Telegraph: STUFF about GAMES

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Winckle
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PostRe: Telegraph: Super Mario Galaxy 2 preview
by Winckle » Fri Feb 26, 2010 7:00 pm

Have you written anything about the new Ace Attorney?

We should migrate GRcade to Flarum. :toot:
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PostRe: Telegraph: Super Mario Galaxy 2 preview
by Thongings » Sat Feb 27, 2010 9:22 pm

Winckle wrote:Have you written anything about the new Ace Attorney?


Not yet. But I most definitely plan to. Got the game later than I'd hoped so will be doing a belated review. I will do though, I love Ace Attorney, so any coverage I can give it I consider my duty. *salutes*

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PostRe: Telegraph: Super Mario Galaxy 2 preview
by Thongings » Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:02 pm

Splinter Cell Conviction hands-on: http://bit.ly/bSvfsk

Metroid Other M hands-on: http://bit.ly/b7Ud7w

DSi XL review: http://bit.ly/c2ciBT

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PostRe: Telegraph: Metroid: Other M preview
by Thongings » Mon Mar 08, 2010 5:50 pm

God of War III review: http://bit.ly/9dhRwQ

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spikey
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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by spikey » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:23 pm

Some of them have a fair point though. Considering the amount of praise you lavish on the game throughout the article, including the following quote in the final paragraph:
the journey is relentlessly exciting; a blistering spectacle told in blood and thunder. Truly epic

makes giving it an 8 seem very odd.

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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by Thongings » Sun Mar 14, 2010 12:26 pm

spikey wrote:Some of them have a fair point though. Considering the amount of praise you lavish on the game throughout the article, including the following quote in the final paragraph:
the journey is relentlessly exciting; a blistering spectacle told in blood and thunder. Truly epic

makes giving it an 8 seem very odd.


Only if...

a) You take that quote completely out of context, ignoring the rest of the review's complaints, and the words directly proceeding it

and...

b) We're still living in this alternate dimension where 2 marks off maximum is a bad score.

I think my words justify an 8, a 'very high 8', yes, but an 8. Eurogamer's brilliant review? That's a 9/10 review.
Besides, the majority of my lavish praise is spent on the visuals, as they truly are spectacular. And while they add to the game immensely, they're not the be all and end all.

I hate having to score anything -review scores are nothing but a pain in the sphincter nowadays- but if I have to, I'm going to try my best to use the scale properly.

I don't want to come across as aggressive and pompous over this, but this whole debacle has been ridiculous, and I want to try and make it as clear as I can where I'm coming from.

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Dual
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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by Dual » Sun Mar 14, 2010 1:04 pm

You're a monster.

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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by Thongings » Sun Mar 14, 2010 1:15 pm

Dual wrote:You're a monster.


I know. :cry:

It's an illness, all i can do is go around VANDALISING metascores.

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Razilez
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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by Razilez » Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:21 pm

Great review there Thongings, and just ignore those who look at the score and nothing more.

Would you say it's your favourite game in the series? Just completed GoW I recently and was a great game, but I did find it tedious in many parts. Same goes for GoW II actually, so I'm hoping it isn't needlessly tedious. Does the game have more story/cutscenes? That's one of the things I loved about the other games, but they were few and far between. Hoping for more story in this title.

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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by Thongings » Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:50 pm

Razilez wrote:Great review there Thongings, and just ignore those who look at the score and nothing more.

Would you say it's your favourite game in the series? Just completed GoW I recently and was a great game, but I did find it tedious in many parts. Same goes for GoW II actually, so I'm hoping it isn't needlessly tedious. Does the game have more story/cutscenes? That's one of the things I loved about the other games, but they were few and far between. Hoping for more story in this title.


Hmm, it's a tricky one. I mean, I think it's generally a 'better' game than its predecessors, the combat's tighter and the controls have been tweaked into a much better layout for flicking between weapons and spells. The only thing the others have on it, for definite, is that it's pretty short in comparison. If I remember rightly anyway, I & II were both around 15 hours, whereas I clocked III in a comfortable 10.

