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Driv3r Reviews. Were PSM2 & XBW honest? (Part II)
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Satako
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 1:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dodgy_dave wrote:
It's a brilliant driving game, handlings spot on and the damaging model is the most realistic I've seen. The missions are typical Driver missions and are great fun, as is Take A Ride.

I'll agree with you on the handling. It's very responsive and the slightly over-the-top physics engine calls for some very exciting scenes.
dodgy_dave wrote:
And yes I'm also willing to bet that Reflections intended to fix the technical flaws, but they didn't, and they shouldn't get in the way of what otherwise would be seen as a brilliant game, especially seeing as they don't affect gameplay.

However, here is where we'll disagree. As has been pointed out, some of these technical flaws do get in the way of the general gameplay.

An early mission where you launch yourself off a ramp to chase after someone - I replayed that mission about ten times because unless I were to hit it perfectly, my car would bounce off the kerb, flip itself in the air a good few times and land on its back.

We could put that down to my poor driving, but then later on in the game when we're trying to impress someone with our driving skills, I complete the mission, start listening to the dialogue where I'm filled in on the next part of the game only to be greeted with a "Mission Failed" screen and forced to retry. Why? I have no idea. From what I saw, I passed the test with flying colours.

Those are two examples I've encountered - admittedly not huge examples but annoyances nonetheless. I'm sure other people here can come up with more but these probably belong in a separate thread altogether. After all, this thread isn't about the flaws in the game, but rather why the reviews failed to point these out, isn't it?
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bear
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 1:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well while attempting to do one of the chase missions on attempting to enter a car Tanner stood still first time failing me the mission,second time same thing happened with the same car,third time same thing with a different car.However after I reset the machine I did the mission first time.I honestly think if I had not reset the thing though I would not have passed said mission.
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pieman
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just got a copy of MCV (video games weekly trade mag) from the 11th of June, which has the driv3r campaign highlited, it is costing over 30million euros world wide, which means even at £45 each they have to shift around 1million copies of the game just to get the campaign spend back...

Intrestingly under PR:

Quote:
An extensive specialist campaign has been running for over 18 months. 13 front covers to date have appeared with the first review appearing in the July issue of PSM2, boasting a score of 90%.


Then in the next issue the have a page on the Driver Brand, which is good news for their readership (shops etc) who find the summer months flat. Intrestingly in the whole page there is only one mention the quality of the game, which is to say it has scored an average of 9/10 in the specialist press

There seems to be an intresting quote from Jeremy Wigmore (UK MD of Atari) When asked if Driv3r can cut it against the pretenders to the cool crown (GTA, the getaway)

Quote:

Wigmore is bullish: "Of course it can compete. Edgy, gritty, original, stylish. All of thes are how Driver is perceived by consumers - as one of the most innovative brands around and the epitome of cool.
It is one of the biggest franchises in this genre and industry of all time."


No mention of this being carried on in Driv3r, no mention of the quality of the game just hype the brand and the masses will follow....

With all of this money being spent there was no way they could delay the game just because it wasn't finished.

I will watch with intrest MCV for fallout from this launch.
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OctogenarianPussy
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:


It is one of the biggest franchises in this genre and industry of all time."


How up your own arse can you be? And surely that statement is tosh?
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OctogenarianPussy wrote:
Quote:


It is one of the biggest franchises in this genre and industry of all time."


How up your own arse can you be? And surely that statement is tosh?


Have you been living under a rock these past few years?
In this genre Driver IS one of the biggest series', along with GTA. The amount of hype and build up of Driv3r proves this. Just because the game may be utter cack doesn't mean that all of a sudden the franchise disappears!
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OctogenarianPussy
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

With all due respect, if you were to ask me for my top twenty franchises of all time this series wouldn't have been on the radar. And he does actually say "In the industry" that implies it goes beyond the genre. The genre itself consists of Driver and GTA. And True Crime. And thats it. Right now it's not much competition.
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geff
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Someone mentioned earlier about comparing a film review in Sun magazine to this huge excellent Driv3r topic.

The film used as an example was "The Day after tomorrow". It was described as having 5 minutes of special effects but the rest was just garbage..... could this not also be applied to driv3r. The point is that a film cannot be reviewed in anyway similar to a game. When you go to watch a movie your are being fed a story, you have no control over its outcome and therefore you either enjoy it or you dont, you can however state reasons why you may not have enjoyed it i.e poor character emotions or plain bad acting.

In the case of a game you are in control... you have a part in making the story and making the enjoyment for yourself. In the game driv3r your enjoyment is not hindered by your own doing it is hindered by the unarguable flaws and design bugs... metaphorically similar to if one of the actors in "The day After Tomorrow" suddenly stops and says "...er what are my lines again?". If that had happened no film review could deny it being there, much like no magazine should have denied the faults in Driv3r being there.

Iknow this thread is becoming widely noticed and I really do hope that changes are made as a result.
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Pell
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

geff wrote:
I know this thread is becoming widely noticed and I really do hope that changes are made as a result.


