BBPS calls out rewritten preview as review
Bits Bytes Pixels and Sprites is calling out PGNx media and writer Jose Liz for writing reviews based on previews. In the piece, Andrew Hayward of BBPS, says that the Spider-Man 3 "review" is based on a demo he saw with this writer while on an Activision junket. He believes the writer made up the review based on the preview information as evidence by lines like "These interactive cinematics provided some of the demo's (emphasis ours) biggest 'wow' moments such as struggling in the air against the Green Goblin (while playing as Peter) and jumping through lasers as Spider-Man." Oops, helps to double-check that stuff before posting. Coincidentally, the DS review by the same writer ends with, "We're very excited to review the full version when it is released in early May." Double d'oh!Hayward says, "The writer seemed like a really nice guy, but the more I interact with some of the writers at these independent gaming websites, the more I sense a general lack of knowledge pertaining to ethics and correctness in reporting." Of course, this statement would just be soaking in the juices of irony if Hayward had his airfare, hotel and other incidentals paid for by Activision as part of this junket.
This certainly isn't the most high-ranking screw-up in recent memory (frankly we've never heard of PGNx Media), but it does make an interesting footnote in the world of preview and review game writing. In the eyes of a PR company though, it doesn't matter how the review is written, as long as the writer says good things about the game.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Fatass of Kickassness @ May 7th 2007 10:26PM
What a terribly retarded mistake to overlook.
This guy must love his copypasta.
aegies @ May 7th 2007 10:27PM
Well, to play devil's advocate, it's a real bitch to try to do reviews for a game when you're not high up enough to get review copies of games, and putting them reviews up even a week later might seem anticlimactic. I'm not defending it, I'm just not surprised by it.
http://eat-sleep-game.com/news
Gavin @ May 7th 2007 10:38PM
With sooooo many game fanatics running game sites and thereby trying to be a part of the online scene, there are BOUND to be half-assers and short cutters like this. That's why he's not writing professionally, even though the site's headline proclaims "Fansite attitude, Professional coverage", which is a bit of a laugh when something like this comes to light.
NeverSage @ May 7th 2007 10:54PM
"This guy must love his copypasta."
I don't know if you meant to say "copypaste" but I like "copypasta" better. I'm going to start saying that.
kingofwale @ May 7th 2007 10:56PM
HAHA.. when you give the Next Gen games of Spidy 9.5 out of 10. YOU KNOW it's because the guy never played it
how is that they are still in business?
Psaakyrn @ May 7th 2007 11:10PM
to #2 aegies
Then don't. People who are not qualified to do something shouldn't be pretending they can..
Also, there's nothing wrong with a later review, just do a more comprehensive one.
Additionally, copypasta is not a typo as far as I know, it's only of the less common internet slang. (for that matter, you know that copypaste isn't a word either, right?)
Jose Liz @ May 7th 2007 11:49PM
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to call your attention to my comment on Andrew’s blog. In summary, the copying and pasting does come across carelessly—and something that I probably shouldn’t have done—but we had 10 days with the final, retail copies before the reviews launched. The reviews are representative of my opinions on the games after playing them extensively.
Regards,
Jose Liz
PGNx Media
Fandel @ May 7th 2007 11:57PM
@Jose Liz
Uh, 10 days should be plenty of time to write a decent review. Hell, it's common knowledge that even reviewers on the main sites like 1up don't finish all the games that they review. 10 days should have been more than enough time to write up a honest and detailed review of the game.
Jose Liz @ May 8th 2007 12:04AM
Fandel,
When I mentioned we had 10 days, I didn't mean to imply we *only* had 10 days but rather that we had ample time to play the time. At nearly 800 words, I feel that I have included enough time.
Cheers,
Jose
Fandel @ May 8th 2007 12:55AM
Jose Liz,
Wow, you just totally destroyed the last shred of credibility you may have had.
800 words? Try 50 words if you take out the 'copy and paste' job that you did.
If you really had 10 days to review the game, you should have managed to come up with much more detail about the game than copying and pasting a half assed preview.
What ticks me off about this, is that I was thinking about buying this game on Friday and your review was the only one that I saw on Gamrankings.
When I saw that your site gave the game a 95% review score, I actually thought about picking up the game... then I said to myself "wait a second, I've never heard of these guys before?" After thinking it over, I decided to wait until more reviews were posted - a very smart move, considering the mediocre scores that the game has received.
Sorry, but your site is a fraud... something that you yourself (ironically) proved by responding to my previous comment.
Psaakyrn @ May 8th 2007 1:47AM
Assuming we can be sure that IS the real Jose Liz to begin with...
Brendon @ May 8th 2007 5:53AM
Copypasta is best served fresh pesto.
MagusDF @ May 8th 2007 10:35AM
reviewing things that you dont have access to is just dumb. Many people that read reviews read them after the release and there is nothign wrong with writing reviews of things already released to get a good base. People try and identify with the person giving the review so they can apply their own judgment based on that persons persona. If you copy and paste you do not have apersona someone can idantify with.
Ian Miles Cheong @ May 11th 2007 11:24AM
It takes roughly 6 hours to get a good sampling of any game, with most games lasting 10-12 hours. If the game was any good, you could basically finish it within a short period of time and write a 2500-word review in less than 2 hours, if you really cared to.
I've done it, and so has anyone else who's bothered to write lengthy reviews. If you've played the game and are going to put together a quick review, you really wouldn't need any more than 10 minutes to come up with it.
It takes about the same amount of time to write a short 800-word review about a game as it would take to write a couple of replies here on Joystiq and on any other website.
If you're going to copypasta you really should think about ending it with the lyrics from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. It'd be a lot better than the steaming pile of PR hype you've served up as a review.