Why Reviews Should Stop Apologising For Nintendo

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze reviews suggest there's a little too much favouritism given to Nintendo these days.

[finite]

Or the reviewer actually enjoys the game as reviews are opinion based, just like this opinion piece.

[Vegamyster]

I laughed at this

"Nintendo has done the very least with Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze – and yes, that is still a great game – but it has made no effort to change either the franchise or the genre in any significant way."

When is the last time we really have seen a game that changed any genre in a significant way? As long as the game is challenging, has good level design and is fun then why complain?

[pcz]

that's the problem though, accepting a mediocre and unoriginal game, just because its just as banal as other games in the genre.

games like mario bros, mrio bros 3, super mario world, mario 64, mario galaxy... those changed the genre, they stepped the game up.

i would never buy this tropical freeze game, looks totally boring. been there, done that. heck, DK returns only came out a few years ago.

freeze is redundant

[Vegamyster]

@pcz Do you know what a Mediocre & unoriginal game looks like? Why don't you go look at or play Aliens: Colonial Marines or Duke Nukem Forever ect.

The latest example you gave is Mario Galaxy which is 7 years old, Returns came out 4 years ago. just because you think the game looks boring just negate the vocal majority of people who have actually played it said it's good.

[pcz]

''Do you know what a Mediocre & unoriginal game looks like?''

ive been playing games for over 20 years, knowing a mediocre game when you see one becomes second nature. and i know this freeze game is nothing special.

''The latest example you gave is Mario Galaxy which is 7 years old''

well that only highlights a greater problem- nintendo havent made any creative progress to the 'adventure/platform genre in 7 years.

''Returns came out 4 years ago.''

big deal, it didnt need a sequel. or at least, not one with no innovative ideas. lets just be totally honest, that latest rayman game is probably the best thing to happen to the 2d platforming gnre in a very long time. nintendo should be worried. nintendo should respond with something that challenges it.

freeze isnt that game.

[Vegamyster]

@pcz

"ive been playing games for over 20 years, knowing a mediocre game when you see one becomes second nature. and i know this freeze game is nothing special."

So have i lol, i named two games that are considered by both critics & users to be crap yet you're still going to tell me Tropical Freeze is mediocrity because it doesn't innovate? Like i mentioned in my first comment:

"When is the last time we really have seen a game that changed any genre in a significant way?"

I was clearly referring to others as well, what was the last innovative title from Microsoft, Sony or Ubisoft/EA/Activision ect for that matter?

A game doesn't have to innovate to be good.

"big deal, it didnt need a sequel. or at least, not one with no innovative ideas. lets just be totally honest, that latest rayman game is probably the best thing to happen to the 2d platforming gnre in a very long time. nintendo should be worried. nintendo should respond with something that challenges it."

Retro Studios are the ones who wanted to make the game and now that's it's done they're going to move on, it's considered good whether you like it or not.

Edit: Even the guy who made this article who said it's great.

[REDBEARD]

@pcz

Rayman Legends wasn't that different mind you. That doesn't make it bad either. DKCTF is a very difficult game which is one of the reasons why 9 critics thought it was okay.

Are you really going to ignore the 40 plus critics who praised the game? I guess its difficulty is too much for a guy who is used to hand holding. You can't tell me this game is mediocre because it is simply not true. Try putting some logic in your opinion because you come across as huge fanboy, lol.

[Sly-Lupin]

Plenty of reviewers tend to give Nintendo games free passes--but most of the apologism I see in the media/industry/community this generation is for Sony. Last generation, for Microsoft.

with Nintendo, I really only ever see anonymous N4G fanboys attempt apologize. Possibly because many of Nintendo's decisions simply cannot be reconciled outside of a deluded mind. The media just omits negative aspects of Nintendo games--or worse, resort to illegitimate criticism. You see this in every review for Super Mario 3D World that praises the fantastic multiplayer, but fails to mention the anachronistic lack of online, or the countless Mario & Luigi review s that said nothing of the constant tutorializing.

Prior to the Mass Effect 3 fiasco, I would have argued that omission is WORSE than apologism (because it hides crucial information from consumers), but now I believe the reverse is true. Apologize is actively, violently anti-consumer, as evidenced by all the insulting anticritical articles published in the wake of ME3.

[NYC_Gamer]

Yes,DK might not have changed much over the years but that doesn't stop people from having a blast playing as the huge ape.

[DonDon]

I agree 100% with this article. Very good points made.

