It would be nice if video game sites did actual journalism

[poopoop]

Honestly I could write the review for NCAA 12 right now, give it a 8.4-9.1 rating and it'd be pretty close to what the sites will actually write next year minus new features.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Rebel10 was spot-on, but didn't even hit the most ridiculous part of video game "journalism": Nobody wants the truth. They only want reviews that reinforce their own opinions of the games. Consider the backlash when a game like Zelda: Twilight Princess or GTA4 comes out, people are criticizing reviews for being wrong based on games the fanboy hasn't even played yet.

[vegaas]

Quote: Originally Posted by metallicatz

Rebel 10's post was spot on IMO. I'm into my 3rd Dynasty season offline and 2nd online and haven't noticed much at all that detracts from my experience/enjoyment as far as Dynasty "issues". I've certainly not seen anything that makes me regret my purchase in any way. As for the OP's statement about EA's "track record".......judging from EA Sports games like the NHL series (which was so good it literally drove the competition off the 360/PS3 platforms), Madden 10, and now NCAA 11 it's obvious that "EA's track record" is very much a positive one these days. And that's not even including the games they publish that get much better cumulative review scores than EA-published games used to (games like Skate and Dead Space). Everyone said when EA started acquiring studio's that they'd "ruin the studios and their games". Turns out they've figured it out and have let the studios they acquired maintain much of the creative control.

I give credit where its due and yes the NHL series is good. NCAA on the field is much improved and I have enjoyed it so far. Madden became decent again last year. All that being said, for the size of a company EA is how can they ship games that are not thoroughly tested? They do this time and again with there sports games.

This thread was not to flame EA, it was a question of why game reviewers do not play all parts of a game before they review it.

[Pogo27]

Why do we assume that because millions and millions and millions of players played this game and found something that some people seem to think is broken and therefore EA didn't test their game?

It's like people complaining about Infinity Ward not testing Modern Warfare 2. The game sold six million copies. In the first 24 hours alone, those six million copies sold will see more game time than Infinity Ward could ever realistically put into testing the game.

For EA to really do a thorough test of the game, they'd have to release it in... a couple years.

[Bumble14]

I find it funny how NCAA11 is broken now, and everyone that reviewed the game is irresponsible, all because of an "issue" in dynasty that very few people even think is a problem.

Does anyone actually enjoy video games anymore? I'm losing faith in our community. We finally get a great college football game and the vocal minority nit pick it to death, find any perceived negative possible, and sensationalize it. And you think gaming journalisms bad? Look in the mirror folks.

[JayhawkerStL]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bumble14

I find it funny how NCAA11 is broken now, and everyone that reviewed the game is irresponsible, all because of an "issue" in dynasty that very few people even think is a problem. Does anyone actually enjoy video games anymore? I'm losing faith in our community. We finally get a great college football game and the vocal minority nit pick it to death, find any perceived negative possible, and sensationalize it. And you think gaming journalisms bad? Look in the mirror folks.

This is not completely fair. I'm actually happy with the game, but I do find the weak AI in regards to roster management a pretty big detraction from playing out multiple seasons. It's suddenly become a one or two season game for me.

Interestingly, I've never given much of a care about recruiting and building a dynasty before. But I've really enjoyed how the recruiting meta game has gone in this edition. Suddenly, I'm bummed that the work I put in building a program will be wasted when schools in my conference no longer carry enough OL or LB, but have too many QB's and 40 rated Kickers. It makes the challenge kind of pointless. And for most fans of this series, the dynasty matters a lot.

But trying to blame review sites is beyond silly. I've know for almost 20 years that sports game reviews in the mainstream video game press are never whatI would want. But I realize that sports gamers are a tiny portion of a rather small demographic. I'm happy to read impressions on sites like this, and from the few reviewers that get it.

I would have thought more people at this site would understand that. Heck, that's why I thought most of us were here.

As far as NCAA 11, I will get plenty of gameplay out of it, even if EA doesn't fix the Dynasty issues. It's a solid release with some issues. But then, that pretty much describes most good sports games.

[JayhawkerStL]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pogo27

Why do we assume that because millions and millions and millions of players played this game and found something that some people seem to think is broken and therefore EA didn't test their game? It's like people complaining about Infinity Ward not testing Modern Warfare 2. The game sold six million copies. In the first 24 hours alone, those six million copies sold will see more game time than Infinity Ward could ever realistically put into testing the game. For EA to really do a thorough test of the game, they'd have to release it in... a couple years.

Actually, the problem with dynasty would be discovered if you just simmed out several seasons. I think most of us assume that would be part of the development process.

[Pogo27]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jayhawker

Actually, the problem with dynasty would be discovered if you just simmed out several seasons. I think most of us assume that would be part of the development process.

Which implies: working as intended.