Boom Blox GS Review!! OMG.... :(

Is anyone even paying attention to the word under the 7.0? It says "good." We're calling it a good game. OMG THEY HATE TEH BLOOM BOX!

Really, now.

shaunmc

I was just saying i thought it was a little underrated but not by much, no need to yell(with text).

My point is that some people need to calm down. A 7 does not equal a bad game. It doesn't even equal a mediocre or average game. A 7 is good. Good! That means the reviewer liked the game. shaunmc

Sadly, a lot of people think games that are rated 7 are mediocre. I usually wouldn't care what others opinions are, but Aaron's review is so out of touch with other mainstream reviewers. Also, Gamespot is a rather large gaming site that gets a ton of traffic, so it could hurt sales of one of the better Wii exclusives.

Out of touch? He gave it a positive review. They gave it a positive review. His was slightly less positive. Either way, this game is fun and Wii owners should definitely give it a look. shaunmc

its a dumb SW thing

for some reason 7=phail

i guess cause people think like getting Cs in school is not so good.

I dont think people should run the reviewer out with a torches and pitch forks but I do think it was a little overlooked because it really showcased some neat abilities. Either way its no big deal.

[QUOTE="shaunmc"]Out of touch? He gave it a positive review. They gave it a positive review. His was slightly less positive. Either way, this game is fun and Wii owners should definitely give it a look. Cyber-

its a dumb SW thing

for some reason 7=phail

i guess cause people think like getting Cs in school is not so good.

I dont think people should run the reviewer out with a torches and pitch forks but I do think it was a little overlooked because it really showcased some neat abilities. Either way its no big deal.

70 was the lowest possible D in my school. It was not good. ;)

[QUOTE="Cyber-"]

[QUOTE="shaunmc"]Out of touch? He gave it a positive review. They gave it a positive review. His was slightly less positive. Either way, this game is fun and Wii owners should definitely give it a look. BioShockOwnz

its a dumb SW thing

for some reason 7=phail

i guess cause people think like getting Cs in school is not so good.

I dont think people should run the reviewer out with a torches and pitch forks but I do think it was a little overlooked because it really showcased some neat abilities. Either way its no big deal.

70 was the lowest possible D in my school. It was not good. ;)

im saying their not the same. A C is bad in school but good here.

[QUOTE="JC___2007"]

I dislike this negative point:

Can be repetitive.

Well on that basis they should list "can be repetitive" as a negative on Mario Kart because, really, all you are doing is driving a car (or a bike) 3 times around a track. And then doingit again. And again. Yawn. And there's only 32 levels

Didn't they give GTA4 a 10. Surely that is repetitive as its "just" running around shooting people?

What I find is, once I've played a style of game (ie racing, strategy, shooter) for an hour or so, its time for a break and perhaps a new style of game

Cyber-

well your going way to broad. If you say MKW is repetitive (it is and so are all arcade racers) then so is any great multiplayer game. Look at halo, shoot at mid range recharge shield. In the grand scheme of things there are few deviations from that formula. Boom Blox is a puzzle game and all puzzle games have repetition. The idea is that Boom Blox makes it so every time it has a different resut which makes it cool.

I agree.its not me saying it can be repetitive, its gamespot.

This should have got about an 8. If they think its a good game, its worth an 8. If they think the physics are too floaty and the story is immature then its not a good game and probably deserves lower than a 7. To say the physics are rubbish and its still a good game doesn't make sense. I'm going to go with all the reviews that say the physics are spot on and hope I am not back on here within a week saying "GS were right".

I love the 'BAD' Emblems.

lol, annoying characters? Wow.
Haziqonfire

You never found characters in a game annoying?

annoying characters, bad story......its a puzzle game!

meh what ever still ganna get it

Aaron Thomas strikes again... Sure his review is essentially just an opinion like any other, but it's a shame he scored it so lowly especially considering the average review score.Popadophalis

[QUOTE="Erebyssial"]

Horrible review

Criticising story in puzzle game = lol

spidermonkey11

what there is a story too? I thought it was a puzzle game...

Wow, way to go gamespot :|

Annoying characters? WTH!

SMR-Venom

must not be fans of Animaniacs...or Pinky and the Brain... or Freakazoid...

[QUOTE="shaunmc"]Out of touch? He gave it a positive review. They gave it a positive review. His was slightly less positive. Either way, this game is fun and Wii owners should definitely give it a look. Cyber-

its a dumb SW thing

for some reason 7=phail

i guess cause people think like getting Cs in school is not so good.

I dont think people should run the reviewer out with a torches and pitch forks but I do think it was a little overlooked because it really showcased some neat abilities. Either way its no big deal.

yeah. we dont need another LOZ:TP situation....