[ChickeyCantor]

Such as?

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

No, there's a lot of hypocrisy in that article that just points out how against Nintendo the author is, when he'll gladly give a pass to most everything else for being just as bland and unchanging.

[diepdiep]

I don't get why Barnes even bothers complaining that Tropical Freeze feels "old". As long as a game is fun, that's all that matters. The glowing reviews that Donkey Kong is getting shows that many enjoyed it.

Also, "too much favoritism given to Nintendo"? Where has this guy been?

[lilbroRx]

Indeed, Halo, Gran Turismo and Call of Duty feel old but people still rate those highly.

[LAWSON72]

Halo will never feel old to me (except 4), and how can Gran Turismo feel old it is a simulator for driving (unless driving bores you)? COD cant be feeling to old considering millions of people are still buying it yearly and playing it the whole year.

[BoneBone]

Of all the companies and publishers you point the finger at, you choose Nintendo, when there are far, far, far worse offenders.

Nintendo are the most creative company in this industry and take more risks and try new things than anyone. But hey, that doesn't matter because of one game that was designed to stay close to its classic roots.

Are you for real?

Of course you are... you actually are for real aren't you. Shame on you.

[-Foxtrot]

"Nintendo are the most creative company in this industry and take more risks and try new things than anyone"

If that was true we would of seen a crap load of new IPS from them...but we haven't.

Nintendo sticks to tradition...which means they'd rather stick with the IPs they have then make new ones.

[jcnba28]

Nope. Nintendo are the most creative and take the most risks when it comes to both hardware and software.

[AsimLeonheart]

@jcnba28

How about giving some examples and backing your statement with some facts? Denial is not enough.

[wheresmymonkey]

this gen thus far Wonderful 101 and X, nes remix and steel diver,

Last gen wii sports, fit and music. AS well as Pandoras Tower, the Last Story, Xenoblade and Captain Rainbow.Sure they were made by seond parties but the big N owns the rights to all of them. That's just off the top of my head.

on handhelds - brain training and nintendogs

on the GC we got eternal darkness and batallion wars.

TL:DR Nintendo do continue to make and invest in new ips. Just because you;re not interested in them doesn't mean they don't exist.

[Nerdmaster]

@AsimLeonheart
Hardware-wise, if you're still looking for examples, then it makes me think that you're only joking. Digital pad, shoulder buttons, analog stick, rumble, motion controls, two screens, glasses-free 3D, the first wireless controller that actually worked...

Software-wise, making the first successful transitions from 2D to 3D with Mario 64 and Zelda Ocarina of Time, making a whole AAA game using motion controls with Zelda Skyward Sword (Microsoft is STILL trying to make an AAA game that uses Kinect...), using gyroscopes in GBA games, putting together characters from different franchises in the same game, risking on making "non-game" software like Brain Training and Wii Fit, great games that rely on "non-traditional" controllers (again, Microsoft still can't figure it out how to do it)...

[truechainz]

New IP does not automatically equal creativity. Take The Last of Us. That game was fantastic (just finished 2nd playthrough) and was a new IP, but nothing about that game hasn't been done before in some form (not necessarily just video games). I felt deja vu from most other survival/apocalyptic themes in both movies and books. That doesn't mean it wasn't good because the reason that game is so good is how it presents all those themes used before in a way that entices the player and immerses them. Then take a game like Pikmin. That game has creativity pouring out of all sides, and though it probably has its influences from other media as well, it was not as clear to me while playing it. It is still expanding on that even in its 3rd iteration. The point being is you (and many others) seem to think that just because an IP is new that means everything is creative and original. Rather creativity should be apparent regardless of what iteration the game is on. I would argue we see more creativity in the level design in indie games and games like Mario 3D world (to the point where I would be surprised and impressed if the inspiration of which wasn't accompanied by LSD) than most games today.

[AsimLeonheart]

@wheresmymonkey

I acknowledge those few JRPGs even though they faded in to obscurity without any follow-ups. Also Wonderful 101 is a new IP even though eccentric and flop but X is just a sequel/successor to Xenoblade. However, please dont count shovelware, eshop games and casual games as new IPs. I am talking about major core games that make an impact on the industry or mark the start of new franchises. Games like Uncharted, Last of Us, Gears of War, Halo, Little Big Planet, Mass Effect, Infamous, Red Dead Redemption, Far Cry, Ni no kuni, Alan Wake, Borderlands, Dead Space, Bioshock and many others. Each of those IPs were created within the past decade. What new franchise has Nintendo brought to the industry within the past decade?