Having said that, I can't rate it in a bubble against just its forebears. The platforming's still dreadful, and it almost stubbornly refuses to break from its template, even though it has some great ideas, it gives them up far too quickly. I would have liked to have seen them try more on that front. The combat is great and brilliantly satisfying, but it expands to a point and then kind of... stays there. I just don't think it pushes itself as much as it should do.

I got a lot of stick because I gave Bayonetta a 10/10 and this an 8, and I know a lot of people will disagree with me on it. That's fine, but it's something I stand by. I'm constantly discovering things about Bayonetta's combat, and it would shake things up quite often just to keep the game fresh.

Thing is... I'd hesitate to call myself an 'expert', but if I had a 'specialty' as such, I would say I'm very well versed on action adventure hacknslash. So I'm always very interested in exploring the nuances of combat, so I'm perhaps a little more critical than many on it. I can often get prickly about people calling a lot of hacknslash games 'button-mashers' because, while I know that you can operate to a reasonable degree of success there, it's not until you really explore it that you find out what you can do. Bump up the difficulty on Bayo or GoWIII and I'd like to see you button-mash your way through it!

Oh, I've gone off on one there! Sorry about that. Point is, while GoWIII definitely has much more depth and breadth to it than a lot of people would give it credit for, for me, it doesn't quite do enough. Ultimately, I think I'd find it hard to argue about people calling this the 'best' entry, I think I'll alwsy have fondest memories of the second one, though, to be honest.

Plus, this is the first game in the series that I've really started to tire of Kratos as a character, there's a fine line between furious anti-hero and unsympathetic, murderous cuntflap. Falls on the latter side far too much in III for my taste.

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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by Dual » Sun Mar 14, 2010 4:02 pm

Plus, this is the first game in the series that I've really started to tire of Kratos as a character, there's a fine line between furious anti-hero and unsympathetic, murderous cuntflap. Falls on the latter side far too much in III for my taste.


Hmmm they mentioned that in the OPM review too.

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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by Razilez » Sun Mar 14, 2010 4:10 pm

Thongings wrote:
Razilez wrote:Great review there Thongings, and just ignore those who look at the score and nothing more.

Would you say it's your favourite game in the series? Just completed GoW I recently and was a great game, but I did find it tedious in many parts. Same goes for GoW II actually, so I'm hoping it isn't needlessly tedious. Does the game have more story/cutscenes? That's one of the things I loved about the other games, but they were few and far between. Hoping for more story in this title.


Hmm, it's a tricky one. I mean, I think it's generally a 'better' game than its predecessors, the combat's tighter and the controls have been tweaked into a much better layout for flicking between weapons and spells. The only thing the others have on it, for definite, is that it's pretty short in comparison. If I remember rightly anyway, I & II were both around 15 hours, whereas I clocked III in a comfortable 10.

Having said that, I can't rate it in a bubble against just its forebears. The platforming's still dreadful, and it almost stubbornly refuses to break from its template, even though it has some great ideas, it gives them up far too quickly. I would have liked to have seen them try more on that front. The combat is great and brilliantly satisfying, but it expands to a point and then kind of... stays there. I just don't think it pushes itself as much as it should do.

I got a lot of stick because I gave Bayonetta a 10/10 and this an 8, and I know a lot of people will disagree with me on it. That's fine, but it's something I stand by. I'm constantly discovering things about Bayonetta's combat, and it would shake things up quite often just to keep the game fresh.

Thing is... I'd hesitate to call myself an 'expert', but if I had a 'specialty' as such, I would say I'm very well versed on action adventure hacknslash. So I'm always very interested in exploring the nuances of combat, so I'm perhaps a little more critical than many on it. I can often get prickly about people calling a lot of hacknslash games 'button-mashers' because, while I know that you can operate to a reasonable degree of success there, it's not until you really explore it that you find out what you can do. Bump up the difficulty on Bayo or GoWIII and I'd like to see you button-mash your way through it!

