230°

Sony’s embargo conundrum: Did rushed reviewers lead to lower scores?

It’s great to have a PlayStation 4, complete with working firmware, right here in my office. There is every indication that tomorrow’s launch will go smoothly. Hell, you can always download the firmware update now and put it on a USB stick if you’re worried about clogged servers, be proactive!

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penny-arcade.com
_QQ_3841d ago

If that makes it easier for you cope with reality then sure.

HighResHero3841d ago (Edited 3841d ago )

Does trolling make it easier for you to cope with reality?

"How am i trolling? isn't it more so trolling yourself when people come up with these excuses for Review scores."

If you're not trolling relax I'm just trolling.

Anything to help me cope with reality.

_QQ_3841d ago (Edited 3841d ago )

How am i trolling? isn't it more so trolling yourself when people come up with these excuses for Review scores.

3841d ago
WeAreLegion3841d ago

Actually, everyone questioned the 7.5 Polygon gave to The Last of Us.

rela82me3841d ago

I feel like there was a roll reversal today with xbox and playstation fanboys. Now the Sony folks are in damage control mode, and they are making excuses for themselves. I am glad that I am able to sit back and watch everyone on both camps squander around pointing fingers and measuring dicks.

Ketzicorn3841d ago

You enjoy watching that do you? Kind of strange.

_QQ_3841d ago

@ we are legion. 1 review score is different than a popular opinion.

Nate-Dog3841d ago

Huh, so when reviews are high and rushed out, no-one questions anything. But when they're low and rushed out, there's an issue.

iamnsuperman3841d ago (Edited 3841d ago )

I think there is an issue both ways. Too many times do I see rushed reviews giving games higher or lower scores than they should be. It is more of an issue with higher scores as replay value and repetivness are often over looked/not looking into any real depth.

Do I think these scores are rushed? I have no idea but I an not surprised by the scores. I knew Knack would not (and if you read the reviews it doesn't) get the right treatment. It is reviewed from the perspective of the wrong target audience. Also Killzone has always been a niche game. I am a fan of it (it does have some issues as a series) but I know a lot of journalist hate the way it plays (similalry to how LBP as a series keeps getting marked down for floaty controls)

pivotplease3841d ago

KZ could be considered somewhat niche, but it is actually more popular than most people give it credit for. KZ2 cleaned up in reviews for the most part. I thought Shadow Fall was going to rake in the 9's but apparently a few sloppy anti-gravity areas and occasionally poor AI (prevalent in every FPS I've played) bring the best looking next-gen game to the level of mediocrity (just under COD nonetheless). I don't know if I can accept this. Guess I'll have to play through the whole thing myself.

WeAreLegion3841d ago

I think it's a combination of people expecting new game play mechanics that don't exist and double standards. Killzone gets reviewed based solely on its single-player, yet Battlefield and Call of Duty get a free pass for having horrible single-player modes? No. Not ok.

Anon19743841d ago (Edited 3841d ago )

I agree. I don't know how they can gloss over non-existent single player on one FPS and then have that be the primary focus of reviews on another.

And how many reviews of Knack did we see that didn't even mention the online features or co-op? How many reviewers failed to mention that some of the things they were criticism the game for were largely what makes a good game for younger kids? Seriously, some of those reviews sounded like an adult who stumbled in to a showing of Spy Kids and didn't realize it was meant for children.

Usually when you read a review for a kids game you see "kids will love this," or "parents can appreciate this feature," but you didn't see that once in the reviews bashing Knack. Interestingly, the reviewers who did look at it from the perspective of "will kids like this" or actually had a kid in the room while playing seemed to think the game was pretty damn good. You look up reviewers for games like Skylanders and they have no issue with pointing out what features are good for kids, which aren't. Knack was often reviewed like a game meant for adults, not an entry level game for young children.

I'm not defending either of these games as I haven't played either, but I just can't help but feel that like the poster mentioned above we're seeing some double standards at play, if not just shoddy reviewing in general. You don't have to have played the games to question "Why is game A being judged on this when game B received a pass?"