[Nerdmaster]

@AsimLeonheart
Out of those games, which ones were created by Sony or Microsoft? Few of them. Most of them were created by third-parties. You can say "Nintendo should attract more third-parties", but implying that Sony or Microsoft created IPs like "Mass Effect, Red Dead Redemption, Far Cry, Ni no kuni, Alan Wake, Borderlands, Dead Space, Bioshock and many others" doesn't make sense at all.

Oh, and Ni No Kuni was released first for DS...
And Halo is more than a decade old.

[DanManDantheMan]

It takes a certain level of creativity to keep a franchise started decades ago fresh.

A new IP doesn't define creativity. Nintendo could have repainted DK as Koala Country, but would that signify creativity? No.

[REDBEARD]

@foxtrot

You are embarrassing yourself once again, lol. Xenoblade, The Wonderful 101, and The Last Story are new IPs. Sure Nintendo didn't make those games, but Microsoft and Sony didn't make Uncharted or Halo. Nintendo actually makes their games and their hardware. They look at their games from a gameplay perspective. One of the reasons we play games is to have fun. Nintendo delivers that. Not saying Sony and Microsoft don't, but you have to give Nintendo credit.

[Baccra17]

You'd be better off discussing this with a wall than a NinCultist.

[Nevers0ft]

A new IP does not equal creativity, they're entirely separate things.

Take Super Mario 3D World for example - that thing is stuffed to the hilt with new gameplay mechanics, yet it's "another" Mario game... Slapping a different character in the game wouldn't suddenly affect the core gameplay, which is where the creativity is.

Similarly, you could release a new IP with a rich and varied backstory and characters, then cram them into the most generic and uninspired game imaginable... Is that more creative?

[GordonKnight]

This game is most 3D looking 2D game I've seen. They did add two player co-op.

I would like to see a new IP though.

[n4f]

@baccra
That's because the wall is smarter than you.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

Xenoblade - X
The Last Story
Pushmo
Steel Diver
Sakura Samurai
Freakyform
Pandora' Tower
The Wonderful 101
Disaster Day of Crisis
Endless Ocean

[Kane22]

im pretty sure Sony out of 3 is the only one who takes bigger risks than anyone. so far Nintendo has played it safe for years.

[AsimLeonheart]

I agree. Sony is the one that introduced CDs to the gaming industry, made gaming mainstream, introduced bluray, dual shock controllers, introduced several new IPs over the years and many other things. Nintendo is the one that held on to cartridges when CDs were introduced, shunned HD gaming, shunned online gaming and shunned various genres of games except platformers.

[Nerdmaster]

@AsimLeonheart
Wow, you're REALLY uninformed, aren't you? Sony didn't introduce CDs. SEGA CD already existed three years before the first PlayStation was released (and even then, I'm not sure SEGA was the first one). Dual Shock was created only after Nintendo released their controllers with analog stick and rumble. The first PS controllers didn't have either.

[lilbroRx]

Actually, NEC introduced CD's to the gaming industry with the Turbo Graphx CD if I'm not mistaken, and then SEGA.

Also, Nintendo didn't shun HD graphics. They didn't see a reason to charge customers $500+ just for graphics.

They chose a more creative route than just focusing on graphics "again and again" like Sony. They introduced a new gaming standard itself which both Sony and Microsoft later copied.

[Concertoine]

If nintendo played it safe they wouldve made a ps4 clone, which wouldve been much more successful. They are suffering financially because they tried something new. The wii was also a big risk.

[LAWSON72]

That is why the PS4 is a PS3 with 1080p? Please correct me if I am wrong, I would love to see how it is not.

They dont take risks at all really. For example look at the successful Demon Souls, you know who had to localize it in EU and NA, Namco and Atlus. Why? Probably due to the West clearly being appealed by action and big blockbuster titles, so they probably saw zero potential and did not want to a risk.

I would love to know how introducing CDs as a risk. I did not know pushing an invention that is clearly better than cartridges was a risk. Are the first ones to sell DVD players risk takers, lol? Made gaming mainstream my ass, Nintendo did that with the NES, SNES, and Gameboy. Bluray was as much a risk as CDs, it is clearly a big risk to use a disc that is better than the competitions and is the future of HD physical movies.

[stragomccloud]

I was going to give reasons as to why everything you've said is just wrong on so many levels; however, it seems that others have beaten me to the punch.

