I'm so relieved to read this article, knowing that the final product is going to be different from the beta.

I have about 300 hours into BC2 (PC), and about 20 into the BF3 beta. While the gameplay was a blast in the beta, the guns just felt wrong sometimes. Certain guns that you know have a faster fire-rate fired too slowly, or visa versa. The hitbox had so much room for improvement, as did the net code, lag... or whatever it is that causes you to go from 100% to dead in a split second when someone fires on you, which you don't even hear happening.

Anyways. I'm not going to waste anymore breath complaining about the beta. If the final product is improved from it, I'll be happy enough. I know that they'll support it for years to come, and that it will only get better over time. My preorder will remain open and I can't wait for the 25th.

I've been into Age of Empires 3 lately, so this game looks really interesting to me. RIP Ensemble. :(

@xxxsam

Some of what you say, I agree with. If a reviewer says mostly positive things about a game in a review, but then gives the review a low score, that may be a poorly written review. But the ending score is part of the problem. A 5/10 shouldn't be considered a disaster. It should be average... middle of the scale. However, that is not what's really being practiced in reality. With the way most reviewers score their games, they might as well rate them on a scale of 5-10, rather than 1-10, as everything below a 5 is basically lumped together in the same category: junk.

If we need to continue to use a scoring system in the review process, so be it. But at least have it make more sense than the current one in practice.

@Stevetrop Man of Mystery

I agree with you on that. Most reviews for Two Worlds 2 were "average" at best. But I had a blast with that game! It was one of my favorites in the past 6 months. I also understand that all these reviews were just written by other gamers, even if they some see them in a higher way. But since these professional reviewers have the ability to do real damage to the game (with a poor review), or give a game a real boost in sales (with a good review), I think we need to make sure that this "power" of theirs is handled the correct way. I'm not saying that they should give a false review of a game just to please the developers or publishers. On the contrary, I think they should be brutally honest in their reviews.

It's the review "score" that I take issue with. This score also seems to be what the industry measures their success against... other than sales numbers, of course. :) I just think that these numbers can do more harm than good sometimes, and we as an industry, should try to find a better method of reviewing games.

In my mind, anything below a 6 or 7 out of 10, usually equates to a poor title (in my mind!). This is because many times, reviewers will give a game a score of 5-6, but in the conclusion say that there is no need for you to buy or even play said game. That can be very confusing for the gamer, since on a scale of 0-10, 5 should be average. Instead, a game getting a 5 (or lower) is pretty much a disaster in most reviewers' opinions.

I'm losing my train of thought here, so I'll leave it at that. To sum up: Reviews are great (and necessary!!!), but we either need to remove the review score, or find a way to alter it to make more sense. I'm done now. :)

While I haven't played this particular game, I find that what he's saying is very true. Many reviews' scores do not seem to match the actual review itself. The review might make the game sound pretty good, with a few faults, but then the score is a 5/10. And in the end, the "score" is all that matters, as silly as that sounds.

I'm sure a lot of people (sometimes myself included) will skip the review entirely and go right to the score # instead. I think the scoring system should be more vague; maybe have a "poor", "average" "good", and "great" rather than a number. That way you'd have to read the review to get the details. Some reviewers include these little classifications, but the numbers themselves ruin/override it. A 5/10 might say "average" next to it, but in everyone's mind, anything below a 6 or 7 is basically garbage.

We need to find a better method of reviewing that does justice to the games, and doesn't include something (like review scores) that basically overrides the entire review itself.

I seem to be the opposite of many of the people here. I had a hard time getting into TLJ, but really liked Dreamfall. I tried to play TLJ again, but the puzzles are so unintuitive that it just couldn't keep my interest. I felt like the only way I'd be able to get through it is if someone (or some guide) held my hand, and that turned me off quite a bit.

Dreamfall was the opposite. I liked the characters, the story, the atmosphere, etc... but the ending left a lot unsaid. I really hope he does put out a sequel, but like others have said... my interest in the series is fading. C'mon Ragnar! You owe us an ending! :)

Coal... lots and lots of coal. Though you can never have enough coal for your furnaces and torches.

Incredibles; no contest.
Wall-E would be 2nd.

I'd eat the brains of my co-workers... maybe then I'd have some kind of idea what the heck they're thinking most of the time. Idiots...

Blackthorne.