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Beat Writer  Posts: 205 Joined: 28 Sep 2008     | |
Copy Clerk  Posts: 118 Joined: 1 Jan 2009    |
Since this is a review for a game, I'm pretty sure to label it as a game review. For a game review to be sucessful you should keep an open mind and focus on both positive and negative aspects of the game rather than dubbing it as all bad, which it can't be due to 'professional' review scores and feedback to your 'review'. Also, its Rant suits alot better since there is too much mention of negative aspects and you seem to be writing in the 'heat of the moment' instead of actually concidering what to write. If you want to be a respected game reviewer you should focus on who the audience is and you should also focus on valid points rather than finding things YOU dislike. Take for example the extract below: "In MGS 2, the camera is a particularly bad problem, since, in a lot of areas, the player will never have a radar until they find the area's control point (or whatever they call it), where they can turn on the radar." Some people may like earning their 'information' rather than everything being supplied, its a part of the game being a challenge. This idea is common in alot of games such as Assassins Creed and Command and Conquer, there are many games what incorporate the idea; you have to explore the area before its visible on map. Just because you find something you dislike doesnt mean everyone else thinks its horrible. Another thing to do would be to actually concentrate on the game. I, again will refer to the example below, which I assume is either Metal Gear Solid 1 or Metal Gear solid 2. "Why in god's name would there happen to be a sniper rifle lurking in some corner or locker which you could easily miss if you weren't obsessively collecting each and every bloody ration. Who put it there?" In Metal Gear Solid 1, the room that weapon is in has many other weapons in too so its safe to assume that its a weapons storage facility. I think it even says "Weapon Storage" when you enter the rooms. Its also similar with Metal Gear Solid 2. The room the weapon is in is a storage facility. And pretty much ALL combat games have weapons lying around. If the enemies have weapons, there are going to be weapons in one place or another. I'm not writing this to 'attack' your review but give suggestions to improve upon this or future reviews. EDIT: Due to him writing a positive review about Halo, I'm figuring he's just an Xbox360 fanboy who's bitchy that Metal Gear Solid 4 is a PS3 Exclusive. If anyone has another reason then be my guest. |
Muckraker  Posts: 245 Joined: 27 Dec 2007     | Id have to disagree with alot of your opinions but then again I am a real MGS fan. |
Muckraker  Posts: 242 Joined: 10 Jul 2008   | Despite the fact you claim to be intelligent, your main complaint about the game seems to be that it doesn't take your hand and guide you through everything. Back to your problems with the game, you claim that not enough information is given but that you also can't stand waiting around. If you'd had a little patience you'd discover you have more than enough information. Guards routes are easily figured out by watching them for a short period of time and you can use the codec at any time to get more than enough information on your situation. Your problem with fatman shows the intelligence you claimed to have is clearly absent. |
Pulitzer Laureate  Posts: 933 Joined: 27 Apr 2008    | I've never really liked the MGS series. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate it, I just would have been perfectly happy to never play it, or maybe pick it up in a bargin bin in a few years time. That said, I disagree with pretty much all your points. I'm not going to go into detail as I can't be bothered right now. Maybe once I've slept...
Your reactions to these comments aren't helping your case. Simply saying "you just don't understand" or "if you guys can't see that then god help you" just makes you sound egotistical, as if you rate your opinion higher than ours. It is an extremely snobbish move, and one that isn't going to make you any friends. |
Beat Writer Posts: 144 Joined: 27 Oct 2008 |
I don't care how immodest I seem. I call the review intelligent because it needs to be distinguished from the rest of the shit on the net. My review isn't very good, but as far as I know it's the best that's been written so far on MGS, and one of the best game reviews written so far. The only reason my review isn't very good is because I've pretty much had to do all of the thinking about how videogames work myself because almost no one else writing in this area has any brains, so I have nothing to build on. I guess the reason none of you like my review is the same reason that writing on the field is in the state it's in. Still though, I usually get a couple of appreciators when I post, maybe it's the time of year. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1368 Joined: 27 Jan 2008    | "My review isn't very good, but as far as I know it's the best that's been written so far on MGS, and one of the best game reviews written so far. The only reason my review isn't very good is because I've pretty much had to do all of the thinking about how videogames work myself because almost no one else writing in this area has any brains, so I have nothing to build on. I guess the reason none of you like my review is the same reason that writing on the field is in the state it's in. " You're either quite the blatant troll or the most arrogant cunt I've seen on this site. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2330 Joined: 19 May 2008  |
Wow lose the fat headed attitude jesus. No wonder your getting such negative comments, don't think of yourself as the be all end all reviewer like your doing now. Being a condescending prick to people doesn't mean you or your review are the absolute truth. |
