Gamespot and their reviews: Valkyrie Profile

It disturbs me when Gamespot's review completely disagree with every other review out there. Just like with R&C:ToD, more games have been mis-scored. Unlike R&C: ToD, I have not played Valkyrie Profile: Covenant Plume to be able to either argue or dispute the review for myself. Gamespot gave the game a 6.0 while all other review sources gave it 8.0 and above. Now either Gamespot noticed something that no one else did, or they have royally screwed up.

link

It disturbs me when Gamespot's review completely disagree with every other review out there. Just like with R&C:ToD, more games have been mis-scored. Unlike R&C: ToD, I have not played Valkyrie Profile: Covenant Plume to be able to either argue or dispute the review for myself. Gamespot gave the game a 6.0 while all other review sources gave it 8.0 and above. Now either Gamespot noticed something that no one else did, or they have royally screwed up.

link

ULTIMATEZWARRIO

That's how most of their reviews have been lately.

I don't even take their reviews seriously anymore.

Haven't you noticed, reviews are opinions. And they DO NOT base their opinions on what other sites rated it. That'd be faulty. If they gave it a 6.0, then they gave it a 6.0. Just because others gave it an 8.0 does not mean that they screwed up. They just didn't find it as appealing, probably. Also, why don't you play it and then argue it yourself? You can't really say a game is bad or good if you haven't played it yourself, or base it off the reviews...because all you know is that the game LOOKS good...

Game Informer = 6.0

RPGamer = 5.0

There are only a few reviews for the game, yet GS agrees (more or less) with two other sources (score-wise). When games get more reviews, they tend to get even worse critical reception, too so it's very unfair to even try saying GS underscored this because the number of sources that liked VP outnumber the ones that don't.

I haven't played the whole game through, but I'm a few hours in and the game is..

1) Confusing..I don't even really know what I'm traveling for..what's the point exactly?

2) The hardest DS game I've ever played. The difficulty is insane, I usually have to face the enemies at one point around 3 times before I finally manage to beat them (I try my hardest not to use that plume, but it gets really tempting)

Well, actually GS never gave Valkyrie Profile a really high score, the original one got between 7.5 from 8 if i'm not wrong.

But yet, i believe this game falls in the love/hate category, specially if you was expecting something like the original (which by the way, was awesome). The mix of battle system and that tempting plume along with a few issues pull down the score for this game, the question is:

Those seemingly negative features do not bother you or simply will make you hate the game?

However, one thing i still praise is the plot, that is still great and the battle voice acting is still top quality.

I think the major issue with the review is the gameplay issues that are supposedly negative,bringing the score down to a 6.0. In my opinion, and yes all reviewers have their own opinions, a 6.0 is below average. I have put in roughly 10 hours into this game and in no way is it below average. The shear amount of originality along with the melding of the original battle system of the valkyrie profile games with an sRPG are what make this game really stand out. The "temptation of the plume" as people are stating is in no way a negative gameplay issue. This is the number one factor in my mind that make this game stand out. The fact that you are constantly at odds with yourself to use the plume is what makes the game so endearing. I have found myself in a number of situations while playing where I actually sit there and fight with myself not to use it, just because I don't want to lose the character. Yet the power that you weild when you use it, and knowing that you will gain a incredible ability from sacrificing your friends, makes it all that more satisfying when you actually pull it out. THen you have to watch a scene of the character dying for no good reason, knowing you were the cause of it, while the rest of your allies wonder why they die. I find that completely original and extremely compelling. In myopinon this game deserves at least a 7.5-8.0 only due to some of the cheap tactics the enemies can pull on you. Calling one of the most original and satisfying parts of the game a negative aspectis completely absurd.

We all know by now GS isn't the place for RPG reviews. (In general, not because of this review)

We all know by now GS isn't the place for RPG reviews. (In general, not because of this review)

Master-Thief-09

I didn't know. Can you give me some examples? Look at the reviews of Fallout 3, Pokemon RPG versions, Elderscrolls Oblivion, Mass effect, Tales of Symphonia (GC), Final Fantasy 7, Chrono Cross. All scored 8 or more.