Destiny shows review scores can be harmful. And why they need to go.

MWEB GameZone writes: "We've always maintained that review scores are something that we don't need anymore in gaming criticism. In their current form, they're of little value to the consumer, belittle the work of the reviewer and, as the news with Destiny shows, can be unnecessarily harmful to developers. If you're unaware of Destiny's review score situation, it appears the game's lower than expected review scores could potentially be precluding it's developer, Bungie, from earning a "Quality Bonus" worth $2.5 million."

[Godmars290]

More like company PR needs to control itself. Stop setting overly high goals and describe what it is they're actually selling.

[crusf]

Exactly! People put the blame on the hard working coders and designers of the game when they had nothing to do with the outlandish PR the game was getting. You really think that's fair people.

[sobotz]

Even without all the hype, the game still average tho. It's only getting a good graphic because it's on the newgen console.

The shooting is fun, the rest are meh.

[TFJWM]

I played the alpha and beta but I didn't buy it. But most of these reviews are totally bs. 5 and 6s come on. Even thou i'm not playing it I'd give it an 8 in beta i'd assume its improved since then.

[monkeyDzoro]

So now, reviews need to go right ?
Where were those guys when Knack got crushed by the "gaming media".
A good and fun game, not a revolution but decent one.
Now you want to get rid of the media because hey're bashing your beloved FPS...

[Godmars290]

Thing about that is the team leads were leading the PR charge.

[donthate]

Actually, I think the outlandish PR from game companies overly promising and hyping things they do not provide is harmful to the industry.

The media is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. Sure Destiny didn't deserve some of those low scores, but it didn't deserve some of those high scores either.

As a consensus it was pretty spot on!

I think this was a lesson in "don't hype up your game, and don't tell BS, because reviewers will be disappointed and slam your game!"

Instead focus on making that an awesome game something Destiny wasn't!

[NewMonday]

the gameplay in Destiny and fun but Bungie deserve to lose out on the "Quality Bonus"for sleeping on the story/narrative

[princejb134]

The game is average
I'm honestly bored with it and I only played for about 6 hours (lvl14 Titan)
I was reading reviews on it and was skeptical about buying it but the reviews we're spot on. This game is nothing special.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Overselling the product is the problem with AAA's so far.

[HanCilliers]

Aint that the truth

[radler]

All the hype I saw for Destiny came from people who played the Alpha/Beta saying that it was great. The game didn't get any more media coverage than any other title as far as I'm aware, the hype was player-driven.

Look at the comment sections and how frenzied the average gamer gets over any announcement, no matter how small. That's where all the insane hype for games comes from.

Case in point: People losing their minds are hyping the heck out of a couple of concept art pictures for the next game from Guerilla Games. No marketing/media hype, just gamers stirring it all up entirely themselves. It happens all the time.

[donthate]

No, the framework was set by Bungie and Activision.

They mentioned a decade year plan, huge and epic worlds, with huge amount of content. Instead we got a game with repeated levels on the same map, piss poor performance by Peter Dinklage, hollow lacking story, and the story telling was pure cr@p.

So what we really got, was a solid game mechanic (ala Halo), beatiful art, and great music.

The demo was suppose to give us a sneak peak, not the entire game for F sake!

If you enjoy the game, I say more power to you. Keep enjoying it, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, and that applies to all games. However, Destiny was not by todays standard of video games a "great" game, it was at best slightly above average.

[Godmars290]

@YouAreSalty:

Still, half a billion supposedly gone into making this game, and it looks like most of it going into future content.

Also pretty sure that Bungie reps talked up open world elements. Pity that seems to boil down to walking around a set.

[princejb134]

I feel like the hype came from people thinking because it's a bungee game it was going to be an amazing game. I hated halo but still gave this game a try and is boring as hell.

[700p]

The thing is..i doubt the review scores are harming it much. The average user is actually enjoying the games despite it being average. Destiny will still sell like hotcakes.

[Forbidden_Darkness]

Review scores in general need to go, in all forms of media. Not just because of this either. Putting irrelevant numbers on reviews doesn't help them one bit, it only blinds people into believing anything below a 7 or 8 is complete trash and a waste of time. Most people judge a game on the sole basis of that and not the pros and cons, mechanics and such of the actual title itself.

[HanCilliers]

And how do you put a single review score to a game with different elements like multiplayer, raiding single-pplayer etc etc.

[HanCilliers]

I for one would be really happy if sites never use numbered review scores

[crusf]

It's like reviewing the icing on the cake without eating the whole thing. Destiny is only just beginning to evolve. More story missions,Maps,Raids,Loot,Armor ,Planets etc will be added in the future. People are too quick to judge.

[ElementX]

How much will those cost? Why should people have to pay more to make the game interesting?

[dieger]

The game was released....

[Sillicur]

I think numbered review scores are still needed and i use them regurarly. The reason being that it is still a great measure to sum up the game's quality.

However, I do agree and believe that game reviewers should come together and decide on one, fair system, in order to number rate the games.

[HanCilliers]

Again, how would you review a game with multiple aspects. Battlefield usually has a weak SP campaign but very strong MP. Do you score the game on both? Separately?

[Sillicur]

I think a fair way would be to score it like this:

SP - 5/10
MP - 5/10
Graphics - 5/10
Sound - 5/10
Gameplay - 5/10
Stability and performance - 5/10

Then give the average rating at the bottom. Yet to your point, i think all the different aspects scores should be shown to the reader.

