35 replies to this topic

[8th lutz]

Failsafe Review

It was given a C+, but he said Failsafe was well programmed.

[Allpaul]

It seemed like a favorable review to me..

[spiffyone]

Are there vids of the game in action? I'd like to get more of a look at the game before I decide whether to buy or not.

[GroovyBee]

spiffyone, on Sun Feb 13, 2011 4:14 PM, said:

Are there vids of the game in action? I'd like to get more of a look at the game before I decide whether to buy or not.

The ROM is available if you like emulators.

[PacManPlus]

Well, I tried.

Thanks for the link.

[DracIsBack]

PacManPlus, on Mon Feb 14, 2011 5:19 PM, said:

Well, I tried.

And you did a great job. What makes him right and my A rating wrong other than that he registered a domain?

[PacManPlus]

You gave me an 'A' rating? Where?

Thank you!

[DracIsBack]

PacManPlus, on Mon Feb 14, 2011 6:55 PM, said:

You gave me an 'A' rating? Where?

Thank you!

Didn't write one ... just really enjoyed it when I played it and felt it was a great effort. Video Game Critic can call it "C" all he wants, it's just his opinion. My opinion is that it's an A.

[svenski]

DracIsBack, on Tue Feb 15, 2011 6:39 AM, said:

PacManPlus, on Mon Feb 14, 2011 6:55 PM, said:

You gave me an 'A' rating? Where?

Thank you!

Didn't write one ... just really enjoyed it when I played it and felt it was a great effort. Video Game Critic can call it "C" all he wants, it's just his opinion. My opinion is that it's an A.

Well everyone is entitled to their own opinion but Atari User reckons it is a great game!

Now if only Bob could release a great new game every month we'd be real happy.

[Atarifever]

PacManPlus, on Mon Feb 14, 2011 5:19 PM, said:

Well, I tried.

Thanks for the link.

Remember that unlike mainstream sites, Dave:
1) Actually compares a game to games across different time periods, and to other games on the console it is on and its contemporaries.
2) tries to make sure that an average rating actually means an average game.

On a big review site a C is basically a fail, as they give everything with a budget a B or above. A C on VGC can be a favourable review because there are actually a ton of Ds and Fs.

I disagree with the rating still, but think you should look at it the same way you would look at a mainstream site giving you a B.

For comparison, he thinks it's even better than 7800 Xevious, Scrapyard Dog, Robotron and Kung Fu Master, and as good as Tower Toppler, One on One, and Ninja Golf. ALso, Batman and Blaster Master on the NES also got a C+ there.

Edited by Atarifever, Thu Feb 17, 2011 5:10 AM.

[Cafeman]

VGC rated Atari 5200 Star Raiders, a game which (on the 8bit ) moved Atari computers for years, with a grade of "F". Purely subjective - he didn't like it at all. just sayin'.

[svenski]

Cafeman, on Thu Feb 17, 2011 5:53 AM, said:

VGC rated Atari 5200 Star Raiders, a game which (on the 8bit ) moved Atari computers for years, with a grade of "F". Purely subjective - he didn't like it at all. just sayin'.

I guess Star Raiders on the 5200 depends on if you have some working controllers or not In my opinion it plays better than the 8-bit version due to the analog controllers.

[Gorfy]

It seems to me that the video game critics only like about 3% of the atari games they review. You'd think that someone so involved in atari would enjoy it more

[Allpaul]

PacManPlus, on Mon Feb 14, 2011 5:19 PM, said:

Well, I tried.

Thanks for the link.

If it makes you feel better, he absolutely loves Pac Man Collection.. He gave Countermeasue a B on the 5200.. Maybe this type of game isn't his cup of tea, but seemed to think it was a polished effort overall... You kick ass!!

[PacManPlus]

Thanks guys - I really appreciate the kind words... It's what keeps me going.

Bob

[Greg2600]

I think a C for a home brew is like getting an A for an original release on that site, so C+ is very good I guess. I usually ignore his grades, and just read the description. He's pretty good with getting to the point of how fun a game is to play though. This is a perfect example, in which his description is overwhelming supportive of the game, and yet gives it a C+??? I just don't understand his grading system.

[accousticguitar]

Greg2600, on Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:51 AM, said:

I usually ignore his grades, and just read the description. He's pretty good with getting to the point of how fun a game is to play though. This is a perfect example, in which his description is overwhelming supportive of the game, and yet gives it a C+??? I just don't understand his grading system.

Exactly. I like to read the descriptions but take the final grade with a grain of salt. After all, he gave Miniature Golf a D minus.

[ZylonBane]

What a bizarrely-written review. "I like Failsafe's bit-mapped graphic style"... buh? 99% of the games reviewed on his entire site use bit-mapped graphics. He doesn't even seem to be aware that it's a direct port of a game he's already reviewed (and given a higher score!).

[JacobZu7zu7]

Video Game Critic is the one of the few online critics that I can follow his grades. They are often the only ones that make sense to me.
Listen to AtariFever he gets the way the critic works.

C+ is actually a good rating, maybe could be higher but at least it's not a failing grade... and the review was rational thinking.



