CanardPC's almost-review

[taag]

I always wondered... Do you go to school to become a game journalist or do you play and think/write a lot about the games so you kind of start like that?

I mean there are bad journalists out there, but some of the people calling themselves game journalists... I don't even know where to start. There was this local gaming magazine whose "game journalists" were just a bunch of kids supervised by an elder kid.
Anyway, I am very suspicious about them since they appeared at the same time as "web designers".

 

[Brother None]

I always wondered... Do you go to school to become a game journalist or do you play and think/write a lot about the games so you kind of start like that?

There are some game journalists with degrees in journalism and some without. I've worked in the editorial office of a real news magazine long before I ever did anything in gaming journalism, and my university major is (in the Netherlands) enough to do some form of journalism.

But even when it's honest game journalism just isn't the same as certain other types of journalism. Research journalism, for instance, is incomparable to what most game journalists do. The closest job to game journalist would be news anchor: you just report news as it is presented and you do interviews at times.

The review/preview part has always been an odd one out in any kind of journalism, including coverage on films and music. It does require you to follow certain rules of journalism when it comes to trying to avoid bias and giving fair coverage, but it doesn't really require a journalist's degree for any reason.

 

[Texas Renegade]

I always compare game journalists to sports writers in your local newspaper.


Generally speaking they have a preconceived position or interest and only buck that when something truly astounding happens or the situation drastically changes. Such as the do no wrong football coach suddenly has a losing season and must be fired!!

 

[Cimmerian Nights]

Such as the do no wrong football coach suddenly has a losing season and must be fired!!

He had a losing season, that's doing the ultimate wrong in sports, and a meritorious reason for calling for his head in the major leagues.

 

[Humpsalot]

A new hope.

1) This is a French magazine (the French hate Americans) reviewing an American made game.

2) Reviewing it as a sequel and not a stand alone game, we all know it isn't a sequel

3) Judging it as a PC game, which I wish it was, but it is a console game available on the PC, so yes it will be dumbed down versus some PC games, which sucks again, but I think he is being too harsh on the game especially for this reason

It sucks the game will come up a LITTLE short in MOST/ALL areas, but I think it will deliver on a whole. It'll be fun and as long as I can force myself not to compare it to the old titles.

4) France smells

 

[Moving Target]

1) This is a French magazine (the French hate Americans) reviewing an American made game.

Um... har har? The French don't hate Americans. At least not the French people I've met. They're harsh on Fallout 3 because it doesn't stick to the roots. Interviews and design docs abound, so no reason to go into this again.

2) Reviewing it as a sequel and not a stand alone game, we all know it isn't a sequel

But... but... the number three?!? How can something be a standalone and have a number on it, like it's a sequel. You, sir, confuse me.

3) Judging it as a PC game, which I wish it was, but it is a console game available on the PC, so yes it will be dumbed down versus some PC games, which sucks again, but I think he is being too harsh on the game especially for this reason

I dunno... since the builds have been confirmed as the same for months- a fact which I'm sure this mag knew- I don't think they're judging it as a PC game versus judging it as a console game. They seem to be harsh on it because it was seriously just disappointing to them. Though as others have pointed out, there are some things they liked about it.

It sucks the game will come up a LITTLE short in some areas, but I think it will deliver on a whole. It'll be fun and as long as I can force myself not to compare it to the old titles.

I envy your ability to do that. I'm not even being sarcastic or joking. Personally, I've read too many plot spoilers, seen way too many screenshots (even the official ones,) read too much about the background of the factions and groups (which were enormously ret-conned) over these past few months, to be able to do that.

I don't even see the game standing well on its own. It just seems... weak, honestly. But I will try it out- rent it- and try my best to give the game a decent chance (despite my dislike of roguelikes and non-turn-based FPP ARPGs.)

 

[Wooz]

A new hope.

1) This is a French magazine (the French hate Americans) reviewing an American made game.

2) Reviewing it as a sequel and not a stand alone game, we all know it isn't a sequel

3) Judging it as a PC game, which I wish it was, but it is a console game available on the PC, so yes it will be dumbed down versus some PC games, which sucks again, but I think he is being too harsh on the game especially for this reason

It sucks the game will come up a LITTLE short in MOST/ALL areas, but I think it will deliver on a whole. It'll be fun and as long as I can force myself not to compare it to the old titles.

