EA exec disses Gears of War, Eurogamer pats back
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Nov 10th 2006 at 7:25PM }
Did EA Montreal GM Alain Tascan really believe he could get away with bad mouthing Gears of War for lacking innovation? Dude, c'mon, you work for EA; its bread n' butter is copy-pasting last year's game (and somehow making it worse in the process).The problem here is that 'innovation' is being tossed around as a magic substance that makes a game superior. But what is innovation? How do we measure it? Are Gears' cover-system tweaks innovative? We think so. How about its active reload minigame? Sure, we haven't seen that before. Aliens threatening human existence in a post-apocalyptic shooter? Of course not. But how would Tascan know that? By his own admission, he's never played the game.
Aside: Tascan also bad mouthed reviewers for praising Gears. He did however applaud "two very brave UK-based journalists" who dealt Gears 8/10s -- sadly, low scores in the twisted world of games reviews. One of those outlets was Eurogamer, which picked up on Tascan's rant and used the incident to herald its own "brave" work with a link-back (in the original post; now edited). But once commenters created a stir, upset by Eurogamer's display of hubris, the site removed the link in an attempt to save face. Tsk tsk.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Yagami-Iori @ Nov 10th 2006 7:34PM
Because counting from year to year and updating a roster is true innovation.
denney @ Nov 10th 2006 7:33PM
OMG.He works for EA why would anyone listen to him. I mean look at him what a little prick. Gears of War is better than every game ever made by EA.
iLLwiLL @ Nov 10th 2006 7:39PM
I discovered Eurogamer the other day through a link to their GoW review which I found quite well written. But is Eurogamer=the IGN,Gamespy,Gamespot,1UP of Europe??
Saiclone @ Nov 10th 2006 7:43PM
I was on EG earlier today, and the comments section was hilarious. One half were guys getting on EA's case for daring to mention the word "innovate" the second half were people ripping into Eurogamer for vindicating their review with an EA statement by a guy who had never even played the game.
Moe @ Nov 10th 2006 7:45PM
Putting aside EA's track record on making games, the man actually had a decent argument. I thought Eurogamer's review actually considered some aspects of game originality that many other reviews failed to when considering their scores. At the very least, the story may create an interesting discussion on what reviews are saying and what we should be expecting from our games.
Rabish12 @ Nov 10th 2006 7:47PM
"Why are people loving it so much? It's like added production value, incredible cutscenes and the best ever graphics ever. I'm sure it's going to be a great success, I can't wait to play it, but let's face that graphics are still number one"
This is probably the funniest thing I've seen all day. Seeing someone from EA bash a game because it focuss on production values and graphics, that's just priceless.
Aaron @ Nov 10th 2006 7:52PM
So wait, a game that's well-made and insanely fun to play doesn't deserve to get a great score because it's not "innovative"?
I mean, don't get me wrong, I love innovation as much as the next gamer, but when a game takes an established formula and makes it great to play (and not to mention great to look at) it definately deserves praise, innovation or not.
Pimliconite @ Nov 10th 2006 8:00PM
"Aliens threatening human existence in a post-apocalyptic shooter? Of course not."
That last one was a joke, right?
And yes, the game is overrated. As was Halo, NWN, and (good god) Oblivion.
Joost Schuur @ Nov 10th 2006 8:04PM
In his defense, he's the EP on Army of Two and not involved in any of the many sequels produced by EA.
Xuse @ Nov 10th 2006 8:04PM
@Aaron
Couldn't have said it better myself.
I would also like to clarify that a chainsaw bayonet is all the innovation most gamers need. Pretentious Euro critics are just bashing the game to make themselves feel important.
kay @ Nov 10th 2006 8:08PM
Pimliconite, I'd be curious to find out what games you thought weren't overrated. Great games get hyped by those that play them. When you are late to the party, you may expect the game to be even greater than what it is because of what you've heard. That doesn't mean the game isn't great and a stand out from the general crap that gets made. Halo and Oblivion are fantastic games. Halo 2 is the Xbox equivalent of Starcraft. A game so good (esp multiplayer) that people continue to play it in astounding numbers years after its release. If that isn't a marker of a well made game, what is?
