Blast from the past: The crazy reactions to 8.8

I found these just now. It's hilarious the insane reactions! It makes the Uncharted 3 8 review seem like a non-issue. Why weren't there multiple articles written about THIS? I bet they didn't get death threats at their home like Jeff did!  I did laugh at the topic "Jeff was abused as a child". Man, so angry! Hahaha. At that time on GameSpot 7 was A, 8 was AA and 9 was AAA. Any big game "had" to get AAA to be seen as worthy. So all this over 0.2 points. Crazy times my friends, crazy times.
 

lol

Oh wow, thats funny.

Man. People were really mad at Jeff weren't they?
 
Fuck. I wasn't even this mad when my world got flipped, turned upside down. So I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there, and tell you how I got my priorities in check and never became angry at video game scores on the internet.

I'm still laughing. Oohhhhhhh my god I love gamers. BAHAHAHHAHAHAA

Looking back, an 8.8 was a little too generous for that game.

Trust me it was real anarchy in SW (System Wars, Gamespot) that day, I for one loved it and use to love games flopping and watching the reaction of the Internet? Another famous one was R&C TOD it got 7.5 SW nearly exploded, Im trying to think of more examples of the good old days of SW lol.

I just fondly remember glancing through all of the comments and reading "jeff gerstmann is fat". So plain and idiotic which left me with a chuckle, sadly.

should have got a 4

One of my least proud moments on the internet was sort of getting involved in that stuff. I was never one of the guys shouting and calling Jeff names and whatnot, but I did voice a strong dislike of the score in some of the threads on the GameSpot forums. I don't think I had even played the game at the time. I was an idiot. Fortunately, we grow up from that shit and realize how dumb it is. I'm sure most of the people posting them will look back now with embarrassment just as I do. It's one of those internet things. We've all been there. It seems weird that it's not actually that long ago, yet here I am looking back on it and thinking about how much of an idiot I was.

EDIT: I've actually gone back and had a look at my GameSpot posts from the time, and it's not as bad as I remember. I certainly remember agreeing with certain comments about the 8.8, and I remember talking to friends about it, but apparently I didn't post on the forums about it much. And just a few months after the review I said "gamespot scores are controversial at best, but just accept it and get on with life. its not the end of the world". Ignoring the terrible grammar, I'm quite pleased my 17 year old self had already woken up to it not being a huge deal.

Wait, Jeff gave Twilight Princess an 8.8? I'm going to kill that motherfucker in his sleep!

Always seemed weird, especially since Twilight Princess seems to generally be looked on as one of the weaker entries in the series by fans.

Its hilarious that someone cancelled a pre-order because the game got an 8.8. In my book, that's a really good score. It might not have been the perfect 10 people were looking for, but its just a review from one person's perspective. These people's/kid's lives must be pretty sad to be have made such a huge deal over something so insignificant as a number created by a single gamer who played the game.

It's a freaking score, from one review site. I'll never understand the thought process behind complaining about reviews. It's not like they personally developed the game or anything.

@MattyFTM: I remember some of your posts back then about the situation and dont worry I was the same, good thing is like you said we all grow up.

One of my least proud moments on the internet was sort of getting involved in that stuff. I was never one of the guys shouting and calling Jeff names and whatnot, but I did voice a strong dislike of the score in some of the threads on the GameSpot forums. I don't think I had even played the game at the time. I was an idiot. Fortunately, we grow up from that shit and realize how dumb it is. I'm sure most of the people posting them will look back now with embarrassment just as I do. It's one of those internet things. We've all been there. It seems weird that it's not actually that long ago, yet here I am looking back on it and thinking about how much of an idiot I was.

will GB give Skyrim an 11.11?

@Slaker117: Yeah! Now we're talking!

@Metal_Mills: oh my do you remember Lair getting a 4.5? SW imploded. TCHBO. cows, hermits, sheep, headchog M$ ahh its all coming back to me now

Given that GameFAQs (and Gamespot given the merger) has a huge Nintendo (And Zelda Specifically) bias in the userbase it's no wonder they got upset. Although it's still completely stupid that's the main reason why that community blew it out of proportion more than most others.

That's the kind of stuff that makes me wish there wasn't a score attached to a review. I understand the actual importance of a score but sometimes I think it does more harm than good. How many people do you think made those threads without actually reading once sentence of his review?

The funny thing is, about a week ago I went looking through Gamespot's old Zelda reviews to find the "controversial" one. I didn't remember which game it was or what score it got. All I remembered was the backlash the score got from the community. When all I could find was high scores I was confused.

What were people so angry about? A decimal point or two? So silly...

Man, I remember that.

@N7 said:

Man. People were really mad at Jeff weren't they? Fuck. I wasn't even this mad when my world got flipped, turned upside down. So I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there, and tell you how I got my priorities in check and never became angry at video game scores on the internet.

At first, I rolled my eyes. This gag again. But then, the out of left field ending saved it. I applaud you, sir.

Also, I think I was like 14 or 15 when this whole debacle occurred and even then I thought those people were batshit retarded. Hey, you know what? Looking back, TP is a bunch of kind of uninspired moments of HEY REMEMBER THIS IS THIS OTHER GAME?! wrapped around game mechanics that are basically solid as ever. So, yeah, 8.8.

I like all the topics complaining about GameSTOP's review staff. Also, Greg's (who would obviously have scored the game much higher) last name is apparently Kavision, and being fat invalidates one's opinion. These are gold!

