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General: Free Zone: How Helpful Are MMOG Previews

StraddenStradden Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696

MMORPG.com columnist Richard Aihoshi writes this article asking how useful MMORPG previews really are when it comes to specific player tastes.

Richard Aihoshi

The last time I wrote a preview of an MMOG was at least a few years ago, long enough that I don't even remember the time frame or the title. What's more, it wouldn't bother me if I never do another. Indeed, if I had to guess, I'd venture to say I won't.

To put the above into its proper frame of reference, I'm using my own definition of "preview" and referring to what I usually call a "full" one. This means I'm talking about an article that describes enough of a game so I, as a reader, can get an accurate sense as to the key things I want to know without having to know anything beforehand or to go look for further information.

Read How Helpful Are MMOG Previews?

Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com

Comments

  • cyandkcyandk Member UncommonPosts: 142

    Previews is as helpful as a wet sock. Its personal opinions throughout and i can't tell how many times i burned off 50€ because reviewers says its a decent game, latest was Aion.

     

    I promised myself after that i would not read reviews. I would checkout gameplay videos on youtube, how is the PvP and how is crafting. These two matters to me and it seems to be the only way to decide.

     

    There is also the issues with sites being payed by developers to get a better preview. Its sad and it hurts the MMO genre everytime the public finds out.

    Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe.

  • Paragus1Paragus1 Member UncommonPosts: 1,741

    A decent article, and I agree to an extent.   I feel the same should also be applied to MMORPG reviews.   As a blogger on this site I have written a lot of both, and I find the best thing you can do is try to give a fair presentation on what is good and bad about a game in the eyes of it's target audience.  If you read a review of an MMO, you have to factor in the reviewer's preferences.   If someone who prefers theme park games reviews a sandbox or reverse, you won't be getting a fair understanding on the game.

    This is one of my beefs with the review system in place here on MMORPG.com.   I think instead of having one reviewer of unknown backround and bias write a review about a game, there should be a variety of reviews so that people can identify which reviewer best fits their MMO philosophy.  Then the players can rate the various reviews as being helpful or not so that people can understand if a game like Aion (highest scored MMO on this site) is deserving of its score.

    As a blogger on this site, I have written extensively about many of the games I have played, some which fall on opposite ends of the MMO spectrum (Aion and Darkfall).   The good thing is any reader seeking information from me has a history of articles to read over to understand where I am coming from to reach my conclusion, but they lack that sort of information with the official reviewers on this and other sites.

  • SnarlingWolfSnarlingWolf Member Posts: 2,697

    Previews are generally too positive, they talk about what is cool and that is about it.

     

    The reasoning is simple enough, if you have a positive review, then more companies are likely to come to you with their game pre-launch and have you take a look. That means more exclusives which means more viewers and more money for your site. So it benefits the whole industry when reviews are positive.

     

    Then there is the flip side, do an honest review (like the darkfall review that everyone went nuts over) and it causes an uproar from that company and the die hard fans of the game. It doesn't matter that the review showed an honest picture of the game, it was negative so the people who love the game were pissed as was the company that made the game. Although that does give a good amount of free press to your site, I think most sites don't want to deal with that type of hassle.

     

    It's also fairly easy to tell what a game will be like from the information that comes out early, if you read it correctly. You can interpret different words and phrases used to know exactly what is in store. So having a brain let's you know most of what you need to ahead of time. So the info released over time from developers is far more useful then the ever glowing review of a game from a site that makes money by having reviews of games.

  • GentleNovaGentleNova Member Posts: 16

    A preview cannot give an accurate representation of an entire MMO game. It's impossible. And if a reader assumes that, it's their fault not yours.

    That said, previews can still be beneficial in helping to relay the initial overall experience of a game. Often that's done by relaying feelings more than solid details. For example, I've read lots of previews and forums posts on both Alganon and Allod Online recently. While both games sounds great on paper, the experiences people have had playing them helped me quickly determine which one I'm more interested in at this point in time (that being Allod Online).

    I think Paragus pretty much sums it up though. You have to write your preview for what your target audience is looking for. Even more so, he's absolutely correct in that you need different perspectives to fully understand the game. Again this is why I just don't trust one person but get input from as many sources as possible. Then by putting all of those different perspectives together, I get a solid overall feeling of the game.

    BTW, yes, everyone will have their own perspective they will be looking from. That said, there are still things that everyone values from a common viewpoint. For example, Keen (from Keen & Graev's) gave a preview of Allod Online, including a brief general video of different aspects of the game. From his preview and his video, I could quickly tell that Allod's has a lot of polish and basic world elements that attract me. In effect, before I can get attracted to a game, it has to have these "foundational elements" before I even consider stepping into it. The more care and attention I see the developer putting into these things, the more likely they'll care about other things I've yet to see.