Aaron points out things that other reviewers skipped; that does nothing but help us as consumers. If you don't care about the characters or the story, then don't worry about his observation that they're terrible; focus on the things you care about, which are most likely the things he praised. It's not that hard to skim a few reviews, regardless of the scores, and decide whether the game is for you.

[QUOTE="shaunmc"]Out of touch? He gave it a positive review. They gave it a positive review. His was slightly less positive. Either way, this game is fun and Wii owners should definitely give it a look. Cyber-

its a dumb SW thing

Definitely. If you had never visited the System Wars forum, you'd have no idea what someone was talking about if he said, "I was hyping Boom Blox as AA and it only got a 7." All the hyping and A and AA and AAA (and I think there's even a AAAA) seems absolutely pointless to me, but I guess some people do that stuff as a hobby. It's just weird to me because reviews were never meant to be treated in that way, and there's no sense in expecting Gamespot to treat them like that.

I would be much, much more worried if Gamespot looked at all the other near-perfect reviews and figured they needed to give it a higher score, too, just so the game's overall hype score (or whatever) wouldn't fall below AA. That's ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. I say, read a bunch of reviews to decide whether or not a game is worth your money; don't worry about all this other nonsense.

I don't know, while it's a tad lower than I expected, a 7 isn't really all that bad. Considering hat GS does rate pretty low for a lot of good games. I'll take a 7...and know it's better :)

I would be much, much more worried if Gamespot looked at all the other near-perfect reviews and figured they needed to give it a higher score, too, just so the game's overall hype score (or whatever) wouldn't fall below AA. That's ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. I say, read a bunch of reviews to decide whether or not a game is worth your money; don't worry about all this other nonsense.

JordanElek

I don't think we'd ever have to worry about that with Aaron. He spends so much time playing games and watching sports that I don't think he could afford the spare time to peruse other websites just for scores. Not to mention his "getting to know Gamespot" monthly videos, which are fully interviewed and editied on Aaron (and other's) free time. His dedication to doing what he loves really is second to none, which is why he is allowed to do so many big-title reviews.

The core of the game is the puzzle-solving, single and multi-player. The other modes feel tacked on as an extra (much like head-tracking would have been). If you're ok with that, then please don't pass this game up.

However, this game draws a TON of similarities with what was wrong with Elebits. The game takes one thing and runs with it, but in the process wraps everything around a storyline you're more likely to skip so you can see the next challenge. Everything looks neat, but when you look close it almost seems blocky, plain, undone. The camera never works fluidly, so half the challenge is learning how to see (or in Elebits, it was how to turn the brightness up on your TV).

In the end, this game is worth your time. Don't expect it to win many awards, but do expect it to win the praise its due. 360 puzzles will take anyone a good month or so to complete. Add in the ability to create and share puzzles, and this game could be in your collection forever.

Aaron points out things that other reviewers skipped; that does nothing but help us as consumers. If you don't care about the characters or the story, then don't worry about his observation that they're terrible; focus on the things you care about, which are most likely the things he praised. It's not that hard to skim a few reviews, regardless of the scores, and decide whether the game is for you.

[QUOTE="Cyber-"][QUOTE="shaunmc"]Out of touch? He gave it a positive review. They gave it a positive review. His was slightly less positive. Either way, this game is fun and Wii owners should definitely give it a look. JordanElek

its a dumb SW thing

Definitely. If you had never visited the System Wars forum, you'd have no idea what someone was talking about if he said, "I was hyping Boom Blox as AA and it only got a 7." All the hyping and A and AA and AAA (and I think there's even a AAAA) seems absolutely pointless to me, but I guess some people do that stuff as a hobby. It's just weird to me because reviews were never meant to be treated in that way, and there's no sense in expecting Gamespot to treat them like that.

I would be much, much more worried if Gamespot looked at all the other near-perfect reviews and figured they needed to give it a higher score, too, just so the game's overall hype score (or whatever) wouldn't fall below AA. That's ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. I say, read a bunch of reviews to decide whether or not a game is worth your money; don't worry about all this other nonsense.

I agree for the most part, but I'd never use Gamespot's reviews to dictate my gaming purchases. I think some of their reviews have missed the mark quite a few times from the rest of the mainstream, like Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction and now Boom Blox. Now, Aaron and other Gamespot reviewers are free to have their opinions, but I think some reviews have definitely been unfair and hurt devs. Insomniac wasn't a happy camper over the R&C review.

Aaron points out things that other reviewers skipped; that does nothing but help us as consumers. If you don't care about the characters or the story, then don't worry about his observation that they're terrible; focus on the things you care about, which are most likely the things he praised. It's not that hard to skim a few reviews, regardless of the scores, and decide whether the game is for you.

