Post by Morreion on Feb 22, 2010 8:07:49 GMT -5
Justin Webb: Two Thumbs Way Down (MMORPG.com)
MMORPG.com columnist Justin Webb writes this article about Metacritic, a great resource for single player games that doesn't necessarily take into account the intricacies of MMORPG reviewing.
MMORPG.com columnist Justin Webb writes this article about Metacritic, a great resource for single player games that doesn't necessarily take into account the intricacies of MMORPG reviewing.
It's notoriously difficult to review an MMO. Many games only really start to kick in during their end game; or, conversely, have terrible end games - a part of the game that no reviewer is going to reach while writing their review. Some sites have recently implemented policies whereby they will not publish a review of an MMO until a month after launch, giving their reviewers ample time to come to a decent decision on a game. This is a great first step at ensuring that MMO scores are real and accurate, and for maintaining the integrity of a site, but can be a double-edged sword for consumers. Where do you get information when a game releases? The site under a self-imposed embargo (no), or the site with the "exclusive"?
Also, you only get one shot at launching a game. If a released game is clearly not ready for release, it's (historically) really difficult to come back from that (critically), regardless of how good a job you do at fixing stuff. Very few sites ever go back and re-review a game later. And if they do, it's uncertain whether any revised score would be picked up by Metacritic after the fact. As an example, we recently voted Age of Conan as our Most Improved MMO. However, Conan's Metacritic score will remain as a launch snapshot of 80 regardless of how much better it has become since then. There are plenty of games out there that were mediocre at launch (and consequently got lousy Metacritic scores), but that got whipped into shape by their Live teams later.
Also, you only get one shot at launching a game. If a released game is clearly not ready for release, it's (historically) really difficult to come back from that (critically), regardless of how good a job you do at fixing stuff. Very few sites ever go back and re-review a game later. And if they do, it's uncertain whether any revised score would be picked up by Metacritic after the fact. As an example, we recently voted Age of Conan as our Most Improved MMO. However, Conan's Metacritic score will remain as a launch snapshot of 80 regardless of how much better it has become since then. There are plenty of games out there that were mediocre at launch (and consequently got lousy Metacritic scores), but that got whipped into shape by their Live teams later.
