Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

[Storm Eagle]

If it's supposed to come out on the 20th of this month, the Nintendo World store in New York City is having a special event a day earlier than that where people will be able to buy the game.

[BreakABone]

Here's another 5/5
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolog...rd-review.html

And a 7.5 from GameSpot
http://www.gamespot.com/the-legend-o...839?metacritic

[KillerGremlin]

Originally Posted by BreakABone

Here's another 5/5
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolog...rd-review.html

And a 7.5 from GameSpot
http://www.gamespot.com/the-legend-o...839?metacritic

The good elements do outweigh the bad in Skyward Sword, creating another engrossing experience in this venerable franchise. Strong visual design meshes the cartoony world of Wind Waker with the more realistic approach offered by Twilight Princess, and the riveting orchestral soundtrack brings back many classic tracks while offering a few tasty new ones. However, the formula is beginning to show its age. There just aren't enough new ideas to separate Skyward Sword from its predecessors, and the few additions come with mixed results. Even with many bright spots, Skyward Sword still feels like a nostalgic retread. Those yearning for something new will be disappointed, but anyone thirsty for another exciting adventure will find plenty to enjoy here

Bravo. I know that review is going to divide people and cause a shit-storm, but yeah. Compared to all the perfect scores, that is the most honest review I have seen based on what was written in the review compared to the score given. I mean come on. I've read 4 or 5 reviews that complained about the motion controls and then went on to give the game a perfect score.

[KillerGremlin]

I found this comment on reddit and think it is worth posting:

GamePro and Giant Bomb both gave it 4/5. GamePro said in their review that it is "Good". Giant Bomb said in their review that it is "Very Good". 7.5 on GameSpot's scale is also "Good".

So of course, in the comments sections on all three reviews people are freaking the FUCK out, because three reviews said it was Good to Very Good, but dared to say it wasn't great. The state of game reviewing is a mess, we would be so much better off if nobody used silly point scales and people had to actually read the reviews to discern the reviewer's opinion.

Right now the Zelda subreddit is amiss. People are pissed that Zelda isn't getting a 10 out of 10 from Gamespot. Lots of comments like, "Everyone else gave it a 10/10. So that means Gamespot is broken."

People comparing it to MW3....




Do we put too much weight into game reviews?


Edit: This is why Yahtzee is my favorite reviewer, btw. He doesn't spend time going over the formula, and BELIEVE ME. Everyone is familiar with the Zelda formula. Yahtzee tells you what is wrong with the game, and if it is remotely original. And he is funny. The number system is dumb. A 7.5 out of 10 is a 75%. A 4 out of 5 is an 80%. That's not a huge difference. All in all, the consensus on this Zelda title seems to be wonky controls from time to time, and not an innovative entry: just very polished. And those themes run through many of the reviews giving the game a perfect score. So not sure what you make from that.

[Angrist]

I dreamed there was a review in one of those free papers (Metro or so) and they really hated the game. It was like "the game isn't HD, it's released on a dying console, it has cartoon graphics... who would want to play this?"
And in the meantime they posted another article about Skyrim.

[Vampyr]

I'm pleased with these scores. 7.5 is a great score, especially for a game that doesn't really bring anything new to the table, and isn't in HD like other modern games are. I'm still excited as hell for it.

@Angrist: What's with the jab at Skyrim? It's pretty much the most well received game released in the last several years. Pretty much everyone, reviewers and the audience, love it. I haven't seen a game this widely accepted as being good in a long time. Everyone loves it.

I've been playing it since it released, and I can easily say it's the best game I've played all year, and probably in the last several years. It's simply stunning the breadth of content it has...and not only does it have an enormous amount of content, but it's high quality and engaging content. Even the side quests are interesting and full of back story.

[BreakABone]

Originally Posted by Vampyr

I'm pleased with these scores. 7.5 is a great score, especially for a game that doesn't really bring anything new to the table, and isn't in HD like other modern games are. I'm still excited as hell for it.

@Angrist: What's with the jab at Skyrim? It's pretty much the most well received game released in the last several years. Pretty much everyone, reviewers and the audience, love it. I haven't seen a game this widely accepted as being good in a long time. Everyone loves it.

I've been playing it since it released, and I can easily say it's the best game I've played all year, and probably in the last several years. It's simply stunning the breadth of content it has...and not only does it have an enormous amount of content, but it's high quality and engaging content. Even the side quests are interesting and full of back story.

