@jayherman219 said:

What do you think, was this a fair and honest review or is he just a hater?

Neither; I just think it's a bad review.

I think it's his honest opinion. *shrugs*

and he does have a point.

Oh Tom.

Who?

These are actually some pretty well-reasoned complaints.

Who?

@jayherman219: Seems like a negative review to me. No big deal unless you're a Halo fan that can't stand to see the game be criticized.

That review is better than the eurogamer one. I see no issue here. It's that there are outlier opinions.

Since when are his reviews ever good? I mean, he gave Halo 4 the same score he gave Call of Juarez: The Cartel.

Let me see what other great games he 'shat' on (1 or 2 stars): Lollipop Chainsaw, Syndicate, Sleeping Dogs, Max Payne 3, Journey, Civ5: Gods & Kings, 1000000, Puzzle Craft, Hero Academy, Orcs Must Die, Forza 4, Shadows of the Damned...

Dude is a tool looking for Metacritic-directed pageviews with polarized review scores.

It's a review. Not a great one, mind you, and he is entitled to his opinions since that's his site and all. Can't say whether he's right or wrong as I don't have the game yet but I had enough fun playing multiplayer back at Comic-Con that I'm picking it up no matter what.

Worst case, he just does this to get people who look at Metacritic to look at his site. No big.

Since when are his reviews ever good? I mean, he scored Halo 4 the same score he gave Call of Juarez: The Cartel.

Let me see what else he 'shat' on: Lollipop Chainsaw, Syndicate, Sleeping Dogs, Max Payne 3, Journey, Civ5: Gods & Kings, 1000000, Puzzle Craft, Hero Academy, Orcs Must Die, Forza 4, Shadows of the Damned...

Dude is a tool looking for Metacritic pageviews with polarized review scores.

I don't care what score he gave, but firefight mode was boring as hell and I had no idea anyone enjoyed it. Everyone I know only ever used it to complete daily challenges.

And yeah, this kind of looks like he's fishing for clicks.

i've got no problem with what he's saying. i'm a fan of the series i'll play it and make up my own mind. i just found the use of 'furthermore' (three times in one paragraph... really?) kind of annoying.

Whatever to this review, dude does love shitting on some games, but I do agree that Firefight is a big thing to lose. It's what I enjoyed most about Reach by far. I think it's an outstanding mode and the best horde mode in any game.

Giving any game a 1 out of 5 is saying something HUGE about it, that is saying it is a terrible quality game, that basicly it is an unplayable piece of shit. Halo 4 is clearly not going to be that, and though it pisses me off that Metacritic is dumb enough to list something as bias as this, that is simply how it is. I have not played a game that I would give a 1 of 5 in years! Because there are very few of them!

It is a troll review to get page views, nothing more. I sure would like to give that doucher a wedgy though.

I am going to start reviewing genres that I hate just to wee the hate when I review them poorly!

WOW 1 out of 5 here I come!

@project343 said:

Since when are his reviews ever good? I mean, he gave Halo 4 the same score he gave Call of Juarez: The Cartel.

Let me see what other great games he 'shat' on (1 or 2 stars): Lollipop Chainsaw, Syndicate, Sleeping Dogs, Max Payne 3, Journey, Civ5: Gods & Kings, 1000000, Puzzle Craft, Hero Academy, Orcs Must Die, Forza 4, Shadows of the Damned...

Dude is a tool looking for Metacritic-directed pageviews with polarized review scores.

First of all, that he gave a game you like the same score as a game you don't like doesn't say anything other than he felt that they both deserved the same score. However, I would guess he gave both that score for different reasons. Second, he is not obligated to like games even when the majority of reviewer opinions are positive. If you're that bent out of shape by it and refuse to have your own opinions challenged by a contrary viewpoint, then by all means, read only the reviews you agree with and nod along happily.

The dude has terrible taste. So no I don't care. I think I'll stick with Jeff and Arthur Gies.

It's a review which is an opinion. There's no such thing as a "wrong" one.

He's a good, honest writer. The fact that his main complaints are the lack of campaign scoring and firefight means we don't come to Halo for the same reasons. His other issues with the storytelling and multiplayer progression are perfectly valid though.

I don't envy anyone who has to read the comments section for that review.

Hey um guys....

Who cares....

Its a video game. Not real life. I know many of you agree with me on this so this rant is not meant for you. I am honestly just tired of all these stupid fucking guys thinking a negative review for something they like is a personal attack on them. Its a game. Not your life. In 6 months you'll be ranting about some other stupid game. Like I love giantbomb because they cover the "weird" or "unique" games and different aspects of the industry. Im sorry but if you are one of the people who rants about some guy giving a negative review to a video game you need to get your shit together.

end rant. Thanks. I'll be here all night

@DharmaBum: Really? Because a 1 out of 5 is saying something pretty clear cut, I can't think of a game that has ever had a 100 million dollar budget that was a 1 out of 5, I can't even think or one that I have played in the last few years that was that bad, I mean give me a break.

