No reviews of current games released on last gen consoles?

[Dirty Hipsters]

A lot of cross platform games that are being released on the current gen consoles, Xbox One and PS4, are also released on the PS3 and Xbox 360, but I've noticed that no one ever reviews the games on the previous generation hardware.

Take a look on Metacritic, there is not one professional review of Call of Duty Advanced Warfare on the Xbox 360 or PS3, not one professional review of Dragon Age Inquisition on the Xbox 360 or PS3, not one professional review of Far Cry 4 on the Xbox 360 or the PS3. I'm sure that there are still people who are playing these games on the previous generation of consoles (if not these games wouldn't be made available for those consoles), and considering difference in hardware I'm also sure that there are differences between the games outside of just resolution and textures, but it seems impossible for consumers to find a way to compare them.

You can't even find footage of these games for last gen consoles because all the previews and trailers use PC footage (since it looks the best), and all the youtubers who play these games do so on current gen consoles. There is literally no way to know what you're getting if you pick these games up for the Xbox 360 or the PS3. For all consumers know, these games might not work properly and that information wouldn't be available anywhere.

Should game review sites have to review ALL versions of a multi-platform game?

 

[tippy2k2]

It would be nice if they would but for the most part, it's not necessary.

At least for the time being, the vast vast vast majority of last-gen games are going to be the same exact game except less shiny.

While it would be nice if there were some reviews for last-gen, that's gaming for you; upgrade or get left behind.

 

[Warhawg01]

I would be interested to know how "gimped" the Nemesis system in Shadows of Mordor is on last-gen. I have seen some pretty bad graphics in some footage, but to some degree that is expected. The Nemesis system itself is pretty critical to the game itself, and the developers admitted that it wouldn't be the same. So how different is it?

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

It would be nice if they would but for the most part, it's not necessary.

At least for the time being, the vast vast vast majority of last-gen games are going to be the same exact game except less shiny.

While it would be nice if there were some reviews for last-gen, that's gaming for you; upgrade or get left behind.

I don't know about that, have you taken a look at 8bitOwl's DA:Inquisition thread? Apparently the PS3 version of the game is buggy as all hell, but one wouldn't know that before buying the game considering there are no reviews to go off of.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.865504-Who-optimized-DA-Inquisition-for-the-PS3-Its-a-BUGFEST

 

[tippy2k2]

It would be nice if they would but for the most part, it's not necessary.

At least for the time being, the vast vast vast majority of last-gen games are going to be the same exact game except less shiny.

While it would be nice if there were some reviews for last-gen, that's gaming for you; upgrade or get left behind.

I don't know about that, have you taken a look at 8bitOwl's DA:Inquisition thread? Apparently the PS3 version of the game is buggy as all hell, but one wouldn't know that before buying the game considering there are no reviews to go off of.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.865504-Who-optimized-DA-Inquisition-for-the-PS3-Its-a-BUGFEST

That's why I added the second part to my post.

As nice as it would be, I really can't expect it. Game reviewers are going to review what's new. Like it or not, this industry has always been a "future now" industry where you keep going forward. The 360/PS3/Wii is getting phased out (or is phased out already if you're the Wii) and the Xbox One/PS4/Wii U is moving out of the on-deck circle and into the batters box.

Expecting reviewers to play through the current generation and then going back and doing the exact same thing with the last gen is unrealistic and just isn't going to happen.

If I sound happy about it, I don't mean to. I don't own a One or PS4 or Wii U and I have no intention of doing so in the immediate future. However, I'm a realist about the situation. It'd be nice if they would continue to cater to me and my demographic but that's not how this industry works.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

It would be nice if they would but for the most part, it's not necessary.

At least for the time being, the vast vast vast majority of last-gen games are going to be the same exact game except less shiny.

While it would be nice if there were some reviews for last-gen, that's gaming for you; upgrade or get left behind.

I don't know about that, have you taken a look at 8bitOwl's DA:Inquisition thread? Apparently the PS3 version of the game is buggy as all hell, but one wouldn't know that before buying the game considering there are no reviews to go off of.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.865504-Who-optimized-DA-Inquisition-for-the-PS3-Its-a-BUGFEST

That's why I added the second part to my post.

As nice as it would be, I really can't expect it. Game reviewers are going to review what's new. Like it or not, this industry has always been a "future now" industry where you keep going forward. The 360/PS3/Wii is getting phased out (or is phased out already if you're the Wii) and the Xbox One/PS4/Wii U is moving out of the on-deck circle and into the batters box.

Expecting reviewers to play through the current generation and then going back and doing the exact same thing with the last gen is unrealistic and just isn't going to happen.

If I sound happy about it, I don't mean to. I don't own a One or PS4 or Wii U and I have no intention of doing so in the immediate future. However, I'm a realist about the situation. It'd be nice if they would continue to cater to me and my demographic but that's not how this industry works.

