Home

Are Sports Games Worth Reviewing Any More?

This is a discussion on Are Sports Games Worth Reviewing Any More? within the Operation Sports Content and Other News forums.

Go Back   Operation Sports Forums > The News Desk > Operation Sports Content and Other News
MLB The Show 24 Review: Another Solid Hit for the Series
New Star GP Review: Old-School Arcade Fun
Where Are Our College Basketball Video Game Rumors?
Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 10-04-2011, 07:48 AM   #9
Rookie
 
OVR: 0
Join Date: Oct 2011
Re: Are Sports Games Worth Reviewing Any More?

i still love reviewing games,...... its fun!!
dakshjuneja is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 10-04-2011, 03:21 PM   #10
Hall Of Fame
 
OVR: 34
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Banks of the Red Cedar
Re: Are Sports Games Worth Reviewing Any More?

Yes/No....Instead of reviewing the gameplay.....The "Review" should simply state it plays exactly like last years except blah blah blah and you will also find that in its current unpatched state it contains the following issues that may be considered game killers to some.

Additionally, please note that this "Review" is subject to change or be completely voided based on the impending patch that may fix the aforementioned game killers or possibly break items that are currently working, thus increasing the list of gamekillers.

In short, just tell what what is broken and I will decide from there if its a game killer or not.

Additionally, you should probably just review the game 5 months after release. This way you are actually reviewing a completed product. No one in there right mind should buy a certain company's game at launch.
__________________
Chalepa Ta Kala.....
fistofrage is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 11-02-2011, 03:43 PM   #11
All Star
 
OVR: 13
Join Date: Feb 2004
Re: Are Sports Games Worth Reviewing Any More?

Sadly...no. But not because of the desire/quality or dedication of the players and reviewers, but because the way things are going, there is increasingly only 1 option for each sport...therefore if you want said sport in videogame form, you have only that game to go choose. It sort of obviates the need for a review, because even if the game is a mess (NCAA, Madden, MLB2k), if you want that sport, you have 1 option only, so even if the review is mediocre/poor, you're honestly probably still gonna buy it.

I hate to say it, but my love for sports games has really dwindled the last few years...and it all goes back to 2005. At any rate, I'm glad OS still does real sports games analysis, and if there is any place for sports game reviews, it is entirely the domain of dedicated sports gaming sites like this one. The other mainstream media sites might as well not bother, frankly...
pietasterp is offline  
Reply With Quote
Advertisements - Register to remove
Old 11-03-2011, 07:33 AM   #12
Rookie
 
OVR: 3
Join Date: Dec 2005
Re: Are Sports Games Worth Reviewing Any More?

For me, reviews of sports games are almost pointless.

Every sports "simulation" game has about a hundred different audiences. I'll discuss Madden to make my points. I love football, I love the NFL and I want a video game that let's me simulate the sports as close as possible. Reading reviews I always see that the game did quite well. But I don't think I've gotten my hands on a Madden game since the early 2000's that I actually thought played well. NFL2K5 is still the best football game ever made in my opinion, and it's 6 years old.

But there is an audience that loves Madden. It's the guys who want to sit on the couch and play a game against their friend. They want to drop back 20 yards, through a pin-point accurate strike to their receiver in triple coverage 50 yards down the field, and then jump off the couch and brag to their friend that he just owned him. Those people flock to this game and buy it every year if for no other reason than the updated roster.

What no Madden review ever touches on is the horrible franchise mode simulation stats, or the fact that no matter what I do to the sliders I can't have a game where certain stats will feel right, such as passing yards or turnovers. I remember and NCAA game a few years ago where even with the interception slider set to 0 I was intercepting the ball 4 or 5 times a game consistently, even on a relatively difficult level. Reviews don't mention that, and while you're playing the game it drives you insane.

Personally, I'm glad I don't work on sports video games. Technology has them in a very tight spot in terms of pleasing someone like me. It's amazing how far games have come visually, but in terms of AI it's just not increasing at the same rate. Back in the Genesis and Super Ninteno days, the newest Madden always seemed "realistic". I mean, we all knew it wasn't, but we didn't have expectations of realism with the 16-bit characters. But back then, being able to call audibles and play multiple seasons was like, wow! But now that the games look so good, I think we all expect it to play as good too and I don't think the man-power exists to do this.