3841d ago
Anon19743841d ago (Edited 3841d ago )

There were sites out there that had no issue identifying Knack was a game for young kids and reviewing it as such. Like I pointed out, you read reviews of Skylanders and no one had any question that this game was for kids. And it still doesn't explain the review inconsistencies we've seen from some when reviewing games like COD or BF compared to Killzone.

pivotplease3841d ago

That is an excellent point. I noticed that discrepancy and was confused. KZ will throw you a decent campaign that sits around 8 hours whereas the other two will give you inferior campaigns that are lucky to last a quarter of that time. Also, I enjoy KZ single player, but the meat and potatoes is obviously residing in the multiplayer (something reviewers barely touched on and when they did they claimed it was amazing).

Also not sure about the 5.9 for Knack on IGN. They are usually decent with reviews (minus COD). I played the Knack demo and I couldn't see it deserving less than a 7.5 (considering garbage games can get 8's and even 9's these days).

sorane3841d ago (Edited 3841d ago )

"Killzone gets reviewed based solely on its single-player, yet Battlefield and Call of Duty get a free pass for having horrible single-player modes?"

Huh? Basically every review I've read for KZ has multiplayer in it also. Just look at:

http://n4g.com/news/1394065...

He talks about it plenty and he still gave it a 70% as have other reviews. That's saying a lot also since that reviewer is a huge KZ fan. I think these sorry excuses need to stop and people just need to start dealing with reality.

callahan093841d ago

You can't be serious? That's the best example you could come up with? He devotes out 16% (really about 3 out of 18 paragraphs) to a rather generic, brief, and uninformative description of the multiplayer. The vast majority of the review was talking about the single player, and that's precisely the issue that you're trying to rebut by bringing up this review: that when it comes to Killzone, critics are judging it primarily as a single payer game, but when it comes to Battlefield or COD they review it primarily as a multiplayer game and give it a pass for having an uninspired campaign. The review you posted also concludes with an utterly ridiculous comment about the graphics not looking like a leap from what the PS3 could do and saying it isn't a graphical showcase for the PS4... Come on... We all have eyes and know that is simply not true, this game is easily one of the most impressive launch games to showcase the new generation.

sorane3841d ago (Edited 3841d ago )

Sorry if your goggles are on so tight that you refuse to believe the truth calla. Just nonstop excuses with you guys since yesterday and I'm sure that won't stop anytime soon. Anyways I'm off to play some good next gen games while you guys sit around trying to think of more excuses that could explain the plethora of bad reviews for this game. Hell it didn't take long watching all these KZ streams to see that the reviews are pretty spot on. Just seems dull and generic, and yeah I am talking about the online watching it right now at:

http://www.twitch.tv/liquid...

GentlemenRUs3841d ago

Most people rush reviews out so they can get hits and ad-revenue...

At the end of the day, It's what the END-USER thinks of the product.

Moncole3841d ago (Edited 3841d ago )

You can usually tell how good a game will be in the first few hours. I find it funny people are disagreeing with this.

If I played the first few hours of a game and I didnt like it than I would stop playing. Started playing Batman Arkham Asylum and I got addicted fast because it got me hooked but I found Lord of the Rings: War in the North boring after a few levels and just wanted it to end because I was getting bored.

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400°

Killzone After a Decade in Hibernation

It's been 10 years since Killzone: Shadow Fall arrived for PlayStation 4 early adopters, and there's no sign of another sequel.

Obscure_Observer188d ago

Sadly it was dumped by Guerrilla to focus on Horizon games only. Mainline, VR and Multiplayer.

Vengeance1138188d ago

lmao sadly? Are you pretending to have actually played the series lol Sorry bud, no Killzone on Xbox.

Cacabunga188d ago

With the downfall of COD and BF, Killzone def. has a chance to make a groundbreaking comeback

188d ago
Notellin187d ago (Edited 187d ago )

What a low-functioning reply here typical of the fanboy N4G community.

Rimeskeem188d ago

“Dumped”

I think it’s called moving on.

