EDGE Magazine 325 - RDR2

silva1991 said:

They just added the score and dropped the meta to 76

https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/shadow-of-the-tomb-raider/critic-reviews

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Yeah that's the problem. People say that it doesn't matter that someone don't like the game, but in this case it really matters.

Remember said:

Everyone else is making fun of you but I understand where you are coming from and will give you a serious answer. They are judging the game by its own standards of innovation. The exact same thing happened with TR: Last Revelation, which I posted above. It came out too soon after TR3, which came out too soon after TR2 and was more of the same. If you're exposed to a franchise that is coming out on a rather fast schedule and isn't innovating but simply just adding more, you're going to dock it in points a bit for being more like an expansion pack instead of a full on title.

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Thanks for your less mocking reply. I get what you're saying but imo Shadow does more for the IP than many other games in other long going series as it focus on the origin of the IP, exploration and puzzles, while still not making the action worse. It's adding more but in this case I can't see it as a negative, it's like Rise but improves many of the things fans wanted more of when this trilogy started.

Fredrik said:

Yeah that's the problem. People say that it doesn't matter that someone don't like the game, but in this case it really matters.

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What do you want this reviewer to do? Like the game more for the sake of the metacritic? If a reviewer is going into a review worrying about what other critics thought, or what the metacritic is, or how hard the studio worked on the game, they are bad at their job.

MrS said:

D2 WAS good out of the gate though.

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Oh, I totally agree with that. I just wish D2 had been even better at launch. It could have been! But they made a few bizarre steps backwards from Destiny 1 year 3, most of which they only got around to fixing with Forsaken. It's super important that Destiny 3 makes none of the missteps of its predecessors from the get-go.

xrnzaaas said:

Shadow of the Tomb Raider definitely doesn't deserve such a low score. It has quite a few big issues, but it's still a decent game (and for me personally a more enjoyable one than TR2013).

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If the writing is anything like the previous two games it deserves that score.

silva1991 said:

They just added the score and dropped the meta to 76

https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/shadow-of-the-tomb-raider/critic-reviews

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Meanwhile it's an 83 on the Xbox page.

https://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-one/shadow-of-the-tomb-raider/critic-reviews

I hate that Metacritic separates the pages based on platform. Most times there is no difference at all, but yet one score may show up on one page and not the other.

OpenCritic is best critic.

Fredrik said:

Yeah that's the problem. People say that it doesn't matter that someone don't like the game, but in this case it really matters.
Thanks for your less mocking reply. I get what you're saying but imo Shadow does more for the IP than many other games in other long going series as it focus on the origin of the IP, exploration and puzzles, while still not making the action worse. It's adding more but in this case I can't see it as a negative, it's like Rise but improves many of the things fans wanted more of when this trilogy started.

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Looking at reviews and impressions, it seems that Shadow is quite a divisive entry. It may have delivered everything you wanted, but other people (even big fans of the series) have been disappointed for a variety of reasons.

Some pretty generous scores this month. Surprised by that Destiny score, jeeze.

Honestly, I'm not surprised by the TR score. It was definitely my least favorite out of the new ones, and for me it just felt like it lacked a lot of polish in some areas.

NinjaScooter said:

What do you want this reviewer to do? Like the game more for the sake of the metacritic? If a reviewer is going into a review worrying about what other critics thought, or what the metacritic is, or how hard the studio worked on the game, they are bad at their job.

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They could have several people reviewing the game. Maybe someone who loved Rise since it's what Shadow tries to improve on. I mean, I would never review a Halo game and have my review as the only opinion, because I don't like Halo and first person shooters. But I bet I could write a long article about it and make people think there is something wrong with the game even though the problem clearly lies with me. Question is, what would the point be?
I think it's better to have that as a second opinion so those who like the IP and genre still knows what they're getting. Gamereactor does that. To me it's weird for a big media outlet to only cater to those who most likely never planned to buy the game anyway unless they find it used or on sale.

cowbanana said:

Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, a 4/10 game? Ok... I really enjoyed it. A good 7.5/10 game, using the full scale. Much better than mediocre, but not close to greatness either.