I was just reading up on this whole business last week, and it's kind of hilarious and kind of sad at the same time. On the one hand, it's "lol internet" but on the other hand I facepalm because it's arguably the worst part of video games as a medium.

Or I guess no matter what medium, fans ruin everything.

This is a blast from the past. I remember the outrage like it was yesterday.

People get upset about the strangest things. That said if Skyward Sword gets less than 5 stars on this site Jeff is going to wake up in a bathtub with a missing kidney.

@mosdl said:

will GB give Skyrim an 11.11?

no it gets a 1.1

Well... Jeff Gerstman IS fat... so obviously his review was wrong.

On a somewhat related note, I've been trying to bring myself to finish Twilight Princess before Skyward Sword comes out, but it's so god damn fucking boring- 8.8 was fucking generous.

@Metal_Mills: oh my do you remember Lair getting a 4.5? SW imploded. TCHBO. cows, hermits, sheep, headchog M$ ahh its all coming back to me now

Gross.

Oh man do I remember that. Looking at that page of threads for people bitching about a review score of a game they had yet to play brings me some much needed glee. Honestly, Twilight Princess deserved worse. That game was such a rote by-the-numbers execution of the Zelda formula that I never actually finished it, despite being on the second to last dungeon. That game was a victim of its hype more than anything else. Remember that first trailer? BLADES WILL BLEED. SWORDS WILL SHATTER. Oh man. The Nintendrones deserved what they got

And, for more fun, here's Jeff's Video Review. Unsurprisingly, the comments are still on the idiot side.

People are still complaining about it in the comments to the video review... lets remember folks this game came out 5 years ago haha

All I can say is... people.

I can't remember ever doing things like this. I will disagree with people and voice that but never threaten them or act like they're stupid. Definitely never over a meaningless score either.

And people call me weird.... right =P

I was not angry, but shocked and disappointed, because how could someone do Zelda so much wrong? It's Zelda. It deserves a 10, for no other reason than that it is Zelda. I needed to visit the guidance counselor when Wind Waker wasn't awarded and EGM Platinum. Murdering Mark MacDonald is still on my to do list for that devastating blow.

When I played Twilight Princess, I decided 8.8 was right on the money, if not a touch high.

Wind Waker still deserved that platinum, though.

Twilight Princess was garbage.

I'm pissed at Jeff for not giving it below a 6.

Those were the good old days. Man, that week was amazing. That's fanboy rage in a nutshell right there

I like how this sort of thing reminds me that, no matter how shitty things in my life may go, I'll never be pathetic enough to throw a tantrum because Game I Like 3: The Sequeling was called "great" instead of "crotch-grabbingly perfect in every possible way".

Side note: "Girthmann" is pretty funny, though. I have nothing but respect for Jeff, but a good pun is a good pun.

Tom Mcshea mentioned the 8.8 on the Hotspot last week... He said that Jeff rated the game too high.

It actually kind of makes me sad. It's sad that something I enjoy is littered with disgusting people.

This is why Giantbomb>GameFAQs

I thought Jeff's score was right on the money. I disagree that TP was "garbage" or should have had a lower score.

Those forum posts were downright fucked up, however. What's wrong with those people?

Our frothing demand for blasts from the past increases.

System Wars scared the shit out of me, I just stayed in OT.

I agree with the guy who wanted Greg Kavision to rerate the game.

Anyway, looking forward to 12 hours of Skyrim with Greg Kavision.

I remember laughing my ass off when that score popped up and the Gamespot forums went into a rage. I was sure there would be a mass suicide involved too, sadly that did not happen. I was just happy to be playing the game before commenting on if the score was valid or not and it was totally valid. the 8.8 score (AKA This Game is pretty fucking good, but not the best-score) was spot on for that game

I didn't really like TP that much... I loved WW though. I remember reading the review and thinking that it meant the game fell short of my expectations for a Zelda title, but decided that 8.8 was more than high enough to justify the purchase. In hindsight, I'd give it a 4/5. I couldn't believe the forum posts and the comments, but it did sort of open my eyes to the patheticness and immaturity found on the internet. 5 years on... nothings changed.

@punkxblaze said:

@N7 said:

Man. People were really mad at Jeff weren't they? Fuck. I wasn't even this mad when my world got flipped, turned upside down. So I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there, and tell you how I got my priorities in check and never became angry at video game scores on the internet.

At first, I rolled my eyes. This gag again. But then, the out of left field ending saved it. I applaud you, sir.

They call it the Reverse Bel Air. You can only use it once, so choose wisely.

Good to see that the Internet has matured since then.

I played it after his review was posted. I loved every minute of it. Jeff was wrong. At least an 8.9.

Wait a minute wait a minute. How could ANYBODY say thats a bad score or a bad game? I've played the game all the way through twice now, and its easily either the best- or it ties with a link to the past. Ocarina of time is a great game, but its missing something. Something twilight princess had. Bosses were epic. Dungeons were soooo greatly laid out. The city and the sky and there on out is probably the best gaming experience that could be had on the wii thus far. 8.8...I don't know. Twilight had a few problems of its own though. I'd say if halo 2 could get a 9.3 on average, I'd say twilight princess could easily get at least that.

Next thing is...unlike every other zelda game before it, it is a 30 hour adventure. Ocarina takes most people about 10-15 hours, But while even trying to speedrun twilight princess, the best I could get is 25 hours. Meaning, alot of people are not probably going to see the ending.