Such as? It's good that this thread has a) stayed (pretty much) like a professional debate and b) has gained a lot of interest.
A few have mentioned wanting positive outcomes, but I ask what would that entail for you to be satisfied with the outcome? An apology by some people, or what? Confused
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Eighthours
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pell wrote:
geff wrote:
I know this thread is becoming widely noticed and I really do hope that changes are made as a result.


Such as? It's good that this thread has a) stayed (pretty much) like a professional debate and b) has gained a lot of interest.
A few have mentioned wanting positive outcomes, but I ask what would that entail for you to be satisfied with the outcome? An apology by some people, or what? Confused


How about some lessons learned: for the PR people not to try to bully publications into giving a good score for a mediocre game, for magazines not to sacrifice their integrity for the sake of an exclusive, and for publishers like Atari not to release games before they are finished, simply because of a combination of their financial results being due, and because they've booked advertising space way too early in advance.

There's 3 good outcomes for you! An apology would be nice, but I doubt it's going to happen.
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pell wrote:
geff wrote:
I know this thread is becoming widely noticed and I really do hope that changes are made as a result.


Such as? It's good that this thread has a) stayed (pretty much) like a professional debate and b) has gained a lot of interest.
A few have mentioned wanting positive outcomes, but I ask what would that entail for you to be satisfied with the outcome? An apology by some people, or what? Confused


By it simply being here it's working, surely? After reading this thread, I think most people will believe that there is pressure from within the industry placed onto reviewers to give favourable scores. Now that this thread has got the gaming public discussing the situation, there is increased pressure on the reviewers to give honest scores. Sure, Atari/*insert dodgy developer name* might be able to place adverts in magazines / websites, but if the public doesn't buy them there's not much point in that is there?
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geff
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pell wrote:
geff wrote:
I know this thread is becoming widely noticed and I really do hope that changes are made as a result.


Such as? It's good that this thread has a) stayed (pretty much) like a professional debate and b) has gained a lot of interest.
A few have mentioned wanting positive outcomes, but I ask what would that entail for you to be satisfied with the outcome? An apology by some people, or what? Confused


I am not interested in any sort of apologies or anyone excepting any sort of blame. All I would like to see is a change in the way the "big cheeses" treat the people who actually make the game and are keeping them in a job. Perhaps they may open there eyes and give the developers and designers a chance to create something that works, rather than drown their work in corporate bullshit and forced timescales.

The reason why Driv3r has been released in such a poor state is nothing to do with the developers lack of ability in creating a game but because they have been forced to rush or release early to fit in with Atari! This looks bad for the poor bastards who made the game, who I am sure will not be happy with its release quality yet somehow Atari will still make money from it.

The fact that the reviews were good when the game is clearly crap is wrong. However, my point is that the game shouldn't have been released in this state in the first place. I would love to see the game recalled for re-development although it will never happen.

If the big games companies actually realised that aiming to create a great game rather than get it out at a specific time then the games industry would benefit as a whole. I haven't seen a great game produced by Atari or EA for years... they have forgotten the reason why they started!
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 3:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry geff but Reflections have had an awful long time to get this made.Afterall its 2 years after stuntman was released and its pretty well known Driv3r was due out before last christmas.Bottom line both Atari and Reflections are at fault.
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jamiej
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 3:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Er-EA are actually one of the most improved publishers around....
Also-Trnsformers is not crap is it?
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 3:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

On a sidenote from the magazines discussed, I have always taken the reviews of 'Official' console magazines with a pinch of sort.

Compare official mags value to non-official mags.
What they do have over other magazines is the gloss, playable demos, inside info on first-party publishers and their products.

The other side of this is that as an official magazine there is always the editorial line whereby the Xbox magazine has to make the console sound better then the Playstation 2 and vice-versa.
ie,

The Official 'console' magazine is a means of promoting the console, so anything negative about the console is counterproductive and thus removed.

That is why in Official console mag reviews, games must get a rating of between 70-100% (unless it is extraordinarily bad.)
Sounds unlikely?
Look at this months xbox magazine.
Ratings are out of 10 but with a decimal point, effectively out of 100.
There are 4 below par games in the issue (by comparing the ratings of other magazines)
3 of them get 7.0 out of 10
and only one gets even less.

oh, and have you seen the Driver ad on page 2 of Xbox magazine?

It says "Good, Bad, Both. Driv3r"

! Laughing
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HailToTheKingBaby!
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 3:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://news.spong.com/detail/news.asp?prid=7014

Don't think this has been posted yet but spong have picked up on this too - they've even used the brown paper bag stuffed with money graphic someone posted here (didn't someone on here make that - did spong get permission? Wink )

Still, someone else furthering the cause so to speak.. quite a good read too..
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Last edited by HailToTheKingBaby! on Fri Jun 25, 2004 3:34 pm; edited 2 times in total
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