Really?

This year alone, I could think of Arkham City as a well received game both critically and commercially.

Edit: This is why Yahtzee is my favorite reviewer, btw. He doesn't spend time going over the formula, and BELIEVE ME. Everyone is familiar with the Zelda formula. Yahtzee tells you what is wrong with the game, and if it is remotely original. And he is funny. The number system is dumb. A 7.5 out of 10 is a 75%. A 4 out of 5 is an 80%. That's not a huge difference. All in all, the consensus on this Zelda title seems to be wonky controls from time to time, and not an innovative entry: just very polished. And those themes run through many of the reviews giving the game a perfect score. So not sure what you make from that.

I will say this, and its kind of a contradictory point.

1) There's no such thing as a perfect game.

2) a 10/10, 5/5, 100% doesn't mean a game is perfect. It means the sum of a game's parts is far greater than any one or two flaws the game may have.

[KillerGremlin]

Originally Posted by BreakABone

I will say this, and its kind of a contradictory point.

1) There's no such thing as a perfect game.

2) a 10/10, 5/5, 100% doesn't mean a game is perfect. It means the sum of a game's parts is far greater than any one or two flaws the game may have.

Point number 2 is bullshit. If the game has control issues, no perfect score....

Control issues take you out of the game, even if temporarily. It would be one thing if the complaints about controls were unique to Gamespot, but a number of reviews touched on the controls being mildly distracting.

Why can't we give it an 8? or a 9? or a 9.5? Those are huge, top-of-the-class scores based on percentiles. A 9.5 isn't bashing the game....it's licking the game's asshole while reaching around to give it a handjob. It's a good score!!!!

I just want more honesty from reviews. I read reviews that complain about things...and then BAM: 9/10, 10/10, etc. This happens to AAA titles all the time. Games like GTA, Halo, Call of Duty, MW, etc.

Or do away with the number system. And get rid of the hyperbole. "This is the best game of all time!" Maybe for you, random review guy. For everyone else....test of time.

[BreakABone]

Originally Posted by KillerGremlin

Point number 2 is bullshit. If the game has control issues, no perfect score....

Control issues take you out of the game, even if temporarily. It would be one thing if the complaints about controls were unique to Gamespot, but a number of reviews touched on the controls being mildly distracting.

Why can't we give it an 8? or a 9? or a 9.5? Those are huge, top-of-the-class scores based on percentiles. A 9.5 isn't bashing the game....it's licking the game's asshole while reaching around to give it a handjob. It's a good score!!!!

I just want more honesty from reviews. I read reviews that complain about things...and then BAM: 9/10, 10/10, etc. This happens to AAA titles all the time. Games like GTA, Halo, Call of Duty, MW, etc.

Or do away with the number system. And get rid of the hyperbole. "This is the best game of all time!" Maybe for you, random review guy. For everyone else....test of time.

And I wasn't talking specifically about Zelda. All I know is nearly every review site, will argue that a perfect score doesn't mean a perfect product.

Having to recalibrate your controller, which is simply pressing down on the D-Pad doesn't seem like a major deal breaker to me.

And how often does it happen? Every 5 mins? Once every play session? That would be more telling than just saying having to recalibrate so controls= broken.

[Angrist]

Uhm, who's jabbing at Skyrim? All I said was I had a crazy dream where a newspaper ditched Skyward Sword for another positive article on Skyrim.

I'm actually looking forward to playing Skyrim one day. On a better computer. I'll love exploring the gorgeous world.

[Shadow Fox]

Originally Posted by KillerGremlin

Bravo. I know that review is going to divide people and cause a shit-storm, but yeah. Compared to all the perfect scores, that is the most honest review I have seen based on what was written in the review compared to the score given. I mean come on. I've read 4 or 5 reviews that complained about the motion controls and then went on to give the game a perfect score.

Now, let's apply that logic to Uncharted 3, Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Assassin's Creed, Batman: Arkham City, and The Elder Scrolls V.

Because clearly those games don't have "enough new ideas to separate them from their predecessors".

Seriously, Skyward Sword plays more like METROID now than anything else, and if "being the same" is the major reason the game is being slapped, then the hypocrisy wagon is in order.

