The most offensive review I've ever read (IGN, ROTT reboot)

[StupidBunny]

I've never played the game, so it's a little hard to judge this (review the review, if you will), but it definitely sounds like he made some legitimate points as far as bugs and subpar visual design go, along with a lot of stupid points about things like difficulty and plot which made it sound like he prefers the modern, cinematic-heavy, hand-holdy type of level design. I'm never sure about how much I care about AI, noting how in games like Doom, very predictable patterns slightly randomized can still, with clever design, make for pretty awesome gameplay. I give the author credit for acknowledging the joy in things like secrets and crazy weapons, though why he also bashes the high movement speed and gibs for seemingly the same reason is beyond me. His thinly veiled contempt for nostalgic gamers probably rubbed me the wrong way too. Also his failure to make note of above mentioned patches and bugfixes; on the one hand it's reasonable to expect sufficient testing for bugs before release, but on the other hand it is $15 by the author's acknowledgement. Overall I couldn't tell what the reviewer was trying to say...he likes old games, but hated almost everything about this that made it feel like an old game? It just felt too dismissive of the game as "Oh it's made for RoTT fans so nobody else can ever love it 1/10".

[Lava89]

Woah, I was just reading through the comments and found Flaose and Lava89 in there... Whaaaat

Haha yep, if you dig a little fruther you can find some debates between one of the IGN mods and me. Let's just say I wasn't crazy about the review either.

My problem is that the reviewer focused too much on superficial stuff in the final scoring and graded it harsher than other games. Let's take the game Deadpool, this game was reviewed by the same guy and got a 6 out of 10.

But here's the bad things that the same reviewer said about Deadpool in a nutshell:
- Repetitive combat
- Stale level design
- Iffy controls

And games like RPID got the same score as ROTT and this is what the other reviewer said about RIPD on IGN:
– No hit feedback
– Bad matchmaking
– Sloppy graphics
– Uncooperative co-op

So having some sloppy graphics is the same as having outdated graphics and having repetitive gameplay is better than some coding bugs.

Now, some could argue (and trust me, people argued it up the gazoo on the comments section with me) that IGN couldn't possibly be consistent in their scores with many different writers and editors on the site. But I find some games like Gamespot to be more consistent (they at least gave RIPD a 2.5 and Deadpool the same score as ROTT), so I don't think its impossible and if game sites want people to trust their reviews they need to get their act together. Otherwise any yoo-hoo can write a review in any given mood and then there's no point in reading them.

[Lava89]

It's the Sonic 2006 reviews all over again

Actually, more like the Sonic Unleashed scores. I don't think Sonic 06 was undeserving of the flack it got. But Unleashed got it in the butt! Unleashed's review on IGN was atrocious because they gave it a WORSE score than Sonic 06! The reviewer of Unleashed in the video was even telling people to stay away from the game, but then later admitted in the same review that half of the game is fun (daytime stages) and the other half isn't bad just a little boring.

I felt Sonic 06 was a buggy mess, whereas Unleashed's problem was just putting in the Werehog, but playing the Werehog has its moments and could be fun. It just didn't fit a Sonic game. The game was actually pretty well made coding wise, I think. Regardless of their design choices.

[Cobalt]

People trust gamespot and IGN? Since when?

And, if I may set the topic on the track of something more important than the review in the original post, I feel Sonic Unleashed is - *gasp* - worse than Sonic 06.

I feel the best part of the game is the night stages. People judged that too harshly, because they were expecting it to be like Sonic gameplay, but even though it's different, it's really quite amazing. It's like playing Commander Keen!

The daytime stages were awful. Sonic ran way too freaking fast!

Chip is a much better sidekick for Sonic than Tails, and not so annoying. I wish they kept him on the team and made a 2d DS platformer with Sonic and Chip in a Sonic 3&Knuckles like game.

Sonic '06, even though it was released by bugs and never officially patched, fans did make a 'fixed' version of the game and it's incredible. TIME TRAVEL! LOTS OF CHARACTERS! SHADOW! Where can you go wrong?

Some people complain that the game never happened, but I believe Sonic and Elise could meet again one day if Sega wasn't too afraid to let her back into the franchise. Even the creators of ninja turtles still recognize and respect Venus De Milo. She's a good character.

[VikingBoyBilly]

You tell 'em, Cobalt!

[Roobar]

Forget about ROTT. Shadow Warrior IS the FPS we've been waiting for! I've finished the first level and it's soooo fun and so 90's it's a must have! It's like a build engine game, just with a bit decent graphics, fun combat mechanics and a lot of blood. And there are tons of funny secrets and Easter eggs. It reminded me of the Duke Nukem 3D days and Shadow Warrior of course. That said, I'm not even a fan of the original Shadow Warrior, so I may be missing some jokes and references to it. But non the less - it's a cool game that doesn't have the modern FPS-es garg, just fun plain action like the games used to be in the 90's.

[Dynamo]

I don't see how the review is that bad, to be honest it seems to make a lot of valid points, like:

RotT’s collection of jackbooted, robotic, and monk enemies are brain-dead simpletons that stand as still as turrets or run straight at you, never take cover, and immediately shoot you on sight, often from outrageous distances. There’s nothing quite as annoying as entering a room to find yourself being sprayed by gunfire from…somewhere

The mannequin-like Nazi enemies are especially bad, because their grey military attire blends into the drab backgrounds, making them almost invisible except for faint muzzle flashes.

