It is a shame that we got to a point where a legitimate journalist may be caught in the wave of vengeance that had been held back for so long. All I can speak of is knowing how to spot an untrained writing and a shill from extensively knowing such. And being a shill doesn't just mean being paid off with money, but also being susceptible to billion dollar tactics and the expanse of the hype industry. Even the whole "X-box ambassador" deal and "Influencers" (the ones that specific games bring in and give benefits for and exposure -- such as Bless) and the like are created to make people feel special and defend them.
Though with regards to this, we can look at the numbers rather than an "us versus them" or "opinion versus opinion". It's overwhelming what the thought is by the masses. And it could be said to be arrogant to say one's solemn voice overrides it.
Maybe what you think you see, "Knowing how to spot a shill" is just what you want to see and not necessarily what is happening.
If this review is simply an honest opinion, it verily negates every point of "spotting a shill" and your rules of the way the article was laid out was simply a journalistic choice. Ask yourself a few questions here:
1) Do you know the author? Do you know his past work, would his history gear more towards a favorable honest review or is it largely inconsistent?
2) Is this an abnormally out of context review? What do other game reviews look like? Are 6's and 7's uncommon? Based on Metacritic, they are NOT. The AVERAGE is a 5, which means enough scores over 7 and enough under 5 were given for the weighted average to be at a 5.
And as for Bless, the review here for Bless was critical, but people STILL complained about it. It's completely fine to have differing opinions on scores, but attacking the people that give the scores over a difference of opinion is seriously childish.
Many of us know whether or not we're going to buy a game regardless of a number written from someone else. Most of the people responding negatively here are doing so because the score doesn't reaffirm their opinion, which is largely why they even read the article, not because they wanted to know if they should play it but rather, will it give them extra fodder to revel in since they likely don't have anything to play at the moment. It's just more fun for them to attack those that don't agree.
7 is still the outlier, not the rule, and definitely not indicative of the average experience of critics.
Only 5 out of the 36 reviews were 7 or higher (none at 8). That's 14% of reviewers giving it such a positive review.
For context: 17 of the reviews were at 5 or lower, or 47% of critical reviews.
I think it's safe to say the 7s aren't even indicative of the normal critic's experience, much less the population at large.
EDIT- and the PS4 version per Metacritic had even less critics going up to or beyond 7, with one at 83, one at 69 (out of another 36 reviews)... The rest being one whole (or 10, depending upon if you are talking Meta's 100-point scale or converting it to 10-point scale) point or more lower than 7/10.
Have you checked out sites like opencritic as well? In that instance, 30 or so out of 84 reviews were over 6 or higher. 30 or so were in the 5's. and the rest were below 5. In that case, 7's aren't entirely the outlier.
Aside from the subjective fact that Bethesda completely prison-violated the Fallout IP and its cannon, Fallout 76 is a fine example of lead and director level designers & devs making a game within a bubble. I'm willing to bet my AARP membership that none of the shot-callers on the 76 team ever played a survival/building game. As usual, egos got in the way and "we know better, 'cause we're Bethesda - LMFAOOMGBBQ!!!" If the leaders at BS (fitting acronym for Bethesda, imo) actually played other survival/building games, they would have been able to figure out what works, what doesn't, and what could be refined. Their overall systems design is a one of the best examples of blind stupidity. Players can build their wee forts in certain parts of the world, but it won't be persistent!!! WTELF? Who thought this was a great idea? What's the point of building anything if it's not persistent on the server? "Hey, every time the player logs in, let's put them in a different server than the one they were previously on. WIN!" Seriously? And no NPCs is just plain lazy design to pinch out a product. Cash-Grab 76 would have been a more accurate title. What a steaming, radioactive pile of ghoul crap.
I make spreadsheets at work - I don't want to make them for the games I play.
It is a shame that we got to a point where a legitimate journalist may be caught in the wave of vengeance that had been held back for so long. All I can speak of is knowing how to spot an untrained writing and a shill from extensively knowing such. And being a shill doesn't just mean being paid off with money, but also being susceptible to billion dollar tactics and the expanse of the hype industry. Even the whole "X-box ambassador" deal and "Influencers" (the ones that specific games bring in and give benefits for and exposure -- such as Bless) and the like are created to make people feel special and defend them.
