Comments on: 360 Review: Ninja Gaiden 2

By: Patrick Steen

Patrick Steen — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:59:11 +0000

Everything gets graded; at school, college, university and even in your profession. What’s important is the scale, the methodology and the depth of the analysis. We try hard to make the score given a true reflection of the text, and we also believe the score gives you a clearer idea of how good the game is.

We may have the same number of criticisms for a game that scores a 6/10 and a game that scores a 9/10 – but it’s only in the score that you’ll see how fatal those criticisms were to the quality of the game.

What matters is that you trust our reviewing, that you’re aware of our scale, our other reviews, and understand that both the text and score are the opinions of the author.

By: madpuppy

madpuppy — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:17:01 +0000

I agree with what LC has to say on that, I think that a reviewer should lay all the cards on the table and let the consumer decide.
A score, In my opinion represents nothing to me. just the opinion of the reviewer. the problem is, the reviewer might like rts and s/he is reviewing a fps or a racing game. what value would the score be to me if I dislike RTS and love the FPS or Racing game? or even worse, the reviewer is a “me too” reviewer.
the kind of reviewer that gets swept up in the hype for whatever reason. I would generally gravitate to the review that points out flaws in say GTa4 then someone that praises the game like an actor kisses a co-stars back-side on opening night of a movie.

By: LC

LC — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:46:35 +0000

I support getting rid of the numerical value. To me it is often misleading representation of what actually makes a game good or enjoyable. I prefer well written reviews that do there best to relate how the game plays. I like to know if a games difficulty is one that can be over come with skill or luck and the latter should be criticized.

Far to often big name games get a pass and reviews come off as regurgitated pr releases that benefit developer shortcomings and seemingly allow poor design decisions to not only be rewarded but find there way into future releases. Reviewers have to be critical all the time, especially when the market machines for whatever latest release gets rolling.

Reviews are ultimately a tool for consumers to make informed purchasing decisions, so the content of a review should reflect that. So long as we do use the numerical scale to assign value to a game it too should be a reflection of the reviewers actual words.

I read more then a couple of gta 4 reviews that either failed to mention some glaring issues or even when mentioned did not a make an impact on the perfect score given in the end.

I don’t care what game it is, be it halo, mgs, final fantasy reviewers seem to suspend the critical aspect of there job in favor of being apart of the hype band wagon. I’m not sure sometimes if its the pr or reader backlash there more worried about, I only know that in the end dishonest/uncritical reviews are a disservice to everyone.

By: DavidGX

DavidGX — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:58:41 +0000

How about this for a review scale? 1, 2 or 3. 1 is shit, 2 is “average” and 3 is awesome.

By: John Robertson

John Robertson — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:28:38 +0000

I’m not saying the game should be made easier, i’m saying that it should be just as difficult as it is, but in a fairer manner.

Having yourself surrounded by countless enemies is fine, but then when you add opponents that attack you from afar (especially in cramped areas where you cant dodge missiles due to the enemies around you) it ceases to become purely a matter of skill and becomes a large part luck.

And in this respewct the game is dissapointing as the Ninja Gaiden series has always made it’s name on firstly being difficult (which this is) but also being able to overcome obstacles by pure skill, this is not the case here.

I don’t hate the game, i’m just trying to be a responsilbe as possible to the audience and point out things i think are worthwhile.

There are many things i didn’t point out – for example, the fact that there are invisible walls coating the entire game, meaning that Ryu never actually touches the floor (he floats just above it) and blood from your enemies is periodically suspending in mid-air, stuck to that invisible wall.

As for the Ninja Cinema i said “generally, it’s not a problem” but it does has happen frequently enough to make people aware of. I never said it’s not a problem at all.

And LC, i would actually go one step further (as a reviewer) and get rid of all numerical values entirely for reviews. However, not everyone actually reads the review at all, they just look at the score. I marked it just below an eight, if you look at our review explanantion page then the explanation of a 8 doesn’t apply to game in full – hence the 7.9.

Thanks for your comments.

By: LC

LC — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:04:52 +0000

So your up set over .6 points? Gamers “can” read more then one review. In my opinion it’s good to have diverging opinions about a game unlike some games where all reviewers score high which turns out to be misleading.

You your self admit ng2 is for a certain type of gamer and reviews really should reflect that. I think if you enjoy the game that’s great but you should also realize that not everyone will.

I also think that a .1 to .9 scale is ridiculous, man up and give it a 7 or an 8. WTFH is .9? These games with a 9.25, 9.5, 9.7 scores are you f**king kidding me? How is a game .3 points shy of a perfect score? Reviewers are gutless. This kinda review scale allows them to be less critical.

By: Atrum

Atrum — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 05:43:29 +0000

Okay, I agree that the camera angles definitely suck, but a 7.9 is certainly not agreeable. This game has always been tactical and hard and is a game for hardcore players that love challenges. To me you’re saying that they should make the game easy because you said so. Like Itagaki responded to hate mails during the first Ninja Gaiden, “If you can’t handle the difficulty, don’t buy the game.” It’s not like everyone didn’t anticipate that the game would be tough. Everybody knew that this game would be difficult and that’s the thrill we hardcore gamers get when we play games like NG 2. I am still shaking my head to you saying that the game is disappointing. There is nothing disappointing about this game except the camera angles and the fact that sometimes when you fight too many enemies the game slows down a little. A next thing, why would you say recording is a problem, then say it’s not a problem at all? I think someone needs to get his facts straight before he posts BS about a game as enejoyable as NG. Team Ninja has not run out of ideas but lost their lead designer and director Tomonobu Itagaki. Why would you go ahead and make a game without the person who created it? Don’t hate on a beautiful game. I give this game and 8.5 to 9

By: madpuppy

madpuppy — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 22:16:46 +0000

I don’t know, This kind of game is the reason it took me so long to get a console system. it is so “platform-y” the demo did not impress me at all. it looked good
but felt like I was playing something that was all the rage when the Sega genesis was king.

By: John Robertson

John Robertson — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 06:30:36 +0000

lol. I think that’s something we can all enjoy.

By: Dylan Duarte

Dylan Duarte — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 05:43:18 +0000

Here’s to hoping Sonia’s breasts get their own spin-off!