Except you, AsimLeonheart. You need to check you facts.

[DC777]

Yes Sega had a cd add on. Sony mainstreamed the idea when Nintendo wanted to stick with cartridges. Nintendo took a huge risk with mini disc's in gamecube which was supposed to be the future. Obviously it never happened but it had been used in music cds here and there. MS and Sony battled it out over blu-ray and high def and blu-ray won. Nintendo mainstreamed motion control and the basics for every controller we have earlier on. Sony did that with disks and blu-ray. They have both brought us to this point so not much use arguing about it. DKTF is the first DK in HD. No other innovation is going on lately except steps towards VR and streaming. Gameplay remains the same because it's a guaranteed buck...Unfortunately.

[AsimLeonheart]

So where are the new IPs if they are so creative and risk-taking? One or two new IPs in more than a decade like Wonderful 101 or Xenoblade do not cut it. The only risk they take is with hardware by introducing gimmicks or lagging behind the competition power-wise and shunning third party games. Nintendo is the most conservative out of the Big 3. Nintendo is the one that held on to cartridges when CDs were introduced, shunned HD gaming, shunned online gaming, shunned various genres of games except platformers and currently refuses to adapt to modern gaming landscape.
"Nintendo is the saviour of the gaming industry, Nintendo can do no wrong, Nintendo is fun, Nintendo is creative!"
You people keep chanting those claims continuously. Furthermore, you people bring soul, honour, shame, love and other such words in to the discussion when talking about Nintendo. What the hell has gaming got to do with these things? You people have gone blind and crazy in your love for Nintendo.

[Blacklash93]

Who are "You People"? And who has said that in your quotation? Making broad and vaguely-directed accusations while misusing quotes doesn't help your point.

[AsimLeonheart]

@backlash

"You people" refers to Nintendo fans. At least one or few or all of those statements fit the majority of the Nintendo fans for whom gaming on Nintendo platforms has become more than just a hobby. It has become a fanatic cultism for them that is associated with sentiments, beliefs and passion and needs to be practised and defended fervently.

[truechainz]

Refer to comment above. Also enough generalities. Use specifics to prove your point. Using generalizations and hyperbole to make an argument is the best way to prove that it is an uneducated one.

[RAFFwaff]

you need to get out more mate. sony isnt your all-knowing saviour. its a greed-infested company that smiles politely at you while going where the money is. Once they have got a few more million ps4 users, you will all be slowly and surely locked into digital-only product. its YOU who are delusional. If nintendo having soul and integrity equates to its fanbase as 'delusional' and in a 'cult', then count me in.

[AsimLeonheart]

@RAFFwaff

You just proved my point. "Nintendo has soul and integrity!" The same greedy company that keeps making sequels after sequels for guaranteed revenue and sells digital versions for the same price as retail games even though they are saving the money on the manufacturing and distribution. Another fanatic statement by a Nintendo cultist.
Sony is just a gaming company for me. Nothing more, nothing less. It is not evil, nor pious. They are just conducting a business. The same goes for Microsoft. If I do not like their product or business model at any point then I will just stop being their customer. I do not feel the urge to defend them vehemently and associate myself sentimentally to them unlike you. Save your love for real people instead of giving it to corporations and electronics.

@Nerdmaster

I KNOW that SEGA CD was released before PSone. Have been gaming since the 80s dude. However, it was an add-on and a flop and was not the main storage medium. The genesis was still a cartridge based console. Playstation was the first console to use CDs as its main and only medium for games storage. You know what I meant in the comment so stop ignoring the actual point and getting in to semantics just to prove me wrong.

[stragomccloud]

You are so delusional. It's time to stop drinking the Kool-Aid son. The truth is that Nintendo truly is the last gaming company with integrity as evidenced by their unwillingness to ship incomplete games, or games that charge up the wall for DLC that should have been part of the original game to begin with. Nintendo also never considered making used games unplayable. Sony had to see the reaction to Microsoft's debacle before making that decision. If you check early press releases and news regarding the PS4, you'll find that Sony did not want to comment on the ability to play used games at the time of announcement, and said only that they would announce something at a later time. In other words, they had to think about it. This was never even a conversation with Nintendo, of course it would play used games. Also, backwards compatibility is a given for their products, and Nintendo is now the only console platform that offers online gaming for free. I've been gaming online on PC since the 90s, so the idea of having to pay for online just seems silly to me.

[BosSSyndrome]

A new IP does not equal a new experience.