Though with regards to this, we can look at the numbers rather than an "us versus them" or "opinion versus opinion". It's overwhelming what the thought is by the masses. And it could be said to be arrogant to say one's solemn voice overrides it.
Maybe what you think you see, "Knowing how to spot a shill" is just what you want to see and not necessarily what is happening.
If this review is simply an honest opinion, it verily negates every point of "spotting a shill" and your rules of the way the article was laid out was simply a journalistic choice. Ask yourself a few questions here:
1) Do you know the author? Do you know his past work, would his history gear more towards a favorable honest review or is it largely inconsistent?
2) Is this an abnormally out of context review? What do other game reviews look like? Are 6's and 7's uncommon? Based on Metacritic, they are NOT. The AVERAGE is a 5, which means enough scores over 7 and enough under 5 were given for the weighted average to be at a 5.
And as for Bless, the review here for Bless was critical, but people STILL complained about it. It's completely fine to have differing opinions on scores, but attacking the people that give the scores over a difference of opinion is seriously childish.
Many of us know whether or not we're going to buy a game regardless of a number written from someone else. Most of the people responding negatively here are doing so because the score doesn't reaffirm their opinion, which is largely why they even read the article, not because they wanted to know if they should play it but rather, will it give them extra fodder to revel in since they likely don't have anything to play at the moment. It's just more fun for them to attack those that don't agree.
7 is still the outlier, not the rule, and definitely not indicative of the average experience of critics.
Only 5 out of the 36 reviews were 7 or higher (none at 8). That's 14% of reviewers giving it such a positive review.
For context: 17 of the reviews were at 5 or lower, or 47% of critical reviews.
I think it's safe to say the 7s aren't even indicative of the normal critic's experience, much less the population at large.
EDIT- and the PS4 version per Metacritic had even less critics going up to or beyond 7, with one at 83, one at 69 (out of another 36 reviews)... The rest being one whole (or 10, depending upon if you are talking Meta's 100-point scale or converting it to 10-point scale) point or more lower than 7/10.
Have you checked out sites like opencritic as well? In that instance, 30 or so out of 84 reviews were over 6 or higher. 30 or so were in the 5's. and the rest were below 5. In that case, 7's aren't entirely the outlier.
That's still less than half, and you set the threshold a point lower than the one being discussed here. Rounding as appropriate, 18-19 scores round to 7 or higher (which does include one that rounds to 8). Out of 84. Again: the 7 and above don't seem to indicate the average critic's experience.
Coincidentally, the average score on opencritic is 53, which means critics have painted about as consistent a picture of this game's lackluster experience as you'll get from critics.
Multiple sites and the different platforms on those sites are within 1-3 points of one another.
It's pretty clear this game isn't high quality fun.
Have you checked out sites like opencritic as well? In that instance, 30 or so out of 84 reviews were over 6 or higher. 30 or so were in the 5's. and the rest were below 5. In that case, 7's aren't entirely the outlier.
That's still less than half, and you set the threshold a point lower than the one being discussed here. Rounding as appropriate, 18-19 scores round to 7 or higher (which does include one that rounds to 8). Out of 84. Again: the 7 and above don't seem to indicate the average critic's experience.
Coincidentally, the average score on opencritic is 53, which means critics have painted about as consistent a picture if this game's lackluster experience as you'll get from critics.
Multiple sites and the different platforms on those sites are within line 1-3 points of one another.
It's pretty clear this game isn't high quality fun.
But again, still talking about an average. In terms of fun, I still think the game has been fun for me.
I could stop playing tomorrow and have zero regrets. I've gotten more than my share of play time.
Had the game been bug free, this whole thing would be different, but the bugs are largely what has killed the game. It's inexcusable, and there's no defense for them. Based on the bugs and instability alone, from a veteran developer, the score should definitely reflect that. I'm not going to hit someone if they still have fun with the game though.
Like I said at the beginning, had I reviewed it.. I would have given the game a 6. I've likely had more play time than most people out there, and I've had more fun than most, but due to my experiences I've probably also encountered far more strange bugs than others too.