Did this publication really give DQ XI a score of 6/10?

I guess there's a reason I don't give a shit about mainstream review outlets, in paper form or online.

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Looks like the reason is that you don't know how to deal with people having different opinions than you.

Fredrik said:

Yeah that's the problem. People say that it doesn't matter that someone don't like the game, but in this case it really matters.

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Why does it matter?

Even reading impressions here shows that the quality of the game is divisive.

Fredrik said:

They could have several people reviewing the game. Maybe someone who loved Rise since it's what Shadow tries to improve on. I mean, I would never review a Halo game and have my review as the only opinion, because I don't like Halo and first person shooters. But I bet I could write a long article about it and make people think there is something wrong with the game even though the problem clearly lies with me. Question is, what would the point be?
I think it's better to have that as a second opinion so those who like the IP and genre still knows what they're getting. Gamereactor does that. To me it's weird for a big media outlet to only cater to those who most likely never planned to buy the game anyway unless they find it used or on sale.

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You're still making baseless assumptions about a review you haven't even read. The Edge reviewer liked the game a lot less than you did - that is literally it. There's no agenda, no unprofessionalism, nothing.

Fredrik said:

There is nothing in that game that deserves a low score like that. The title screen and start menu alone is worth more than that.

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I mean, the whole post is hilarious but this part will keep me going for weeks.

Well deserved score for Tomb Raider .


Queen L can't be stopped, now she's even slaying her biggest fans all over forums .

TR score: nice
Destiny score: WTF?

GHG said:

Well deserved score for Tomb Raider

.


Queen L can't be stopped, now she's even slaying her biggest fans all over forums

.

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Lol. Almost questioned my ignore list when I saw this.

Glad i didn't pick TR up! Terrible timing IMO with all the big hitters landing. Only way you can really launch when it did was if the game turned out amazing and made it a no brainer of a purchase.

Some of the takes in here of the Edge review, man o man!

GHG said:

Well deserved score for Tomb Raider

.


Queen L can't be stopped, now she's even slaying her biggest fans all over forums

.

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dancinggirl.gif

Talent wins

sheaaaa said:

Looks like the reason is that you don't know how to deal with people having different opinions than you.

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I don't think you understand. I accept that their opinions often conflict with mine and thus are valueless to me. I deal with it by disregarding their opinion.

Benjamin1981 said:

That Tomb Raider score is ridiculous.

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I know, right? We should start implying things about the way their reviewer perceives Lara Croft as a character like we did with another reviewer who made a reasonably thoughtful critique of the games many flaws on Youtube.

Opinions don't automatically deserve respect just because they're opinions. Edge is trolling. In fact, trolling is the only way Edge even gets attention anymore.

SmarmySmurf said:

Opinions don't automatically deserve respect just because they're opinions. Edge is trolling.

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Should we respect your opinion that Edge is trolling?

NinjaScooter said:

Should we respect your opinion that Edge is trolling?

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That's for you to decide. I'm just saying "its my opinion" isn't some ironclad defense against being called out.

Boy Wander said:

On a full scale, isn't 7.5 exactly halfway between mediocre and greatness? If a game is nowhere near great, surely it's nearer the mediocre end of the full scale that you're supposedly using.

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Eh, semantics. In my world there can be a big jump between mediocre -> good -> great. A 7.5 to me is well above mediocre, good but still far from 10/10 best in genre game.

Even though the scores were posted in Spoiler form I did genuinely guess 8 & 5.

Damn at that FH4 score though.

I like the Edge approach to reviews and scores but 4 means below average which I really doubt SotTR is. But it's their review, that's how it is, it can happen in any game, movie etc and I don't think that dropping 2 points in metacritic will affect anything. Game didn't sell that much anyway before that review and it's time to re shake the formula.

