PS4 Launch Titles are (Surprisingly) not getting good reviews

[WeepingAngels]

Mediocre to terrible is... 74 and 59. Scores which indicate "Pretty good" and "above average".

Even so, not that surprising. Did any console have a positive launch?

If you want to count the SNES with Super Mario World and the N64 with Super Mario 64 then yes. Of course, it still makes me wonder about people who pre-ordered knowing the launch games were going to be crap.

Wish I had an extra $400+ laying around to waste on game hardware without worthy games.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I was just over at Destructoid, where Shadows Fall had a 9 and Knack a 7. These are launch games for a new console so you really can't expect too much from any of them really. Launch games in the past have been damn-near legendary but it doesn't seem so when it came to the past couple of generations. Anyway, I feel somewhat more justified in waiting for my PS4. This does make me really curious about how well (or not) the XBone80 exclusives (be they timed or not) will fare.

 

[chaser5000]

I guess people were just expecting something more, I was too but this doesn't turn me away from the game. Most of the reviews I seen have all agreed that the plays well most complaints about the story and a few specific levels.

 

[Frankster]

Mediocre to terrible is... 74 and 59. Scores which indicate "Pretty good" and "above average".

Even so, not that surprising. Did any console have a positive launch?

The playstation 1 had the most successful launch of any console I can remember in my lifetime, the ps2 didn't do too bad either.

Anyways if xbox gets a string of 90+ reviews for its own launch titles, it might make up a bit of lost ground it seems.

 

[WeepingAngels]

Mediocre to terrible is... 74 and 59. Scores which indicate "Pretty good" and "above average".

Even so, not that surprising. Did any console have a positive launch?

The playstation 1 had the most successful launch of any console I can remember in my lifetime, the ps2 didn't do too bad either.

Anyways if xbox gets a string of 90+ reviews for its own launch titles, it might make up a bit of lost ground it seems.

Really? I thought the PS1 didn't really get popular until FF7 in 1997, 2 years after launch. The PS1 had a better launch than the Wii?

 

[VanQ]

So why did so many pre-order a PS4 knowing that launch titles suck?

Because they are idiots that need to have the new shiny gadget. There are still a shitload of games coming to this gen, some even exclusive like Dark Souls 2 or Gran Turismo 6.

I heard that if you preorder a PS4 now in some countires, it will take until May next year to actually get the console. It sounds to me more like people that want a game that comes out between now and May some time but don't want to wait for new stock of PS4 to be able to play it.

But you're probably right. Every person ever that ever preordered a PS4 must not have any insentive to do so. They must just be blithering idiots. Because buying a PS4 now must lock them out of the ability to play any games coming out on the PS3.

 

[Frankster]

Really? I thought the PS1 didn't really get popular until FF7 in 1997, 2 years after launch. The PS1 had a better launch than the Wii?

The year of the ff7/tomb raider combo release (also maybe metal gear? maybe its memory playing tricks but feel like they all came out close to each other) did seal playstation dominance but I remember being totally wowed by the ps1 launch, not least cos of the fancy 3d graphics.

Ps1 launch had ridge racer, wipeout (which was a REALLY big deal at the time, heck when sequel wipeout 2097 came out, it was played in nightclubs...), rayman, tekken, ace combat and so many more... I remember feeling a bit like a kid in a candy store.

That said I wouldn't say it had a better launch then the Wii xD Ok I take it back, maybe not one of the most succesful launches (althought it felt that way at the time, buzz about ps1 was universally positive), but it was still a positive launch with some great lineup titles!

 

[Saltyk]

Honestly, I'm getting the PS4 for Infamous, followed by Destiny. Followed closely by future titles that I can't even imagine right now.

Also, I looked at Metacritic. Killzone has 10 positive reviews all scoring it at 80, 85, or 90. With 8 mixed reviews most scoring it as a 70. The one that scored it as a 50 (looks to be a 5 out of 10) seems more upset over story elements, "lack of innovation", and seemed to be more pissed at having to play the game than anything in the game. There's literally a tweet of the author of said review effectively begging to not have to review Killzone. Me thinks he may not be unbiased.

I'm not going to defend it, as I haven't played it (despite having a copy sitting on my desk right next to me), but I really doubt Killzone is any worse than CoD. I'll be mostly playing it for multiplayer and to tide me over till Infamous hits the shelves. So worse case scenario, it's not the best game I ever played, but it's liveable.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

In what world is a 74 a bad game? If a game that I'm interested in has a score like 74 then it tells me that I should still check it out.

Yeah, but this is the 8 out of 10 or GTFO world we live in, in which the uninformed consumer won't touch anythng less than an 8/10.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

Anyone else get the feeling OP pre-ordered the XBONE and is attacking the PS4 to make OP feel better about his or her purchasing decisions? Because I'm reading quite a lot of bias such as claiming that everybody knew all ps4 games were going to be awful before them having actually come out.
I hope your xbox one RROD's on you when you get it just as karma for your pointless bias

Sorry, I didn't preorder an XBone. In fact, I've been very vocal against it, even when it dropped it's whole "We'll spy on you and screw you over!" requirements.

