IGN, Gaming Media To Blame For Aliens: Colonial Marines Sucking

You know what we never do in the gaming community when the dog feces, the bird poop and rat dung hit the fan all at once? We never hold accountable the people who feed us the information, the hype, the lies. The people who know that a game sucks but do nothing but shove the hype down our throats. Well, this time the digital diarrhea hit the fan and someone from the inside has spoken up about it letting us all know that big gaming sites like IGN knew about it well before release.

[PopRocks359]

To be fair, IGN and other outlets may have hyped it up, but the trailers and demo on their own also helped to make it look really good. You can only blame the hype so much about a game you simply did not like.

[guitarded77]

They also hyped Duke Nukem Forever. Hype me once... shame on you... hype me twice... shame on me.

[Nimblest-Assassin]

Was I the only one who thought Duke Nukem Forever looked awful in that first trailer, and knew the game would suck?

Honestly... it seems gearbox can't make games that have taken 5-6 years to make.... if they are announced as battlefront 3 devs... Im abandoning all hope right there

ON TOPIC

Also don't understand why IGN is singled out, when all sites are equally at blame. Cinemablend loves picking on IGN, not sure if because they are a good example or personal beef

http://www.cinemablend.com/...

http://www.cinemablend.com/...

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However, journos only speak about what they see and play, and devs make sure these demos are spotless so they can give consumers a good impression... in essense, journos are as blind as us, except they tend to get gameplay of a very polished section of the game. Sure there are conspiracies of devs paying of reviewers and all and people assuming that money funds review scores... which is why the best thing you can trust is a demo (most likely the same ones journos played before you)

The game did not look good except for that rendered trailer... I could see that. People need to think and learn before they buy

[knowyourstuff]

Yeah, hype happens whenever a fanboy of the said subject matter is covering the game. Is it really so bad that you expect a game to not be completely sh*t when it comes out? Hype is a good thing as it boosts sales at least somewhat, so as a developer it can only be good. Having no hype or viral marketing behind your game to at least get people talking about your game will do one thing - ensure people don't even know your game is even out, and watch as sales slump.

Given that the game was crap, its reviews would not likely have been any better than they were. What, all of a sudden those glitches and broken gameplay elements would have all of a sudden gone unnoticed by reviewers resulting in better scores?

[MysticStrummer]

IGN had a two hour live stream of campaign and multiplayer. I'll take watching that kind of thing over a typical preview any day of the week.

[modesign]

its totally the gaming medias fault for mediocre, broken, bugged and unoriginal games, (sarcasm)

[DwightOwen]

No, but it is the media's fault for making you believe the game is not a mediocre, broken, bugged and unoriginal game.

[Megaton]

You should never trust game previews. They are never negative for a reason.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

"They are never negative for a reason."

BUT- Sometimes it is like Night and Day between the Reviews and Previews-

It's like what was the guy who was doing the preview smoking?

[Megaton]

That's my point. The previews always ignore the negative. It's pure promotion, even when you have to use massive deception to achieve it.

[Baka-akaB]

Precisely . They all had issues with games like Assassin creed 1 . They all had extensive time to play and demo it .

All of the issues they had were clearly apparent from previews and yet they didnt say a thing .

Dont expect negative previews , especially for big projects

[Nimblest-Assassin]

Because journos are playing extremely polished sections of the game... they are as blind as we are. As for them not being negative, although not obvious previews also state some of the flaws

Machinima and IGN both said that the last of us demo they played had more ammo than expected

[tboyshinobi]

plus they only demo one piece of the game. when they have the game in advance, it's usually under embargo or given as preview code where they say "this is not the final blah blah blah" as a result you can't adequately report on it

[Thepcz]

but isnt there an element of suspense? they know they have an audience waiting for the final verdict, so in the previews they dont give away if the game is good or not, they just report the facts.

that is what the previews are for- facts. giving you info about the game.

the review is for opinions. the review is where you are given an opinion on the game.

the games media usually create a narrative for each game, from its announcement, through its development, all the way to the release date. its in the medias interest to keep you hooked on that story all the way to the end.

it would also be counter preductive to give your opinion on a game way before it is finished, or during any time before the game is actually released. that is reserved for the review.

so no, i dont think it is misleading to show a game in a positive light during previews.

it is however obviously wrong to lie about a game during the previews, and spread false info.

[Sarcasm]

In this case the Media really isn't to blame. If the game is crappy, the game is crappy. Technically sites like IGN aren't really allowed to post certain types of information before the game is released. They really can't flat out say "IT SUCKS, DON'T BUY IT WHEN IT RELEASES"

[Blastoise]

Depends if you listen to the podcasts lol

[WitWolfy]

Yes they can, and have done it numberous times!