    That said. Is Allod's going to be THE game for me? I can't say for sure because I've only seen a small aspect of it (i.e. the initial game experience). But at least from what I've seen, it looks promising and is something I'll be watching much more closely in the future. That, if anything, is what a game preview should do. Get you attracted to the game, so as to watch its developments much more closely.

    PS. BTW I never read reviews from major sites (i.e. Gamespot, Gamespy, etc) but instead read previews from indie gamer blogs instead.

  • KarahandrasKarahandras Member UncommonPosts: 1,703

    Nice article

    got to say that i find previews and reviews far less useful for named ip's, such as star wars, star trek and lord of the rings when most of what i read doesn't really tell you anything about the game just that the person writting the preview/review is just wetting themselves to play a lotr/star trek/star wars mmorpg, doesn't even seem to bother them to even look if the game is any good after they see the name in the title

  • brezelbrezel Member Posts: 202

    How Helpful Are MMOG Previews?

    they are helpful for the "previewers" because they get payed for it lol.   

  • grimfallgrimfall Member UncommonPosts: 1,153

    Previews are advertisement.  Have you ever read a pre-view where they said "this system is total crap."? That is because previews are like movie trailers.  What you're looking for are beta reviews or actual reviews. Those are two totally seperate things.

    All you've said in your 1000 words of prose is that 'based on a pre-view I don't know if I will like a game". 

    What's interesting or newsworthy about that statement?  But congrats, you filled your contractual obligation for your $300 paycheck this week.

  • AthcearAthcear Member Posts: 420

    I'm just suck of every review saying the same thing.  "Explore a unique world!"  "Twelve playable races!"  "Ten classes!"  "Thousands of quests!"  None of these comment on the quality of anything in the game.  Of course it's a unique world.  And peanuts to how many races and classes you have.  Those details aren't noteworthy unless there aren't enough of them.  And while they may have thousands of quests, only eight of them are actually interesting.  Most reviews of games, not just MMOs, only scratch the surface.  They'll make sure you know that the game has PvP, but won't comment if it focuses on large group, small group, territory control, deathmatches, or any other form.  Pointing out that it's possible for one player to attack another or that you can do quests are like saying "the game has graphics!"  A tiny fraction of game reviews have any useful information.

    Important facts:
    1. Free to Play games are poorly made.
    2. Casuals are not all idiots, but idiots call themselves casuals.
    3. Great solo and group content are not mutually exclusive, but they suffer when one is shoved into the mold of the other. The same is true of PvP and PvE.
    4. Community is more important than you think.

  • LynxJSALynxJSA Member RarePosts: 3,334

    I find the previews helpful for getting an overview of the features available and the basics of what they do or mean for the player. For example, PotBS previews showed me a bit about the mechanics of sea combat, character customization and the art style of the game. It fueled further interest for me.

    -- Whammy - a 64x64 miniRPG 
    RPG Quiz - can you get all 25 right? 
    FPS Quiz - how well do you know your shooters?  
  • Bob_BlawblawBob_Blawblaw Member Posts: 1,278

    The MMO previews I've been reading lately, I can only assume are helpful... for the publishers to get at players wallets.

    As posts have stated above this one, very few previews actually criticize the product these days. With the huge budget MMOs on the brink of launching, payola seems to be having it's day in the sun.

    Previews are nothing but commercials.

  • Babylon9000Babylon9000 Member Posts: 88

    Alot of the comments are focused on how un-helpful people find previews as they are all basically the same article regurgetated over and over.

    What if MMORPG.com were to put together a rating system based opn criteria ideas given by the forum community? This would allow us to see reviews based on the things we want to see.

    For example I would like to see a rating system based on points similar to what IGN has in place, but based on similar but more MMOG focused criteria. I also like that I can rate games I play on IGN according to the point breakdown, and leave comments on each point section as to what I liked and disliked. Now those reviews are far more effective in helping me shop for a game than a preview article.

    At present all I get out of previews are the odd screeny before launch, and a few quips about what is unique in the game. I wouldn't say they help me decide what to buy. I learned my lesson not to believe the hype with Conan, and then learned the same lesson again with Champions. Twice ought to do it now.

    With Dragon Age I waited until it came out and read player reviews to see what people liked and disliked and based my purchase decision on that rather than a thumbs up preview article. What self respecting preview artilce author is going to give a bad preview? It would mean they would never be privy to inside pre-release info again.