The new Resident Evil was worth more than a 1 out of 5.

@AndrewBeardsley: Calling these people "stupid fucking guys" is a personal attack on them, so you're really not helping with that attitude.

It's not going to stop me from enjoying it thoroughly. Or maybe I will hate it, I don't know yet.

@project343 said:

Since when are his reviews ever good? I mean, he gave Halo 4 the same score he gave Call of Juarez: The Cartel.

Let me see what other great games he 'shat' on (1 or 2 stars): Lollipop Chainsaw, Syndicate, Sleeping Dogs, Max Payne 3, Journey, Civ5: Gods & Kings, 1000000, Puzzle Craft, Hero Academy, Orcs Must Die, Forza 4, Shadows of the Damned...

Dude is a tool looking for Metacritic-directed pageviews with polarized review scores.

First of all, that he gave a game you like the same score as a game you don't like doesn't say anything other than he felt that they both deserved the same score. However, I would guess he gave both that score for different reasons. Second, he is not obligated to like games even when the majority of reviewer opinions are positive. If you're that bent out of shape by it and refuse to have your own opinions challenged by a contrary viewpoint, then by all means, read only the reviews you agree with and nod along happily.

haha tom chick.

The review seems pretty honest to me but that 1/5 score seems to low for the review.

@Hailinel

@project343 said:

Since when are his reviews ever good? I mean, he gave Halo 4 the same score he gave Call of Juarez: The Cartel.

Let me see what other great games he 'shat' on (1 or 2 stars): Lollipop Chainsaw, Syndicate, Sleeping Dogs, Max Payne 3, Journey, Civ5: Gods & Kings, 1000000, Puzzle Craft, Hero Academy, Orcs Must Die, Forza 4, Shadows of the Damned...

Dude is a tool looking for Metacritic-directed pageviews with polarized review scores.

First of all, that he gave a game you like the same score as a game you don't like doesn't say anything other than he felt that they both deserved the same score. However, I would guess he gave both that score for different reasons. Second, he is not obligated to like games even when the majority of reviewer opinions are positive. If you're that bent out of shape by it and refuse to have your own opinions challenged by a contrary viewpoint, then by all means, read only the reviews you agree with and nod along happily.

Don't you think that if someone consistently gives bad scores to generally agreed upon good games, it might be a sign of something a little off? One low score given to a well recieved game isn't odd, but a lot of them?

@believer258 said:

@Hailinel

@project343 said:

Since when are his reviews ever good? I mean, he gave Halo 4 the same score he gave Call of Juarez: The Cartel.

Let me see what other great games he 'shat' on (1 or 2 stars): Lollipop Chainsaw, Syndicate, Sleeping Dogs, Max Payne 3, Journey, Civ5: Gods & Kings, 1000000, Puzzle Craft, Hero Academy, Orcs Must Die, Forza 4, Shadows of the Damned...

Dude is a tool looking for Metacritic-directed pageviews with polarized review scores.

First of all, that he gave a game you like the same score as a game you don't like doesn't say anything other than he felt that they both deserved the same score. However, I would guess he gave both that score for different reasons. Second, he is not obligated to like games even when the majority of reviewer opinions are positive. If you're that bent out of shape by it and refuse to have your own opinions challenged by a contrary viewpoint, then by all means, read only the reviews you agree with and nod along happily.

Don't you think that if someone consistently gives bad scores to generally agreed upon good games, it might be a sign of something a little off? One low score given to a well recieved game isn't odd, but a lot of them?

It is for page views on his crappy little site, that or he is an unhappy little man with a stick up his ass about big games.

Those are my guesses.

I haven't played it but if it maintains the same quality in gameplay as the other Halo games then surely 1 star is pretty harsh. Dude is probably just fishing for page clicks a la Sterling.

@AndrewBeardsley said:

Hey um guys....

Who cares....

Its a video game. Not real life. I know many of you agree with me on this so this rant is not meant for you. I am honestly just tired of all these stupid fucking guys thinking a negative review for something they like is a personal attack on them. Its a game. Not your life. In 6 months you'll be ranting about some other stupid game. Like I love giantbomb because they cover the "weird" or "unique" games and different aspects of the industry. Im sorry but if you are one of the people who rants about some guy giving a negative review to a video game you need to get your shit together.

end rant. Thanks. I'll be here all night

Umm... how many people are actually saying that? Pretty sure its just you.

