It is VERY concerning to me that EA asks reviews to change grades. What do you think?

[GamingTrend]

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I would question what form of criteria your site uses.

As I've mentioned - we recently changed our review criteria to a more free-form system. This writer has been with me for over 6 years so I imagine he's having a bit of an adjustment period with the new format as well.

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I would think even people who don't prefer Madden would say 10 is better then those 4 versions. But regardless of that fact is the person who reviewed this even qualified? Whats his age? Whats his background? How many sports games has he reviewed? The review itself is like one long rambling of thoughts that weren't edited IMO.

The reviewer has been playing Madden since the Apple II GS and is 35. He's been watching football for about the last 20 years. As for how many sports games he's reviewed, I can't say that I've kept track. *shrug* I doubt he's as hardcore as some, but he's anything but a 'casual' player.

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When you parse through what he wrote does it justify the scores that were given? Does an editor read something like that and the copy and say "You said all these positive things but gave it XX" Or does your site just post it without a thought about that?

We edit our reviews prior to them going out. There is always room for improvement, but that's a discussion for staff meetings.

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I've never heard of this site before and there is no denying this is giving you plenty of recognition, but frankly I wouldn't visit it again and not because you gave it a 74 just because of the review itself, It read very poorly.

It's unfortunate you'd write off the entire site based on one review. We have over 1000 others to chose from.

[Matt Diesel]

Quote: Originally Posted by CubFan23

Why are people so caught up in other peoples opinions? Play the game for yourself and decide. These reviewers are just like you and me, they have no special skill, they play a game and tell us about it. I could care less if everyone gave it a 2, I would rent it and decide for myself.

This. Its impossible to say someone's opinion is wrong. If that is what the reviewer thought, that has just as much merit as what you or I think.

The site should not re-review anything. Its Madden and as the site owner said, the reviewer has been playing Madden for 20 years. Its not some new, convoluted type of game that takes a month to appreciate or 'figure out'. Its Madden.

Second guessing the author's review by EA is what is disturbing, not a man's opinion .

[MAHAM]

Ian Cummings problem is that he thinks this Madden should be reviewed like its the first time a madden has ever been made.

He was upset a review on his twitter, I read the review he was mad about.

The review was spot on, FG's bad, oline still running past palyers, fight for the fumble was horrible, interceptions form magicman defenders, ect.

Accelerated clock and the Wildcat is going to make the online side cheese.

Wildcat is a good feature but its gonna get exploited worse than the rocket catch, Good feature but way overdone.

[PVarck31]

Guys, I don't think questioning the website itself is very relevant. Whether or not the reviewer is qualified to review the game is also a moot point.

Maybe he is just tough on games. Has anyone looked at some of his other reviews to get an idea? Maybe he was expecting something totally different when he put the game in. I don't want to call him a cheeser or a non-sim player, but maybe the older maddens are more his speed. Maybe the slower, more deliberate gameplay is not his cup of tea.

[darthlaidher]

if i remember correctly alienware pc's told mags to change their review.

this is not good. troof chasa's troof chasa's yall

[Moegames]

Quote: Originally Posted by Klocker

exactly the score was BS in the first place (74?) hell just from the demos I give it an 85 without seeing another thing. they got what they wanted.

You know.. the humans that review games can be biased too, just because one man reviews a game at a gaming site does not mean he or she has no under the table agenda to make a game look good or bad lol.. i seen it happen at NeoGaf, Gamespot*years ago* and a few other sites and it all came out to the open eventually and guess what..those guys were fired for doing it...it takes time though, it takes a few years to review one person's reviewing habbits to determin this...or some kind of "mishap" where they get caught red handed in giving a game a lower score based on their inner hate towards a game..but none of this is not out of the ordinary..Also some reviewers just suck at reviewing games..is that hard to believe? Never EVER base your thoughts on a game from one man's opinion..thats just foolish.

Just like any industry..there are always weazels around... i also dont put it past "game company's or developers to do the same...Denis Dyack from Silicon Knights did something similar when Too Human got a crap review from one site..so im not defending EA or bashing any site..im just saying.. THIS IS THE INTERNET! PEOPLE LIE! PEOPLE GET SNEAKY! lol ..be wise not gullible

PS for what its worth..M10 is no freaking 74 score..it deserves much higher...

[Furq]

One thing I will say is that in general people here are needlessly defensive a lot of times about a new game. Anytime a new game comes out people will defend it quite a bit against bad reviews, but then a week or two will pass and they will start seeing some negatives.

To be fair the people have laughed at extremely high reviews like team xbox and have pointed out some negatives with the game this year, but often that's how I see it play out.

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by GamingTrend

As I've mentioned - we recently changed our review criteria to a more free-form system. This writer has been with me for over 6 years so I imagine he's having a bit of an adjustment period with the new format as well. The reviewer has been playing Madden since the Apple II GS and is 35. He's been watching football for about the last 20 years. As for how many sports games he's reviewed, I can't say that I've kept track. *shrug* I doubt he's as hardcore as some, but he's anything but a 'casual' player. We edit our reviews prior to them going out. There is always room for improvement, but that's a discussion for staff meetings. It's unfortunate you'd write off the entire site based on one review. We have over 1000 others to chose from.

All I had to do is re-read the whole review.

Based on my opinion, (it's just an opinion), it appears the reviewer has a chip on their shoulder for EA still being the only NFL game in town. He talks of bulletproof reviews of the past, the license and even admits reviewing the game seems futile.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea to note a bias or a chip on your shoulder in the first paragraph. Once that happened, I lost some credibility from the review. Maybe it wasn't intentional, but it does stick out.

Again, that's just my take a rereading the review.