  • KusanohaKusanoha Member Posts: 47
    Originally posted by Athcear


    I'm just suck of every review saying the same thing.  "Explore a unique world!"  "Twelve playable races!"  "Ten classes!"  "Thousands of quests!"  None of these comment on the quality of anything in the game.  Of course it's a unique world.  And peanuts to how many races and classes you have.  Those details aren't noteworthy unless there aren't enough of them.  And while they may have thousands of quests, only eight of them are actually interesting.  Most reviews of games, not just MMOs, only scratch the surface.  They'll make sure you know that the game has PvP, but won't comment if it focuses on large group, small group, territory control, deathmatches, or any other form.  Pointing out that it's possible for one player to attack another or that you can do quests are like saying "the game has graphics!"  A tiny fraction of game reviews have any useful information.

     

    I find the reviews that are the most help explain WHY a class or game mechanic is "fun," and then justify that reasoning with examples.

     

    A general overview of the game is expected, but this is what I would consider the meat of a n MMO preview.

     

    And as for the massive amount of time needed to preview such a game...?  Look at Dragon Age. That game easily takes up 50 hours of play. And they had previews for the game up before it was released. I think it isn't too much of a stretch to then be able to preview MMOs.

     

    The thing you would need is a standard (or at least guidelines, because you are writers and need creative flexability or why are you writing anyway?) for writing these previews. Also, in the spirit of getting their product (the game) and your product (the article) to market so to speak, it would help if you as a video game journalist were allowed special access to the game and help from devs if necessary. By this I mean, they would level you to a different tier for each phase of your preview if possible to give you a feel for the class and game without spending a LARGE amount of time just grinding. Though you would need to spend SOME time grinding, otherwise a preview detailing the leveling process is going to be inaccurate.

     

    The thing is that with all of this going on, any preview must be taken with a grain of salt anyway. Updates to the game and the social dynamics of the community are going to lend a fluid aspect to the game itself anyway. Any preview you give of the game is bound to be very transitory. More so I would argue than most single player games.

     

    Still, perhaps it would be best to see how publishers and game companies handle large RPG games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age to get a better framework for how to handle MMOs (which are released at roughly the same rate, and are more complicated, but not so much as to render the comparison useless). I'm sure there is a procedure that is used to make an accurate preview possible.

    [Begin Sarcasm]

    Girls don't use the internet unless theres a webcam involved....its a physical impossibility.

    They also don't play them thar vidya gaymes, mmorpg = most men online role play girls...even in ventrillo.

    -kyte317

  • GentleNovaGentleNova Member Posts: 16
    Originally posted by Babylon9000


    What self respecting preview artilce author is going to give a bad preview? It would mean they would never be privy to inside pre-release info again.

    If the author's emphasis is to just reword and regurgitate marketing PR from the gaming companies then I really don't think they have to worry about their self respect.  :)

    Don't get me wrong though. The author obviously doesn't want to trash the developer or publisher either, yet at the same they shouldn't be lying or stretching the truth because if they do so, they'll lose all credibility and trust from their readers. I guess it's up to the author to talk to the developer beforehand and see if a fair and honest preview can be given. If not, then no matter how great the inside scoop, if you can't do it fairly then there's no point in doing it at all.

    Maybe even give the choice to the developer? Show them your final preview as you want to post it then give them the choice to post it as it is or not at all.

    All said and done though, this is exactly why I prefer reading independent previews from gamers who blog. Much more informative and credible.

  • SimsuSimsu Member UncommonPosts: 386

    I generally agree with what was covered in the article and would sum it all up as being "Not enough time is put into playing to write a good preview/review". But to be honest, and fair, there are other things that I like to know about a previewer and the game that are important to me that can make a preview/review more or less useful... A few examples that come to mind are:

     

    A) Knowing the writer's general opinions and biases help me to give me a baseline for their opinions and understand how much "spin" there is on the different types of descriptions... For example if the writer hates solo leveling then I can take that into consideration when they talk about the leveling system. If they're not really into crafting I can consider that when they say the crafting system is too detailed or whatever. The only real way to address this is to have multiple previews/reviews from the same person so you can get a bearing for where they stand. For example Paragus is someone who I've read a lot from so when he writes up something in his blog I can take what he says and adjust it left/right/up/down to what I think is likely "the truth" or at least the truth how I would see it if I were the one writing. (Not saying you lie P, but I think you'll follow what I'm saying.)