4) France smells

Nice try, but I think every point you try to forward has already been debunked over a dozen times. Also, keep your idiotic racist opinions to yourself.

 

[Humpsalot]

Was just trying to be hopelessly hopeful. Followed this game too closely and too excitedly to give up hope, this sucks. But I do think he was judging versus the original titles. And I do think he was judging it too harshly as a PC title. It is multi platform.

And I guess you are not familiar with my previous writing,but I didn't feel like writing "I don't think this game is a worthy sequel" for the 70th time and then explaining why I feel that way.

Also, it isn't racism to say bad things about a county. Went to Italy and you should have seen the disgust on peoples faces when they heard an American accent 90% of the places we went, the world disapproves of what Bush is doing in the war and I got treated bad because of it, or that is what a tour guild told us. And my friends who went to France said it was 10 times as worse.

Please lets not get into a political argument. Or, you can, but I wont respond to it so don't bother.

 

[MrBumble]

It's true, french hate Americans. But I clearly don't think that it's the main reason why Omar Boulon was so harsh in his preview. He loved Oblivion and gave quite a good review to the game. You know, I've been reading their forum quite a bit and they are HUGE fans of Fallout. Last year, they were almost quite optimistic about the game. The first preview they made was almost neutral. It said that while Fallout 3 will probably not be a sequel as good as Fallout 2, there was hope for an excellent post-apocalyptic RPG. Since then, they have replayed the game at least two times ( including that "16 hours in a row" hands-on ), loads of information was released, hell the game even leaked and I highly doubt that they don't have it at CanardPC...

And what's that reasoning with having to judge a game independently from previous episodes ? I mean yeah, in that case it would make it far more enjoyable but how can you not compare it in a review ? would you seriously give Deus Ex Invisible War a 9/10 ?

 

[Multidirectional]

Last time I checked, most of the world hates Americans right now.. Doesn't mean they wouldn't appreciate a quality product from USA.

 

[ookami]

He loved Oblivion and gave quite a good review to the game.

Yep, it could be as simple as him not having enough experience with TES to see that Oblivion represents a further downhill slide for the series in almost every way except superficially, but having enough experience and caring enough about the Fallout franchise to see it happening there.

Last time I checked, most of the world hates Americans right now..

Oh yeah? Well, Americans started hating other Americans before it was really cool to hate Americans. The rest of the world are such noobs when it comes to true American-hating. So neener neener.

 

[Wooz]

Please lets not get into a political argument. Or, you can, but I wont respond to it so don't bother.

K. Let's adress in detail what bothers me most in your previous post, shall we?

1) This is a French magazine (the French hate Americans) reviewing an American made game.

Regardless of Frenchies hating Americans or vice-versa, this is pretty moot. A lot of games are made in America and no gaming journalist, however idiotic, is going to bash a game just because it's American made. That's ridiculous. That would mean every game made in the US would get a bad review from French game magazines, which clearly doesn't happen.

2) Reviewing it as a sequel and not a stand alone game, we all know it isn't a sequel

The name of the game is Fallout 3. The developers' intention was to make a sequel, period. You could understandably argue this statement if the game was called "Fallout : Robot Rampage" or "Fallout : Heiling Paladins". It isn't. It's called Fallout 3, and the author clearly states his disappointment with their take on a sequel.

Sure, we may not agree that the game is indeed a worthy sequel to its predecessors, but our opinion isn't what defines the developers' intentions.

3) Judging it as a PC game, which I wish it was, but it is a console game available on the PC,

Wether the game is or isn't a console port is pretty irrelevant to the reviewer's score, much in the same way if it's been made in America, Japan or Burkina Faso.

It sucks the game will come up a LITTLE short in MOST/ALL areas, but I think it will deliver on a whole. It'll be fun and as long as I can force myself not to compare it to the old titles.

"Little short"? This thing's got "epic fail" written across it in big bright letters. The only way I could concievably enjoy this would be :

1) By using third-party mods - which by the way, still have no confirmation of a modkit release -

2) Stooping to the levels displayed by the pothead kids playing the pirate game, bludgeoning brahmins with sledgehammers. This option is the least likely, as it wouldn't be possible short of ingesting industrial amounts of pharmaceutical chemicals, illegal substances and a lobotomy.

But I do think he was judging versus the original titles. And I do think he was judging it too harshly as a PC title. It is multi platform.