And you know how modern shooters (by which I mean anything from the past decade) enjoy features like reasonable collision detection and somewhat-accurate hitboxes? Not so much in this creaky throwback. Despite its Unreal Engine 3 graphics, you should prepare to get stuck in geometry, unable to move until you restart the level or just blow yourself up…just like the good old days! (It's even worse now that we can jump ourselves into inescapable situations.)

Oddly enough, the one old-school feature that didn’t make the cut and would’ve helped enormously with RotT’s often cheap-feeling and outrageously high difficulty level is the ability to save anywhere. Rise of the Triad in 2013 uses a checkpoint-only system (strange for a PC-only shooter) which aggravates further when you factor in how obnoxiously far apart these checkpoints are spaced.

All this seems pretty reasonable, and has little to do with the fact a game is old or new. The reviewer may not be a fan of old school games, but that doesn't invalidate his points. Most modern shooters I played (Bulletstorm, Resistance and others) are probably much better than ROTT 2013.

Besides, the old ROTT was also pretty bad. Return of the Triad for zDoom is the beast though.

[Nospike]

That's true, however some of his arguments are just plain retarded seeing as this game was NOT supposed to feel, look, sound, smell or play like a modern shooter. A reviewer should rate a game for what it is, not what he/she wants it to be.

[Cobalt]

I want it to be Sonic 3 & Knuckles 3D. ROTT is not that, so I give it a 0.

[Roobar]

Look Cobalt, http://forums.sonicretro.org/ GO THERE!

[Paramultart]

The first two Sonic games are the only Sonic games of any worth, and they're not even that good. People call Jazz Jackrabbit a sonic clone, but Jazz blows Sonic out of the water. Jazz has a gun and scores with hot, anthropomorphic furries... Sonic rolls around in quite possibly the most aesthetically displeasing environment I've ever seen in a popular video game. Checkered dirt? What the f***...

[Cobalt]

The first two Sonic games are the only Sonic games of any worth, and they're not even that good. People call Jazz Jackrabbit a sonic clone, but Jazz blows Sonic out of the water. Jazz has a gun and scores with hot, anthropomorphic furries... Sonic rolls around in quite possibly the most aesthetically displeasing environment I've ever seen in a popular video game. Checkered dirt? What the f***...

Oh, you're going to go THERE, eh?

Well mister parasitic moldy tart I'll have you know that Sonic 3 & Knuckles on PC is THE REAL Sonic clone experience. The port on the genesis doesn't even come close, which is why you might think it's bad.

Now that there Jazz Jackrabbit can only really hope to be as good as a clone of sonic. He runs way too fast (a thing I didn't like in Sonic Unleashed) and he's such a weak character that he needs a gun. A GUN. Sonic doesn't need a gun. He just turns into super-sonic and insta-blows up the entire planet. Jazz Jackrabbit hops around planets, but he's not powerful enough to destroy any.

He even has a life bar that looks like a carrot. Sonic doesn't need a life bar. He can live through infinites amount of punishment as long as he has 1 golden ring. That's power, baby. And he'll Billy-Blaze you up with a fire bubble, then Johnny-Dash you to hell!

Jazz Jackrabbit even tried to mimic sonic's special stages, but he's too slow and unable to collect rings.

Now you may be thinking "but wait! Jazz is way faster than Sonic!" Again, you're only looking at genesis. Sonic 3 & Knuckles on the genesis is limited to Blast Processing, which isn't fast enough to be capable of handling how fast sonic was meant to be. The PC has an infinity+1 sword power to make sonic so fast it explodes your brain! No game in the world will ever be as great as sonic 3 & knuckles!

Jazz Jackrabbit doesn't even have chaos emeralds! And Spaz can't fly Jazz around places with helicopter tails! Those two jazz games are just derivitive and kinda meh. Jazz Jackrabbit GBA is the most original of the series, and the one the most worthy of being called a decent game. They got rid of bad characters like princess eva earlong and finally gave jazz some clothes for once! It's slowed down to a pace that's much less like a sonic clone and there aren't enemies all over the place challenging you. It is the superior Jazz experience. But it still doesn't really come close to Sonic 3 & Knuckles PC.

@wiivn: I will join that board only after I finish and release the Sonic Keen mod.

edit: and the supposed Jazz 3D doesn't have as good a story as Shadow the Hedgehog.

[Nospike]

This is the best Sonic game ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUdr53XYdqU
Gotta go fast, bud.

[StupidBunny]

[Levellass]

Whoah, Sonic 2006 looks better than I remember!

Now that there Jazz Jackrabbit can only really hope to be as good as a clone of sonic. He runs way too fast (a thing I didn't like in Sonic Unleashed) and he's such a weak character that he needs a gun. A GUN. Sonic doesn't need a gun. He just turns into super-sonic and insta-blows up the entire planet. Jazz Jackrabbit hops around planets, but he's not powerful enough to destroy any.

Jazz too wishes he could just smash enemies, this is why Sonic appears in his game comic.

Jazz Jackrabbit doesn't even have chaos emeralds! And Spaz can't fly Jazz around places with helicopter tails!

All 3 bunnies can fly with their ears though.


But Lori Jackrabbit tips the scales in Jazz's favor.