     

    B) MMOs aren't static in nature which means a preview/review can and will become outdated the only question is how long it will take. If the game is drastically changed, be it quickly or over a long period of time, then the preview/review needs to get updated otherwise it's usefulness drops.

     

    C) I want to know how involved the developers are with the game. I want to know how quickly they smash bugs, what kind of feedback there is, how well they work with the community and so on. A game may be poorly implemented now but the developers could be "patching every two weeks, constantly squashing bugs and adding content all the time" and that makes a huge difference versus "Never hear anything, no support, no feedback, long standing bugs, etc".

  • BountytakerBountytaker Member Posts: 323

    The problem I've seen lately with "previews" is how much more "controlled" they are by the gaming companies.  Forget whether or not you'll ever see a "critique" in  preview anymore...how about asking whether we'll actually see honest questions from actual reporters (and not just a hand-fed "walkthrough" of the game)

     

    When I can read five different "previews" for a game , written by five different authors, for five different news sources, representing five different countries....and they ALL contain the same questions and answers, there's a problem.

     

    Forget critique and thoroughness....I'd setlle or a little bit of investigative journalism at this point.

     

    If you can't do the "research" (ie. play) for you preview without the devs in the room with you, then I don't want to read it.

  • BountytakerBountytaker Member Posts: 323

    Quick example of what I was talking about (not the best, mind you, but a quick one):

    How similar do these "previews" sound:

    http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/cities-xl-preview

    http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/citiesxl/news.html?sid=6196984&mode=previews

    http://www.crispygamer.com/previews/2009-06-24/the-five-cities-xl.aspx

    http://play.tm/preview/24578/cities-xl/

    http://news.bigdownload.com/2008/12/16/preview-cities-xl/

    Those are five previews from five sites covering at least a year of development...and yet, they pretty much all contain the same talking points.  Did all of these writers play the game?  Did they develop their own sense of what the game was about?  Did they raise any of their own questions? (If you followed the development of this game, you'd know that the answer is mostly "no")

    While there are always going to be features or designs of a game that generate attention through every preview, it still doesn't justify articles with noting but talking points.  If you consider yourself a journalist, and you're writing an article based solely on information that was handed to you...well, than you aren't really a journalist, imo.

  • MaelkorMaelkor Member UncommonPosts: 459

    On a scale of 1 to 10 game previews and later reviews rate about a 3 on usefullness. If the preview gives a link to the games website that is usually the most usefull bit of information in any preview. It is extremely rare to get an unbiased (either positive or negative) preview/review of any game. Every individual has their preferences and what is important to them including the previewer and will likely concentrate on those items over other things.

    One example for me is the fact I could care less about graphics so long as they meet minimum industry standards for the current generation. Yet other people expect the absolute best premium graphics and will not even consider playing a game that does not have this.

    In almost all games at some point it is possible to get into some form of beta and or open trial. This I find the absolute best way to judge a game before I buy it. The 2nd best method is to surf various forums and read what people are writing about it. I look for the most neutral posts and look for common threads on which everyone agrees on and use that to couterbalance the hype I read on the publishers web page for a game. I weigh all the sides and determine whether a game is worth risking $50 on to try out. I have yet to play a game in which at least the initial purchase was not worthwhile except perhaps AoC.

  • brostynbrostyn Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 3,092

    I ignore all previews. Previews are only done by companies that advertise the product they are previewing. You can't expect truth.

    I do think reviews by players are far more important, as I am looking for personal opinions that show no conflict of interest.

  • thantothanto Member UncommonPosts: 21

    Am I the only one who doesn't understand why people get paid to write incomplete reviews of games?  Am I the only one who thinks that there is no qualification required to play video games and rate your experience?  I just don't understand how this is a profession.  They're just games.  They're not hard to play, and really, that's all you're doing - playing a game.  There is no skill required simply to play.  There's no skill required to tell other people what you thought (though a firm grasp of the English language helps for English speakers).  I just don't see a point in professional reviews for video games (or movies, art, or music either).

     

    I'd rather read a review from a regular player (beta participant, paying customer, etc.), someone who played the game like a normal person. 

     

    Perhaps we need a review article system here, like in IGN.  Many people here have made suggestions as to how it would work.  So, here's what I think:

    • Reviews should be able to be rated by other people (like in IGN), so useless reviews can get downvoted into oblivion, and good reviews can get upvoted to star status (or something).  Upvotes and downvotes should tie back to the individual user, so people who routinely write bad reviews should have their reviews marked accordingly, and people who routinely write good reviews get their reviews marked accordingly.

