Is the race for GOTY already over?

The year isn't even half way.. so no. While GTAIV is a fantastic game, you havn't even seen the majority of games coming out this year. So far it's shaping up to be one awesome year!Rattlesnake_8

The year isn't even half way.. so no. While GTAIV is a fantastic game, you havn't even seen the majority of games coming out this year. So far it's shaping up to be one awesome year!Rattlesnake_8

They are calling it a masterpiece and giving it 10/10 - its pretty omnious.

Not even Orange Box got 10

Most probably yes, seeing as GTA IV got 10 at many sites and orignally a 9.5 at GS which was later changed to 10naval

Huh?? I didn't know it got changed. Maybe Rockstar's check took a little longer to clear??

[QUOTE="naval"]Most probably yes, seeing as GTA IV got 10 at many sites and orignally a 9.5 at GS which was later changed to 10EskimosAreReal

Huh?? I didn't know it got changed. Maybe Rockstar's check took a little longer to clear??

Like sales would have been worse with a 9.5. :roll:

Why do people dislike the hype that surrounds the game? "It's disgusting." What, does the hype come into your house and **** all over your carpet, piss in your cereal bowl and leave cursing for you to hate it that much? Just ignore it and make up your own mind when the game comes out on PC. Seems to me people are soooo not wanting to be part of the "sheep-pack" that they'll say anything to distance themselves from people that are genuinly happy about the fact that a highly anticipated game has arrived. Party poopers... No offence.

artur79

think of it like this....imagine a guy beat up your mom, shot your dog, and burned your house down. and everybody couldnt wait to meet him and shake his hand, and he had celebrity status, and magazine covers, and commercials, and tv shows about how great he is ......that's what it's like when games like GTA4 and halo get hype.

That depends on if Starcraft 2 comes out this year or not. I know very few games get a 10, but the game of the year isn't always the highest rated game, as odd as that might be. I can't think of anything else that might come out this year that would stand much of a chance of going up against it. I doubt even Starcraft 2 would be able to knock it down, but that's about the only possible contender that comes to mind.

Spore will probably be a good game, but I have my doubts about it living up to all the hype it has gotten.

Yeah it's over. I don't think anything else will get a 10.

Also, I have played GTAIV, I'm on my like .. 35th hour and all the reviews are right ... it's amazing. You should play it when you have a chance biggest.

[QUOTE="artur79"]

Why do people dislike the hype that surrounds the game? "It's disgusting." What, does the hype come into your house and **** all over your carpet, piss in your cereal bowl and leave cursing for you to hate it that much? Just ignore it and make up your own mind when the game comes out on PC. Seems to me people are soooo not wanting to be part of the "sheep-pack" that they'll say anything to distance themselves from people that are genuinly happy about the fact that a highly anticipated game has arrived. Party poopers... No offence.

H0RSE

think of it like this....imagine a guy beat up your mom, shot your dog, and burned your house down. and everybody couldnt wait to meet him and shake his hand, and he had celebrity status, and magazine covers, and commercials, and tv shows about how great he is ......that's what it's like when games like GTA4 and halo get hype.

So did GTA 4 got into your house, beat up your mom, shot your dog and burned down your house? wow I never thought it was possible :O OMG, you have a pretty rich imagination there ;).

GTA 4 is more like Bill Gates being the richest in the world and everybody going nuts over him and wanting to shake his hand while you are jealous, unknown, poorer than him, with no future. (this is a more appropriate comparison)

GTA IV shouldn't have a 10 as a rating The review even has the phrase "despite its flaws" right in it!DGFreak

Yeah, apparently notable bugs do not lower a game's score any now...

Okay, 9.5, fine, but a 10? It just reinforces the notion that it's okay to release a buggy game and then patch it later. I'm getting rather sick of it.

Yeah it's over. I don't think anything else will get a 10.

Also, I have played GTAIV, I'm on my like .. 35th hour and all the reviews are right ... it's amazing. You should play it when you have a chance biggest.

SimpJee

I don't have a console of any kind.

Most probably yes, seeing as GTA IV got 10 at many sites and orignally a 9.5 at GS which was later changed to 10naval

Really? That's odd.

[QUOTE="SimpJee"]

Yeah it's over. I don't think anything else will get a 10.

Also, I have played GTAIV, I'm on my like .. 35th hour and all the reviews are right ... it's amazing. You should play it when you have a chance biggest.

biggest_loser

I don't have a console of any kind.

That sucks :(

Make sure to play it when it comes to PC.

The fact that Gamespot gave GTA 4 a 10 and not the Orange Box or Stalker makes it very hard for me to sleep at night.

Also they should re-review Stalker with all the latest patches.

The fact that Gamespot gave GTA 4 a 10 and not the Orange Box or Stalker makes it very hard for me to sleep at night.