Overrated? I think not.
Ash @ Nov 10th 2006 8:11PM
EA is absolutly right... this game has done notting new whatsoever
it would be innovative if they had options on XBL market place to unlock all the levels for $15
come on guys get it right... the next gen does not start till EA says it does
BklynKid @ Nov 10th 2006 8:24PM
I can't believe someone from EA can even begin to comment about another games originality and innovation when their own games don't have it.
Unreal.
DakidOG @ Nov 10th 2006 8:23PM
We all think EA is a bunch of pricks, but the question that appears to me is why the hell are they the #1 game company? why are we buying there games? it's time to shut our wallets to them.
Zing @ Nov 13th 2006 3:34PM
You bastard. You can't diss GoW when you just keep hasing out slightly improved games each year to frat boys.
n2 @ Nov 10th 2006 8:32PM
EA is the #1 company because they don't innovate. They simply rely mostly on sequels.
RoroCo @ Nov 10th 2006 8:34PM
13. We all think EA is a bunch of pricks, but the question that appears to me is why the hell are they the #1 game company? why are we buying there games? it's time to shut our wallets to them.
Posted at 8:22PM on Nov 10th 2006 by DakidOG 0 stars
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My guess.... They have a monopoly on NFL games...
Neil @ Nov 10th 2006 8:37PM
If this comment was coming from Fumito Ueda or even Ubi soft than it would carry more weight. So It's laughable that EA would say this. However I wouldn't say Gears of war as a game is innovative either. Sure it's fun and there are many innovative features but by no means is it as innovative as Katamari Damacy, ICO, Animal Crossing or Beyond Good and Evil*.
Hopefully when the "newness" of Gears wears off, the industry will be able to look at the game objectionally. But for now, c'mon it's just a really well made shooter.
* I shouldn't even have to say this but no I am not a Nintendo or Sony fanboy. I own a 360 with Gears just like all of you.
Ross @ Nov 10th 2006 8:38PM
Actually, the saddest thing is that apparently none of the so called gaming journalists on hand had the balls to call him on that comment. I find Gears to be slightly overrated (only slightly, I'm still having a hell of a good time with it), but nobody that works for EA has the right to criticize anyone else over things like innovation in gaming.
And another thing....I know it's mostly being done by fanboys who are out trolling....but for all those who constantly post slamming games like Halo, Oblivion, etc....what exactly are your picks for great games?
GridIron @ Nov 10th 2006 8:40PM
kay #11
I can't get enough of starcraft! well said...
number40one @ Nov 10th 2006 8:44PM
"Here's my business card. Remember me. I'm the wormy guy!"
Pulse @ Nov 10th 2006 9:09PM
I don't particually find GOW a game I would run out and wait outside of a shop for, or go and dish out cash on a whole Xbox for, but this guy I must admit is a bit looney up there, no doubt GOW is a good game, overhyped and a few issues I don't particually like based on gameplay clips I have seen thus far, but overall a superb game.
I have not played it, thats the next step :) If I could get a 360 free, It would definatly be on my list of games to get, that and Halo 3, nothing else seems to spark my interest and ever did.
Every good review of it I have read so far I can agree with except the biased reveiwers whom of which I don't read thier reveiws anyway and make the game seem as though it is the game of all games.
James @ Nov 10th 2006 8:55PM
I heard that the Eurogamer rating of 8/10 for GoW was only for single player mode. It was mentioned that EG will update the review after playing through multiplayer mode.
FuzzyPickles @ Nov 10th 2006 9:13PM
"We all think EA is a bunch of pricks, but the question that appears to me is why the hell are they the #1 game company? why are we buying there games? it's time to shut our wallets to them."
Between Madden and Maxis... they've got quite the business going on.
zsavior @ Nov 10th 2006 9:54PM
His comments hurt all the industry people who liked gears of war because it pull their card. Hells Yes EA makes craptacular trash (so who better to point out crap), doesn't mean he didn't catch all the people screaming innovation first being graphics whores. There is nothing awesomely different about GOW, all CLiffy B. proved was that if you throw enough money, and graphics into a game every site and magazine will give you a ten, and bite the heads off of those who disagree. It just proves that even Journalist hate the PS3 solely on price and don't give two craps out innovation.
