[QUOTE="clicketyclick"][QUOTE="Rocky32189"]Ratings on graphics are given based on the limitations of hardware. SMB3 is one of the best looking NES games, therefore it gets a high rating for graphics. Games on WiiWare have the ability to look much better than Mega Man 9, therefore it gets a bad rating. You can't expect them to give bad graphics a good score just because it was the intended look.
Rocky32189
On the other hand, these games are being rereleased on Wii, which doesn't have the limitations of the original hardware. These games could be enhanced - or even remade.
This is why they marked down Mega Man 9 on WiiWare: "when put against other download games, it won't look pretty."
Can't the same be said of VC downloadable games? So why isn't that criterion being applied consistently? Why aren't NES VC games marked down because SNES and N64 VC games look prettier?
VC are direct ports of old games and meant to be just that. WiiWare games are new content created for current gen consoles.
They're not even consistent in rating ports.
Super Mario 64 DS: "A very solid display of the system's capabilities. It looks far better on the DS than it did on the N64."
Halo PC: "when evaluated against the standards of the current PC shooter catalog, Halo seems to fall short."
You see, ports have been consistently evaluated based on the standards of the day of release, meaning the standards of the genre's game catalog current at the time of the review on the platform it was re-released onto. Or rather I should say, IGN's approach to re-releases WAS completely consistent... until the advent of Virtual Console Wii games.
Now they have evolved two methods of evaluating game graphics, and which one is being used seems to be a matter of whim:
a) How do the graphics look compared to the games currently available in the same genre on the platform? (i.e. Halo, sm64, and RE4)
b) How do the graphics look compared to other games attempting the same styIe? (i.e. SMB3)
There is no rhyme nor reason to this distinction. Here's my suggestion which combines both: "Can the graphics conceivably be improved, given the limitations of the hardware and keeping in mind that the graphics must be effective and suit the game genre, gameplay, and styIe?"
To this question, I can answer: "Halo PC had a realistic styIe and could and should have been improved; sm64 DS could not have been improved because of the DS's limitations; SMB3 could not have been improved because that isn't Nintendo's intent for VC and besides, it near-perfectly pulls off its 8-bit styIe; Mega Man 9 could not have been improved because that wasn't Capcom's intent for it and besides, it near-perfectly pulls off its 8-bit styIe."
Their policy states that every game is rated based on the standards of the day of release. When consistency in the method of evaluation is possible, there is no excuse for deviation in method.
8bit is artGatCloudX
QFT
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