       
    • Reviewers list their interests in their profiles and/or potentially at the start of reviews (or it's listed automatically).  Things like PvE, PvP, small grouping, big grouping, crafting, raids, story, graphics, etc. would each get a rating showing how interested the player is in that area.  As stated previously, the reviewers bias will color his/her review, so why not let us know what the bias is?

       
    • Reviews should target specific subjects. Reviews targeting the same subject should be grouped together.  The reason has been explained numerous times previously - the professional reviews are always ridiculously general.  I don't care about PvP or grouping, raiding, story, etc.  I just want to know about solo PvE and crafting.  I shouldn't have to sift through dozens of articles to find what I'm looking for, and in the current system of reviews, I never do, because the information is just so general.  So, maybe instead of huge, useless general reviews, each topic could get its own mini-review with a bit of added context (IE: how does crafting affect PvE).  This way, everyone is satisfied, regardless of taste.
  • Gobstopper3DGobstopper3D Member RarePosts: 970

    I have said it many times on here and I will say it again, the only person that knows if you will like a game is YOU.  Any review written about something on here is that persons opinion and nothing more.  There are some well written reviews by people on here that seem like they really try and set all bias aside, but you can always find some in it.

    The best way (imo) to see if you like a game is try it for yourself via free trial if there is one or see if a friend has the game and check it out on their computer.  If none of that works, then I wont get it until I can sample it for myself.  If you are willing to put all your marbles into a reviewers basket and buy a game based on what they write, then good luck to you and I hope it works out.  I will stick with using my own judgement to decide if I like a game and not someone elses.

    I'm not an IT Specialist, Game Developer, or Clairvoyant in real life, but like others on here, I play one on the internet.

  • DignaDigna Member UncommonPosts: 1,994

    Over the years, I've reduced previews to a 'tip-of-the-iceberg' starting point. I take them with a grain of salt but also look for a tidbit to tickly my fancy. If the review has nothing that sounds interesting, I table the process and occasionally poke back into forums to see what other folks are saying. If there IS something that sounds interesting (getting harder for me to find these days) I start poking into the forums, looking for online videos etc. I choose my own dooms (not to be confused with game!), you  might say but don't mind a starting point now and again.

     

  • MyskMysk Member Posts: 982

    I agree.  The example that immediately came to mind when I saw the OP's article was AoC.  That MMO received glowing reviews for Tortage, but very few (if any?) gave anything more than a few sentences regarding the real game beyond the introduction.

    It's all about time.  Ideally a MMO review should be broken into segments that cover the first three months.  There would be a "Lunch Review" of the first two or three days, and then three more reviews written:  Part 1 being written after the first month, Part 2 after the second, and, of course, Part 3 after the third month.  Perhaps these monthly segments could also cover issues brought up in the forums.  Forum comments are usually exaggerated and a review would be a good place to balance the reality versus the emotionally charged forum posts.

    Who's going to give it that much time though?  For that matter, who's still going to care about the reviews at that point?  I would really like to see how such an approach to MMO reviews would be received.

  • Jester47Jester47 Member Posts: 90

    I  haven't read a preview for any game in probably over a decade unless I was bored. I can gather enough information about any game simply by looking at it for most genres. As for more complex genres like MMOs, I gather information about it myself and couple it with gameplay videos/screen shots. Of course, player beta opinions help if they're available.

    I don't like the simplistic format of most previews on any gaming site. They touch on too many things I already know just by looking at it or they're barely capable of describing the complexities of the game that I may not be able to garner for myself from doing my own research.

  • BaronJuJuBaronJuJu Member UncommonPosts: 1,832
    Originally posted by cyandk


    Previews is as helpful as a wet sock.



     

    Pretty much my stance. Previews have become too biased, I haven't read a blogger or reviewer on this or a variety of other sites in years that doesn't fall into this category. It seems to be total love or total hate, no objective neutral stances. To the gaming companies: Forget the reviews, offer up a 7-14 day trial on their MMO and left folks decide for themselves if it's what they want to play.

    "If we don't attack them, they will attack us first. So we'd better retaliate before they have a chance to strike"

  • RaeturusRaeturus Member Posts: 16

    Previews are about half and half for me.   The graphics and art have to catch my eye first, system requirements, and then I look into content.  Tech issues. Is it pve friendly or does it lean more toward pvp/rvr?  Also the game has to hold a decent story and well thought out history line. I may even seek out others comments about certain games..both negative and positives.  And I dont find all my information in one place either.

    But yes if a person wants to know about a particular game it would take quite a bit of time and research to come up with satisfactory  information.

     

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