Am I saying gears of war is a bad game, hells no but innovative? This is what Next generation games amount to, this is what you want console gamers to spend hundreds on? No thanks I will just wait to get a better Shooter when one comes to the PC since the Pc will always do shooters better, and I will pick it up then. I don't mind it getting tens, if it is a great game it deservers great marks. I do mind people screaming that this is the penicle of gaming cause you have death matches.
You know what Gears of War reminds me of, those parents you always hate, that brags about feeding, or clothing their kids. You a freaking parent you are supposed to provide for your children that is nothing extrodinary. Same goes with Epic and Gears of War, you made a good shooter, that catored to the violence hungry graphic fan, your a game maker and you made a worth while game that is not extrodinary. What is sad that in an industry where the games are so stagnant, a game that actually delievers on what is promised is considered revolutionary, and innovative just cause it actuall produced something fun and enjoyable. How pathetic has this industry become.
Huey2k2 @ Nov 10th 2006 10:02PM
He's just jealous because EA is unable to produce games like GOW.
GOW may not revolutionize the shooting genre, but it does just about everything right, what more could you ask for?
Todd T @ Nov 10th 2006 10:09PM
One word for EA. . . . .
BLACK
Deji @ Nov 11th 2006 10:05AM
I have one thing to say about the EA exec comment. Maybe they (EA) are a bit bitter as Gears of War multiplayer techniques are quite similiar to another future EA Game- Army of Two. You see in Gears, you can play multiplayer co-op in two player mode online or offline which apparently is the best game-play one can get from gears. Army of Two was supposed to introduce this as theie unique selling point. I think EA feel that Epic stole their idea...
Jr7891 @ Nov 10th 2006 10:33PM
10. In his defense, he's the EP on Army of Two and not involved in any of the many sequels produced by EA.
But, if he wants to talk about innovation, Gears of War did AoT's big gimmick first. (Coop joinable at anytime.)
Online joinable coop at any time? GOW. EA's online service is shitty anyway. They haven't made a game that doesn't lag, freeze, or drop you yet.
Commands that your AI will eventually refuse to do? Lifeline,Socom 1,2,3,FTB,Combined Assualt. Besides, that would get annoying as hell pleading to your AI partner to stay quiet.
What else does that game have left? Getting shot in the chest, falling down, and not being dead. Teamate has to revive you? GOW has done it.
Matt T @ Nov 10th 2006 11:06PM
"26. One word for EA. . . . .
BLACK"
Todd T, are you implying that EA has only one, completely straight forward and "innovative" approach to making games? Yep, I can see that...no wait we've all been seeing that since PSone...great call out!
Stop Bytching @ Nov 11th 2006 8:07AM
"all CLiffy B. proved was that if you throw enough money, and graphics into a game every site and magazine will give you a ten, and bite the heads off of those who disagree. It just proves that even Journalist hate the PS3 solely on price and don't give two craps out innovation."
Buzz wrong! Every big budget game with graphics dont get great reviews And 10s. Why are people whining about innovation. Nintendo has really got people gas on some crazy level of octane! No no was bitching before the Ninty started this campaign. I have a question what would you consider innovative that they could have added.....Let me guess Add the Wii mote, that seems to be everyones answer. Innovation comes in different forms. Like when i have a hard time Tracking AI because the never do the same thing twice thats innovation. When AI becomes aware of its surroundings THAT INNOVATION!! There are moments when i swear im playing a human because the AI is very unpredictable. How exactly do you innovate a FPS...3rd person maybe..Lifelink animation is and picture-esce graphics are innovation. and need i mention controls that when using you lose yourself in the game. Im sorry i dont need a magic wand to feel like im part of the experience. Gimme 5.1 HI-res grapics and controls that feel natural and im good. and i mean natural like ive been gaming for over 10yrs so yes a controller feels natural to me
azesino @ Nov 11th 2006 2:19AM
Sony Fanboys Where waiting for a post like this so they too could Bash Gears, Lol its funny in to what extent jelousy would lead some people, The biggest publisher in the planet doesnt have a game in its arsenal that can even touch Gears, Period.