Oh, I've gone off on one there! Sorry about that. Point is, while GoWIII definitely has much more depth and breadth to it than a lot of people would give it credit for, for me, it doesn't quite do enough. Ultimately, I think I'd find it hard to argue about people calling this the 'best' entry, I think I'll alwsy have fondest memories of the second one, though, to be honest.

Plus, this is the first game in the series that I've really started to tire of Kratos as a character, there's a fine line between furious anti-hero and unsympathetic, murderous cuntflap. Falls on the latter side far too much in III for my taste.

Hmm, interesting points there. Tbh, I feel the combat also gets tedious because of the constant fights. Many of the enemies in both GoW games soak up damage (this is on normal) so it takes a while to take down all enemies in an area. It's simply a case of trying to mash what combo's go with which enemy. All too often I find myself getting tired of having to fight wave upon wave of enemies, then do a platforming piece and then onto another fight sequence.

As you say though it's quite stubborn to break from its template, so it tries to play to its strengths. Problem is though that almost nothing can happen for a good long while storywise, so it doesn't immerse me. I feel like I'm just plodding along, waiting for something in the story to happen. I enjoy the mythos and story the series has going for it, but there's so little given to you throughout that I grow tired of the games long before I'm finished.

Probably the reason why I only play in short stints as it still manages to be entertaining, if a tad shallow. GoW I was only around 7 hours long, having recently completed it, but GoW II is a fair bit longer. I'd honestly prefer to have it in the 7 hour range, as it feels far too stretched out. Short and sweet preferably for this sort of game, but I know others feel differently. If it's around the 10 hour mark then I hope it doesn't become tiresome long before the end arrives.

As I say I'll no doubt enjoy it, but I can see it being not the title that most reviewers have hyped it up to, so I thank you for your honesty there Thongings. Sounds like an enjoyable adventure, and will hopefully end the series on a high.

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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by Banjo » Sun Mar 14, 2010 4:15 pm

Dual wrote:
Plus, this is the first game in the series that I've really started to tire of Kratos as a character, there's a fine line between furious anti-hero and unsympathetic, murderous cuntflap. Falls on the latter side far too much in III for my taste.


Hmmm they mentioned that in the OPM review too.


Personally, I'd like it more if Kratos was entirely the latter. Makes a ncie change of pace to see a lead character who is an arsehole.

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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by Thongings » Sun Mar 14, 2010 4:40 pm

Razilez wrote:As I say I'll no doubt enjoy it, but I can see it being not the title that most reviewers have hyped it up to, so I thank you for your honesty there Thongings. Sounds like an enjoyable adventure, and will hopefully end the series on a high.


Oh, god yeah. It is very, very good, I want to make that as clear as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed it and intend to continue on with my hard playthrough when i get the time. And it's a technical marvel in terms of visual scale and bombast.

I've heard the reactions to the very end have been mixed, but I thought it was superb, despite coming rather abruptly.

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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by Thongings » Sun Mar 14, 2010 4:45 pm

Banjo wrote:
Dual wrote:
Plus, this is the first game in the series that I've really started to tire of Kratos as a character, there's a fine line between furious anti-hero and unsympathetic, murderous cuntflap. Falls on the latter side far too much in III for my taste.


Hmmm they mentioned that in the OPM review too.


Personally, I'd like it more if Kratos was entirely the latter. Makes a ncie change of pace to see a lead character who is an arsehole.


The problem is that it jars horribly when they're trying to make you 'feel his pain' and all that. I actually kind of agree with you, but it isn't quite one thing or the other. It trys to make you feel sympathy, but then has Kratos mangling an innocent girl into a door crank. It's just very erratic over the way it wants to present its protagonist.

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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by Banjo » Sun Mar 14, 2010 11:18 pm

I see. Bollocks. I really wish more games (heck, entertainment in general) would focus on right bastards, and keep them as bastards. It's why I'm enjoying The Chronicles Of Riddick so much recently, there's a bastard and a half right there. I guess I should expect this from God Of War though, the first was all about his pain which was seemingly overlooked in the sequel (a small reason why I prefer the sequel) so it makes sense that they'd try and work it back in for the finale. And would I be correct in assuming that these moments are often utilised during story moments? That'd explain why I've got the impression he's a remorseless git, as that'd be deemed as spoilers.