Having read this thread for a bit, it makes me wonder how movie reviews would be if people had the same expectations as they have for game reviews.

Any Hollywood movie would basically automatically land above 50%, because it has "production values" and you'd have to be a Birdemic or an Asylum production to score below that.

I've been reading EDGE since issue 0 and still marvel how at times their reviews can be so different than my own. No matter the flaws TR is not a 4/10 game.

unicornKnight said:

I like the Edge approach to reviews and scores but 4 means above average which I really doubt SotTR is. But it's their review, that's how it is, it can happen in any game, movie etc and I don't think that dropping 2 points in metacritic will affect anything. Game didn't sell that much anyway before that review and it's time to re shake the formula.

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4 is not above average in a 1-10 rating.

'Edge is trolling' is probably the dumbest fucking response to their reviews. This isn't the first time I've seen someone writing that.

They set themselves a high bar, that's it. Thinking it's a conspiracy makes one in my mind as bad as a flat earther. Barely able to gather enough common sense to realise why it's a dumb idea.

Oh wait, it's probably worse because one came to that conclusion over negative video game reviews

Flutter said:

'Edge is trolling' is probably the dumbest fucking response to their reviews. This isn't the first time I've seen someone writing that.

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It isn't the first time they've trolled.

SmarmySmurf said:

That's for you to decide. I'm just saying "its my opinion" isn't some ironclad defense against being called out.

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Being called out for disliking a game and writing a long review explaining why. Clearly that's trolling. Jesus these threads bring out the worst in some people.

SmarmySmurf said:

Opinions don't automatically deserve respect just because they're opinions. Edge is trolling. In fact, trolling is the only way Edge even gets attention anymore.

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How is it trolling? They gave it a score and a thorough explanation of why it deserved that score.

You on the other hand are just making baseless attacks.

Remember said:

Edge uses the full review scale, like what magazines used to use back in the day:

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This image will never stop being bullshit and it's one of the biggest pieces of evidence of the anti-intellectualism that permeates so much of the videogame fanbase.

The very simple point that games are reviews tend to fluctuate in the 7-10 spectrum is based on the fact that games are reviewed on individual merits and not compared to each other in relative terms - and the vast majority of games is fairly decent. And the very reason for which a 7 is a bad score is that games are competing for your time and money (and this is actually a relative comparison), so while a 7 may be decent in its own good, it may be an inferior option in relative terms.

It's infuriating.

SmarmySmurf said:

Edge is trolling. In fact, trolling is the only way Edge even gets attention anymore.

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They're not the only ones who only get attention when they're trolling, are they SmarmySmurf?

replicantUK said:

4 is not above average in a 1-10 rating.

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Damn, below, below! :(

Thanks for pointing, edited.

Remember said:

Edge uses the full review scale, like what magazines used to use back in the day:

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I don't remember reviews working like that in game industry ever.

Fredrik said:

Yeah that's the problem. People say that it doesn't matter that someone don't like the game, but in this case it really matters.

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oh no, the metascore dropped, i was going to shrug this review off, but this will likely have world-shattering repercussions

Fredrik said:

They could have several people reviewing the game. Maybe someone who loved Rise since it's what Shadow tries to improve on. I mean, I would never review a Halo game and have my review as the only opinion, because I don't like Halo and first person shooters. But I bet I could write a long article about it and make people think there is something wrong with the game even though the problem clearly lies with me. Question is, what would the point be?
I think it's better to have that as a second opinion so those who like the IP and genre still knows what they're getting. Gamereactor does that. To me it's weird for a big media outlet to only cater to those who most likely never planned to buy the game anyway unless they find it used or on sale.

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this point would have made sense if edge were the only review outlet in the world. in reality, multiple review outlets exist, and so you can get different perspectives by reading the reviews of multiple outlets

unicornKnight said:

I don't remember reviews working like that in game industry ever.

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?

What year were you born and which magazines did you read? Magazine reviewers were a lot harsher in the 80s/90s due to the wild west nature of things and the things video game franchises get away with now would have been immediately slammed back then.

