjective. It's the clearest example I've possibly ever seen of a reviewer taking more from a game than the vast majority of his audience could ever hope to.

But, he declares that up top, and writes nicely on the matter. If you can't infer from his review that the game it is likely to be more meaningful and touching to someone of a native American origin, then your basic comprehension isn't that good.

(Again, not to labour the point about Photek, but that's what he said and got leapt on for his trouble.)

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[iup=3618760]rudderless[/iup] wrote:Actually, it'd be more dishonest to give a game 7/10 because you're second-guessing that some of your readers might not like the dodgy platforming bits.

A review isn't automatically a buyers' guide. It's one person's opinion.

No rudderless, I don't want all reviews to be a technical checklist. I welcome a more personal style of writing where people talk about being their feelings. However this game does not feature an emotional story, it's a platform game with an ice setting so I find it hard to believe some of the gushing sentiment I've read. With this title some, like Narcisee are reviewing the backstory and not the content of the game.

Of course a review is a subjective opinion, however it should also include enough information for the reader to be able to decide if it is right for them - if it doesn't then it fails. Neither should subjectivity be used an excuse to allow anything to pass, for example a person reviews GTA V and gives it a 0 because emotional experience for them was horrid because of the violence towards women, but the review doesn't reflect any of the technical achievements of the game. Technical does come in to it because it affects your enjoyment of the game. Let me make a suggestion. Before you make a judgement on who is more wrong or right, wait until next week and buy the game. Don't get a free code. BUY IT. Play it, then report back!

It's not about 'wrong' or 'right'. You're talking about two different opinions. I'm merely praising a tremendous piece of writing.

I think you journalist are bit of dumb asses . Just ask the developer to give you some money on the sly and you'll give him 9/10.

[iup=3618927]Dblock[/iup] wrote:I think you journalist are bit of dumb asses.

I want to frame this and put it on my desk

Is this about ethics in games journalism?

[iup=3619040]Tafdolphin[/iup] wrote:Is this about ethnics in games journalism?

Fixed.

Never Alone - Kisima Ingitchuna. The new Limbo.

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