[Nerdmaster]

You said "Sony is the one that introduced CDs to the gaming industry", and I pointed that it just isn't true.

The funny thing is that even "Playstation was the first console to use CDs as its main and only medium" is wrong, since Saturn was released before. Just a few deys before, sure, but it still contradicts what you said.

Just admit that you're wrong. By the time Sony created the PlayStation, many others were doing the same. As I pointed out, others even did it before Sony. Using CDs was not a risk, it wasn't a revolution. It was as evolution. The whole industry was headed in that direction.

The thing that you fail to see is that you keep talking about creativity and risks, but Sony is maybe the company who does those things the least. The things they "create" are always things that the industry is already doing, it doesn't really take risks. CD, online gaming, HD graphics, analog stick... Each of those things were already being implemented by others. I can't thing of one single thing that we can say "Sony did it first", other than keep getting higher capacity discs that, as I said, is an evolution not a revolution.

The thing that bugs me the most is that they're always trying to imitate things that other companies (mainly Nintendo) came up with first. Nintendo put shoulder buttons on their controllers? "Let's put shoulder buttons on our controllers!". Nintendo put rumble and analog sticks? "Let's put two analog sticks!". Nintendo made success with motion controllers? "Let's make the Move!". Microsoft created Achievements? "Let's make trophies!". Second Life seems interesting? "Let's create the Home!".

Not that I'm against it, of course. At least they do a good job at copying stuff, since they try to refine whatever they copy (even though DualShock's analog sticks are really crappy to this day). The problem is when fanboys ignore this fact and claim that Nintendo is the one that doesn't take risks and have to creativity.

Even considering the games, things that people see as innovative are either not innovative (Last of Us didn't create anything new) or are done by third-parties.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

So you dismiss all of the examples given as ones that "do not cut it", then take to personally attacking Nintendo fans with false statements that none of them have ever made which you claim "they keep chanting"...

You've just lost this argument and all of your credibility by doing something that immature.

Don't try again. You're wasting everyone's time.

[Nevers0ft]

A new IP does not automatically make something "creative" you could make the most generic game imaginable and shove a new mascot on it. Nintendo is creative where it counts - gameplay mechanics and hardware (so much so that it bites them in the ass sometimes).

[No9]

Actually, first console with CD as it's main storage medium was.... 3DO in 1993

[Eonjay]

Everyone knows (and I do mean everyone) that Donkey Kong gets sympathy reviews. If you didn't get the memo, check your spam filter. Especially after all the bashing they recieved. Nobody was supposed to say anything though...

[Blacklash93]

Maybe they just enjoyed the game as a title, instead of fussing over familiarity like several reviews have done. They experienced it from a different mindset. The points between the two types of reviews stongly suggests so. That's not "apologizing" or necessarily 'sympathy' motivated.

And how are you to accurately judge beyond general conjecture, exactly? A "Some people did it." or "Someone must have done it." argument is poor support for broad claims.

[Eonjay]

Oh, I'm not saying the game is bad. Its just that there was never any expectation of a fair review. Nintendo has a great track record and most people wont play it anyway so it doesn't matter what we score it because most people wont play it anyway...
This was all explained in the memo.

[Blacklash93]

Uh, what memo? It can't be anything more than conjecture or an anecdotal account. Unless the source spoke with most reviewers and made them explain their reasoning. Conjecture and anecdotes are worthless in something this broad.

[Eonjay]

Not as worthless as a lack of a sense of humor. And yes, it is understood that this game would receive higher scores than it deserved from the offset to compensate for the embarrassment Reggie endured at the hands of the VGX. Just because you don't understand it doesn't make it any less so. This doesn't mean the game isn't fun. And if you want to respond please realize that I'm only trolling for God's sake.

[stragomccloud]

Or! People actually loved the game. No one ever gives Nintendo sympathy. The gaming press is absolutely brutal towards anything and everything Nintendo.

[Nevers0ft]

*checks agrees and disagrees*

You need to work on your sarcasm tags Eonjay... This is N4G ;)

[Eonjay]

LOL... You speak the truth

[ape007]

because DK Tropical Freeze is a very well designed traditional experience, most games these days are extremely linear, cut scene focused and just shallow

is that your definition of "new games", sorry the old single player design is 10 times better

[Blacklash93]

"It’s important – if not for the industry, then for NowGamer – that review scores for popular franchises reflect their value, because there is little worth in ‘more of the same’ if you already own the last game in a series."