zsavior @ Nov 11th 2006 6:20AM
I like you stop byching you proved my point perfectly, the fact that other game companies have produced created and sold games that did less than have, perfect comfortable controls, and intelligent A.I. proves exactly what I said before in my above post. I couldn't have proven that point with out your help, I didn't mention nintendo by the way, but you sure did! Once again I am not going to mention nintendo. You know why, because it is an easy out. People Interject nintendo and fanboys run to the fray because they feel nintendo needs their help. I don't have to defend them because honestly I don't make a dime from them. Now lets examine what you said
"Innovation comes in different forms. Like when i have a hard time Tracking AI because the never do the same thing twice thats innovation. When AI becomes aware of its surroundings THAT INNOVATION!! There are moments when i swear im playing a human because the AI is very unpredictable. How exactly do you innovate a FPS...3rd person maybe..Lifelink animation is and picture-esce graphics are innovation. and need i mention controls that when using you lose yourself in the game. Im sorry i dont need a magic wand to feel like im part of the experience. Gimme 5.1 HI-res grapics and controls that feel natural and im good. and i mean natural like ive been gaming for over 10yrs so yes a controller feels natural like ive been gaming for over 10yrs so yes a controller feels natural to me" - stop byching
You see when I see that, it tells me that for years, Consoles software makers have been doing less, but expressing they are tapping a systems very core. But from what you are saying this is the first game to ever do this. You see where this is going right stop byching? You been playing so many subpar games with big budgets that now when one is created that actually does what it says you feel that it is innovative. I said it before and I say it again, if it is a good game then it deserves tens, because that is the rating system. But just don't slap innovation because you A: want to take some righteous jab at nintendo. Or B: no other games have lived up to their promises before GOW.
All that You mentioned stop byching was Great Graphics and things game software companies should have been doing since xbox, ps2, and gamecube era of systems. But I thank you for saying it out loud, cause the point couldn't be made till somebody said it.
Mr BoomStick XL @ Nov 11th 2006 7:40AM
The ONLY thing I have to say to this JACKA$$ from Ea is "Don't throw stones, dude!!" Not to mention EA is a WHORING type company with it's fans and it's employee's!! GoW is the GREATEST game in a real long time. What makes this a GREAT game is that BOTH the Single player and Multi-Player games ROCK and you can't go wrong with either of them. For all of the people on this thread who say it's nothing NEW, I say stop suck the PS3's D**K alreay and play the F**KING game before making an A$$ of yourself in public.
WTF @ Nov 11th 2006 7:43AM
I've always found Eurogamer to be full of shit; the regulars on the discussion boards are just as full of shit too.
Eurogamer < *
Stop Bytching @ Nov 13th 2006 7:47PM
That was a nice Translation to what i was trying i was trying to say. Nothing about my experiences can be considerd subpar only because they were "my experinces" and i would have to rule them subpar. Yes I dont hate nintendo but I cant help but wonder what everyones description of innovation BEFORE nintendo came along. I think nintendo Is BRILLIANT!!! they say they're not competing against the other two, but gave everyone a tool to start Disecting and tearing apart the other two. By giving us this new word all of sudden the other consoles to some people will start to look stale because they offer the same gameplay from the last console cycle. And IMO i see nothing wrong with that. Like i said pushing the limit of console is innovation to me great hardware that surpasses anything we could think of a few years back is innovation. I say that comfortably being to put a face on innovation while most people dont know what it is they just seem to know what it isnt. Im waiting for others to put a face on it. If GoW isnt innovative Id like to know why you feel that way, and also what In your opinion would have made it more innovative. Im willing to bet most people can fire away at the 1st half of the question and not have much to say on the 2nd half of the question, keeping in mind that the game has limits.
Colin @ Nov 11th 2006 8:32AM
I'm struggling to understand why Joystiq is so smug about what's going on. I could point to numerous posts in the past where your own hubris was laid bare, or shoddy journalism was evident. Or is it just a quick chance to lay into a rival gaming website, made all the sweeter because they're European?