[QUOTE="Cyber-"][QUOTE="shaunmc"]Out of touch? He gave it a positive review. They gave it a positive review. His was slightly less positive. Either way, this game is fun and Wii owners should definitely give it a look. JordanElek

its a dumb SW thing

Definitely. If you had never visited the System Wars forum, you'd have no idea what someone was talking about if he said, "I was hyping Boom Blox as AA and it only got a 7." All the hyping and A and AA and AAA (and I think there's even a AAAA) seems absolutely pointless to me, but I guess some people do that stuff as a hobby. It's just weird to me because reviews were never meant to be treated in that way, and there's no sense in expecting Gamespot to treat them like that.

I would be much, much more worried if Gamespot looked at all the other near-perfect reviews and figured they needed to give it a higher score, too, just so the game's overall hype score (or whatever) wouldn't fall below AA. That's ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. I say, read a bunch of reviews to decide whether or not a game is worth your money; don't worry about all this other nonsense.

IGN did not give a skimpy review. Matt always gives a detailed objective overview.

Anyway people will naturally gravitate to competition when numbers are matched up unintentionally. Its a natural instinct to compete and then times that by 1000000 with all the fanboyism that is engrained in each person's mind in these forums and you have the S@&* fest that is called SW.

Still even if that does happen I dont like it when reviewers dont give scores like some sites do. First of all it cuts down their readership, people are interested why it ranked a certain level. Secondly its good to see how welll your library is and the overall system library.

annoying characters, bad story......its a puzzle game!

meh what ever still ganna get it

legend26

Have you played portal?

[QUOTE="legend26"]

annoying characters, bad story......its a puzzle game!

meh what ever still ganna get it

lmblomas

Have you played portal?

portal is a freaking masterpeice. It doesnt have to be a masterpeice for a puzzle game to get AA. look at Zack and Wiki, incredible puzzles but the story is pretty much nonexistant, and it got an 8.5, and deserved it.

[QUOTE="lmblomas"][QUOTE="legend26"]

annoying characters, bad story......its a puzzle game!

meh what ever still ganna get it

laughingman42

Have you played portal?

portal is a freaking masterpeice. It doesnt have to be a masterpeice for a puzzle game to get AA. look at Zack and Wiki, incredible puzzles but the story is pretty much nonexistant, and it got an 8.5, and deserved it.

I'm talking about how he thinks puzzle games cant have a good story,so I brought up portal as an example.

Ignore the review. Gamespot complained about a puzzle game's story and characters, neither of which matter, and also that its repeitive.

All I want to know is what the hell that bastard of a letter "L" shape is doing in his spare time while I repetitively play my Tetris game. OH NO! 5.2 from GS?! Gee Tetris, lets hope you come up with some new ideas...

[QUOTE="Haziqonfire"]I love the 'BAD' Emblems.

lol, annoying characters? Wow.
Niff_T

You never found characters in a game annoying?

i'm honestly not surprised. i never wanted this game anyway so i dont care, this is exactly the same as everyone expecting zelda to be 10 just because its zelda, steven speilburg is good at "movies" there is a distinct difference between the two things. plus its his first game. i think scores for games should reflect the reviewer, not gamespot as a whole. stop bad mouthing them just because the game you wanted to do good didn't. I wanted to get red steel, thankfully gamespot saved me from that. maybe this is a similar situation.parksits

Do you read any other website reviews? Do you form your opinion off of Gamespots opinion? :| I suggest taking a look at the broad spectrum of reviews...

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/941974.asp

Averaging an 88%, so you shouldn't really let Gamespot be your only source for reviews.

Averaging an 88%, so you shouldn't really let Gamespot be your only source for reviews.BioShockOwnz

But even if you did, you'd be reading a recommendation of the game in this case. Aaron calls it a good game and an enjoyable puzzler. But it's not a must have for everyone, and it has obvious flaws. Still a good game. I'm not one to always agree 100% with Gamespot, but I don't see why this review is being bashed so much. It does its job.

Just because people hold Gamespot to other sites' standards doesn't mean Gamespot is wrong.

[QUOTE="BioShockOwnz"]Averaging an 88%, so you shouldn't really let Gamespot be your only source for reviews.JordanElek

But even if you did, you'd be reading a recommendation of the game in this case. Aaron calls it a good game and an enjoyable puzzler. But it's not a must have for everyone, and it has obvious flaws. Still a good game. I'm not one to always agree 100% with Gamespot, but I don't see why this review is being bashed so much. It does its job.

Just because people hold Gamespot to other sites' standards doesn't mean Gamespot is wrong.