Barlos188d ago (Edited 188d ago )

They brought out 4 main games and 2 spin offs: one on PSP and one on Vita. That's a decent run for any series. I also understand that Shadow Fall wasn't a success commercially despite it coming out at PS4 launch, and as a big Killzone fan even I couldn't get into it, so I think Sony/Guerrilla could see it was time to move on.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love another Killzone game in the vein of KZ2 but it's just not happening. Hell, I'd even take a remake or remaster of the first 3 games.

I'd hardly say it was "dumped" though, it spanned 3 console generations and 2 handheld generations.

1Victor188d ago

@obscured:”Sadly it was dumped by Guerrilla to focus on Horizon games only. Mainline, VR and Multiplayer”

Happily it was dumped by Guerrilla to focus on Horizon games only. Mainline, VR and Multiplayer( edited to reflect the writer true feelings and allegiance)
Kill zone was a FPS far ahead of its glitched competitors with nauseating bad camera angles, 10 years old screaming curses like a drunk sailor and bot aiming assist.

ChasterMies187d ago

“Sadly”?

The Horizon games were among the best games of all time. Killzone Shadowfail wasn’t.

Shane Kim187d ago

True, but damn the memories of KZ2 multiplayer. Still no MP as fun as that to this date.

Mr_cheese187d ago

Dumped and shelved are two different things

Tacoboto187d ago

And Sony as a whole dumped the FPS genre so they wouldn't have products competing with COD and (until purchase) Destiny.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 187d ago
GoodGuy09188d ago

I loved the KZ2+3 campaigns and MP in 2. There could be so much more done with the franchise. Horizon although good, I wish they'd go back to this wonderful IP. Take a break from Horizon please.

Flawlessmic188d ago

Agreed dude, I would absolutely love a reboot of the series, one can only hope that either resistance or killzone makes a return.

Have nothing but great memories, especially of the first 3 games, but all 4 were show stoppers graphically.

blackbeld188d ago

To making it a successful reboot they have to change that buttons layout! Make it playable like the cod button layout. Otherwise I’ll skipping it again.

Rynxie188d ago

And that's the reason why many fps games failed. Instead of being original and catering to it's fans, they tried to make it like cod. No, kz doesn't need cod button layout. It needs to be like it was on kz2 or balanced liked kz3.

Lightning77188d ago

I think Kill Zone would do great in Sony's LS push. As well as MAG reboot and bring back Resistance into LS.

Sharky231187d ago

@Lightning77

I think WarHawk would have been a great Live service game.

thorstein188d ago

Killzone games were so polished. The gameplay was just simple joy. MP was one of the best experiences.

I remember KZ3, just staring at how awesome they animated the water and then getting wasted because of it.

P_Bomb188d ago

It’s been a decade? Now I’m sad.

LiViNgLeGaCY187d ago

I hear ya bud. We're due for a revival.

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230°

20 Years of Guerrilla: The Story of a PlayStation Studio

The Amsterdam-based studio reflects on its humble beginnings, beloved franchises, and growth through the years.

Read Full Story >>
blog.playstation.com
SullysCigar379d ago

Up there with the top tier in the industry. Love Guerrilla Games - Horizon Burning Shores is simply STUNNING.

1Victor378d ago

Can’t wait for their next franchise

SullysCigar378d ago

Same. They nailed it with Horizon. The trouble is I also want a new Killzone! Can't I just have it all?!

jznrpg378d ago

I’m with you I want Horizon 3 , Killzone and new IPs

badz149378d ago

I have yet to play Burning Shores as I just started Forbidden West (bought at launch, just unwrapped last weekend LOL) and playing on PS5.

man...I still can't believe the graphics especially now I'm playing it on my LG OLED. that graphics and with stable performance backing it up, GG really is the master of their craft!

Vengeance1138378d ago

32.7M sales in the Horizon franchise! With 8.4M coming from Forbidden West alone! Truly a hugely successful game and franchise as a whole. Looking forward to Horizon III

Shane Kim378d ago

That's kind of a huge drop though. It's only been two games.

VersusDMC378d ago

One year after realease HZD sold 7.6 million.

https://www.noobfeed.com/ne...

