This is simply a rumor, but apparently Konami has asked certain review sites to omit the cut-scene length and the install time for MGS4. This is interesting to me because of all my years being in games and reading game reviews and keeping up with the industry I have never heard of a company asking (or telling) another company what to omit out of a review.
Good cop, bad cop, time.
Good cop. I can totally understand why Konami would not want cut-scene length and install times in a review. Personally to me the install time should mean jack in reviewing a game. Yes, I could mention it, but why? That has nothing to do with my overall gameplay experience when it comes to whether I liked the games story, characters, graphics, and gameplay. This is simply my opinion, but I understand what Konami means. And secondly, the cut-scene length; who cares. I love cut-scenes personally and for some reason cut-scene length can be viewed as a bad thing. But for me, it's not. But again, I can see the negative connotation that may seem to come off in certain reviews about cut-scene length; but, overall, it should not be looked at negatively.
Bad cop. Konami has no right to ask this. Their game is what it is and it should be allowed to be put under the full microscope that is video game reviewing. If they have a problem with what was said then they shouldn't read the reviews, or better yet, don't make the game. Everyone is subject to the full fledged criticism of a reviewer because they are indeed a critic. If you know you have a stellar game, don't worry about a couple of little things that maybe bring the score down by a percentage point. If someone doesn't buy your game because of those little factors, then they really didn't want to buy your game anyway. Shame on you Konami for asking this. You are a stellar game company, don't be worried about some petty review that may make your game look good in every area and then slam it for install times and cut-scene length. It doesn't matter, so don't ask it to be omitted.
Just a heads up for my readers. When I do reviews I try to put in the most important aspects of the game that I feel can make or break your experience. Since some games are getting extremely long I put in what I feel is most important to your overall gaming experience. There were so many more points I could have added about Lost Odyssey and GTA IV; but the point is that the games were great, so omitting certain quotes or isolated gameplay instances that I liked doesn't seem like a big deal if the bottom line is that the game is great. And also a heads up, I'm thinking about switching my review scale from 1-10 to a graded A-F scale. If I do switch I will have an explanation of why I did.
-Jeremy aka Adridius
1 comment:
No, Konami is wrong. The video game journalism industry isn't (well, shouldn't be) a mouthpiece for companies. If somebody doesn't like the hair style of a character, they should mention it. If they don't like the cover art, they should be able to rip it apart.
Install time is an issue, because most gamers want to pop in the disc and play immediately. Why the long load times? This isn't a PC game. Can't they figure out the hardware yet so that it doesn't happen? Also, most people didn't purchase a $60 game so that they can sit there and watch 20 minutes of cut scenes inbetween five minutes of gameplay (Metal Gear Solid 2). If video game journalist want to have any respect, they will not submit.
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