Dragon Age - Reviews @ Gamespot, Eurogamer, Giant Bomb

Gamespot has always been known to hand out 9+ scores like Halloween candy.

I actually like their site, because they're usually one of the first places to have decent previews on future titles, but I really don't pay much attention to their review scores.

vanedor said:

Something interesting about the Gamespot reviewer.

He is the one who gave Risen a 7.0.

While he gave the PC version of DA a 9.5, he gave the PS3 a 9 and the XBox 360 a 8.5.

A big difference, it seems to me.

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I don't think those games were reviewed by one person on all platforms.

But then again, I can't seem to find the name of the reviewer in the first place (nameless reviewers FTW).

ortucis said:

I don't think those games were reviewed by one person on all platforms.

But then again, I can't seem to find the name of the reviewer in the first place (nameless reviewers FTW).

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Uh, it's Kevin VanOrd. It's written at the end of the article where it ought to be.

In his bio, you can even see the list of every games he reviewed. Quite a lot. The last game he gave a 9 to was Demon's Souls he reviewed about a month ago. It's a console PS3 rpg title that I havent heard anything about so I can't judge if the review is fair or not.

lol, I search for names after the title so I didn't expect his name at the end.

Anyways, I agree with Risen review there, rating is fine (it's pretty much a fixed version of Gothic 3). Still, I go there to read user reviews and views mostly, site reviews hardly matter (or even user reviews since they are mostly fan reviews with 10/10 ratings on such games).

skavenhorde said:

Before we get into a gamespot debate, I'd like to know if anyone else was as confused as I was by Eurogamer's review and that number? It's like two different people did that review. One wrote it and the other attached a number to it.

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I had a teacher at school who did a similar thing : Writing a text full of criticism, but indeed giving it a higher score than one would have expected from the review itself ...

That is what you want from teachers. My philosophy lecturers will usually write me a solid page of criticism to go along with the High Distinction, which is great, because I know why my work is good, I want to know what is wrong with it, so I can improve.

Alrik Fassbauer said:

I had a teacher at school who did a similar thing : Writing a text full of criticism, but indeed giving it a higher score than one would have expected from the review itself …

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Teachers don't write reviews, though. Writing a review is about presenting a complete picture of a work to an audience that knows nothing about it. That's exactly why I wouldn't call Yahtzee a reviewer either, he purposefully lifts out only part of the subject matter.

Similarly, a teacher's purpose when revising is primarily to point out spots of improvement. Most of my profs would put in detailed notes on whatever I did wrong and leave strong points in the sum-up statement at the end.

skavenhorde said:

So once again thanks, BN. Being a sole rpgwatcher for many years has hidden me from the evils of these other sites :lol: But now, I'm starting to see what is what around the web.

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Welcome to the wonder and drudgery of newsposting. Wear your hardhat, there's a lot of stupidity out there.

I'm most surprised by Gamespot's ultra high score. This is no Oblivion or even Fallout 3. This, from what I've been reading, is Baldur's Gate: The Next Generation. That isn't the kind of game that I would of thought could garner such high praise from Gamespot.

Just goes to show you that when you think you know something, or in this case some site, the world throws you a curve ball.

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A curve ball?

Gamespot gave Baldur's Gate a 9.2
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/baldursgate/review.html

Baldur's Gate 2 a 9.2
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/baldursgate2shadowsofamn/index.html?tag=similargames;title;1
The first line from the BG II review:

It's a definitive role-playing experience, and the only reason it can't be called the best game in its class is because in a sense there's nothing available that compares to it.

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Seems pretty in line with what Gamespot has thought about good RPGs for over a decade.

Reyla said:

A curve ball?

Seems pretty in line with what Gamespot has thought about good RPGs for over a decade.

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When I said I was a sole rpgwatcher, I wasn't kidding. I only got my news from them and them alone. I only read reviews from them because I knew they could be trusted. So yes, we have established that I am new to other gaming websites (other than mods or indie websites). When I see a big company handing out an almost perfect 10 (no such thing btw) then I was a little surprised. I was as surprised to note that in addition to BG scoring high Planescape 9.0, WIz 8 9.1, and Neverwinter Nights 1 9.1 seemed to be well liked by them as well. These scores surprised me coming from a 'made for the masses' website. Is that so odd? Of course they also have the kinds of reviews I expect from them like:

Arcanum 7.3: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/arcanumofsteamworksamo/index.html?tag=result;title;0

Bloodlines 7.7: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/vtmb/index.html?tag=result;title;1

Temple of Elemental Evil 7.9: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/greyhawkthetempleofee/index.html?tag=result;title;0

Troika sure got it rough from Gamespot.

Risen 7.0: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/risen/index.html?tag=result;title;0
While Gothic 3 is 7.6 (odd I thought Gotchic 3 sucked compared to risen) http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/gothic3/index.html?tag=result;title;1

Quest for Glory 5 7.4: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/questforglory5dragonfire/index.html?tag=result;title;0 (This right here is why I would never take anything they said seriously. This game was the perfect balance between adventure and rpg, imo. Though, that opinion is not shared by gamespot)

Dues Ex 8.2: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/deus...m_clk=gssimilargames&tag=similargames;title;3

Those are the kinds of reviews I expected to find at gamespot. Maybe I was wrong, but that review from my point of view was a curve ball.

skavenhorde said:

Those are the kinds of reviews I expected to find at gamespot. Maybe I was wrong, but that review from my point of view was a curve ball.

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No no no, you see, those are actually 'good' games. You can't expect Gamespot to give them a deserving score.

Exactly what I thought. If a game scored low there then more than likely it's a game that I'll love

I use this same principal with movie reviews from major critics. If they hate it, then I gotta watch it. If they loved it then I'll probably be asleep in the first 20 minutes.