An example of bad grading or randomness I read in other sites,

Barnstorming 8/10

Frostbite 2/5


ehh what... isn't that backwards?

[Checkered_Flagman]

Videogamecritic reviews usually hve strange grades: B+ to Ocarina of Time, B+ to Super Mario 64, D to Warbirds (!!!), C to Virtua Fighter 3TB...

[HammR25]

ZylonBane, on Wed Feb 23, 2011 10:09 AM, said:

What a bizarrely-written review. "I like Failsafe's bit-mapped graphic style"... buh? 99% of the games reviewed on his entire site use bit-mapped graphics. He doesn't even seem to be aware that it's a direct port of a game he's already reviewed (and given a higher score!).

It's not a direct port, it's a sequel.

The way I read the review is he didn't necessarily like the game but knows it was coded well and said so. Not everyone is going to like every game.

[BrianC]

JacobZu7zu7, on Wed Feb 23, 2011 10:40 AM, said:

Video Game Critic is the one of the few online critics that I can follow his grades. They are often the only ones that make sense to me.
Listen to AtariFever he gets the way the critic works.

C+ is actually a good rating, maybe could be higher but at least it's not a failing grade... and the review was rational thinking.



An example of bad grading or randomness I read in other sites,

Barnstorming 8/10

Frostbite 2/5


ehh what... isn't that backwards?

The thing with VGC's reviews is what he says in the reviews, not the ratings. They often fail to match. Also, a lot of F ratings suggest he doesn't always give games a proper play before a review. Some games he reviewed are mostly the same on different platforms, but with a vastly different review. (qbert for 5200 and Atari 8 bit is a good example. He gave one version a higher rating, liked the graphics for one, and hated the graphics for the other, despite them having the exact same graphics).

I don't see much to go on in that example. They may sound like odd ratings, but without what was said about the games, that's all they are. The reviewers of those games may have had valid reasons for those ratings.

Edited by BrianC, Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:18 PM.

[JacobZu7zu7]

Allpaul, on Fri Feb 18, 2011 5:48 PM, said:

PacManPlus, on Mon Feb 14, 2011 5:19 PM, said:

Well, I tried.

Thanks for the link.

If it makes you feel better, he absolutely loves Pac Man Collection.. He gave Countermeasue a B on the 5200.. Maybe this type of game isn't his cup of tea, but seemed to think it was a polished effort overall... You kick ass!!

It's good that Video Game Critic, is reviewing these homebrews. Or retro gaming in general, I personally think VGC does the best reviewing job of the online sites I've found on Atari 2600. Doesn't mean I have to agree everytime... but when I want a description of how a games played or what to expect, these reviews come in handy. Also he tends to review games on a technical side. He doesn't just give a game A+ because he loves it or thought it was FUN.
It has to play cleanly and be well made as well as fun to HIM.
The fun part of reviews is an "opinion", but good to read on them when they are done with style and a lot of thought.

[Emehr]

Checkered_Flagman, on Wed Feb 23, 2011 11:30 AM, said:

Videogamecritic reviews usually hve strange grades: B+ to Ocarina of Time, B+ to Super Mario 64, D to Warbirds (!!!), C to Virtua Fighter 3TB...

Yeah, that D grade for Warbirds was especially heinous. He took all of the realistic aspects that the game simulated (slow-turning plane, dogfighting basics, etc.) and used them against it! It's like docking a FPS because you have to duck behind cover to avoid getting hit.

He told arcade-minded gamers to stay away. Why? The game has an "arcade" mode where the plane physics are less realistic and the turns and acceleration are faster. He mentioned that there's no indication that an enemy plane is being hit. Apparently he played with the sound off. What baffles me further is how he complains about it being a snooze-fest even though he seemed grateful that you could turn collisions off. No kidding it's gonna be boring when there's no danger of other planes running into you!

There's no rational explanation why he graded this game below average. It has enough variations to keep things fresh while staying true to the core gameplay, the effect of flying is done very well, and the presentation is nice. There are no technical reasons why it should've been graded so low. I posted in one of the threads there (can't remember the tile..."worst VGC reviews" or something) with my counterpoints just because I thought this particular review was pretty bad.

I guess my point is that his reviews should be taken with a grain of salt. I think he should have another reviewer on his site as a sort of "counter-point reviewer" just to help balance things out when a game is misrepresented. He's got the "review feedback" forum but who wants to sift through all of that when a review is five years old?

[The_Laird]

While I like VGC for a resource, it helped me find out about a lot of Megadrive/Genesis games I might like, his review scores suck. He is also clearly a Nintendo fanboy and that makes alot of his reviews very biased indeed. In loads of the Genesis reviews he puts down the machine and constantly states how is not as good as the SNES. The most rediculous example is from his review of Streets Of Rage 2, which for me is one of the best games ever made. He states:

Quote

The audio is a bit dissapointing

I mean WTF are we playing the same game?

He does seem to hate Atari even more though and one look at his Jaguar and Lynx reviews will tell you that. He gives 12 Jag games an F (out of 55 reviewed), there are some bad Jaguar games yes but not that bad. With regards to his Lynx reviews a lot of you have mentioned the Warbirds score but what about the F he gave Gauntlet??? Is he kidding?