I'm not asking them to play through the entire game, but it would be nice if the reviewer was willing to put in something like 2 hours and be able to say if the game has a bunch of glitches and crashes all the time. Is that really so much to ask for? Hell, if they really need to involve the current gen consoles they could take some comparison screen shots and pimp how good the graphics are in comparison to the last gen stuff.

I just refuse to believe that there wouldn't be an audience for these reviews, especially considering there's enough customers that still buy the games on the old consoles to warrant publishers to continue releasing the games there. From a pro-consumer standpoint games journalists should be testing out these games on last gen just to see if they work right. Games journalism shouldn't just be a hype machine for the latest and greatest, part of the job of reviewers is to protect customers from getting burned, especially since very few places allow you to return games for a refund.

 

[Evonisia]

I think there should be at least some reviews on the old gen, because in some cases we do get unfortunate scenarios. Wolfenstein: The New Order looks messy and has absolutely horrendous loading times on the Xbox 360 and PS3, but it went unnoticed until post launch because people were busy either loving the current gen version or complaining about the PC specs.

 

[Tanis]

I thought that GameStop magazine still did that?

I know MetaCritic is 'the' site for reviews anymore, but their questionable 'this review is worth more or less than this review' system isn't as trustworthy as some people seem to think.

 

[tippy2k2]

I'm not asking them to play through the entire game, but it would be nice if the reviewer was willing to put in something like 2 hours and be able to say if the game has a bunch of glitches and crashes all the time. Is that really so much to ask for? Hell, if they really need to involve the current gen consoles they could take some comparison screen shots and pimp how good the graphics are in comparison to the last gen stuff.

I just refuse to believe that there wouldn't be an audience for these reviews, especially considering there's enough customers that still buy the games on the old consoles to warrant publishers to continue releasing the games there. From a pro-consumer standpoint games journalists should be testing out these games on last gen just to see if they work right. Games journalism shouldn't just be a hype machine for the latest and greatest, part of the job of reviewers is to protect customers from getting burned, especially since very few places allow you to return games for a refund.

Man...I was really kind of hoping your thread would take off a bit more because I'm curious about what others think. All well.

Back on topic: I think the biggest challenge that you're going to run into there is that Publishers are going to provide what they want for reviews and a publisher is likely going to see no benefit to sending multiple review copies out. Websites would have to take the $60 financial hit on the off-chance that there are any significant differences and that's just not realistic.

With that said, I would really appreciate if reviewers updated/made an addendum to their reviews when things like the Dragon Age thing pops out. I suppose that might cause it's own problems as the reviewer hasn't "technically" played what they would be reviewing but if they get reliable sources claiming what's being claimed about Dragon Age, then I am 100% on board them adding that information to their reviews.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I'm not asking them to play through the entire game, but it would be nice if the reviewer was willing to put in something like 2 hours and be able to say if the game has a bunch of glitches and crashes all the time. Is that really so much to ask for? Hell, if they really need to involve the current gen consoles they could take some comparison screen shots and pimp how good the graphics are in comparison to the last gen stuff.

I just refuse to believe that there wouldn't be an audience for these reviews, especially considering there's enough customers that still buy the games on the old consoles to warrant publishers to continue releasing the games there. From a pro-consumer standpoint games journalists should be testing out these games on last gen just to see if they work right. Games journalism shouldn't just be a hype machine for the latest and greatest, part of the job of reviewers is to protect customers from getting burned, especially since very few places allow you to return games for a refund.

Man...I was really kind of hoping your thread would take off a bit more because I'm curious about what others think. All well.

Back on topic: I think the biggest challenge that you're going to run into there is that Publishers are going to provide what they want for reviews and a publisher is likely going to see no benefit to sending multiple review copies out. Websites would have to take the $60 financial hit on the off-chance that there are any significant differences and that's just not realistic.

With that said, I would really appreciate if reviewers updated/made an addendum to their reviews when things like the Dragon Age thing pops out. I suppose that might cause it's own problems as the reviewer hasn't "technically" played what they would be reviewing but if they get reliable sources claiming what's being claimed about Dragon Age, then I am 100% on board them adding that information to their reviews.

The fact that reviewers completely rely on being sent copies of games by the publisher is another problem. Take what happened with Assassin's Creed Unity and the fact that reviewers couldn't talk about the prices of any of the microtransactions because Ubisoft purposefully didn't have the microtransaction servers up yet. The publishers can slightly manipulate reviews to their advantage. Not only this but the devs and publishers can also skimp on testing the games on previous gen consoles because they know those games will never get any official reviews and so any problems with them won't be well known until weeks after launch.

Are these things cynical of me to say? Yeah, they are, but I put no trust in game developers and publishers anymore, not with all the bullshit business practices that have become the norm over the last decade.