Also they should re-review Stalker with all the latest patches.

wood_duck

They don't re-review games. That would be a logistical nightmare. If developers can't release games without significant bugs, that's their problem, particuarly on consoles where everyone theoretically has the same setup ("theoretically" because apparently some first run PS3s have been having some issues).

I don't remember buying any PS2 games and having them have notable bugs that would make me reset the game, and why is that? Because they know they can't patch it later and thus they don't put out a 98% done product. Now all these game companies care about it seems is getting out a game as soon as it's in any semblance of a complete state, even if there are obvious problems with it.

Now that is what bothers me about GTA4 getting a perfect on a scale that allows for 20 possible outcomes (0.5 increments), with some of the bugs I have seen people griping about.

That sucks :(

SimpJee

Not really. I have pledged my allegiance to this wonderful platform and I'm quite content with all the great games we have here. I don't see myself going over the other side anytime soon...regardless of whether they send PC's poster/golden boy a rather large cheque (see: Bribe) in the mail...

I guess it will be a battle between GTA IV and Mario "something" for Wii :x

I guess it will be a battle between GTA IV and Mario "something" for Wii :x

regnumekal

Who is this "Mario" fellow. I wish to meet him...

[QUOTE="SimpJee"]

That sucks :(

biggest_loser

Not really. I have pledged my allegiance to this wonderful platform and I'm quite content with all the great games we have here. I don't see myself going over the other side anytime soon...regardless of whether they send PC's poster/golden boy a rather large cheque (see: Bribe) in the mail...

I love PC gaming, I'm a PC gamer. But 360 is great, consoles and PCs are different worlds but you really shouldn't worry so much about "allegiances" to things that wont care what the hell you do. You know?

Plus, Forza 2 isn't on PC :P

[QUOTE="naval"]Most probably yes, seeing as GTA IV got 10 at many sites and orignally a 9.5 at GS which was later changed to 10turaaggeli

Really? That's odd.

Lets just say Rockstars check took a little time to clear.....

I would like to believe that Fallout 3 has a fighting chance. Hopefully it won't just be Oblivion on nukes as people have been suggesting.Qixote

I think that is a real myth and people are just looking for an excuse to bring this game done because they didn't like Oblivion

I reckon it has really good chance too!!

You should all know by now that game review sites are all biased towards consoles. Whenever a game comes out multiplatform, the console version almost always scores higher even if the PC version is plainly better. I highly doubt that any future PC games will ever get a maximum 10/10 on the majority of sites, because of that bias. Even if GTA IV comes out on PC I expect it will be marked down, and the Xbox360 will be touted as 'the best platform' for the game, or whatever.

Honestly, if you spend your lives worrying about the biased scores gaming sites like this give to games, you're wasting your life away. As others have said, play the game yourself and make up your own mind. I ignore all these GOTY award ceremonies anyway because they're meaningless marketing tripe.

At the end of the day, who really cares except the developers/publishers? As a long-term gamer, I play what I like, and I won't buy any game just because it has GOTY slapped on the box.

I don't understand why the PC version of GTA: Vice City is considered the best when the PS2 ver. has a 9.6 and the PC ver. has 9.3

Look here: http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/grandtheftautovicecity/index.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gsuniverse&tag=universe;title;2 - Where it says "also on" and near the PC it's written "Best"

You should all know by now that game review sites are all biased towards consoles. Whenever a game comes out multiplatform, the console version almost always scores higher even if the PC version is plainly better. I highly doubt that any future PC games will ever get a maximum 10/10 on the majority of sites, because of that bias. Even if GTA IV comes out on PC I expect it will be marked down, and the Xbox360 will be touted as 'the best platform' for the game, or whatever.

Honestly, if you spend your lives worrying about the biased scores gaming sites like this give to games, you're wasting your life away. As others have said, play the game yourself and make up your own mind. I ignore all these GOTY award ceremonies anyway because they're meaningless marketing tripe.

At the end of the day, who really cares except the developers/publishers? As a long-term gamer, I play what I like, and I won't buy any game just because it has GOTY slapped on the box.

RobertBowen

They are not biased, that's just the way the rating system works.

A game on the 360 isn't compared to every game on every platform out there, it's compared to other titles on that particular platform. Same goes for PS3, the Wii and all the handhelds.

Now think of how many games are out on the 360 and PS3. A 1000 on the "noise box" (mine is...) and even less on the BluRay-box (again, that's what I use it for :)). Not much competition there, wouldn't you agree? I mean, if any game deserves a 10 on current gen consoles, then it's GTA4. Not that I've played it. :oops:

PC on the other hand is a whole other story. Just think about the insane amount of games that are out for this platform. GTA4 has to compared not only to it's predecessors, but also to the tens of thousands of titles that came out in the recent and distant past. It's harder to get a high score on the PC because the competition is stiffer, way stiffer than on any platform that has ever existed.