So in terms of reviews, I think they're pointless. What is not pointless is the impression and bug threads on this site. That is how I get my reviews of games. Sometimes I see people complain about things that seem ridiculous to me. That's fine, they're a different audience and I ignore those complaints. But other times people complain about things and I realize that would bother me too. I know no game is going to be perfect but the impression threads let me weigh whether or not the issues the game has are something I can ignore and/or deal with.
tsp120 is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 11-06-2011, 01:52 PM   #13
Pro
 
mjbird123's Arena
 
OVR: 32
Join Date: Feb 2011
Re: Are Sports Games Worth Reviewing Any More?

I would say....yes. Sports games are mostly the only video games I play other games don't have as much interest to me. I just love sports. I make lots of things I do about sports.
mjbird123 is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 11-07-2011, 03:12 AM   #14
Rookie
 
OVR: 0
Join Date: Nov 2011
Post Re: Are Sports Games Worth Reviewing Any More?

Reviews only are praised when the product thats being reviewed are worth it. When the product is trash no one cares. Just to change topic for a moment, I personally believe madden needs to change the gameplay camera angle to a horizontal left to right tv broadcast view. The horizontal view is how we watch football at home and at games 90 percent of the time.
__________________
atlanta web design,
hamton88 is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 11-07-2011, 06:55 AM   #15
CMH
Making you famous
 
CMH's Arena
 
OVR: 46
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Ormond Beach, FL
Posts: 26,235
Blog Entries: 1
Re: Are Sports Games Worth Reviewing Any More?

I personally believe it's a farce to suggest that sports video games, even the dominant or exclusive licensed products, have no comparison.

They do. It's the real life game we watch every day.

Now, before people jump on this and start talking about how it's a fantasy to hope that a simulation video game could mirror real life, everyone should step back and realize that while it is a pipe dream, it is the ultimate dream.

Because we watch and play these sports everyday of our lives, we expect (rightly or wrongly) the video games to give us a similar experience without the sweat and pain. To allow us mediocre players to experience what it is to be a superstar athlete performing the tasks we are unable to accomplish in our daily sports lives.

A review is written to decipher the gameplay's ability to do just that. We want the broadcast feel along with the real-life feel. We want the emotion, atmosphere and experience. When those things are taken from us, we become disappointed. When the crowd isn't loud enough, the players don't move smoothly or there are bugs, those things are taken from us.

There are many of us that don't know what it is to go into war. Some of us enjoy Call of Duty. The others enjoy Battlefield. Ignoring the differences in what they hope to achieve, those games while being reviewed against the other, are also being reviewed against the real-life experience of war. We expect to see the games mirror the experience. Some of us want the more arcade-feel, and others want the more realistic feel. Either way, we want that feel to come from a realistic basis.

Sports video games have their comparisons. Perhaps it is impossible to ever please the gamers completely. However, when a solid foundation is built and content is added, gamers will appreciate what they have. There are titles out right now in the sports genre that have done a wonderful job meeting expectations in gameplay. If gamers have jumped from gameplay to atmosphere, so be it. The expectations are that all aspects of the game mirror real life. Sports video games will always have a comparison.
__________________
"It may well be that we spectators, who are not divinely gifted as athletes, are the only ones able to truly see, articulate and animate the experience of the gift we are denied. And that those who receive and act out the gift of athletic genius must, perforce, be blind and dumb about it -- and not because blindness and dumbness are the price of the gift, but because they are its essence." - David Foster Wallace

"You'll not find more penny-wise/pound-foolish behavior than in Major League Baseball." - Rob Neyer
CMH is offline  
Reply With Quote
Advertisements - Register to remove
Old 11-10-2011, 02:37 PM   #16
Banned
 
OVR: 1
Join Date: Jun 2010
Re: Are Sports Games Worth Reviewing Any More?

Without reviews, how would I know which of the 9 out of 10 sports games I never buy because they're just not worth anymore, not to purchase?!

Message to pretty well every sports game developer this-gen: "Dudes, if all I wanted was a roster update with better lighting, I would have spent 3 days editing, and then turned on the living room lamp before firing up the game."

Last edited by peigone; 11-10-2011 at 03:47 PM.
peigone is offline  
Reply With Quote
Reply


« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

« Operation Sports Forums > The News Desk > Operation Sports Content and Other News »


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:06 PM.
Top -