Gaming Trend review of 75%

[Sentinel 08295]

Came across a brand new review posted today. The reviewer praises the game and then tears it up because he couldn't l2p. Guess he needed some good old fashioned WoW hand holding. I'm guessing he'd have given it a 90% if there were quest markers and all crafting recipes were listed on a billboard in the center of Cyseal. Nice review buddy!

http://gamingtrend.com/reviews/heaven-hell-divinity-original-sin-review/

EDIT: As bmac2112 pointed out, the reviewer also claims D:OS is being sold at the $50 price point in his review. As we all know it's a $40 game.

[LordCrash]

For the ones who think that co-op isn't important for D:OS:

Vincke: It's been designed from the bottom-up with the multiplayer in mind, under the motto that the multiplayer will make the single-player stronger. That sounds strange, so allow me to explain that.

If you make enough RPG like this, in which the party can split up at any time, and each player can do whatever he wants, there is an enormous amount of contingencies that you have to put in place, or you have to come up with a very systemic system which is pretty much what we've done. You have to make sure that whatever storytelling you're trying to do it will work no matter what the players are going to do.

[...] When you're playing it in multiplayer you can be rest assured that becomes very unpredictable, what people are doing. A lot of the development effort was actually focused around that. I'm really happy that we've done it, because typically people always say it dumbs a game down, the fact that you have the multiplayer, and I think in our case it actually strengthens it.

That's from a recent interview with PC Gamer. Now tell me again that this game isn't clearly designed for co-op and that you would perfectly understand the game mechanics (e.g. why the game relies more on systems than on immersive storytelling for example) without even mentioning co-op. The point is: even if you play the game in SP you have to acknowledge that some gameplay elements are not really "weak" or "weird" but made to make the co-op better or even possible. It'a great difference in how you assess these mechanics if you know why somebody implemented them. If something makes sense it's much harder to criticise it without at least going much deeper into the game and its systems...

[raubrey]

引用自 Zloth：

引用自 raubrey：

Is this FALSE information? True or False.

In Original Sin’s defense, there is still a lot left to be done before the title is truly considered "complete."

True. Have you not been watching the patch notes? We've already had, what? Four of them? It's great that things are getting fixed quickly but it's even better when they don't start out broken. Two companions are missing (should show up in the next week or so). I'm still looking for the soundtrack I paid extra to get.

However, calling it a "largely broken product" is way beyond the pale. Good to hear Gaming Trend is going to give it another try.

We have plenty of threads for ranting about the game.
Do you know how many games are patched for years?
Do you know how many people were able to finish this game without it feeling incomplete or seriously buggy?
You are wrong.

[Sentinel 08295]

引用自 Gaming Trend：

Here we go with the "Damned if you do, Damned if you don't!" portion of this bit of "fun". We are going to pull down the review and spend some more time on it. Given the length of this title, probably a few weeks to ensure we do it justice. Right after I post this I'll be reaching out to Metacritic and Gamerankings via email so our review won't affect the overall score. We also have a few more folks on staff who have the game as well - we'll test every aspect.

I'll apologize on behalf of Lucious and of the site. We didn't hit the high bar that we hope to with our reviews here. In the end, I think we've done the right thing by addressing it directly. Hopefully we can redeem ourselves when we post our revision.

Thank you sir

[LordCrash]

引用自 Fishu：

The journal is also a mess. A lot of the same quest mean the same thing and never go away.

Strange...in my game they go away once you've solved them...

I was stuck and had to use google to find out. I had absolutly no idea of what to do. I would never have find out that the dev intended me to break some wall in a mine that ride me to a totem and thus get a certain password without looking at google. How was I supposed to know that it was at the beginning ? Critical thinking ? How was I supposed to know at this point on this game that I could break a wall ? Maybe the PW was 10 hours later into the game for all I ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ know.

Well, how about real thinking and combining? You enter a mine. You scout the whole mine, seeing one closed door and an area which seems like you cannot enter. Some might come to the conclusion that at least one of them must be accessible, or not? It's really not that hard if you just use the power of your mind and combine A with B and try things out... ;)

if you want to make such a game. Make sure they know what they can and can't do with your game.

They can do everything. That's the basic message of this game. Just try everything. Explore. Find your own solution.