I'd take a 9.5 on the PC over a 10 on the 360 any day.

I don't understand why the PC version of GTA: Vice City is considered the best when the PS2 ver. has a 9.6 and the PC ver. has 9.3

Look here: http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/grandtheftautovicecity/index.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gsuniverse&tag=universe;title;2 - Where it says "also on" and near the PC it's written "Best"

regnumekal

Well, fortunately those games are using the old Gamespot rating system, so you can see their exact breakdown of it. The PC version got 1 point less in "graphics", which is probably because games are generally rated based on the expectations of the system which they are on (which is kind of murky waters on the PC of course). Like you wouldn't expect a game that got a 10 in graphics on the PS2 to necessarily be visually superior to something that got an 8 in graphics on the PS3. The PC version also got 1 less point in "value". I'm not sure what that is, maybe just that the game wasn't new anymore at that point.

it is over, the votes are already in, the game is the highest scoring game of all time on metacritic with 46 reviews (tied with ocarina of time) the gmae will win GOTY, and theres nothign anyone can do to stop it, its like godziilla on steroids, it will take over the world.

PS:im not quite sure I agree with that decision thouhg, i mean the game is simply amazing, but i havent played everyhitng for the year.

[QUOTE="Qixote"]I would like to believe that Fallout 3 has a fighting chance. Hopefully it won't just be Oblivion on nukes as people have been suggesting.biggest_loser

I think that is a real myth and people are just looking for an excuse to bring this game done because they didn't like Oblivion

I reckon it has really good chance too!!

I hope your right, because i realy despised oblivion (loved morrowind though)

They are not biased, that's just the way the rating system works.

A game on the 360 isn't compared to every game on every platform out there,it's compared to other titles on that particular platform. Same goes for PS3, the Wii and all the handhelds.artur79

I think that is a real myth and people are just looking for an excuse to bring this game done because they didn't like Oblivion

I reckon it has really good chance too!!

biggest_loser

And that is where the inherent flaw lies. A game should be reviewed based on its merits alone and not compared with any other game.

I don't understand your view on the matter. In order to give a game a score you have to have a golden standard to compare it to. This standard is set by other games on the platform in question. Before I go into a deep and unnecessary discussion, care to explain what you mean by your statement?

How can you not rate a game that has evolved into a better game compared to it's predecessors higher? Or rate a game like Portal higher than most because it's innovative compared to other titles?

Anyway, my point was that when you review a console game, you can't really compare it to PC-games. Because standards on a PC are higher than on any console out there. Well, that's a gross overstatement. Not your typical JRPGs or platformers, but games like FPSs, RTSs and so on. The ones that have deep roots on the PC.

[QUOTE="artur79"]They are not biased, that's just the way the rating system works.

A game on the 360 isn't compared to every game on every platform out there,it's compared to other titles on that particular platform. Same goes for PS3, the Wii and all the handhelds.foxhound_fox

I think that is a real myth and people are just looking for an excuse to bring this game done because they didn't like Oblivion

I reckon it has really good chance too!!

biggest_loser

I don't get it? A canon would be like a storyline. How do the features effect that?

People are just taking this a little too seriously and are too conservative. (Not you)

They might as well go back and just play the ol' school games.

I don't understand your view on the matter. In order to give a game a score you have to have a golden standard to compare it to. This standard is set by other games on the platform in question. Before I go into a deep and unnecessary discussion, care to explain what you mean by your statement?

How can you not rate a game that has evolved into a better game compared to it's predecessors higher? Or rate a game like Portal higher than most because it's innovative compared to other titles?

Anyway, my point was that when you review a console game, you can't really compare it to PC-games. Because standards on a PC are higher than on any console out there. Well, that's a gross overstatement. Not your typical JRPGs or platformers, but games like FPSs, RTSs and so on. The ones that have deep roots on the PC.

artur79

I don't get it? A canon would be like a storyline. How do the features effect that?

People are just taking this a little too seriously and are too conservative. (Not you)

They might as well go back and just play the ol' school games.

biggest_loser

Fox, sure, I agree to some degree. But the human nature is that our brains like to categorize and compare new experiences to older ones. That's just the way we work, it's both a good and a bad thing. That's why I have trouble with understanding how you can just dismiss any other title out there and simply rate the game based on it's merits. I could also argue and say that fun is a subjective thing. What's fun to you might not be fun to me. A 14 year old rap-gangsta wannabe might give 50 Cent's game a 10 "based solely on the experience alone".

I want some objectivity in my reviews, not just "This game rocks, get it!" But i'm sure you feel the same way..

Objective: expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations.

That's why I don't trust any music-review out there. It's simply a subjective view based on "how much I liked the album and how memorable it was". Not enough imo, especially not enough when people are basing their purchases on your written review (numbers don't really tell me much).