I know first hand how incredibly inconsistent this game is. Every other day I run into a bug I've never seen before, and it's highly unlikely they'll be able to fix them all. But... I do keep playing... and I don't have a penchant for terrible games, and I'm not a glutton for punishment, so in that sense, there is something there worth playing.
Have you checked out sites like opencritic as well? In that instance, 30 or so out of 84 reviews were over 6 or higher. 30 or so were in the 5's. and the rest were below 5. In that case, 7's aren't entirely the outlier.
That's still less than half, and you set the threshold a point lower than the one being discussed here. Rounding as appropriate, 18-19 scores round to 7 or higher (which does include one that rounds to 8). Out of 84. Again: the 7 and above don't seem to indicate the average critic's experience.
Coincidentally, the average score on opencritic is 53, which means critics have painted about as consistent a picture if this game's lackluster experience as you'll get from critics.
Multiple sites and the different platforms on those sites are within line 1-3 points of one another.
It's pretty clear this game isn't high quality fun.
But again, still talking about an average. In terms of fun, I still think the game has been fun for me.
I could stop playing tomorrow and have zero regrets. I've gotten more than my share of play time.
Had the game been bug free, this whole thing would be different, but the bugs are largely what has killed the game. It's inexcusable, and there's no defense for them. Based on the bugs and instability alone, from a veteran developer, the score should definitely reflect that. I'm not going to hit someone if they still have fun with the game though.
Like I said at the beginning, had I reviewed it.. I would have given the game a 6. I've likely had more play time than most people out there, and I've had more fun than most, but due to my experiences I've probably also encountered far more strange bugs than others too.
I know first hand how incredibly inconsistent this game is. Every other day I run into a bug I've never seen before, and it's highly unlikely they'll be able to fix them all. But... I do keep playing... and I don't have a penchant for terrible games, and I'm not a glutton for punishment, so in that sense, there is something there worth playing.
I understand your perspective.
I don't think anyone here is arguing against the reviewer personally. Had I been a frequent poster on the site that gave it an 83, I would be making the same points (sans the platform thing unless it was applicable). But when your opinion is not indicative of the experience of the majority, a review becomes less helpful as a service to your readers.
Seeing just a 7 here would lead one to believe this is a solid if uninspired effort. That's not what this is, by the multitude of other reviews and videos detailing technical issues galore.
Seems to me most of the responses are like this. I didn't play this game, but all the other reviews on it say its a buggy mess. Argh why did you give this a 7. You should reaffirm my decision in not playing this game.
Seems to me most of the responses are like this. I didn't play this game, but all the other reviews on it say its a buggy mess. Argh why did you give this a 7. You should reaffirm my decision in not playing this game.
It's called the bandwagon. Forums like this and social media encourage negativity and doom and gloom. If you enjoy a video game or hold an opposing view of that site or social media you will be pushed out.
It's why 99.99999999999999999999999% of gamers NEVER step foot in sites like this, official forums or gaming social media platforms.
Seems to me most of the responses are like this. I didn't play this game, but all the other reviews on it say its a buggy mess. Argh why did you give this a 7. You should reaffirm my decision in not playing this game.
then don't, you shouldn't trust reviews from journalists, you shouldn't trust anything then a journalist says to tell the truth
Seems to me most of the responses are like this. I didn't play this game, but all the other reviews on it say its a buggy mess. Argh why did you give this a 7. You should reaffirm my decision in not playing this game.
It's called the bandwagon. Forums like this and social media encourage negativity and doom and gloom. If you enjoy a video game or hold an opposing view of that site or social media you will be pushed out.
It's why 99.99999999999999999999999% of gamers NEVER step foot in sites like this, official forums or gaming social media platforms.
Again, this is a piss poor altar to carry around on your little crusade.
The negativity surrounding this title was sparked by very real issues with the game itself.
Seems to me most of the responses are like this. I didn't play this game, but all the other reviews on it say its a buggy mess. Argh why did you give this a 7. You should reaffirm my decision in not playing this game.
It's called the bandwagon. Forums like this and social media encourage negativity and doom and gloom. If you enjoy a video game or hold an opposing view of that site or social media you will be pushed out.