Pulitzer Laureate  Posts: 919 Joined: 22 Oct 2008   |
But you should at least give a point on WHY exactly you don't like said interface, otherwise it's just pointless claim. |
Pulitzer Laureate  Posts: 863 Joined: 22 Jun 2008   |
Actually the reason I don't like the review is your writing. It's clear that you don't have much experience writing video game reviews, because if you were experienced, you'd know that you have to write for your audience. A lot of the sentences are a struggle to read, because you're trying so furiously to make it sound "intelligent". Even if it wasn't a failed attempt at writing in this style, this style could go far over the heads of some potential readers. You've got to remember that a lot of kids play videogames. And, granted that I don't know this for certain, the few appreciators you get probably didn't read the review. They saw the "big" words and assumed it to be a good review, without thinking. Your review is a textbook example of the "pompous" writing style. Big words, a flat tone, self-important phrasing, and excessive usage of the passive voice. All of this could have been overlooked if the points you make were good ones, though. You should read some positive reviews of Metal Gear Solid, to see why people like the game. Maybe you'd understand why people have such a problem with this piece. Is this the worst review ever? Not even close. Is this the most frustrating review I've read? Yes, because you have the ability to write a fantastic review. P.S. It would help a lot of you took criticism better. Saying that you wrote the best review in video game history just frusrates your audience further. |
On the Record  Posts: 5788 Joined: 9 Jul 2008    |
Look, most people aren't disagreeing with your points as much as the fact that you didn't back anything up. If you can't at least see what the largest criticism you've received is, then god help you. |
Vault Legend  Posts: 2205 Joined: 30 Jul 2008    |
Out of all of the responses so far on this thread, mjh seems to have hit the closest to what we've all been saying this whole time. Excellent post, mjh. And to you, steamednotfried, you could be doing so much more with your potential. Try your best to use it, not abuse it. |
Red Guard  Posts: 2672 Joined: 16 Dec 2007    | Yes, the review isn't great. It's a little pompous (like MJH said above) and it is in dire need of an editor to cut fat. Still, this review is a hell of a lot better than some of the reviews we've seen here. We've raised the standards here because of the writer's use of the word intelligent, and his unpopular view of the game. I've removed some of your posts. Specifically ones that were calling the OP names. Don't take it personally, and don't take it to mean that you can't criticize this user's writing. Without criticism we don't get better. Calling people names isn't providing feedback, and it has nothing to do with the review forum. Yes, we should be critical, but we can find a way of communicating with each other that doesn't cause people to feel unwelcome in this forum and at The Escapist. Please keep the criticism constructive and the insults at a minimum. /mod |
Pulitzer Laureate  Posts: 867 Joined: 29 Apr 2008  | It's a decent enough review, and while I experienced many of the same issues as you, they never really succeeded in destroying the experience. I did enjoy that your writing style has improved from your previous piece, and is now not as needlessly complex, as well as having a more organic flow. I also would like to add that while the act of saying its intelligent obviously sets it apart, it places you up for criticism from the die-hard fanboys. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2135 Joined: 30 Dec 2008    | Not intelligent, more of a rant. You seem like the kind of guy who likes FPS games not stealth based games like MGS. |
Beat Writer Posts: 210 Joined: 18 Aug 2008  |
QFT. The OP should have focused on the horrible story/complete divorce of narrative and gameplay rather than criticizing the stealth mechanics. I don't like the MGS series all that much, but as far as stealth titles go the gameplay isn't all that bad. |
Infamous Scribbler  Posts: 543 Joined: 8 Nov 2008 |
How is the story horrible? The story is probably one of the greatest stories in gaming. It makes you think about the world and about philosophical subjects like Free Will, What technology might do if we let it control ourselves, Why war is bad, and the like. To me, its the greatest way to tell people what Kojima really believes about everything, and it got me thinking about life in a different way. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1198 Joined: 2 Oct 2008 | Ok so I pretty much stopped reading the review when you said that the player isn't given enough information. Seriously, you are trying to argue THAT point? Metal Gear Solid gives you nothing but information, if anything it gives you too much information. This person is bad. Sneak through this place and stop these people before this thing is deployed and destroys stuff. This guy was evil but now he is good. Oh no you got captured, better escape from your cell. That's a giant robot. It's probably best if you blow that thing up. I skipped to the end of the review and saved myself 5 minutes of pure agony. I'm not English teacher, but I don't think your review is supposed to just come to a halt like it did. You are originally talking about essential items and then you stop. Was that crack about a 9.8 score supposed to be the ending or did you realize that the dribble you were writing probably sucks more than your original opinion of whatever game you were supposed to be talking about. Seriously, what game are you even talking about in this "review"? Was this review a joke or were you really trying to get some obscure point across? I'm embarrassed to have read one horrid word of this thing. (If you want a GOOD MGS4 review that isn't incomprehensible and offensive, check my review out that I just finished. Now on The Escapist forum! YA PRODUCT PLACEMENT!) |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1161 Joined: 22 Dec 2008   | Don't start with saying it's terrible. You'll come off a bit strong and few people who are biased even a little bit towards MGS series will keep reading. |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 1198 Joined: 2 Oct 2008 |