A lot of people on other forums have been saying that these kind of reviews aren't good though. I just thought I'd share it here. I'm sorry if I came off "Biased".

 

[Crazy Zaul]

Who the hell is surprised by this? Killzone has done pretty well for a launch title. I noticed today Ghosts metascore has actually fallen now to be the same as Killzone.
The Xbone will probably be equally meh cos DR3 is a technological clusterfuck and Ryse is gonna be decent at best as oppose to crap as it looked at E3. Forza will probably do well but its pretty hard to do a driving game badly.

 

[Compatriot Block]

Guys, it doesn't matter if 50/100 makes more sense as a scoring average mathematically. What matters is the general point-range that most reviewers use to designate "average."

I completely agree that it's stupid that we have essentially 60-odd points that all mean "terrible." That doesn't change the fact that if a mainstream reviewer gives a game 60/100, they are more likely to mean "below average" rather than above.

I'm completely in favor of changing what review scores average out at. That doesn't mean I will look at a score of 60/100 right now and assume "above average" without the review specifically saying so.

More on topic: I'm not too surprised that the games aren't mind-shatteringly awesome. As long as at least one of them (probably Killzone) is pretty fun, I'm more than happy to play it until more games are released, which I doubt will be too long. I'm confident in my choice of a platform, and I specifically put money aside for it earlier in the year.

Shame about Killer Instinct. I won't pretend that the Xbox launch titles aren't awesome.

 

[faefrost]

They're launch titles. As such, they were probably devised to be little more than tech demos at the end of the day, especially Knack. I'm not really that surprised they're not getting amazing reviews. I'm still picking up Killzone though. Hopefully, it will finally fix the gripes I've had with the story.

Exactly. The folks making the GOOD games? Well they try as hard as they can to hold them back as long as they can until there is a deeper installed user base. Launch Day titles only have a launch day customer base. 60 days later when everyone is reveling in their new shint Christmas toys these games are already in the bargain bin and the next new and shiny is getting top billing. And yeah! This is why Nintendo consoles never have Mario or Zelda titles at release. Even the Console makers know to hold back the good stuff. Early purchasers are suckers who will pay big $$$ for cheap shitty games. It's the deeper pool that kicks in around 90 days + that you want to really push a title up and over the top financially.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

In what world is a 74 a bad game? If a game that I'm interested in has a score like 74 then it tells me that I should still check it out.

Yeah, but this is the 8 out of 10 or GTFO world we live in, in which the uninformed consumer won't touch anythng less than an 8/10.

Actually the uninformed consumer buys any crap that seems interesting at first impression without seeing scores. Basically parents buying gifts for sons

I meant, the kinds of people who just look at scores and don't read any reviews. But yes, them too XD

 

[Eve Charm]

Suprising? lol no, remember every other launch titles? Yeah, those really were the pinnacle of their respective consoles...


The smart thing here would be not being a complete idiot and wait for about 2 years after release to get the console cheaper with a better variety of cheaper games and actual games that were intended to be more then tech demos (and avoid the typical bugs and glitches of the system).

Condemned one was awesome ;p

 

[Silvanus]

"Your job is to rate games on a scale from '70' to '100'".

"What if I don't like them?"

"That's what '74' is for".

OT: Seriously, is this how people see game review scores? Over 70 is not bad by any means. In University it would be a 'First'.

 

[Roxas1359]

"Your job is to rate games on a scale from '70' to '100'".

"What if I don't like them?"

"That's what '74' is for".

OT: Seriously, is this how people see game review scores? Over 70 is not bad by any means. In University it would be a 'First'.

In the wise words of my sister, who has a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology with a Minor in Criminal Justice says, C's get degrees. So it's really sad when I see that people consider a 74 to be bad. It's like they have my unrealistic standards for grading. XD

 

[Drummodino]

As long as Infamous is good I don't really care. I'll probably get Killzone eventually anyway, 74 is still a decent score.

 

[sXeth]

A platformer designed to appeal to kids and being reviewed by adults, and one of the endless sequels of whichever genero-shooter got middling reviews (allegedly, enough people have posted contrary now). Clearly the console is doomed to whatever abyss the Virtual Boy and 3DO are rotting away in.

 

[Dinosorcerer]

kind of surprised to see some posters bashing critics for saying shit about killzone's story. in an era where we are trying to convince people that games are an acceptable form of art (something that many people outside of the gaming community don't even know is happening. no, seriously, talk to someone who isn't a gamer about it and they probably won't know what the hell you're talking about), I believe that it is in our best interest to actually look at things like story. honestly, I will give killzone no quarter on this one. they know the problems with their story (or they damn well should buy now) and they have chosen to ignore this problem in favor of turning out the same cookie-cutter shit each time. i wouldn't even mind it if the story was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. but it isn't everybody plays it completely straight, British space nazis? yep. everything makes sense here. I feel sorry for all of the people who have to put effort into that franchise to see it turn into a bland game.