I thought reviews were supposed to assess the objective quality of a game as a title, not push a subjective message about familiarity and how it relates to value. :/

[Hicken]

Those two things aren't as separate as you might think.

After all, is not part of Call of Duty's problem they the games are too similar? There are rarely many game-breaking flaws, but it gets to be a little ridiculous to keep giving the game high scores when it's hardly any different from last time.

Not that they're bad games, but Nintendo franchises do seem to get passes for levels of familiarity other games would be marked down for. In general, it's as if their titles are flawless.

[DanManDantheMan]

You can hardly call Tropical Freeze "familiar" when there have only been two releases since the 16-bit era.

[agonism]

Nah, people are mistaken to believe that any individual, organization, media outlet, etc can be truly objective in assessing their experiences or an inter-subjectively constructed reality. Nothing or nobody is free of value judgments, even science, and although some people feel that shit being relative gives them a free pass for shady ethics it doesn't.

I remember awhile back ago a journalist caught a lot of flak and I think even death threats for criticizing a popular game, as they perceived it as having misogynistic elements in it; the ones who weren't simply trolling were complaining about a lack of objectivity as if that were even a thing. This kind of stuff is why I've been slightly hesitant to become invested in the gaming community as opposed to simply gaming, but I guess there's some reasonable gamers here and there.

On the topic of the article, I'd probably agree with McScroggz.

[SladeX]

Author comes off as a Butthurt person who is an embarrassment as a journalist if he whines and complains about reviews.

[Fishermenofwar]

I'm a Ps3 fanboy...and proud..BUT...I've had some time with the WiiU and I want one now.

Nintendo has advertised this system horribly...

Its amazing for the whole family....Plus the netflix EXp is awesome!!

I can watch Netflix on the Tablet(controller) and someone else can watch regular TV...

And switching between is seemless....

Advertise Nintendo...Lots of Wii people still haven't jumped to WiiU that is Nintendos biggest shortcoming

[mshope10]

Its one of the best features watching Netflix on the gamepad's big screen with headphones and sharing the tv with someone else is amazing!

[shawnmelo]

but you can easily do that with a tablet. i dont know anyone at this point that doesnt own a tablet. to be honest id rather watch netflix on a tablet with higher resolution than the wii u gamepad so that feature isnt really useful to a lot of people.

[seraphym88]

@shawnmelo
https://help.netflix.com/en...

http://www.idownloadblog.co...

Netflix streams at 1080p max on wii-u and only EXPENSIVE tablets. No teblet to date gets higher than 1080p. Also, i own a Wii-u, and its friggin amazing. I dont own a tablet, cuz i have a smart-phone, and computer.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Agreed 100%.
The system is excellent, but Nintendo's lack of advertisement is CRIPPLING to it.
This is a case where the heads shouldn't be fired, but maybe the person in charge of marketing should be relegated to a lesser position and replaced by someone who actually knows what sells a system here in the states.

[thegent]

I thought the opposite ans that people were too harsh on dk because it wasnt metroid. People should just review the game for what it is and thats it

[Activemessiah]

Soooo he wants to see crappy scores for DK just because it's familiar? lolwut?

[Blacklash93]

Also ignoring that several other reviewers share his critique outlook, apparently.

[Activemessiah]

Gamespot just gave it 6/10 so it goes to show he's after an unfair bias AGAINST the game. It was delayed twice to be further polished to kingdom come, I'm not saying it's perfect but it's done well.

[wheresmymonkey]

There's zero apologies in my reviews. They just make bloody good games.

[secretcode]

Yeah Nintendo gets defended way too much*. Stunning journalism from the same site that brought you "Nintendo Isn't The Problem: YOU are" and how their failure is the cause of "a sick society."

Click. Bait.

*sarcasm by the way

[gedden7]

"Now I’m not going to sit here and tell you our opinion is better than everyone else’s, but it does raise an interesting point – that there’s a lot of forgiveness handed to Nintendo across the media."

Forgiveness, Nintendo, Media is rarely in the same sentence as a positive note... What drugs is this guy on??? I would like some!!

It's mind boggling some of the bs that these editors write up. Its even more mind boggling that the same editors/web sites are very quick to give "$forgiveness$" to other games.. Lets say GTA 5... So a game that has basically the same gameplay with some added features and a new story, shouldn't get a high score right??? I mean that's what he's saying about DK TF right?? Nintendo can't keep giving us the same game over and over right and be successful??? Well GTA received a 9.5/10 score... Hmmm, GTA 5 has almost exactly the same gameplay as 4,3,2 just better graphics, bigger worlds, different story. But wait a sec, the ONLINE PORTION OF THE GAME IS STILL BUGGY IF NOT BROKEN... This is MONTHS after release... Still got a 9.5. That looks like a lot of "$forgiveness$" to me if I have ever seen it..