EXAMPLE!!! Leisure Suit Larry BOS review 2008!!

IGN bashed the game with a 3/10 score thanks to its broken controls, repetitive game play, and glitchy enviroments! IGN even as far as to suggested to its readers not to buy it... EVER! FF to 2013... Now as your self what makes Aliens:CM so special to make it sound like its the Holy Grail of space shooters???

NOTHING!!!

[Sarcasm]

That's okay when it's in a Review, I meant before the reviews.

So yes, in a review they can say it sucks and not buy it.

[V0LT]

This game is NOT as bad as everyone is saying. Get the DX10 patch on the PC and you'll be even happier.

[PopRocks359]

I'm fairly convinced at this point that a lot of the negative buzz is just word of mouth. Like with Duke Nukem Forever, I'm seeing a lot of people saying how bad the game is but it seems as if they read a few reviews and have not tried the game for themselves.

I'm reserving my judgement until I play it. I'm not fond of just going with what others say.

[aliengmr]

DX 10 "mod".

This has much less to do with how it is and more to do with what was expected.

Question is; Could it have been better? Would you say 6 years of development was put into it?

[V0LT]

There are many games that get mod improvements. Even without it, it still isn't as bad as ppl are saying. The problem is they should have never shown that original game play video. Yes, it should be enabled from get get go but. I don't think it shows 6 years worth of development but more like 2-3.

[MysticStrummer]

Yes it could have been better. That doesn't mean it's as bad as many reviews say it is. The perfect game doesn't exist, so all games could be better. Rate it for what it is, not for what you think it should have been.

[Soldierone]

IGN and big sites always hype up anything they are paid to hype. Thats why you don't trust it. However it wasn't just them. We had early demonstrations that showcased an entirely different game. It's like showcasing Doom 4 then releasing Duke Nukem Forever....

[aliengmr]

Why gimp all versions except the WiiU version? That doesn't make sense. (Not hatin on the WiiU, just don't see why that would happen)

For me this all comes down to the demo. Trailer are one thing, but to show something that's playable, that shows real time gameplay, that's another.

I fully expect thing to change from early demos, but to see such a massive downgrade is odd. AVP 2010 at least managed to use dx11.

In this case I just can't blame the media. It falls squarely on Gearbox and Sega as far as I can tell. The other studios helped, but I'm really starting to doubt they went and s**t on entire portions of the game.

I really hope gamers start being more cautious, but we know that won't happen, we just love ridin' the ol' hype train to pre-orderland.

[TheRacingX]

From what I've been reading, the WiiU version is even worse, with stupid mini games

[Lysander91]

How is it IGN's fault that they say what was on the left of this video, but we actually got what was on the right? http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Kingthrash360]

This is old news anyway ...especially about ign. Seems they are bought out...just look at thier reviews of the vita in comparison to the 3ds. SFxT was a great accomplishment imo looked great and could be played against people who has a ps3 version. Rated 6.5 or something right...then rates 3ds the not so good SF4 (and ugly in comparison ) a 8.5. Thats just the tip of the iceberg. ..go see for yourself its just crazy bad reviews and previews. So this is really not surprising to me. This is just my opinion tho some may disagree but just take a look and compare....shinobi a 8? Lol then gravity rush a 7? ....hilarity.

[Lysander91]

You do realize that different people review these games right? Even if it was one guy, it could be possible that he has a different opinion than you. You should also take step back for a minute and really try to think through who is paying them off. Is it Nintendo? You would think that games like Uncharted 3, Gears of War, Killzone 2, MGS4, etc. wouldn't score so highly then. Or maybe Sony/MS bought those scores too. Then, why don't they just buy everyone review score so every game gets a great review? I guess it's because they get paid to give some games low scores more than they got paid to give it a high score. Then why do some games get good scores between 7-8.5? IDK,there are certainly a lot of questions when you spew BS without providing any proof. I mean, I have SSFIV for my 3DS and it's basically the same game as SSFIV on the PS3, which is a great game to begin with. The only thing that brings it down is 30fps in 3D.

[Kingthrash360]

One thing I can tell is you dont own a vita... im not jugding tou for that but I own both a 3ds and a vita. Own both games ssf4 and sfvt, and the differance In comparison is shocking and very apparent. Yet sfxt gets bashed...in fact a lot of games for the vita has got bashed over at ign while tge 3ds seems to get a pass. As I said before GO CHECK compare for yourself youll see uncharted get an 8 while sakura samurai gets a 9 or hot shots golf gets a 6.5 but lets golf 3d ( a clear copy and hotshots wannabe) gets a whopping 9. Differnt people or not the reviews are too far apart imo. They are from ign people trust ign I used to but after seeing terrible reviews like this is ridiculous. I can go on for days comparing reviews I really could...just go and see for yourself.
Lastly I never said they were getting paid. I said it SEEMS like it. As in they way they review/preview games are inconsistent and bias.