That's also why I don't think Yahtzee's vids are reviews.

I don't trust any review that goes on and on on how enjoyable the game was instead of breaking it down and comparing each element of the game to the golden standard of that particular platform and that particular genre/game-mechanic.

I'd say Spore but maybe Far Cry 2 isn't that far off. biggest_loser

[QUOTE="biggest_loser"]I'd say Spore but maybe Far Cry 2 isn't that far off. zero9167

i bet both will score an 8.5 or 9.

How can you not rate a game that has evolved into a better game compared to it's predecessors higher? Or rate a game like Portal higher than most because it's innovative compared to other titles?artur79

The inherent flaw in that logic is this...

If a reviewer gave 'game X' a higher score than it actually deserved at the time, then each successive game that reviewer feels is better than 'game X' must be rated higher than it really deserves in order to show that it is a better game. So if game X was rated a 9, the next game that comes along in that genre that is clearly better than game X must garner a higher score. Even if the next game that comes along actually only deserves 8.7 according to the rating criteria. Unless a reviewer is prepared to go back and alter their original review score to properly reflect the actual quality of game X, then each successive review is going to be skewed.

The other disparity that arises is when the review scoring methods change over time - games that in the past were scored highly might not have scored as highly with the current review system.

Lastly I don't think there is any real 'standard' in game reviews, and they differ from individual to individual. A review score can be completely skewed by the reviewer adding a 'tilt' to indicate how much (or how little) they enjoyed a game. It's like building a set of calculations on something that was false to begin with - no matter how you calculate it, the end result will be false.

Anyway, my point was that when you review a console game, you can't really compare it to PC-games. Because standards on a PC are higher than on any console out there. Well, that's a gross overstatement. Not your typical JRPGs or platformers, but games like FPSs, RTSs and so on. The ones that have deep roots on the PC.artur79

Therein lies the other problem - perception of the end gamer. Average Joe Gamer who reads such reviews and bases their purchasing decisions on them isn't really interested in the history of the platform, how many games there are in each genre etc. They will simply look at the review score of the console version compared to the PC version, and if the PC version is scored a point lower they will be left with the impression that the console version is better quality or a better experience. This may or may not be the case, yet over time if they consistently see higher scores for console versions of games they may develop the false impression that console games are generally better than their PC counterparts, so it becomes less worthwhile purchasing PC games over the long term. Is that really acceptable? I don't think that's a very fair system, especially when developers themselves tell us they are going to offer 'the same experience on all platforms'. If it is the same experience (or even a better experience) then why should the PC version automatically be scored lower just because there are more games to compare it with?

I have to agree with Fox that games should ultimately be judged on their individual merits. By all means mention other similar games during a review to give people an idea of what to expect, but both the strengths and weakness of a game should be highlighted and the score adjusted accordingly. Personal preferences (ie, tilt) should be completely omitted from the equation, as should perceived 'peer pressure' from other gaming sites.

[QUOTE="naval"][QUOTE="biggest_loser"][QUOTE="fatshodan"]

[QUOTE="naval"]and orignally a 9.5 at GS which was later changed to 10biggest_loser

Really? They actually published the review as a 9.5? That's interesting. No way it's an error, and while review scores have been changed after the publishing of the review in the past (Company of Heroes, for example), it seems remarkable that a game could jump half a point just like that.

Jumping on the bandwagon, perhaps? Looking to compete with the sensationalist reviews from other sites?

If there's one thing I've learned about review-writing, it's that the fans want to hear good things about the things they love, and GTA sure has a lot of fans.

I'm not saying GTA4 doesn't deserve a 10 (I think it does and I haven't even played it), but this raises an eyebrow.

Wow....that is big even though it might not seem like that much.

How does he know that though?

Also what score did COH get?

well in the front page it was there orignally GTA IV 9.5 and they change it after that

also, when they change the reviews earlier they generally mention the reason also

The controversey!

And people here wonder why I am suspicious and skeptical of that San Andreas and its popularity!!

(Not saying that GTA: IV is really bad at all so hold back the tomatoes)

Not sure if this has been mentioned (I didn't read the full thread), but Gamespot has explained their error here:http://www.gamespot.com/users/RicardoT/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=m-100-25399424

And that is where the inherent flaw lies. A game should be reviewed based on its merits alone and not compared with any other game.

I don't understand your view on the matter. In order to give a game a score you have to have a golden standard to compare it to. This standard is set by other games on the platform in question. Before I go into a deep and unnecessary discussion, care to explain what you mean by your statement?

artur79

He is right, look, if you think everytihng has to have a standard, then what did they compare Super Mario to? Monkey island? GTA III? NOTHING. Because they were the first to what they did. GTA IV shouldn't be compare to SA or any other game. Infact, no game should be compared to another game because each game is different and has it's own ups and downs.

/disscussion