[KillerGremlin]

Originally Posted by Shadow Fox

Now, let's apply that logic to Uncharted 3, Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Assassin's Creed, Batman: Arkham City, and The Elder Scrolls V.

Because clearly those games don't have "enough new ideas to separate them from their predecessors".

Seriously, Skyward Sword plays more like METROID now than anything else, and if "being the same" is the major reason the game is being slapped, then the hypocrisy wagon is in order.

This is the problem with the number system. 7.5 is still a good score. You have to factor in that different people reviewed the games.

I can't speak of what score many of the above titles should get. But this is a bad defense. "MW3 got ________ score so Skyward Sword by definition should get __________ score."

Maybe they liked Modern Warfare or Battlefield more because of multiplayer? Who knows? And I heard good things about Uncharted 3.

I'm not sitting here defending Gamespot. I think Gamespot is broken. I think we probably agree when we get to the bottom of this discussion. I want to do away with the loony number system.

I'm just giving some credit to Gamespot.....many people have complained about having to recalibrate controls in Zelda....and then have gone on to give the game a perfect score and call it the best Zelda ever. I don't ever remember OoT or Wind Waker having control issues. That's all I'm saying.

[Angrist]

Doesn't it also depend on the interscale it uses? I know Eurogamer only gives full numbers. So it was either a 9 or a 10.
IGN could have given a 9.9 and I think nobody would have complained. Unless they also gave Twilight Princess a 9.9 (which would have been stupid), then people would compared the scores...

[KillerGremlin]

Which is why the number system is silly.

What's the difference between a 9 and a 10, really? The 10 is more polished, maybe pushes the envelope of originality, etc.

So maybe Skyward Sword is that proverbial 9 with some issues regarding hardware, or originality.

But then, even a 7 or an 8 is a really good score. It means the game is very solid.

It makes much more sense to read the actual review. I would like to see some reviews that are more condensed and have a simpler format. Again, another reason I like Yahtzee. He keeps things short and on point. For what it is worth, this could be the Skyward Sword review:

"Classic Zelda refined, Skyward Sword is a mesh of the art design that made Wind Waker great and the game design that made Twilight Princess great. Skyward Sword flows smoothly from start to finish with gameplay that feels more integrated than previous Zelda titles. Taking a page from Metroid Prime, Skyward Sword has a more unified world with Temples blended into the over world. Although Skyward Sword features wonderful gameplay, the controls can be frustrating at times. This may just be a limitation due to the Wii's hardware, but having to recalibrate your controller in the middle of a high-energy fight does occasionally hinder the flow. Control issues aside, this is another stellar entry in the Zelda series."

See? That takes two minutes to read, is sharp and to the point. And it says a lot more than a stupid number score can. Video game reviewing is big business. If people were less concerned with numbers, IGN and Gamespot would go away. The minute people stop fighting over 7.5 vs. 10 is the day that IGN and Gamespot see a decline of visitors on their website, lose their ad-revenue, and cease to exist. People visit these sites primarily for reviews. So it works in Gamespot or IGN's favor to push the number system. In effect, it creates a very strange game culture.

[Blix]

KG

Yahtzee is a great reviewer, I have seen everything he has posted on the escapists website. But even then I some times feel he's nitpicking unimportant stuff. He even poked fun at himself in the Mass Effect (the first one) review by saying something along the lines of "if that's actually what you like in a game then take this review for the ignorant opinion that it is." Reviews are opinions in the very end.

I do agree with you that the scores system is messed up. And the gamers get upset over stupid things. The game is good, definitely worth the money from the general consensus. That's enough. We don't need it to beat OOT's metacritic score or whatever. If you want to take the game out after five years or so and replay it again, then it has achieved its goal.

Oh! And I'll call this out right now because this is the perfect time to do it. Yahtzee will try to highlight all the negatives of Zelda he can just because of his hatred towards long standing series. It won't be necessary stuff that needs to be pointed out but more of a sport. Just like he did with Mario Galaxy, having to agree that the game is fun but making a statement that it's been running for too long and needs to be ended to give way to a new ip. He's done it with other games as well but Mario Galaxy stood out the most to me since he rarely had negative stuff to say and still ended the review with a negative remark. As much as I like his reviews he has stressed that opinion for too long and more than necessary. He has yet to realize that... people don't give a damn how old a series is if it is still great. I'll actually be amazed if he doesn't do this.