Hydrophobia developer defends game, attacks critics

"Sometimes good people make bad games. Sometimes bad people make good games. Sometimes you make a middling game and make the situation much worse by attacking and annoying game reviewers who share their honest opinions. Such is the case with Hydrophobia, developed by Dark Energy Digital, a newly released Xbox Live Arcade title that has been gathering some mixed reviews.

The company's strategy for fighting back is to attack the credibility of the sites that didn't like the game, and borderline harass writers who speak out against it. At what point does damage control go too far?"

[rroded]

jus cause our game sucks why do they have to be so mean why couldnt they like it waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

epic lolz Xd

"We've played Hydrophobia, having received a review code, and we feel Sterling's pain. It's not fun. The platforming mechanics feel terrible, the water looks like a thick oil, the voice acting is annoying. I shut it off in about an hour in order to make time for another review. Sterling didn't have that luxury; he was assigned the story and had to play every last terrible drop"

[hay]

We have a new Denis Dyack here.

[Chris399]

Hopefully to make a decent game this time. They really haven't topped anything since Dark Legions IMO.

[wicko]

Yeah, our government is so smart. "Oh, you're a failing business? Here, have a boatload of money! And don't worry about paying it back."

Wonderful.

[ZombieAutopsy]

Really sucks for the devs they hyped the game up way too much and most were let down, I downloaded the demo for it and won't be buying it now the platforming was very unresponsive and the controls felt like they could of been much better. Oh well let them act like children because someone had an opinion of their own.

I think reviewers should have GamerTags and PSN accounts for reviewing games so we can look at their achievs/trophies to see what they did, that would put a stop to all this "they didn't play/finish the game" crap.

[Dr Face Doctor]

If they can't take criticism because their game happens to be bad, it's their fault. They should just suck it up, learn from their mistakes and do better next time, like most respectable artists and developers do.

Goddammit, I like indie devs as much as the next guy but sometimes they don't know how to take a punch without bitching about it.

[THE MAX SPEED 21]

it's not the critics fault your game is crap. sorry.

[albel_nox]

Nobody should take a review by Jim Sterling or Edge the least bit seriously.

[T3MPL3TON]

Seriously.

[danielle007]

I mean, Edge .. whatever. They're harsh, but most of the time, the points they make are valid, and you know when a game gets a good review by them, they probably earned it.

But Jim Sterling should not be allowed to factor in to the metacritic, imo. He's a troll just trying to get hits. Like, look at his track record.

[kasasensei]

I tried the demo. It's good. But the game is too expensive if i keep in mind that it will be episodic. I hate episodic stuff.

[perfectCarbonara]

You made a turd, accept it and move on.

[MGRogue2017]

... Just let it go, damn it. People buy games regardless of what critics/reviews say nowadays anyway.

e.g. Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

[BlackBusterCritic]

It was hyped to me an awesome game available for a limited time only on Xbox360, that showed impressive survival gameplay with amazing water visuals. Too bad it lacks everything but amazing water visuals. Don't do a "M. Night Shyalaman", take your criticism, because you didn't deliver.

[Droid Control]

The developers need to go back to school and lean how to make good games. If they can't even see that Hydrophobia is sh!t, then they are beyond all hope and should consider a new career.

[CrzyFooL]

Last thing you wana do is call up Jim Sterling and yell at him lol. I wonder if Dtoid can give a 0/10? Jim will probably find a way.

What a bad PR move. Just deal with your mid 60's Meta rating, collect your cash from your mediocre XBLA title and quit complaining.

[danielle007]

Jim Sterling isn't some force in the industry. He's an attention-whore of a troll.

In my opinion, he should never be let anywhere near a metascore. Trashtastic.

[darkdoom3000]

Hmm... This really makes them sound desperate. I understand it when there's a review that stands out from the crowd (tumble- averaging around 7, IGN gave it a 3(!?)), but the reviews are pretty split on this.

Price is innoying $15.. and it's episodic!?!?

[R_aVe_N]

The game has gotten good reviews from some pretty big publications such as the Official Xbox 360 Magazine UK, IGN, and TheSixthAxis.com. I don't take anything Edge or Destructoid do seriously at all. they are both a waste of time to even read.

