Accusations are flying that Atari was paying or bribing magazines into giving its new Driv3r (that's Driver Part 3 for you non-l33t speaking people) good review scores to help move the game off the shelves.
Driv3r represents a big gamble for Atari and its publishers, as they've shipped a boat load of units and need them to sell for the future of their company. Not to mention to offset the huge budget for development and marketing...
The problem is that most people are saying its buggy and boring and nowhere near good enough to garner the ratings its been getting.
I was actually discussing this game with two workers at EBGames over the weekend as I had asked them their opinions on the game. Both claimed to be huge fans of the Driver series, but both expressed how disappointing this game was. They said the driving parts are great, but when you're on foot, the game is awful. They actually encouraged me to avoid purchasing it and rent it instead. Meanwhile, they encouraged the purchase of Chronicles of Riddick despite the game being too short. That's not a slam on the employees, that's a slam on how bad of an impression Driv3r left on these two guys.
Now in Atari's defense and the mags' defense, they claim its all untrue. I want to believe them, I really do, but I've seen reviews out there that I know were paid for and some of these console magazines might as well be printed by the game makers. Its actually easier to believe Atari in this case as for them to demand 9/10 reviews or they won't release the game for review would be a HUGE gamble. It would be really easy for a magazine to run a story in place of the review and explain what happened, destorying not only Atari's game, but the mag's competition in the process.
Still, I recommend to everyone that you research what you're purchasing. There is a great site called Game Rankings that coimpiles the reviews from every source they can get their hands on. Its a good resource to get the real information on how good a game is or isn't.
Now if we can just get them to start accepting dtman ratings...maybe we could get bribed...
$ for reviews?
-
thibodeaux
- Posts: 8056
- Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 7:32 pm
Where do you think I found that story?
Their comic today is indeed about this topic and pretty much sums up what most of us online people would do. In our defense though, we're not reviewing games for a living and claiming to be journalists.
Still, if I ever got paid for a review, I'd itemize my payoff at the bottom, so my readers would see why I did what I did. It'd look like this:
Overall, this game was fantastic, a sheer joy to play. I recommend it for anyone.
9 out of 10 stars.
(A steak dinner. 18 holes at Inverness. $1000 in spending cash. A night at a strip club and one of them left with me.)
Actually, it'd probably be funnier to actually code what you received into the review somewhere so those who know you understand, but others (like your editor) don't. For example, "This game plays like a $50 steak. If I had to choose between a night in a strip club or playing this game, it'd be a tough call. I'd honestly bribe someone $10,000 to make a sequel. No PR person had to bribe me with sex to love this game!"
Their comic today is indeed about this topic and pretty much sums up what most of us online people would do. In our defense though, we're not reviewing games for a living and claiming to be journalists.
Still, if I ever got paid for a review, I'd itemize my payoff at the bottom, so my readers would see why I did what I did. It'd look like this:
Overall, this game was fantastic, a sheer joy to play. I recommend it for anyone.
9 out of 10 stars.
(A steak dinner. 18 holes at Inverness. $1000 in spending cash. A night at a strip club and one of them left with me.)
Actually, it'd probably be funnier to actually code what you received into the review somewhere so those who know you understand, but others (like your editor) don't. For example, "This game plays like a $50 steak. If I had to choose between a night in a strip club or playing this game, it'd be a tough call. I'd honestly bribe someone $10,000 to make a sequel. No PR person had to bribe me with sex to love this game!"
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
I look to IGN for reviews, plus when I'm not sure I rent the game first.
The computer industry has had problems for years on magazines giving better reviews (for both hardware and software) to those that advertise with them.
I remember years ago my mom subscribed to a PC magazine (I forget the title now). They used to give them to me because they were a bit too technical for their reading habits. For about four years after their subscription ran out, they were still getting them. Why? My theory was because their bottom line was better off by giving away the magazine to keep their subscription numbers up. They were then able to charge more for their advertizing space because of their "widespread" subsriptions.
The computer industry has had problems for years on magazines giving better reviews (for both hardware and software) to those that advertise with them.
I remember years ago my mom subscribed to a PC magazine (I forget the title now). They used to give them to me because they were a bit too technical for their reading habits. For about four years after their subscription ran out, they were still getting them. Why? My theory was because their bottom line was better off by giving away the magazine to keep their subscription numbers up. They were then able to charge more for their advertizing space because of their "widespread" subsriptions.
"... and then I was forced to walk the Trail of Tears." - Elizabeth Warren