It’s an interesting thing to “work” (it’s hardly work- more of a hobby I suppose) in the video gaming industry. All of the things I had questions about five years ago- how people got free games, whether you ever get tired of free games (you do), whether people gouge review scores intentionally, and so on and so forth- have now been answered. And you know what the most striking thing that I’ve learned over the last four years is? How difficult it is to give a game a bad review score. You have no idea how much I struggle with it, or how much I’m willing to bet others struggle with it.
When you’re someone “on the outside”, you just sort of assume that if YOU were in a position to review games you would be brutally honest and never let anything sway your decisions into bias. But it’s not that simple. It’s really not.
I’m getting ahead of myself though, because what I really want to talk about are things I think a lot of gamers ponder: How honest are review scores? Do outlets ever fudge them to get favors from a publisher? Do publishers ever discriminate against certain outlets to avoid getting bad press? I don’t think I’ve seen anyone come out and just tell it as honestly as they can, so (hopefully!) I can do an okay job of just that.
What follows is some insight- as honest as I can put it- from my limited perspective (along with some helpful commentary from the other side, courtesy of our good friend Jools Watsham!), to hopefully answer some of those questions you’ve discussed on message boards or with friends, angrily coming to the conclusion that the reviewing system is biased and unreliable.
And guess what; it is! Sort of.
Well, you can’t get much bigger than the Olympics! Of course, not everyone watching would know that’s a 3DS… but it’s still neat that it made an appearance.
I was just saying the other day how frustrating it is that we still don’t know much about Darksiders II (and other Wii U games) even though Nintendo has a new console coming out in just a few months. You guys probably feel the same way, and so does Vigil Games, the developer of Darksiders II.
In a lengthy exchange with VideoGamer, Darksiders II lead designer Haydn Dalton talked about how he wishes he could just come out and talk about Wii U. There’s other talk about the console as well – the GamePad’s screen, developers supporting it down the road, and more.
We’ve posted the full Q&A with Dalton below.
New Super Mario Bros. 2’s multiplayer mode works a little bit different than the Wii release in terms of camera control. Whereas the console game has more room to work with since the action takes place on a television screen, NSMB2 sees players progressing on two relatively small screens.
In local co-op, an arrow is placed over either Mario of Luigi. The arrow indicates which player is “in possession” of the camera. If you’re left without the arrow, you’ll need to follow the other player around.
It is possible to gain control of the camera. Simply power-drop on your fellow friend and you’ll see the arrow hover over your head.
GameTrailers editor in chief Shane Satterfield has offered some insight into the Wii U’s pricing situation. If he’s to believed, Nintendo will be pricing the console at $299.
Speaking on the latest episode of “Invisible Walls”, Satterfield said:
“We’re going to assume that the Wii U is going to cost $299. And I have heard through certain channels that that is likely going to be the price of the system.”
Most consumers would certainly welcome a $299 price tag. But it’s unclear if any items would be bundled into the package. Some potential buyers are hoping that Nintendo Land will be provided as a bonus, similar to how Wii Sports came with each Wii console when the system launched.
This week’s Japanese eShop update is as follows:
3DS Downloadable Titles
ARC STYLE: Joshi Soccer!! 3D (Women’s Soccer) – 500 yen
Smile Purikua! Let’s go! Meruhen World DEMO – FREE
Dasshatsu Adventure Ky? K?sha no Sh?jo DEMO – FREE
Virtual Console
Neko Jara Monogatari (Game Boy) – 400 yen
Rayman: Mister Dark no Wana (Rayman, Game Boy Color) – 600 yen
Super Mario Bros. 2 (Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Famicom) – 500 yen
Video Content
Video explaining the Club Nintendo bonuses for purchasing New Super Mario Bros. 2 or Onitore digitally