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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by spikey » Tue Mar 16, 2010 2:08 pm

I'm playing devils advocate a bit here in that i haven't played the game, and nor do i intend to.
I am as surprised as you are that this would cause so much fuss so i comment mainly out of fascination in 'fanboy' behaviour - this is more an analysis of why such an uproar.

Thongings wrote:Only if...
a) You take that quote completely out of context, ignoring the rest of the review's complaints, and the words directly proceeding it

"The brutal and bloody God Of War III is a blistering adventure and an essential purchase for all PS3 owners."
That's a better example perhaps. A game that scores an 8 will never mean an 'essential purchase' to me.

Thongings wrote:b) We're still living in this alternate dimension where 2 marks off maximum is a bad score.

I think for a game that's expected to get 9s and 10s, its a good idea to explain exactly why you chose to score it an 8, rather than a 9 or 10, in the review.
It may not be a bad score, but to a lot of people an 8 is a game not worth spending their hard earned £40 on.

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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by Thongings » Tue Mar 16, 2010 4:08 pm

spikey wrote:I'm playing devils advocate a bit here in that i haven't played the game, and nor do i intend to.
I am as surprised as you are that this would cause so much fuss so i comment mainly out of fascination in 'fanboy' behaviour - this is more an analysis of why such an uproar.

Thongings wrote:Only if...
a) You take that quote completely out of context, ignoring the rest of the review's complaints, and the words directly proceeding it

"The brutal and bloody God Of War III is a blistering adventure and an essential purchase for all PS3 owners."
That's a better example perhaps. A game that scores an 8 will never mean an 'essential purchase' to me.

Thongings wrote:b) We're still living in this alternate dimension where 2 marks off maximum is a bad score.

I think for a game that's expected to get 9s and 10s, its a good idea to explain exactly why you chose to score it an 8, rather than a 9 or 10, in the review.
It may not be a bad score, but to a lot of people an 8 is a game not worth spending their hard earned £40 on.


Fair enough! In my defence, I don't write the subheads, and I'd find it difficult to argue too much with your point there.

I do disagree with your second point, though I understand the viewpoint. I don't think any game should be given special treatment, as such. Personally, I would much rather spend more time on why it racked up 8 marks, than why it missed out on those last two. I think I say why it did miss out, but I prefer to keep the ratio in check... 8/2, you know?

I see what you're saying there though, and it's an interesting discussion in itself. I remember the fuss over EDGE's 8/10 BioShock review. That article did seem to be making a point in saying why it didn't get higher. A lot of people didn't like that angle. However, thinking back, EDGE reviewed it later than most, so they could quite rightly make a case for taking a different viewpoint.

I wrote mine before any other review appeared, so I didn't really have any idea how it was going to be received across the board. I would have predicted 8s and 9s, rather than 9s and 10s. But I guess I would, having given it 8 meself!

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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by TheTurnipKing » Sun Mar 21, 2010 8:40 pm

spikey wrote:It may not be a bad score, but to a lot of people an 8 is a game not worth spending their hard earned £40 on.

Wait, what? 8 is a fantastic score for any game.

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PostRe: Telegraph: I give God of War III an 8, abuse follows
by Thongings » Fri Mar 26, 2010 8:20 pm

Well, after all that excitement. It's been a while since I've posted in here. But we have been working, well, sort of.

Stuff up. We have a Final fantasy XIII review by Nick, who's never played a JRPG before, so it has a slightly different spin to it: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/v ... eview.html

Guest reviewer Asthon Raze (yes, that one) tells us about White Knight Chronicles: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/v ... eview.html

And I provide a Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing review, er, about a month too late, but still, was fun to write: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/v ... eview.html

Also, a couple of frothy features on FFXIII and gaming characterisation are up there if you fancy it. :mrgreen:

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