It is terrible. All this author does does for paragraph after paragraph is bitch and complain about things I question he even knows anything about. It almost sounds like he was just doing it to piss people off. This was more of an incoherent rant than a review anyways. And I know a good game when I play one. Metal Gear Solid as a series is great and I DO admit that it definitely won't appeal to everyone. Just because i'm biased to something doesn't mean I can't be right or wrong. Saying something is intellectual is one thing, but when you completely abandon any intelligent thought and just troll your way through dozens of paragraphs to try and explain a point you were finished explaining in the first sentence... ...well that is another thing. And the author definitely went the route of that other thing. |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 1161 Joined: 22 Dec 2008 |
I don't care that it's terrible, it's not the game I'm reviewing, it's the review. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1675 Joined: 10 Sep 2008  | Ok, first up, you're review is very, very long. If you expect people to read and get anything from it, I would suggest cutting it down significantly (I could be wrong in assuming you write with the motivation of someone reading, but that's the only actual motivation I can see anyone having). It jumped out at me early on the you used the term "interesting and dynamic" twice in a few lines, this kind of repetitiveness makes things difficult to read, especially large blocks of text (that was the only example that jumped out at me, but it was badly articulated enough for me to bring it up). Everyone else seems to have pointed this out, but I will again because that's kind of annoying person I am, if you intend to label something as 'intelligent' make sure you have solid points, do not focus on game play elements you dislike as there is no doubt other people do like them, and you're implying they are unintelligent. People dislike this (even if they are). You also seem to be judging the game on an unfair bias, such as the limited movement of the character and his inability to replicate real life scenarios such as entering the opening as you lowered yourself into the flat position. Hardly fair and if you judge all games by this criteria you must surely hate all games, especially platformers. You also spend a lot of time talking about specific scenarios where things could work better, such as snake sneaking out behind boxes to see what's around the corner etc. You should avoid this and keep criticism more simple, especially when you are revisiting a point you have suggested earlier.
If that wasn't obvious, the is always to option of calling someone on (I forget what it's called) the nano machine phone thing, and they will tell you or at least hint at the bosses weakness, although you have listed a particularly weak example as if you shoot the fat man with an rifle or automatic weapon, you can see him getting pushed back and losing his balance, suggesting that if you hit him consistantly he will fall down. This whole point is fairly poorly researched, you clearly didn't give this particular boss fight any time or attention. It also suggests that you haven't played through the entire game (and possibly not the entire first game) as there were far more, for lack of a better word, retarded bosses than the fat bomb man like the undead vampire man with magic water that for some reason can't die or the phsycic that makes you switch the controller port, ruining the immersion of the game. Finally you overuse loaded language, describing flaws as "crippling" or "terrible" at the top of the paragraph but failing to demonstrate how they are anything more than minor annoyances (such as the AI being unpredictable, bad camera angles etc). These problems are not unique to metal gear solid and certianly do not render the game completely unplayable. You come across as having a blind hatred for the game and seem to eager to highlight minor issues, making the whole reveiw feel shallow. Alright thats it, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on other games, because I actually tend to agree that the whole metal gear franchise is immensely overrated, and everyone likes hearing people say what they think. |
Beat Writer Posts: 210 Joined: 18 Aug 2008 |
One of the golden rules of storytelling: show, don't tell. Even if you are able to forgive the cliched plot twists and asinine dialogue, there is no excuse for artlessly having the characters spell out the game's main themes in speech after speech. It's just sloppy. Not to mention that none of the themes in MGS are all that new, and they've all been done better (even in other games). I know this is going to make me sound really pretentious, but if MGS made you think about life differently you haven't read that many books (or seen many movies). |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2068 Joined: 5 Jun 2008   | Pffft I could of ranted better than this. It makes me want to try the game myself because there are sooo many people saying it's one of the greatest games and others saying it's flipping horrible! Maybe I will make my own review and I would have to check out this so called amazing story, the dialogue better not be as shocking as it is in Golden Sun. |
Copy Clerk Posts: 87 Joined: 9 Dec 2007  |