So not a drop off.

Unless you're saying a HFW should have sold as much now as HZD sold in 5 years?

Vengeance1138378d ago

It's been 3 games, this includes Call of the Mountain. Also no, its a great improvement over HZD.

solideagle378d ago

lol you are comparing:

HZD: 28 February 2017 - May 2023 (6 years+)

HFW: 18 February 2022 - May 2023 (1 year+)

We will see if it surpass original number.

Phoenix76378d ago

@shane, 2 full main games, 2 DLC add ons, 1 VR spin off game, oh and a an official LEGO set.
Not too bad for an ip that's only been on market for 6 years

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 378d ago
REDGUM378d ago

Wow, very impressive. I didn't know the numbers were so high for Forbidden West. Still playing through it myself

thesoftware730378d ago (Edited 378d ago )

Yooo, when I first saw that Killzone 1 footage at E3, my friends my brothers and I were like, Holy shit! When it came out, it didn't look exactly like it, but we sunk so many hours into 1 & 2.

I even liked Killzone: SF, it was a spectacle to look at, and even today it looks good. I hope they make a new one. Can you imagine how that will look, and they can get some modern FPS pointers from Bungie.

blacktiger378d ago

thank you fps lover, I'm with you

talocaca378d ago

Such a wonderful studio. They deserve all their success.

The Decima Engine is absolute 🔥 I'm just mad they have abandoned Killzone.

OzzY-waZZy378d ago (Edited 378d ago )

Kinda wish they move on from Horizon tbh.

potatoseal378d ago

They are probably working on mutiple projects. One of them is Horizon 3, but another is a multiplaer game and probably somehting else.

Imalwaysright378d ago

There were rumours that they were working on a Socom reboot.

Show all comments (47)
370°

Guerrilla Announces Shutdown of Servers for Killzone: Shadow Fall and More

In August, online servers for several PlayStation games will shut down, leaving their multiplayer functions unplayable.

purple101669d ago

whrere on earth is the next killzone, im soooOOO thirsty for some proper weighted, (but still fast when running/sprinting) fps gamplay, it felt sooso so good on ps3, with that, lets be honest, very small, quite uncomfortable sixaxis dualshock controller, that was just too small for western sized hands, ok for japanese kids i suppose was the point>??

now with PS5 controller, it would be totally masterfull.

ClayRules2012669d ago

I hear you. I want some NEW Killzone, especially on PS5, with the PS5 DualSense controller with that ever so impressive DualSense of an experience Haptic feedback!

Knowing how far Guerrilla has come since Horizon: Zero Dawn, Killzone can only benefit greatly from their ever growing talent!!

Bobertt668d ago

I think Sony has given up on their exclusive shooters. They haven't released a remaster for the Resistance series or a new SOCOM game either. I don't think Guerilla is in a rush to make Killzone since they have Horizon now too :(.

669d ago
Outside_ofthe_Box669d ago

All I want is for them to build Killzone 2 with multiplayer included from the ground up, keep the gameplay the same, and I'll be happy.

GG with KZ3 and Shafowfall haven't been able to match KZ2 so I don't really have faith in another sequel.

Unfortunate that KZ2 came out during COD era where every game that didn't pay like Modern Warfare was deemed garbage. KZ2's multiplayer is definitely an all time great.

Michiel1989669d ago

since when was kz2 deemed garbage?

MizHDTV669d ago

Right on dude
KZ2 was just a special game to me

sinspirit669d ago

I'd love KZ2 multiplayer again. I also think they could easily incorporate a mode to compete with Battlefield style game modes

Seraphim669d ago

KZ2 was one of maybe a handful of games I actually put time into online. What a blast!! And the campaign was excellent as well. I certainly miss that dark world. Still ashamed I never buttoned up that Platinum.

Storm23669d ago

A remake of Killzone 2 with the same grittiness and feel on PS5 would be f*cking incredible. The SP and MP were just perfect. I played the sh*t out of that game. Would happily pay a lot of money for that.