As far as the financial hit of having to buy a $60 game to review it, that's not really the problem, the reviewer could rent the game for a day for less than $5. The problem in either case of buying the game or renting it isn't the fact that the reviewer has to pay for it, the problem lies in the fact that the review of that game will be delayed. The publisher sends out copies of the game to reviewers in advance of launch, but if a reviewer wants to actually buy/rent the game to review and play it they have to wait until the game's launch to do it. It's basically the same tactic that game companies already employ with review embargoes if they think their game will get ripped apart by reviewers. By not sending out Xbox 360 and PS3 copies of games the publishers ensure that those games will never get reviewed on those consoles, or if they do it'll be days or even weeks after launch.

 

[Trek1701a]

I would love for, even a small one paragraph summary, of what the buyer can expect from a previous generation version of a multi-generational game. I don't think anyone really expects a full and complete review, just some highlights/lowlights. Is anything missing, are the graphics decent (on par with a late gen release), any obvious bugs, etc. That way the ones that don't have the newest machines can make more of a informed decision.

For myself, I'm having this conundrum of whether to get Dragon Age: Inquisition or not for the PS3, but due to the lack of consistent views on the subject, it's hard to make a decision.

 

[Something Amyss]

I'm not sure it's particularly practical to offer a review of five versions of a game. It also increases the load on reviewers, who already probably don't get paid well. I've never been paid to review a game, but if it's like music these poor bastards need a raise.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I'm not sure it's particularly practical to offer a review of five versions of a game. It also increases the load on reviewers, who already probably don't get paid well. I've never been paid to review a game, but if it's like music these poor bastards need a raise.

Why do reviewers review games on both the PS4 and Xbox One separately? The hardware is nearly identical. They'd be better off reviewing the game on PC, Xbox One or PS4, and Xbox 360 or PS3 rather than reviewing the PC, Xbox One, and PS4 versions.

 

[Something Amyss]

Why do reviewers review games on both the PS4 and Xbox One separately?

To my understanding,a good chunk of them already don't.

And those that do tend to miss things. [email protected] springs to mind.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

Most of the people in the thread are dead on (publishers don't send 5 review copies, customers are interested in how their new shiny machine handles it, etc). Also, for over a year now the formula for last-gen games has been thus: It's technically the same game, but with sub-720 resolution, a struggle to even maintain 30 fps, a mandatory install of at least some of the assets to the HDD, and those rare instances where changes of that nature can actually change the atmosphere so much that it feels like a different game (Alien: Isolation).

If you're interested in this kind of thing, I suggest checking out Eurogamer's Digital Foundry. You might have to wait a little while as they do have to acquire 5 versions and sit and individually count the pixels on the screen and run frame-rate tests on all of them, but they do have a nerd-boner for seeing how optimized console ports of PC games are (Shadow Warrior on PS4) and seeing how last-gen versions have any chance of holding up against the newer ones. For me personally, my gaming PC is pretty damned old, and I like seeing whether or not a PS4 purchase would actually produce higher fidelity and performance compared to the PC version on my rig. It's how I learned that I'm better off with the Metro series on PS4 as opposed to upgrading my rig right now.

 

[FPLOON]

I thought that GameStop magazine still did that?

That was the first thing that came to my mind after reading the OP, since I've subscribed to said magazine... Basically, they make a mini side-column next to the full review of whatever multi-platformed game they're reviewing on next-gen and give a little summary on any noticeable difference between the copy they played for the review and the last-gen copy they have alongside it and then give a separate score (usually lower unless stated otherwise) as followed...

Anyway, what I think you're looking for, OP, is like an Angry Joe-type of last-gen reviewer for games also released on next-gen, considering the only way you could get the last-gen version is if you're GameStop or you buy it yourself and "review" from there... If I was a reviewer, I would really try to focus on that aspect if possible... Unfortunately, I lake the motivation to care about most next-gen multi-platformed games in general, so there's that...

 

[Catfood220]

If anyone is interested, I've been playing Farcry 4 on the PS3 and you can definitely tell that it was made for newer consoles. There are a few graphical and texture problems every now and then, but nothing game breaking and Farcry 3 was hardly bug free. But other than that it runs fine, its also pretty good fun.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

Unfortunately, it's a case of "Would be nice, but not gonna happen". It would take more time and double the money to include that into the review, something that's really not worth the gain for reviewers. And don't reviewers only play it on the one platform anyway?
So they don't even cover the other two thirds of the up-to-date platforms that most games launch on.

As for what to do, all I can say is PC Master Race ftw, if you played on PC you wouldn't have this problem wait until the game comes out and search Youtube for gameplay footage. Or get an up to date platform. 360 and PS3 are obsolete. They work, but developers are going to be specializing in current gen, and even with them specializing in current gen it still winds up a big bloody mess anyway, so one can easily speculate how gimped last gen is going to be and how painfully long they'll take to fix issues on those systems.