It's why 99.99999999999999999999999% of gamers NEVER step foot in sites like this, official forums or gaming social media platforms.
That's 25 significant figures, chief, denoting a minimum sample size of one septillion gamers.
Do you live in the Bootes Void?
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Authored 139 missions in VendettaOnline and 6 tracks in Distance
Seems to me most of the responses are like this. I didn't play this game, but all the other reviews on it say its a buggy mess. Argh why did you give this a 7. You should reaffirm my decision in not playing this game.
It's called the bandwagon. Forums like this and social media encourage negativity and doom and gloom. If you enjoy a video game or hold an opposing view of that site or social media you will be pushed out.
It's why 99.99999999999999999999999% of gamers NEVER step foot in sites like this, official forums or gaming social media platforms.
Again, this is a piss poor altar to carry around on your little crusade.
The negativity surrounding this title was sparked by very real issues with the game itself.
I would love to reply to you but the tone and personal shots of your reply will not allow me to reply without some kind of retaliation from other posters or staff.
Could you please reword your comment to be less aggressive?
Seems to me most of the responses are like this. I didn't play this game, but all the other reviews on it say its a buggy mess. Argh why did you give this a 7. You should reaffirm my decision in not playing this game.
It's called the bandwagon. Forums like this and social media encourage negativity and doom and gloom. If you enjoy a video game or hold an opposing view of that site or social media you will be pushed out.
It's why 99.99999999999999999999999% of gamers NEVER step foot in sites like this, official forums or gaming social media platforms.
So the bandwagon was right about the other Fallouts but wrong about this one, and concocted enough negativity for AAA game studio under a billion dollar parent to buckle and start pushing patch changes?
Also, apparently gamers are magical off-the-grid beings who aren't on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Twitch.
Would you like to rethink your last sentence and your repeating 9 number again? This site, and official forums be damned. Once you mentioned social media... matter of fact here:
214 million Facebook users in the US 329 million people in the US as of 2018 57% of the video game player population = 35 y/o and younger.
Keep making pretend the people on the "bandwagon" are some lost tribe on an island if you want.
"As far as the forum code of conduct, I would think it's a bit outdated and in need of a refre *CLOSED*"
Seems to me most of the responses are like this. I didn't play this game, but all the other reviews on it say its a buggy mess. Argh why did you give this a 7. You should reaffirm my decision in not playing this game.
It's called the bandwagon. Forums like this and social media encourage negativity and doom and gloom. If you enjoy a video game or hold an opposing view of that site or social media you will be pushed out.
It's why 99.99999999999999999999999% of gamers NEVER step foot in sites like this, official forums or gaming social media platforms.
That's 25 significant figures, chief, denoting a minimum sample size of ten septillion gamers.
Do you live in the Bootes Void?
The exaggurated number was used to emphasize the significance of those who never step foot in a site like this. The number was not meant to be used literally. Was not aware a site like this had math nazies too.
It's ok bud I understand you are just trying to join your friends and trying to be snarky with me. Welcome aboard!
Seems to me most of the responses are like this. I didn't play this game, but all the other reviews on it say its a buggy mess. Argh why did you give this a 7. You should reaffirm my decision in not playing this game.
It's called the bandwagon. Forums like this and social media encourage negativity and doom and gloom. If you enjoy a video game or hold an opposing view of that site or social media you will be pushed out.
It's why 99.99999999999999999999999% of gamers NEVER step foot in sites like this, official forums or gaming social media platforms.
Again, this is a piss poor altar to carry around on your little crusade.
The negativity surrounding this title was sparked by very real issues with the game itself.
I would love to reply to you but the tone and personal shots of your reply will not allow me to reply without some kind of retaliation from other posters or staff.
Could you please reword your comment to be less aggressive?
There were no personal attacks in my reply. Quit acting like a chicken little about moderation. You're only going to create a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Maybe there are 10 septillion gamers hiding somewhere. I'd like that. I'm lonely and depressed here.
They would probably want to assimilate you if you met them.
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Authored 139 missions in VendettaOnline and 6 tracks in Distance
Just use the ignore feature, bro. Your sanity will thank you for it.
It's already paying dividends for my sanity.