[Cincada]

引用自 Fishu：

Critical thinking in a video game ? LOL. Really ? A game work like this..
DEV1: Let's allow the player to do this !
DEV2: Okay ..

You need to know that . Even if you know that in real life you need X item to do Y item .. A video game does not work like this. They create a system and tell you what it is. Everyone can jump .. But if a dev never tell you that can jump and put the jump button with alt + shift + 9 .. You're not going to find out and you're not going to try to find out. Because for you it's clear that if the game does not tell you. It's probably because the dev never intended you to do it anyway. So if you rwach a point in their game where you need to jump. You're not even going to bother trying to jump. Critical thinking ? No. Common sense.

The journal is also a mess. A lot of the same quest mean the same thing and never go away.

I was stuck and had to use google to find out. I had absolutly no idea of what to do. I would never have find out that the dev intended me to break some wall in a mine that ride me to a totem and thus get a certain password without looking at google. How was I supposed to know that it was at the beginning ? Critical thinking ? How was I supposed to know at this point on this game that I could break a wall ? Maybe the PW was 10 hours later into the game for all I ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ know.


if you want to make such a game. Make sure they know what they can and can't do with your game.

The game is meant to be a minimal-help experience. The front page even tells you that. Instead of comparing the game to a more modern style, you should compare it to the Sierra games of old. Many older game, especially adventure game, gave little to no help on some of the more difficult puzzles. They would often have obscure answers that took hours to uncover, even days, months, years could pass before they were solved. It was a point of pride that I was able to beat 100% the indiana jones / atlantis game back in the 90's. Took nearly two years, but finally happened. The fireworks at the end were magical let me tell you.

I almost wish it were impossible to search for answers on Google and such for the puzzles in the game. Gamers today honestly don't realise how well they have it to be able to look up a guide in seconds when they get stuck. Puzzles in games lose meaning when the internet has all the answers a click away.

There's something magical about being able to discover the hidden gems in games, especially games that are created with so much love and care as this one. I'm not going to praise the art style, or the design choices, or the somewhat wonky storylines, because I don't want to. I need to fanboy over that stuff. What deserves praise, is the sheer amount of grace and care that was put into this wonderful little game. I look forward to playing this game with my kids in the future, along with some of the other greats that helped define the gaming industry when it was small. It will be nice to show a more modern adaptation of the classics to the kids, without resorting to mods and hacks to fix the older ones.

[MoNKeZi]

引用自 Gaming Trend：

Here we go with the "Damned if you do, Damned if you don't!" portion of this bit of "fun". We are going to pull down the review and spend some more time on it. Given the length of this title, probably a few weeks to ensure we do it justice. Right after I post this I'll be reaching out to Metacritic and Gamerankings via email so our review won't affect the overall score. We also have a few more folks on staff who have the game as well - we'll test every aspect.

I'll apologize on behalf of Lucious and of the site. We didn't hit the high bar that we hope to with our reviews here. In the end, I think we've done the right thing by addressing it directly. Hopefully we can redeem ourselves when we post our revision.

Hot tip:

It's in your best interest to not bite back when people complain about the way you or your staff handle your reviews. The more you reply, the more they will disect your replies and turn them against you. Stick to your guns, keep your mouth shut and your integrity in tact because the more you reply, the more you look like a inexperienced kid that can't handle criticism.

Good luck with your site. I wish you all the best.

[Kozzy]

The review is down

[Kozzy]

引用自 gasuikan：

I love this game too, 120+ hours and doing second run. And I mostly agree with the community since the beginning but over time this crusade against every review that is lower than 85 is really pathetic. Its just not a masterpiece for everyone and its a niche game.The game is good but not even close to BG2.

The review is ok, no major error and from what I read he really did play the game. Im really past that hate on the reviewer who gives low score and bash on him for the tiniest mistake.

I have no problem with exposing that review on cheatCentral, he really didnt play the game. Shame on him but this is getting out of hand.

This community is toxic when defending the game. Really goes great length to find the smallest mstake to discredit the review. Im no hater, look at my profile have 120+ hours and played rpgs since Fallout 1.

It had nothing to do with the score at all, but the lies in it. 1. The game is NOT $50 it is $39

One of the things listed that was just not true.