@big_jon: I don't really care about a score someone attaches to a game. He's an obvious contrarian when it comes being included on Metacritic, but his actual write-up is his own accurate experience with the game. The problem is people will only see that score/number and immediately have a knee-jerk reaction without reading what he has to say. Just glancing at the comments, it's pretty pathetic the extent to which some people will be offended by an imaginary number.

I love Halo as you know but I can accept another person's perception of the game knowing that they have different standards or are strictly single-player focused. I just don't want any association with those assholes in the comments on his site, posting embarrassing rationalizations and ugly remarks.

He even had to include a separate article for his Journey review, which still applies for this game as well.

Reviews are like farts, the come and go so who gives a shit?

@ImmortalSaiyan said:

That review is better than the eurogamer one. I see no issue here. It's that there are outlier opinions.

His complaints seem legitimate to some degree. I'm going to enjoy Halo 4 regardless of his opinions on it so what does it matter?

@DharmaBum: I skimmed through the review, it does not read like a 1 star. Unless he was literally unable to play it because it was a shit buggy mess, with horrible sound, visuals, and no story I can't see a 1 justifiable by any means.

I mean I know it is a matter of opinion, but I just cannot take a 1 out of 5 on something that is even close to the quality bar of the past Halo's as anything less than trying to get page views.

He makes a few valid sounding points but a lot of his review reads like somebody trying to include as much snark as possible. 1/5 is just trolling or trying to be as contrarian as possible. Easy to ignore.

His reviews are his opinion so deal with it. However, in my opinion, he gives popular series and/or games bad reviews to get more page hits which again, in my opinion is just stupid.

@big_jon said:

@DharmaBum: I skimmed through the review, it does not read like a 1 star. Unless he was literally unable to play it because it was a shit buggy mess, with horrible sound, visuals, and no story I can't see a 1 justifiable by any means.

I mean I know it is a matter of opinion, but I just cannot take a 1 out of 5 on something that is even close to the quality bar of the past Halo's as anything less than trying to get page views.

His score is valid. He does not like near anything about it. I feel reviewers are too scare is giving out low score, only doing so when a game straight up does not work. It ends up in a dissonance from the opinion and review. Like how in the quick look for Metal of Honor they had nothing nice to say about it yet it got a 3.

For the record, this is the same guy who's XCOM review made the rounds a few weeks ago and most people were calling it brilliant.

@big_jon: that's his own scoring system and his complaints do add up to being disappointed with the game. He has the right to feel that way if he's being honest. It's easy to assume that he's going for page hits, you're not the only one to think that. But again, I don't care about a score that anyone could make up by their own standards.

Even though he admits to the "raw genius" of the original Halo, his main critique (other than losing modes that he liked) is that it's retreading the same ground story-wise and gameplay-wise as all the other games. Which is a good thing for people who come to Halo for that tactical sandbox-y combat, but some want Halo to be something other than what it's always been. At least he didn't suggest they should have made it like Call of Duty - then he would lose all credibility in my mind.

I appreciate that he doesn't do the typical "graphics are good, sound is good, story is good" type review on the 7-9 scale because it's a functional piece of software, and instead offers straightforward criticism to back up his opinion. Not trying to defend this guy to the grave but he is a good writer in this industry and people out there posting hateful remarks because they're butthurt over the review (not anyone here I hope) is what disgusts me most about the whole ordeal.

You don't have to agree with everything he says but if you actually read the text, you might understand the reasoning.

@ImmortalSaiyan said:

@big_jon said:

@DharmaBum: I skimmed through the review, it does not read like a 1 star. Unless he was literally unable to play it because it was a shit buggy mess, with horrible sound, visuals, and no story I can't see a 1 justifiable by any means.

I mean I know it is a matter of opinion, but I just cannot take a 1 out of 5 on something that is even close to the quality bar of the past Halo's as anything less than trying to get page views.

His score is valid. He does not like near anything about it. I feel reviewers are too scare is giving out low score, only doing so when a game straight up does not work. It ends up in a dissonance from the opinion and review. Like how in the quick look for Metal of Honor they had nothing nice to say about it yet it got a 3.

Because their opinion was that it was an okay game. A 1/5 would not have suited their response to that game at all, that is why is was not given that score. I would not give very many games that I have played in my life time a 1/5, I can't even think of any off the top of my head, and I have played some stinkers.

But I guess my reviewing standards would be different.

people in the comments over on that site need to chill :/. I didn't get this bent out of shape even back when Quintin Smith over at rockpapershotgun savaged Fallout:New Vegas in his review, and I love that game.

edit: though to be fair, rps don't give numbered scores (and I feel like more reviewers should follow their lead), and this guy apparently does, so I guess he is indirectly hurting the developer. but what do you want? it's not his fault that the publishers have decided to depend on metacritic. Journalistic integrity is of paramount importance.