Yeah. I'll admit to that. The year was 1998. People wouldn't shut up about Monica Lewinsky here in the States; some folks still talked about OJ Simpson. I was 13 and Tom Clancy was boring as hell. I hadn't heard a Russian accent since they stopped showing reruns of Rocky and Bullwinkle and I hadn't had a history class that covered post-Cold War politics. For a while, I thought it was pretty fucking deep. I thought it was some avant-garde Adult Info You Should Know, like the fact that politicians are not trustworthy people and that European colonists were generally dicks. I wondered when they'd get around to giving that Hidie-o Cojimmy guy a medal for letting people know about the dangers of nuclear weapons. |
Beat Writer Posts: 210 Joined: 18 Aug 2008 |
This made me laugh. I like you. =) |
Paperboy  Posts: 27 Joined: 1 Jan 2009 |
NewClassic's annotations of a review are similar to what an English teacher in school SHOULD do to pupils' assignments. It is the best type of feedback because it addresses every point as it comes rahter than giving a general overall statement. Hell if NewClassic did something similar to my review(s) I wouldn't be angry at him I'd be over the moon. The quality of the feedback is outstanding and can really help people improve. (Subtle hint there if you are ever bored mate). |
Beat Writer Posts: 210 Joined: 18 Aug 2008 |
My Honors classes teachers in HS and college professors all annotated papers like that. The comments weren't always so snarky, of course, but the effect was the same. |
Infamous Scribbler Posts: 543 Joined: 8 Nov 2008 |
Actually, I have read lots of books and movies about subjects that MGS touches upon, but MGS actually got me into it. It combined characters I liked and was interactive at least so you could at least do something. And pretty much all movies and books have people making speeches about what they believe, so it's nothing new. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 3017 Joined: 7 Oct 2008   |
You're about as modest as Maddox, and 1/1,000,000th as awesome. Try actually reading some of the other MGS reviews out there. Try Gamespy, for one. You might not agree with what they say, but the reviewers there can at least write something that isn't painful for my eyes to look at. And this is coming from somebody who agrees with your opinion. Actually, people like you make me sad to share your opinion, as if I've suddenly become less credible by any association with you. Your review reads horribly, and has terrible flow issues. The dialogue is clunky at best, your explanations for your opinions are insufficient to support your conclusions and your attitude is condescending at best. http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~uocomp/wr121.htm There you go. That should prove quite helpful to you. |
Copy Clerk Posts: 85 Joined: 15 Jul 2008    | Some valid points which are over shadowed by the pure volume of text used. Think of the demographic of people who will read this thread, the people who played the MGS series and cared enough to read through your entire rant; of course your going to get negative feedback. Your bashing the game for leaving supplies in lockers, for having the guards not seeing you when your out of their sight cone, your talking about making the game UNPLAYABLE. be more realistic with your points and present them in a readable manner and you will go far. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2478 Joined: 12 Jul 2008  | I knew that this review was not intelligent as soon as I read the first line. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 4643 Joined: 15 Jun 2008 | Enough with the "intelligent" reviews... The authorial voice is terrible; NewClassic has already mentioned all the grammatical errors. (At least in your original post) The review is just a collection of nit-picks, you seem to want to hate the game. Particularly as you complain about its "design" flaws, when the game was created for the PS1, of course it's going to have flaws. Your reviews are pretty poor - I wouldn't be so harsh, because you have the potential to write a decent review - but your arrogance (you actually think this is one of the best reviews on the web? Its not even the best review on the front page of the user reviews at the time of writing!), and complete lack of what amounts to common sense "you guys are all idiots". If we were idiots, why would you post your reviews here? There are plenty of other sites - possibly because this is an (mostly) intelligent community - I don't know, but insulting people who criticise (rather correctly) your review is not a great way to improve. You seem to have taken your Halo review (which was nothing special) and tried to review a game you dislike. I assume your Halo review gained credit because people read the first sentence and title, assumed it was a good review and posted accordingly. |
Press Junketeer Posts: 462 Joined: 17 Feb 2008 |
You know MGS 2 is used to teach Meme theory in serious institutions right? |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 1198 Joined: 2 Oct 2008 | Why is everyone still giving this moronic "review" more hits and comments? If anything, people should want this thread to die. |
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Well I'm all for someone seeing a negative review on MGS but this is just pretentious at best. While the are couple of valid points but this was too long and hard boiled. While I don't hate your review as much as these are dimwits to replied, you need to do a better job at least pointing out positive qualities on the game which you rarely mentioned in your review. Please stop calling your reviews intelligent is just downright self indulgent. Now I don't hate you and I know that some of commentors are blantantly bashing you just for offering MGS a negative review {then again you're kinda blantantly bashing MGS} but this just seems condescending.
Now that I'm being a comfortist to the MGS fanboys, I have one last thing to say; The MGS games storylines are about as provacative as a PBS cartoon.