[GordonKnight]

I agree

Nintendo get beat down in the media all the time, but their games always get great reviews.

[truechainz]

Sooo Nintendo is being defended too much? Sequels should automatically be scored lower? Not sure if serious...

[Brasi1989]

Apologizing*

[McScroggz]

I think the issue is most Nintendo games are still heavily rooted in the old school game design philosophy. Great gameplay, minimal story. And as the industry evolves (or devolves depending on the gamer) and more and more games have legitimately interesting/well told stories, there is a divide amongst both gamers and journalist.

There are some who see Nintendo's design philosophies antiquated - still very well done - but antiquated, because a game with fundamentally no driving narrative feels like less of a complete product than what we normally see with AAA games. That, coupled with the fact that it's many of the same franchises that we've seen for a decade, or more.

On the other hand, I think there are people who feel (as odd as it may seem) that Nintendo's design philosophy is fresh because in a medium where gameplay is becoming less and less the focus, to have a game come out with deep, rewarding and unhindered gameplay is a reprieve from narrative driven games with mediocre mechanics.

To me, I feel like it lies somewhere in the middle. Nintendo almost always delivers a very polished, family friendly game with very well designed gameplay and levels. However, when you juxtapose Super Mario 3D World or Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze to something like The Last of Us, it's hard not to notice how samey and basic the former games feel. So it's hard to judge.

The last thing I would say is this: I don't think that Nintendo necessarily gets judged more favorably so much as I think it's natural given the games. When you have a AAA game that, for lack of a better term, strives to offer a "complete" experience, every aspect possible gets judged - and, honestly, video game stories still have wildly inconsistent quality. Conversely, Nintendo games often place such little importance on the story that generally speaking reviewers don't really grade them on it.

[SpiralTear]

I can definitely see your point.

Nintendo games rarely have deep stories (though I still think how Metroid Prime presented its narrative was very interesting). AAA games of today demand a sense of scope and story is a really easy way to provide a broader scope.

But it's still a preferential deal, and I think indie developers are steadily beginning to embrace that story isn't a necessity. Guacamelee and Minecraft did that very well.

Still, story is becoming a bigger focus and a new story inherently gives a game a new identity, so Nintendo's tightly designed offerings (with their very formulaic or "traditional" approach to narrative) tend to get tossed aside in favor of games with stories that define the game itself, even if the gameplay or design is mediocre.

[McScroggz]

Yup. It's just too bad more gamers can't enjoy both kinds of games :/

[seraphym88]

I definitely see both of your points, however i would add that Zelda was really the first console game with an emphasis on story. As Nintendo has said, they got massive amounts of calls from customers asking 'when does level one end?" and "wheres my score?". This goes to show how game-changing the first Zelda was, it was also the first open-world console game, and the first to allow you to save your progress.

That being said, Zelda is of coarse just one of the many Nintendo IP's, and i also wouldn't say Zelda's story is amazingly important, just really good. Lets not forget Golden Sun, Fire Emblem, Metroid, Kid Icarus, and the Mario RPG's!I guess my point is, your both right. I would just add that, Nintendo does have the ability to make a (while still 'simplistic') good story.

[for we are many]

This is just a declaration of the actively going trend and to prepare us for more negativity and low scores for great games and masterpieces of fun and design especially Nintendo games which are known for these qualities for a long time, so it would be acceptable and predictable for the public to see well designed, polished, challenging games with lots of content getting Low scores in favor of reserving the High scores for the massively Hyped, short Interactive Movie, shallow QTE-fest games of this age. It's making me lose faith in the videogame scene with each passing stupid article like this.

[roland82]

Most nintendo first party games are good quality games. They don't require several patches just to work right. They don't have day one dlc. Donkey kong is only $50 and from my understanding it takes several hours to complete with lots of replay ability.

[eyeofcore]

I heard it is 8 to 14 hours.

[DanManDantheMan]

Translation: "How can a franchise started decades ago remain so fresh and fun even to this day?! Gaming media standards says this isn't supposed to happen!"

[SirNintend0]

You know what's a fresh series? Call of Duty. How do they manage to keep that so good? That up and comer Halo is pretty spiffy too. Madden is another gem!