Well, what else would he judge it against? It's supposed to be a SEQUEL. In addition that you don't know he's judging it as a PC title, whatever platform he's judging it "as" is again, irrelevant.

 

[cratchety ol joe]

Well i agree pretty much with the whole review. damning; yes... negative; yes... true to what I have seen of FO3; yes. I reside firmly in the camp of 'oh noes' at witnessing the critical hit to my eyes/brain/groin inflicted by bethendesa wielding Fallout 3.

This review is the first that actually made me think "yeah, that's how I feel!" which is a bad thing being that I originally wanted FO3 to be all I'd ever dreamed of and more!

here's a diagram to help explain;

point 1 on the time-scale was when the first rumours that FO3 was actually going to be made hit me. I was happy.

point 2 on the time-scale was the point at which i saw the first screen shots of the awesome artwork that was slowly released into the light of the media/websites etc. I seem to recall wetting myself in joy at this stage.

point 3 is the point at which I saw the first actual information about FO3, i learned it wasn't to be done the same style, or even with the same features. I became unhappy and disillusioned.

the period up to point 4 shows my general fall in interest over time. Other things were making me happy and FO3 wasn't exactly right round the corner coupled with the fact that it now didn't 'feel' right any more.

point 4, reviews/leaked footage/ 'gameplay' video's and hype all bludgeon my hopes into submission. I am no longer a happy bunny.

its worth noting the dashed red line, this line represents the point at which I loose interest and no longer want to waste money on something.

the period following all the reviews etc, leads to point 5, or as I like to call it 'now' and as this graph shows my ability to feel that I like FO3 and am eager to buy it is pretty much hovering above the 0% mark.

Why the long winded explanation? well it was a response to the fact that a few people seem to have this idea that a god number of the old school guys have an inerrant hate of FO3, but it isn't true, the reason people like me and the reviewer at Canard have all this hate is because of what we see and hear about FO3, if what we saw etc was stuff we liked I'm sure we'd all be raving about it, as it stands the current information to hand tells us that the upcoming FO3 game is a steaming pile of brahmin dung. put into laymen's terms, we don't like what we see.

 

[Bofast]

Nice diagram there.

So far, this is the review which most closely matches my feelings about what I've seen in the actual game footage and reviews, which is saddening to say the least

 

[Pope Viper]

I have to agree with the diagram, although my disillusion started at about point 2.

 

[Texas Renegade]

Bah, I still think he went into it negative. Don't get me wrong, it is perfectly within his rights to preview the game in an almost entirely what "it isn't" perspective as opposed to the "fan boy" previews that most have released, but I by no means take him as being much more of an honest or fair preview then the insanely positive ones we have gotten. I think he got ticked and let his emotions get the most of him.

Irregardless of if he is doing it because he loves or hates Beth, doing a preview with a blatant BIAS doesn't make the preview anymore real, true, or accurate on any account.

BTW wooz, if you can enjoy the game more looking at it as a spinoff rather then a sequel, I see no reason to let pure semantics get in the way of a persons enjoyment.

And yes I have seen game footage, and he doesn't agree with my opinions of the game

and no, I don't think Bethesda is the L33T when it comes to video game companies....

Alright now ya'll did it, you made me use text speak, I am gonna go hang myself for defiling the beautiful art of communication.

 

[thefalloutfan]

I think this review was nearly as ridiculous as the OXM 10/11 review, nearly.

 

[rcorporon]

Last time I checked, most of the world hates Americans right now.. Doesn't mean they wouldn't appreciate a quality product from USA.

I don't hate Americans... nice generalization.

As for the review, it should be reviewed as a sequel, BECAUSE IT IS.

Jesus, when Gears of War 2 comes out, do you think it'll be compared to part 1? I hope so, because it damn well should be.

 

[Texas Renegade]

Rcorpion--they used the word most not all.

and yes, you can compare it to the original all you want, I never said you couldn't.

I merely pointed out that if you can get more enjoyment from not comparing it, wouldn't it make more sense not to compare it rather then to compare it and be unhappy or miserable?

 

[marko2te]

I merely pointed out that if you can get more enjoyment from not comparing it, wouldn't it make more sense not to compare it rather then to compare it and be unhappy or miserable?

Thats true, but you wouldn't need to compare it if wasn't named Fallout 3.