Poll: The Re-Review

[tippy2k2]

Susan Arendt (The Escapists Editor in Chief/Beloved Dictator) actually gave the reasons for this in one of the recent podcats. However, I can't find which one it was in and I'm on my way to work, otherwise I would find it. Later today, when I return, if this topic is still active I'll go find it. Here's the gist of it though (assuming I remember right...):

1. Why review old stuff? Game reviews take a while to create and why review something that only a small segment of your audience is going to care about? Most people purchasing the game will do so right away.

2. Not everyone has the ability to download patches. Susan made it a bullet point that she likes to review the exact item that the buyer will be getting and nothing more. This is also why she doesn't talk about multi-player until the actual servers are up and running (and why there is still no SimCity Review up).

...I swear there was more to it than this but I'll see if I can find it later (or if someone else knows what I'm talking about, please feel free to link the podcat and what time it takes place at).

 

[Assassin Xaero]

If there are technical issues on launch or things that have been fixed since the review that caused their rating/review of the game by a lot, then yet. I know I really enjoyed Homefront until they nurfed everything a week after launch, and the game just wasn't fun anymore.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Times used to be that, outside of being semi-frequent in PC gaming once online connectivity became commonplace, what you got on Day 1 in the box was the game in it's totally finished and playable state.

Oh that cracks me up. Pray tell, when were those times?

A-fuckin-men my friend. So how exactly is say...KOTOR 2 considered a COMPLETELY finished and playable state? Oh, because it came out years and years ago where there wasn't a possibility for patches, deeming it the 'final' version? Yeah, sure thing.

So, just because one game, made by Obsidian, who seem to be notorious for releasing broken games, was released without it being "completely playable", that means no games were ever that way? Look at pretty much any console game from the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube generation or earlier. Those never had updates from the internet. I never had to update the majority of my games from before then, either. Some had update, but all were still completely playable on release.

 

[Callate]

Only if the original release was possible to play through start to finish, is unfinishable by nature (like some MMOs) or it was knowingly and openly released as a beta. The release rate of new games remains high enough most of the time that it's better to move on to different things than give promotion and free advertising to designers who treat their audience with contempt and/or treat them like paying, unsuspecting beta testers.