[blackburn5]

I wouldn't take IGN seriously either. Their reviews haven't been on par or very reasonable these days. And what is with developers attacking critics about bad scores these days? After all no matter what you think it really is still my opinion and I have a right to make it.No offense Dark Energy Digital but for $15 your game didn't exactly look like or play like it was worth it.

[danielle007]

I usually agree with the games that IGN reviews well. Not Alan Wake, but I can't expect IGN to be correct all the time, haha.

[writersblock]

4 years to make a 15 dollar XBLA game?

Maybe for a full feature, but pouring that amount of time into an arcade game is dumb

[likedamaster]

Everyone's clearly played the game wrong. ;)

[danielle007]

There are currently 7 positive reviews on metacritic. 6 mixed, with 3 of them being 70+, and only 3 negative.

Maybe you shouldn't trust Jim Sterling's reviews. He also gave Naughty Bear a 50, Deadly premonition a 100, AC2 a 45, Heavy Rain a 70 - while having an article about how Deadly Premonition is blatantly better than Heavy Rain..

And Edge is always super critical of everything .. ever. They're consistent.

[Magris]

I think it's a bit far to say DON'T TRUST ANYTHING JIM STERLING REVIEWS.

I mean, I agree with 80% of his reviews. Sure, it's different, but is that really a bad thing? Is it so bad to voice a opinion different than the majority?

I was bored with AC2, I would've given it a 45.
Deadly Premonition, though technically flawed, was a good experience. I wouldn't give it a 100, but it would receive a decent score.

And people need to FUCKING GROW UP. Not every game can get over an 80.
There are BAD GAMES. Jim Sterling understands this, and because his reviews use the full spectrum, I trust his reviews that much more.

If he gives something a 70, I know its decent.
If he gives something a 1, I know to stay clear of it.
If he gives something a 40, its a bad game, but not the worst.

90% of reviews these days only use 70-100 scale, and that's worse for the consumer in justifying a purchase.

Sure, Jim maybe childish and troll a bit here and there, but I'm completely fine with it. It makes gaming blogs a little bit more lively. Plus, he writes all of his reviews in all honesty. Whether you agree if his writing matches his review score, its debatable.

[danielle007]

"You could always power through with some special ammunition, or grind past opponents with charged sonic blasts. But really, you'll only be cheating yourself out of all those marvelously entertaining chain-reaction killing sprees and the resulting scoring bonuses. [Nov 2010, p.72]" The blurb from OXM, on metacritic. So, it's possible to blow past the fun stuff, apparently.

I mean, I usually agree with IGN when they like a game, and they gave it an 80... And the game only got 3 bad reviews, 7 were positive, and 6 were mixed. So, what that means to me is that this definitely wasn't the worst game ever, and it probably had some really cool things in it, even if it did have flaws in some areas.

But, the devs are definitely going about this the wrong way, especially since Edge is known for being harsh, and Jim Sterling is known for being an all around dbag. I don't really understand why they let him factor in to the metacritic of a game, honestly.

There's no such thing as bad publicity.. Drama from this, if they keep it up, will probably get a few people to buy it.

[Bonegrinder]

Destructoid, especially Jim Sterling in particular has a way with ripping a game to shreds. I've always considered them to be an alternative gaming news site. It's pretty apparent. That's their style and attitude.

DED should have known what they were getting into. Games get reviewed. Some good, some bad. Take the criticism and apply it to your next game. Learn from your mistakes. Don't stoop to this level of shit flinging. Unfortunately they should just accept that they got a bad review. If you think people aren't playing it correctly then you should have addressed these issues in game somehow.

In DED's defense. It can't feel good to pour your heart and soul into a project for a few years and watch it get panned. I feel for them in that aspect.

I guess the moral to this is: Learn from your mistakes and roll with the punches.

[SpideyNut]

....just beat it last night, and can't wait for the next part. It's funny that people claim the platforming is bad...when it's EXACTLY like Tomb Raider/ Uncharted....and a buttload of similar games. The gunfights are fun, and the explosive and electric environmental hazards make it fun to experiment with taking enemies out.