Jordon, have you played the game? My opinion about the game changed 100 percent 10 seconds after i started to play it. The GS review is a bit unfair . I am anti-kiddy as you well know, but that is not my reaction to the game at all. The characters are a bit amusing in the Raving Rabbits kind of way, not annoying or overly childish. The control is spot on and the physics ( real world or not ) really make the game enjoyable on so many levels. The so called story or lack there of is a non-issue completely and should not have been mentioned in the review at all. Its just little cut screens that introduce the the next set of levels...nothing more. The game play is so fresh and original and addictive but the review just does not put that across at all. My brother is worse than me, he hates the Wii, but he has been playing this with me 2 straight nights in a row.

A 7. Not a horrible score. I can handle a 7. I think that the review copy is really the part that throws me for a loop. Whenever I read a review it always sounds overly critical. The writing styles of the reviewers always end on the bad notes and make entire section going into fine detail about the negative aspects while glossing over all of the positives in one or two paragraphs.

I also find that there is very little research into the titles beforehand to find out more about it. An example in Boom Blox is that there was no mention of the head tracker easter egg. I know that the majority of the world population doesn't know what head tracking is and of those that do a whopping 1% will actually take the time to rig one together. I still can't help but feel that GS's largest supporters (the ones that keep the ad revenue flowing) are the ones that actually DO know about head tracking and are interested in things like that!

The scoring I have no issues with. The written review seems schizophrenic and doesn't know what it is trying to say, much less actually getting the point across.

Personally, I prefer a less numeric review system. I'd prefer if there were five options. Must have, good buy, worth a rent, only for fans, and "OH GOD MY EYES!"

I'm sorry for the multiple post. GS crapped out on me for a bit there.

This game has a ton of levels, which is a plus. It supposedly has great multiplayer, which is a plus for me. And people can make and trade their own levels, which could be amazing. I'm really thing I'll have to use some rewards points (Freddy's customers) to get this cheaper, plus employee discount.

Have you played the game? My opinion about the game changed 100 percent 10 seconds after i started to play it. The GS review is a bit unfair.Videodogg

I haven't played the game yet, but I plan to get it eventually. It looks awesome.

See, you bought the game regardless of GS's review. I'm going to buy it based on what I've seen from trailers. The GS review actually did help me make that decision, as well. The negative things that Aaron brings up are irrelevant to me. He says that if you're a fan of Animaniacs, you'll probably like the cutscenes. I loved Animaniacs, so his negative is actually a positive for me. And the good things he talks about reflect what I've seen in the trailers.

The point of reviews is to help us make good purchases. This review accomplishes that, especially coupled with other reviews. Some people that aren't really fans of puzzle games might see a glowing A+ review score and buy the game only to be disappointed, and some that are puzzle fans might see a 7.0 score and pass over the game even though they'd probably like it. If we only look at the score, we're not using reviews correctly. The score is only there to give us a general idea of whether or not to read the review. A 7.0 basically says, "This is a good game, but you might want to read the review and watch some trailers before seriously considering buying it."

The GS blurb about a 7.0-7.5 rating is this: "A game within this range is good overall, and likely worth playing by fans of the particular genre or by those otherwise interested. While its strengths outweigh its weaknesses, a game that falls in this range tends to have noticeable faults." The dull levels that Aaron says the game could've done without are the faults here, but they're outweighed by the other great gameplay. His review seems to fit the score.

[QUOTE="Videodogg"]Have you played the game? My opinion about the game changed 100 percent 10 seconds after i started to play it. The GS review is a bit unfair.JordanElek

I haven't played the game yet, but I plan to get it eventually. It looks awesome.

See, you bought the game regardless of GS's review. I'm going to buy it based on what I've seen from trailers. The GS review actually did help me make that decision, as well. The negative things that Aaron brings up are irrelevant to me. He says that if you're a fan of Animaniacs, you'll probably like the cutscenes. I loved Animaniacs, so his negative is actually a positive for me. And the good things he talks about reflect what I've seen in the trailers.

The point of reviews is to help us make good purchases. This review accomplishes that, especially coupled with other reviews. Some people that aren't really fans of puzzle games might see a glowing A+ review score and buy the game only to be disappointed, and some that are puzzle fans might see a 7.0 score and pass over the game even though they'd probably like it. If we only look at the score, we're not using reviews correctly. The score is only there to give us a general idea of whether or not to read the review. A 7.0 basically says, "This is a good game, but you might want to read the review and watch some trailers before seriously considering buying it."

The GS blurb about a 7.0-7.5 rating is this: "A game within this range is good overall, and likely worth playing by fans of the particular genre or by those otherwise interested. While its strengths outweigh its weaknesses, a game that falls in this range tends to have noticeable faults." The dull levels that Aaron says the game could've done without are the faults here, but they're outweighed by the other great gameplay. His review seems to fit the score.

Actually, i bought the game BEFORE i read the review. If i had read the review first, i fear i would have used it as fuel to support my original opinion of the game...and never bought or tried the game.