[Maxor]

Review scores are only harmful when they're low. If Destiny is consistently scoring 10/10 then there would be no article.

[Meltic]

Well make a perfect game and the score will not be low. Listen to us players what we want and what we want too see.

[Lon3wolf]

Shouldn't it be bonuses based on review scores need to go? Just because Bungie signed a contract where a bonus was tied to review scores does not mean the reviews system is to blame, yes it may appear flawed but you should not take such stock in them.

[plut0nash]

Ah but people will. Giving a 8/10 is more meaningful than a 3/10 to me. Also, the source matters. Gamespot's pretty good when it comes to scores but ultimately the game experience will be subjective. Best used as a guideline imo.

[tigertron]

Why should review scores go just because they're not in Destiny's favour?

[g-nome]

Well bonuses to devs should not be based on review scores but on sales and profits.

[Funantic1]

I use reviews. They save you money or tell you the pros and cons of potential buys. I rather trust reviews from actual customers or legitimate reviewers rather than the hype from devs and publishers. I don't base my decision off of one review. But if the reviews are consistent then it might influence my purchase. Destiny had consistently bad reviews. Plus I played the beta and gave it my own personal review. Destiny is just not good enough to have my money. I can't convince myself it's fun.

[CongoKyle]

I don't know why, this is my opinion, but with all the hype around Destiny in the build up it's almost like some reviewers were just waiting for the game to fail. Maybe all the hype sent them in with very, very high expectations and those weren't met.

[Clown_Syndr0me]

Numbers need to go because you don't agree with Destiny's scores?
I hate articles like this, you might as well write "Your opinions don't count, only mine."

[HexxedAvenger]

So this is what happens when a supposed triple A game does average. Meh. When I get it I'll enjoy it. Until then I'll just watch what it has to offer. jeez, it didn't do so hot. So what?! Just enjoy it if you got it and if you don't want it let it be. Reviews aren't the final word. Your wallet is.

[windblowsagain]

Reviews of games, like films etc are really based to opinion.

Some sites review games properly.

You cannot review a game of how it made you feel, everyone isn't you.

Games must be reviewed on each area and what they provide.

I actually passed on destiny even though I enjoyed the alpha and beta. Because I realised that's all there was. I was expecting tons of new stuff, but after watching streams and reading I knew.

You cannot also review a game on what It might become.

[Tedakin]

I want numbers. I don't read reviews usually. I don't want to have to decipher what someone means. If devs don't like low game scores, make better games.

[mixelon]

I like 3, 4 or 5 star systems. Any more detail than that is needless. Just causes arguments and makes people compare things that can't be compared. Separating a game into its component parts and trying to mark "objectively" can only work to a point.. Things like aesthetics vs graphics tech, simplicity vs complexity - none of these are inherently better than their opposite.

You don't tend to get percentages in movie critique, or food critique, or any medium that's matured long enough for critique to be taken seriously.

A game like Destiny, or really most online only games - can't be reviewed using the same toolset for a narrative focused SP game.

[schmoe]

beauty is in the eye of the beholder, all reviews, while they can be from an educated or experienced position, is still a subjective opinion and thank your deity of choice that we do not all like the same things'

[Einhert]

Yeah that's why it recouped its half a billion dev costs in 24 hours.....

Poor poor Destiny....how awful.

[360ICE]

There are a couple of thing I take issue with in this article.

'Review scores are of little value to the consumer'. Says who? Not the people who frequent Metacritic and Gamerankings for aggregates, I bet. I always take reviews scores into account before buying games, and Metacritic has helped me find games like Persona 4. Then again, I'd never follow metacritic blindly, which is why I bought Destiny. Notice, though, that Destiny has sold like hotcakes, so the damage the review score do, are limited.

With a review you have a qualitative opinion and with a score your opinion can be quantified and part of a larger thing as well. I like that as a consumer and as a reviewer.

Secondly, I'm sure Bungie knew what they were going to with the 'quality bonus'-clause. And frankly, it's not just the scores that indicate that they shouldn't get that bonus--it's also the opinions uttered by the reviewers who gave the scores. From what I've read, people tend to be harsher on Destiny in their review texts, than with their scoring. Activision and Bungie just acknowledged that a game ranking site was the best way to quantify the quality of a game, and even though I personally disagree with Metacritic's score in this instance, I agree with that notion.

Also, it doesn't matter that Gamereactor, PC Gamer and Eurogamer are more strict than other publications. The more and less lenient publications balance each other out and one individual site or publication's opinion, matters little in the grand scheme of things.

Nor does it matter that there are different types of scores. I mean, why would it?

[stormswrath]

Destiny is getting bad reviews cause it's a bad game period. I don't base my game choices on reviews anyway but if I did it would have saved me some money this time.

[Predaking77]

If Destiny was a bad game it would be bad for everyone but that is not the case. There are thousand of people enjoying the game and the sales prove it. Every one on my friend list is playing Destiny daily just as me.

The hate of the reviews is unnecessary and without logic, how can the media give high scores to Titanfall when it lacks a campaign and have fewer content or call of duty when is constantly repetitive and the same every year buy by the same rules give Destiny a low score?

It would not surprise me at all if there is a hidden agenda just to damage Destiny. Some butthurt company would even invent a fragrance to break the rules.

[DFray919]

Gamers cant think for themselves. Because 1 or 2 reviewers dislike a game you are goin to decided ---- "i dislike that game 2" and It suck even tho i havent played it.

and who cares million of ppl are playing it and having fun with it!. IT SUCK!

thats crazy!!!