Oh, and would anyone like to call out the 99.999999999999999etc% figure out as a lie? This is what he calls a lie, right?
Wow two posters who apparently have me on ignore follow me to every thread to harass me? Is this allowed here? How is this type if harassment allowed on this site? If they want to be cowards and hide behind their screens that's cool but how about they just leave me alone?
Seems to me most of the responses are like this. I didn't play this game, but all the other reviews on it say its a buggy mess. Argh why did you give this a 7. You should reaffirm my decision in not playing this game.
It's called the bandwagon. Forums like this and social media encourage negativity and doom and gloom. If you enjoy a video game or hold an opposing view of that site or social media you will be pushed out.
It's why 99.99999999999999999999999% of gamers NEVER step foot in sites like this, official forums or gaming social media platforms.
That's 25 significant figures, chief, denoting a minimum sample size of ten septillion gamers.
Do you live in the Bootes Void?
The exaggurated number was used to emphasize the significance of those who never step foot in a site like this. The number was not meant to be used literally. Was not aware a site like this had math nazies too.
It's ok bud I understand you are just trying to join your friends and trying to be snarky with me. Welcome aboard!
It wasn't intended as a snarky comment at all; sig figs are pretty important. I find they help me communicate in a more metered tone. By the way, that should read one septillion, not ten septillion. I get confused, sometimes
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Authored 139 missions in VendettaOnline and 6 tracks in Distance
Comments
I make spreadsheets at work - I don't want to make them for the games I play.
Coincidentally, the average score on opencritic is 53, which means critics have painted about as consistent a picture of this game's lackluster experience as you'll get from critics.
Multiple sites and the different platforms on those sites are within 1-3 points of one another.
It's pretty clear this game isn't high quality fun.
I could stop playing tomorrow and have zero regrets. I've gotten more than my share of play time.
Had the game been bug free, this whole thing would be different, but the bugs are largely what has killed the game. It's inexcusable, and there's no defense for them. Based on the bugs and instability alone, from a veteran developer, the score should definitely reflect that. I'm not going to hit someone if they still have fun with the game though.
Like I said at the beginning, had I reviewed it.. I would have given the game a 6. I've likely had more play time than most people out there, and I've had more fun than most, but due to my experiences I've probably also encountered far more strange bugs than others too.
I know first hand how incredibly inconsistent this game is. Every other day I run into a bug I've never seen before, and it's highly unlikely they'll be able to fix them all. But... I do keep playing... and I don't have a penchant for terrible games, and I'm not a glutton for punishment, so in that sense, there is something there worth playing.
I don't think anyone here is arguing against the reviewer personally. Had I been a frequent poster on the site that gave it an 83, I would be making the same points (sans the platform thing unless it was applicable). But when your opinion is not indicative of the experience of the majority, a review becomes less helpful as a service to your readers.
Seeing just a 7 here would lead one to believe this is a solid if uninspired effort. That's not what this is, by the multitude of other reviews and videos detailing technical issues galore.
It's why 99.99999999999999999999999% of gamers NEVER step foot in sites like this, official forums or gaming social media platforms.
Joined 2004 - I can't believe I've been a MMORPG.com member for 20 years! Get off my lawn!
The negativity surrounding this title was sparked by very real issues with the game itself.
Do you live in the Bootes Void?
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Authored 139 missions in Vendetta Online and 6 tracks in Distance
Could you please reword your comment to be less aggressive?
Oh, and would anyone like to call out the 99.999999999999999etc% figure out as a lie? This is what he calls a lie, right?
Also, apparently gamers are magical off-the-grid beings who aren't on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Twitch.
Would you like to rethink your last sentence and your repeating 9 number again? This site, and official forums be damned. Once you mentioned social media... matter of fact here:
214 million Facebook users in the US
329 million people in the US as of 2018
57% of the video game player population = 35 y/o and younger.
Keep making pretend the people on the "bandwagon" are some lost tribe on an island if you want.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It's ok bud I understand you are just trying to join your friends and trying to be snarky with me. Welcome aboard!
Btw someone might want to tell him this is the very definition of harassment.
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Authored 139 missions in Vendetta Online and 6 tracks in Distance
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Authored 139 missions in Vendetta Online and 6 tracks in Distance