[hano]

stupid Sony Fanboy 'journalism'.

If anything Nintendo has been on the receiving end of the most devastating Online hate in history.

[deafdani]

What a stupid article. Donkey Kong Country Returns currently stands with a 82 score on Metacritic:

http://www.metacritic.com/g...

And one of the most common complaints in the majority of the reviews is that the game, while being very solidly designed, with great level layouts, great gameplay and good graphics, goes along a very safe path, being a bit too traditional and bringing little new to the table.

So, the scores and reviews are reflecting that.

Old school or not, that doesn't stop it from being a damn good game, so what exactly is wrong with it having an 80's average?

[retrogamer1978]

@AsimLeonheart.

Sony ps one was not the first to use cd base storage for games.
Sega beat them to it. Even if sega cd was an add on it was still considered a gaming machine no matter how bad it was. An for the record panasonic 3DO was out before sony PS one. An on top of that their was another just before the 3do also but can't remember at the moment as of writing this. Oh atari jaguar 64, NEC turbo duo. Even the sega saturn came out a couple months before ps one.

[Justindark]

assassin's creed feels old so does uncharted honestly.

[AstroCyborg]

what reviews is he watching every reviewer bashes on nintendo on a daily basis

[zavierkai]

Nintendo revolutionize ones with the control and console and platform that change everything Super Mario create one of the first open world rpg Legend of Zelda create the game play that everyone calls Metroidvania in the first (Metroid August 6 186) those game play change video games in history and their hardware there were more games on nes those are enough.
Super Nintendo a modification to the control pad with ABXY and R L those are the configuration in all the controller to date then came the N64 with the analog stick and the revolution Mario 64 nothing like it not even in PC it wasn't possible at the time. Every game after that come from mario 64 nad they copy the analog stick ps 360 there are more games and Nintendo system that revolutionize the industry but every body has the picture. Play the game for its game play not for the graphics or resolution tropical Freeze is another Masterpiece for Nintendo enjoy the game.

[finite]

Nicely said ..... These sheep really need to look at there game collection, and the rinse repeat copies of COD, Battlefield, Assassin Creed, Rayman,Forza, GT, GTA, all the std FPS games, the std structured MMO's and shed loads more. There are almost no risk or innovation nowadays from many high end developers.

BAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[Jagsrock]

Wait what?

[3dmariofan68]

yes and all reviewers should stop sucking up to GTAV, but they don't.

[Fishermenofwar]

Exactly!!!

[mariowiiufan]

Just like Zombi u and wonderful 101, I have donkey kong as well, there is nothing wrong with these games, the media just wants Nintendo to fail, why does all the media suck up to gtav? the game is not that great, but the media worships this garbage, they are just biased toward Nintendo, the wii killed sony nand Microsoft, and the industry and the media are making damn sure the wii u doesn't do the same, pathetic.

[clouds5]

There is one very well known game series that tries to innovate with every title : final fantasy. Each title has a different theme and system. And that is not always a good thing imho. The problem is, for my taste ff7 had the best system (materia) and all other FF are less interesting because they use something completely different. How I would Loooove a new FF with the materia system...
So my point is, I'd rather have two games with similar but excellent gameplay than two with completely different but bad gameplay!

And for my personal taste, donkey Kong has near perfect gameplay. Rayman is cool too but it has the same problem that games like the dirt series have. You buy the game for rally but have to play 75% other gameplays that you don't enjoy as much.

The other point : this has nothing to do with the wii u and nintendo. This is just how the business works these days. Find formula that works, copy paste. CoD... If you want new and exciting experiences try the indie section on steam or on the wii u, with wonderful 101 or zombie u and eshop titles.

[Geekman]

A) You spelled "Apologizing" wrong. B) Perhaps the reviewers actually LIKE the game? C)Refer back to the rages that started when Gameinformer gave Paper Mario 2 a bad score and Gamespot gave Skyward sword a 7.5. People raged because they were GOOD games! We aren't imagining that they're good because they're Nintendo, moron, we KNOW they're good because we PLAYED them and LIKED them.

[Geekman]

You know, the LAST time Nintendo tried to "Change the genre," fans raged. (Super Paper Mario.) They don't need to fix what isn't broken. Super Paper Mario was a GOOD game despite hate, but recall all the times OTHER franchises got screwed up games because of change. (Zelda CD-I.) I'm not saying make it the same game every time, but don't give it a drastic change.