I can't vouch for magazines in the early 2000s because you had certain outlets like Play magazine sprouting up simply to exist by giving damn near every game a 9 or 10. Also with the early 2000s and the rise of the internet places like IGN boomed and we all know how they treated ad money in relation to review scores. Gamespot had the same problem back then which is part of the reason why Jeff Gerstmann peaced out until some chairs shifted at the top. IGN and Gamespot being too 'friendly' with review scores in addition to how Americans treat game reviews like the school grading system(where anything below 70 is trash), and of course a few other factors are the reason why we are stuck in this broken review score system of this era.

EGX magazine had the right idea years ago when they pushed for changing scores into grades, A through F, but no one followed suit.

Visanideth said:

This image will never stop being bullshit and it's one of the biggest pieces of evidence of the anti-intellectualism that permeates so much of the videogame fanbase.

The very simple point that games are reviews tend to fluctuate in the 7-10 spectrum is based on the fact that games are reviewed on individual merits and not compared to each other in relative terms - and the vast majority of games is fairly decent. And the very reason for which a 7 is a bad score is that games are competing for your time and money (and this is actually a relative comparison), so while a 7 may be decent in its own good, it may be an inferior option in relative terms.

It's infuriating.

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And if most games are pretty good that means a pretty good game is average. Hence a 5/10 would be average, and going up or down from there would be relative.

I don't see an issue with doing this when as you correctly stated, games are competing for our time, and therefore the more useful metric is a full scale that takes that to account.

SmarmySmurf said:

It isn't the first time they've trolled.

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Scoring a game low isn't trolling lol. But gotta love haters that cant actually discuss the review and jump straight to tin foil hat agendas.

Visanideth said:

This image will never stop being bullshit and it's one of the biggest pieces of evidence of the anti-intellectualism that permeates so much of the videogame fanbase.

The very simple point that games are reviews tend to fluctuate in the 7-10 spectrum is based on the fact that games are reviewed on individual merits and not compared to each other in relative terms - and the vast majority of games is fairly decent. And the very reason for which a 7 is a bad score is that games are competing for your time and money (and this is actually a relative comparison), so while a 7 may be decent in its own good, it may be an inferior option in relative terms.

It's infuriating.

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Pretty much going with what Reven wolf said above. What's bullshit is to make a number scale and give zero importance to 2/3 of it. It's why the letter grade based scoring scale should have been made standard years ago. At least some outlets are settling close enough to it with the 5 star scale which is still superior to the 10 or 100 scale.

Also, you want to see first hand how it's broken? Easy Allies just recently switched this year to the 10 scale after using the 5 star scale since the start. Keep an eye out for how many of their games even manage to touch a score below 7, then compare it to how many of their previous game reviews got 2-3 stars if the game was mediocre.

Ouch at the TR score.

What the hell happened?

Considering Rise was sucking my lifeforce with how boring it was, I can see Shadow being even worse.
Not even touching it, i simply don't care enough.

EDGE is not even harsh, they are just using 1-10 scale as intended.
In their opinion Shadow is below average and DQXI just slighty above.

okayfrog said:

Some pretty generous scores this month. Surprised by that Destiny score, jeeze.

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No surprise, Forsaken Taken King on steroids. the 9 from Edge is appropriate

Remember said:

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My favorite review style ever.

How nostalgic...

Fredrik said:

There is nothing in that game that deserves a low score like that. The title screen and start menu alone is worth more than that.

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This quote is incredible. I genuinely want to frame it and hang it on the wall.

Falconbox said:

Meanwhile it's an 83 on the Xbox page.

https://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-one/shadow-of-the-tomb-raider/critic-reviews

I hate that Metacritic separates the pages based on platform. Most times there is no difference at all, but yet one score may show up on one page and not the other.

OpenCritic is best critic.

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If it's not the lead platform, it'll usually have a much higher score, as it's predominantly reviewed on fan sites like Windows Central that review games higher than the average.