"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 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.
''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.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
@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)...
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.
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?
@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.
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.
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?
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.
@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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
Or! People actually loved the game. No one ever gives Nintendo sympathy. The gaming press is absolutely brutal towards anything and everything Nintendo.
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
"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. :/
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.
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.
Or the reviewer actually enjoys the game as reviews are opinion based, just like this opinion piece.
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.
I agree 100% with this article. Very good points made.
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?
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.