We all know that there are tons of great games out there. And simultaneously, there are a lot of games that are, for lack of a better term, complete crap. And of course, us gamers share our existence with people we call critics that get paid to review those games.
A lot of the time, these critics are pretty accurate in their reviews. But there are always exceptions. Here are just a few examples of those exceptions.
10. IGN – Uncharted II
Mike Thomsen praises Naughty Dog’s work on graphics and animations, but focuses the majority of his criticism on the game’s limited freedom.
What Thomsen fails to understand is that because of the game’s fast-paced action, there is only so much freedom a player can have. He makes it seem that he wants more options of gameplay such as controlling a team (a la Rainbow Six) or interacting with unimportant objects (a la LA Noire).
The fact of the matter is, the Uncharted series is and always will be a story-driven game. Yes, Naughty Dog wants you to be a part of the action, but more importantly they want to engage you in the story. They don’t want to take away from that story with meticulous additions. You run, jump, shoot, and solve puzzles. That’s essentially the premise of the game.
Thomsen ignores the fact that cutscenes exist for a reason – to illustrate actions that the player themselves are unable to perform in order to progress the story. He puts fault on Naughty Dog for this – as if they are the only developers to do such a thing – and claims there is no flow.
He also goes so far to criticise the entire character of Nathan Drake, seeming to be completely ignorant to the fact that Drake is supposed to be the stereotypical adventurer/hero. He uses cliche lines, predictable behaviours, and expected techniques because that’s what he’s supposed to do.
Overall, Mike Thomsen completely misses the mark in his review of the overall gameplay in Uncharted 2.
You can read the review here.
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14 Comments
If you want to see a horrendous review..then check out the following –
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/165322-borderlands-2-a-game-not-a-world/
This is probably one of the worst reviews in the history of gaming. It completely misses the point.
I started reading this article thinking “right on” but after i got to Resi 6 i couldnt quite understand.
Surely looking back at the superb Resi games that came up until 5 and then glancing at the latest 2 installments, you cant help but feel they’re massive let downs. Gone is the freaky atmosphere and genuinely scary monsters. Instead the game is action orientated with little/no atmosphere. Obviously a bit of a money spinner in the west.
A couple more points i would like to add is that although GTA:SA is amazing and i lost too much of my life to it, i look back at 3 and VC with more favour. they were simply better games. Granted SA had the HUGE map but it had little in respect to feeling. It was TOO big for its own good and far to jovikal in terms of toys to look past it being just a daft experience. this though im sure can be blamed on the limited architecture of the PS2/Xbox.
Also, as it relates to Black ops, i have never been a big MP gamer but have found fun in running through the SP of the COD games. Black ops was quite a nightmare to get through because, in my opinion, it was just a terrible campaign. The story was mishapen, the action was set to HIGH at all times with no balance. It was quite simply awful.
I must say as well that im not a afn of you going back on your decisions on your previous article, an article i agreed quite alot with (minus the unpopular games inclusions). Halo is massively overrated (apart from MP, the only MP i play), Ass creed is the a no brain actioner made too easy for the quick buck, BF 3 follows Black ops 2 reasoning and the majority of Wii games are pants, but that has alot to do with the hardware.
I do agree that Resident Evil 6 is not nearly the best of the series, but it deserved far more than a 4.5 out of 10 rating. Yes, the QTEs were slightly overwhelming and there were more than necessary, but the game itself was enjoyable and deserved a higher, passing rating.
In regards to San Andreas, I never said that it was the best in the GTA series. Vice City is and always will be my favourite GTA game to date. However, in regards to the review I stumbled across for San Andreas, it did not nearly get the recognition it deserved.
I disagree with your opinion of the Black Ops campaign, but I will not debate it with you are welcome to your opinions.
As well, I personally do believe my article was poorly written. My research was not strong, my writing style was poor and my facts were just complete crap. I stand by a lot of what I said in it, but primarily feel that the actual quality of the article is awful.
4 of 10 for GTA San Andreas….really?
I don’t really understand the Resident Evil 6 complaint. Yes, Capcom’s use of multiple QTEs was intentional. And yes, it’s obvious what Capcom INTENDED by including so many of them. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t poorly implemented, happened far too often, and were more of an annoyance than a genuinely enjoyable addition to the gameplay. I certainly wouldn’t compare Heavy Rain’s use of QTEs to Resident Evil 6′s QTEs.
The “Resident Evil” series is made by Capcom, not Konami. But the author is right, Resident Evil 6 got such bad reviews it left me wondering what the critics were smoking. Games should be graded on whether or not its a good game, not whether or not its like the games that came before in the series or on a critics own personal preference. I even read an RE 6 review that complained that you could just kick crates instead of having to slash them with your knife. Really people? Come on.
For whatever reason, I just realized I accidentally wrote Konami instead of Capcom. I believe it was because my Metal Gear Solid reference confused me and I was thinking of Konami.
e heart would break.” by Erich Fromm.|”There is plenty of courage among us for the abstract, but not for the concrete.” by Hellen Keller.|”Though I am not naturally honest, I am so sometimes by chance.” by William Shakespeare.|”The world is wide, and I will not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.” by Frances Willard.|
shouldnt this be titled instead “10 games a clueless moron is really butthurt about because someone has a different opinion than him”
why isnt the RE 6 justified for saying how awful ridiculous the quick time events are????? and with gta san andreas you ACTUALLY used the 2 year old “MILLIONS bought it so it MUST be good…..so THERE!!!!!!” argument????? REALLY???????
i’m replaying San Andreas now and its quite painful and dull, theres no physics to the combat or gunplay (everyone moves like stick figures,) the dialogue IS horrible, the story IS crap (only GTA game I never finished) not to mention the beyond huge issue that it looked AWFUL graphically all round despite games like Metal Gear Solid 2 releasing 3 years before and yet games like that look a GENERATION AHEAD. Honestly looking back I dont know how Rockstar got away with it all
You’re an idiot.
the Pokemon video games predate the trading card game
To sum up this: This guy is wrong because I disagree.
Waste of 5 minutes of my life.
…what did you expect?
No one can compete with the Sims? I believe you forgot about Animal Crossing.