[Lysander91]

I do have a Vita. I got a white one from Amazon on Black Friday with Assassin's Creed Liberation and Playstation All Stars. I'm also a Playstation Plus member and I own Mortal Kombat, LBP, Sound Shapes and Persona 4. Unfortunately, I've never played UMvC or SFxT on Vita so I can't really judge those games, but SSFIV on 3DS is a good game.

[Kingthrash360]

Sf4 is a great game for the 3ds. But not a better port than the vitas sfxt.....both are great games tho.

[AusRogo]

Cant believe I spent $69 on this shit. Its so generic and so buggy/glitchy. Seriously, ive had to restart checkpoints because the ai wouldnt go open the door, been shot through walls and list goes on. Im sorry, but its not acceptable. I tried to look past the flaws, but after finishing it once I cant replay it. And dont get me started with the last 'boss'. Im not one to rant about a bad game, but if ive been waiting years and having seen awesome game play demos the past year, I need to express my disappointment. At least with Duke Nukem the previews always looked shit. Aliens went from looking awesome, to a dodgy final product... why!!!!??? Ill be thinking twice next time Gearbox. ..

[Zha1tan]

Its because publishers have these review sites by the balls, initiate some common sense here people.

It may be the righteous thing to speak out against broken games, but if you give bad previews to games and you talk bad about them before release then they blacklist you and you don't get any previews, no pre release copy, basically your coverage of that game is shut down and if you are black listed by one publisher then they all will look at you as a potential sale loss and say good night to your own business.

There should be some sort of law put in place for protection of publications which prevents publishers from preventing review sources from speaking out.

[NYC_Gamer]

That's why i don't trust huge mainstream sites..they are like a brothel full of whores running after ad space profit and swag gifts.It's sad that real journalism took a back seat all in the name of freebies.

[Zha1tan]

It takes a back seat because of embargoes and black listing, imagine you are a small publication and you get black listed so you get no more review copies or exclusive previews....who is going to bother giving your site the time of day when you dont have up to date news on games?

refer to my above post.

[profgerbik]

People listen to what IGN says..? Oh yea I forgot.. How unfortunate.

I really don't have much against Gearbox for this but seriously this is just stupid, everyone trying to switch the blame around. I knew this game would be crap just based on the fact practically every other aliens game has been for a long time now.

I mean I had hoped it would be better sure who doesn't love aliens or think it could be a really kick ass game but I knew most likely it would end up being just like the rest of them which is exactly what it did.

[dennett316]

It's a great point, there's slowly but surely becoming less and less actual consumer advice in reviews. Glitches, poor loading times, rubbish AI and essential elements like sound design are often completely ignored in reviews.

Previews might as well not even exist, they never, ever give an honest impression about what they've seen or played. Perhaps they're not allowed to, but then you have to ask what the bloody point is then?

Games "journalism" is becoming an absolute joke, and it's this attitude in gamer circles where people who criticise are labelled as haters or entitled by those who mindlessly buy anything and everything that publishers and developers do or say that's letting it happen.

[EbeneezerGoode]

The game is good fun to play. That is all there is to it. Too many people whining about what wasn't given instead of the cool game that was. It looks good, it plays well, it runs well and it controls well. It's well paced, atmospheric and true to the aliens universe.

Any self respecting Aliens films fans should be playing this instead of reading negative reviews without trying it!

7/10 for this game. Some stuff in this game I've not seen/felt in any other game so it can't be that bad. Some of the level design is amazing, great lighting, fun gunplay (against humans at least) and a very 'thoughtful' atmosphere unlike the modern trend of every room looking the same with a load of enemies in it. Each room in this game is like opening up a fully detailed painted, a lot of effort went into the levels and the texturing/lighting and anyone who says different has no idea just how much work it takes to 'dress up' environment graphics to NOT look like they are fake or cookie cutter.

And that is based only on the PS3 version. PC+DX10 mod? Hell Yeah!

A version of this modded for Oculus rift would be a dream come true. It has the environments and the perfect considered pacing for it.

[EbeneezerGoode]

and ftr I NEVER read previews or hype anymore. I just wait for a game to be released, if it's one I want I buy it and form my own opinion just like we used to years ago before this mass of TOO MUCH INFORMATION spoiling and tainting everything until we are happy with nothing.

I know there are people out there hating on this game who haven't even played it, posting comments because of ALL the negative reviews (which seems like some kind of witch hunt now).