Adrian @ Nov 11th 2006 9:20AM
Are the Joystiq monkeys feeling a little threatened by the real journalists? Eurogamer actually manage to create reasonably unbiased content and subjective reviews. I have a great deal of respect for the EG writers. They showed some balls by not going with the flock and praising GoW without consideration.
arch @ Nov 11th 2006 12:17PM
well ADRIAN thats why your the ignorant minority. and when i say minority i meand 10 people. that includes 9 people at EA.
diskoboy @ Nov 11th 2006 12:41PM
So what exactly has EA done in recent years thats original?
Oh right - nothing. Your idea of originality is finding someone with original content, and buying them out of the industry. (CoughNFL2Kx...)
And being an American, what the hell is Eurogamer and why should I care?
Scott Krueger @ Nov 11th 2006 3:11PM
Not that I would Like to side with EA (Give back the NFL) but too some extent they are correct.
Gears of War has Awesome Graphics.
But 4 on 4 Multiplayer, WEAK.
Only 3 Multiplayer Modes, WEAK.
The Story Line in Single Player, WEAK.
The Weapons are Cool but so few, WEAKish.
All these problems should have granted the Game much lower scores, but just like Doom3 most of the Reviewers get blinded by those Pretty Graphics.
Brad Lee @ Nov 11th 2006 7:03PM
In regards to the EA guy claiming Gears of War doesn't deserve good ratings because it is not "innovative," he makes himself look like even more of an asshole by openly admitting that he has never played the game. Word to the wise, if you're going to "play critic" play the game first, otherwise you have 0 credibility, and just make yourself look like a total ass.
And as for Gears of War being innovative, it really depends on what you mean by that. I don't think it matters at all whether we call it innovative or not. I've been pretty bored of the standard console game for a while now, which is why most of my gaming takes place on my DS. HOWEVER, I've been playing a lot of Gears of War lately and, despite being a very quick play-through on campaign mode, is a great deal of fun. This is coming from a gamer who has been bored of games recently. So, if Gears of War is NOT innovative, it has to do have done something right for me to keep my attention drawn to it.
With that in mind, I'd like to list a few things I think are excellent about the game. Call them innovative if you want. It doesn't really matter. They are excellent features whether you call them innovative or not.
1) Little to no load times:
The very few times there are load times (such as when you die and it has to load from a checkpoint) it loads almost instantaneously. I don't think I saw a load screen for more than 5 seconds, and more often than not I wouldn't see one at all since the game seems to load during cutscenes (yes!). This may not be innovative, but it is easily one of the best aspects of the game. The less load times there are, the more I get to play.
2) Taking Cover: Sure other games have done this as well. Take Perfect Dark Zero, for example. But, no other game (that I've played anyway) has created a cover system with as much depth and ease of use as Gears. Since it is all context sensitive, jumping from cover to cover is incredibly easy. There have only been a few times where I died because the taking cover system kind of screwed me up. I also found this system to have a surprisingly low learning curve. Again, this may not be innovative, but a wonderful aspect of the game.
3) Reload "Mini-Game": To clarify, when you reload, if you time it just right you can hit the reload button again and quicken the reload speed and increase the damage of your bullets. This is an example where Gears takes a small concept and makes it work very well. When you're taking heavy fire and you have to reload, it is an intense situation trying to time the button press so you can continue your reign of fire. As far as I know, no other game as done this before. It is both new and very well done. It may be a minor point, but it adds up quite well in my opinion.
Thats all I can really comment on yet. I don't know whether the game can be considered "innovative" or not, or whether you can say it has met the hype or not. That stuff is all opinion anyway.
As for me, Gears has met and actually exceeded my expectations, and I haven't even played the multiplayer yet. So that EA guy can go suck an egg. I'd rather play Gears than the 700th Need for Speed or Madden reiteration.*
*Note, I actually enjoy some of EA's franchises. But, the difference is, I've merely _rented_ Carbon from GameFly, while I outright _bought_ Gears of War.
maximus @ Nov 13th 2006 8:04AM
EA are in no position to talk about innovation but as far as Gears Of War is concerned it's just another shooter that looks and sounds great. As someone who wanted a varied and decent length single player campaign i'm very disappointed with the game.