[Borchris Karloff]

I read this review before I posted my own. I ened up giving it a 9.5 which is very generous. I was going to give it a 9, but after discovering cotent creation I bumped it up because I love when developers do that type of thing.

[Dukie]

引用自 Gaming Trend：

Sorry DukeMcFishy - we are just volunteers here. It isn't our full profession.

Oh don't worry about it mate. That was a quote of mine from another topic and wasn't personally directed at you guys. Ofcourse I don't know what happened behind the scenes or what actually happened with that review.

Anyways I just wanted to say that I think it is very mature of you to recognize the mistake and try to rectify it.

We all make mistakes, but to actually admit them are signs of great character. Respect for that, and I wish you guys well with your site.

[Ricochet]

引用自 jpnole：

引用自 Gaming Trend：

Here we go with the "Damned if you do, Damned if you don't!" portion of this bit of "fun". We are going to pull down the review and spend some more time on it. Given the length of this title, probably a few weeks to ensure we do it justice. Right after I post this I'll be reaching out to Metacritic and Gamerankings via email so our review won't affect the overall score. We also have a few more folks on staff who have the game as well - we'll test every aspect.

I'll apologize on behalf of Lucious and of the site. We didn't hit the high bar that we hope to with our reviews here. In the end, I think we've done the right thing by addressing it directly. Hopefully we can redeem ourselves when we post our revision.

Thank you sir

the score has been recorded in metacritic already though and metacritic doesn't withdraw the score of the first review. Policy that should be changed.

[Sentinel 08295]

引用自 GJHenry：

引用自 jpnole：

Thank you sir

the score has been recorded in metacritic already though and metacritic doesn't withdraw the score of the first review. Policy that should be changed.

You are correct, unfortunately.

From their FAQ:

Why won't Metacritic update the review score from a gaming publication who has changed its own score?
Metacritic only accepts the first review and first score published for a given game by a given publication. We are explicit about this policy with every new publication we agree to track. It's a critic-protection measure, instituted in 2003 after we found that many publications had been pressured to raise review scores (or de-publish reviews) to satisfy outside influences. Our policy has acted as a disincentive for these outside forces to apply that type of inappropriate pressure.

[GamingTrend]

引用自 GJHenry：

引用自 jpnole：

Thank you sir

the score has been recorded in metacritic already though and metacritic doesn't withdraw the score of the first review. Policy that should be changed.

引用自 jpnole：

引用自 GJHenry：

the score has been recorded in metacritic already though and metacritic doesn't withdraw the score of the first review. Policy that should be changed.

You are correct, unfortunately.

From their FAQ:

Why won't Metacritic update the review score from a gaming publication who has changed its own score?
Metacritic only accepts the first review and first score published for a given game by a given publication. We are explicit about this policy with every new publication we agree to track. It's a critic-protection measure, instituted in 2003 after we found that many publications had been pressured to raise review scores (or de-publish reviews) to satisfy outside influences. Our policy has acted as a disincentive for these outside forces to apply that type of inappropriate pressure.

Yes they will. I've contacted them and they'll pull it. The FAQ you are reporting is actually about platforms. This is to combat people putting a score on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One using ONE review. It was a very, very common practice once upon a time. Now Metacritic only accepts the first one you post unless it is drastically different (e.g. Xbox One and Nintendo 3DS).

[Odai]

引用自 gasuikan：

I love this game too, 120+ hours and doing second run. And I mostly agree with the community since the beginning but over time this crusade against every review that is lower than 85 is really pathetic. Its just not a masterpiece for everyone and its a niche game.The game is good but not even close to BG2.

The review is ok, no major error and from what I read he really did play the game. Im really past that hate on the reviewer who gives low score and bash on him for the tiniest mistake.

I have no problem with exposing that review on cheatCentral, he really didnt play the game. Shame on him but this is getting out of hand.

This community is toxic when defending the game. Really goes great length to find the smallest mstake to discredit the review. Im no hater, look at my profile have 120+ hours and played rpgs since Fallout 1.

i dont care about the score so much, but did you read the review? Saying things like its full of bugs and incomplete or jugding the game because it has no arrows showing him where to go is just bad.
It was just full of such things and that makes a bad review

[s | voxx]

Hmmm... Link is now returning a 404... Really wanted to see what the fuss was all about.