I don't like Halo either, but if this guy "hated" Deus Ex that really makes me doubt his taste in video games. However, to each their own, and everyone is entitled to an opinion. If that is his honest opinion, then so be it. If it's him giving out a low-ball score just to get hits on his blog/site, then piss on 'im.

@big_jon said:

@ImmortalSaiyan said:

@big_jon said:

@DharmaBum: I skimmed through the review, it does not read like a 1 star. Unless he was literally unable to play it because it was a shit buggy mess, with horrible sound, visuals, and no story I can't see a 1 justifiable by any means.

I mean I know it is a matter of opinion, but I just cannot take a 1 out of 5 on something that is even close to the quality bar of the past Halo's as anything less than trying to get page views.

His score is valid. He does not like near anything about it. I feel reviewers are too scare is giving out low score, only doing so when a game straight up does not work. It ends up in a dissonance from the opinion and review. Like how in the quick look for Metal of Honor they had nothing nice to say about it yet it got a 3.

Because their opinion was that it was an okay game. A 1/5 would not have suited their response to that game at all, that is why is was not given that score. I would not give very many games that I have played in my life time a 1/5, I can't even think of any off the top of my head, and I have played some stinkers.

Maybe i'm just biased against MOH as I don't enjoy military shooters so one that standard look straight up bad to me. Bad example there I guess, but It often does sound like sometimes if the reviews were reviewing based purely on their gut feeling of a game score would be different. I remember Brad complaint endlessly about every detail on RE6 yet it gets a 2 star. Same with Rogue Warrior and Duke Nukem forever. It just appears that in order for a game to get 1 star is can't just be really bad but broken.

@believer258 said:

@Hailinel

@project343 said:

Since when are his reviews ever good? I mean, he gave Halo 4 the same score he gave Call of Juarez: The Cartel.

Let me see what other great games he 'shat' on (1 or 2 stars): Lollipop Chainsaw, Syndicate, Sleeping Dogs, Max Payne 3, Journey, Civ5: Gods & Kings, 1000000, Puzzle Craft, Hero Academy, Orcs Must Die, Forza 4, Shadows of the Damned...

Dude is a tool looking for Metacritic-directed pageviews with polarized review scores.

First of all, that he gave a game you like the same score as a game you don't like doesn't say anything other than he felt that they both deserved the same score. However, I would guess he gave both that score for different reasons. Second, he is not obligated to like games even when the majority of reviewer opinions are positive. If you're that bent out of shape by it and refuse to have your own opinions challenged by a contrary viewpoint, then by all means, read only the reviews you agree with and nod along happily.

Don't you think that if someone consistently gives bad scores to generally agreed upon good games, it might be a sign of something a little off? One low score given to a well recieved game isn't odd, but a lot of them?

Maybe, maybe not. It's not like anyone has come forward with solid proof of an agenda. For all we know, his tastes might just be hyperspecific.

Well, I also hated Deus Ex, so I might have to agree with him on Halo 4. He probably does not approach Halo 4 the same way people that are fans of the series approach it. I do think he might be a little too hard on it, though. I think Brandom Justice from EGM was a little more fair with the 7/10 that he gave it and his explanations of why. The moral of the story is to take these reviews with a grain of salt. Just keep in mind their arguments if you're on the fence.

@ImmortalSaiyan: I get what you are saying, but my standard of a 1 is supremely low. Though I have not played any of those games, I would say that I could see myself giving a 1 to DNF, I was looking forward to that game for over 10 years of my life, but it looked so bad that I did not want to have it hurt my love of Duke 3D, so I avoided it.

Why do reviews drive people crazy? I wish boards would ban these kind of threads.

@Hailinel said:

Maybe, maybe not. It's not like anyone has come forward with solid proof of an agenda. For all we know, his tastes might just be hyperspecific.

Which kinda begs the question of why he's reviewing games that fall out of his hyper-specific tastes. (Or maybe it doesn't, because I apparently have no clue how it works.)

Reviews from people who aren't "experts" let alone "fan of the genre" are still valid reviews.

@Video_Game_King said:

@Hailinel said:

Maybe, maybe not. It's not like anyone has come forward with solid proof of an agenda. For all we know, his tastes might just be hyperspecific.

Which kinda begs the question of why he's reviewing games that fall out of his hyper-specific tastes. (Or maybe it doesn't, because I apparently have no clue how it works.)

He's still entitled to his opinion on the game, even if it falls outside of his usual desires.