DarXyde669d ago

Honestly, I don't like FPS games. They're not for me, but I do agree that there was something about KZ2 multiplayer that even someone like me enjoyed.

Sony really needs to get better about tearing down servers. I don't like that they shut them down.

shadowT669d ago

agree, KZ2 was a masterpiece

Muigi668d ago

KZ3 multiplayer was better imo.

Outside_ofthe_Box668d ago (Edited 668d ago )

@Michiel1989
"since when was kz2 deemed garbage?"

As with anything, things don't get the appreciation it deserves until way after it's release.

KZ2 got a lot of flak for it's weighty controls that many mistook for input lag. People didn't like that it wasn't a twitch shooter like CoD. You also had people saying things like "it feels like you're controlling a midget", "enemies take too long to die" (you can't pray and spray in kz2. You have to shoot in bursts for your shots to be more accurate), people complained about the sniping, etc.

This led to a lot of changes in KZ3 that turned the vets off like reducing the amount of variables for bullet damage, getting rid of spawn grenades, etc.

BISHOP-BRASIL668d ago

@DarXyde

I don't think there's much Sony or any other company in that position can do much different about it... Keeping servers running simply cost money, these gomes don't generate none anymore, so eventually they need to pull the plug.

Astrokis668d ago

KZ2 was definitely better then KZ3, but the third one still had strong suits. It’s been many years but I remember something about Shadow Fall being made by a team at GG that did NOT do KZ2 and KZ3 multiplayer which is why it felt different. I remember when I found that out it made a lot of sense about Shadow Falls multiplayer feeling so off.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 668d ago
elazz669d ago

Horizon zero dawn sold more copies than all of the killzone franchise combined including spin offs on handheld. I guess that's the reason why won't see killzone from guerilla soon. There is at least one more mainline horizon coming out and their second team is working on horizon VR I believe. So it's gonna be a while unless another studio takes over.

Profchaos669d ago

I've been playing a lot of Killzone 2 on rpcs3 with a duelsense combined with the ability to remap controls to a modern standard and bump the game to 60fps it shows that we really need a remaster to probably the best killzone game to date although shadowfall technically beats it in the graphics department art style was so different that they are incomparable

MizHDTV669d ago

I’d be happy with a release of KZ2

John_McClane669d ago

Killzone went to the same place as Socom and Mag, more money in 25 hour single player games with no servers to maintain. Socom was literally the reason I bought a PS2, Resistance FOM the reason I bought a PS3, all gone now.

senorfartcushion669d ago (Edited 669d ago )

Killzone has never been weighted correctly, the jumping never worked.

A new properly-weighted shooter in the Killzone series would be great. More like Killzone 1 and 2 than SF.

I think the issue comes from the fact that the Helghast side is sympathetic while looking like Nazi stormtroopers. The Trump age has led artists to avoid this look entirely.

ironmonkey668d ago

I feel something may be announced soon

ManMarmalade668d ago (Edited 668d ago )

The sixaxis felt fine in my hands since they're small, but the ps5 really made me feel the difference. So ergonomic.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 668d ago
Gardenia669d ago

Killzone 2 was/is so good and it still looks good today. The multiplayer was fun as well. If they make a new Killzone I hope it is the style of Killzone 2.

Hauntedasylum8669d ago

I wish Sony didn’t abandon Resistance and Killzone. Those are some of my favorite series on PlayStation. If they’re not gonna make anymore, then maybe a remastered collection of each could be negotiated.

DefenderOfDoom2669d ago

KILLZONE 2 was my reason for buying a PS3. If a new KILLZONE or RESISTANCE was coming out in 22 I would try to buy a PS5 immediately.

Lightning77669d ago

SSOD2 would be big for Sony. The only reason they would be interested in it is if they can turn it into a live service game.

In which I can see that happening.

Hauntedasylum8669d ago

Hell yeah, brother. You and me both.

VanDamme668d ago

For anyone trying to understand @Lightning77’s comment, they had a typo, this should clarify:

SOD2
Superoxide dismutase 2, mitochondrial, also known as manganese-dependent superoxide dismutase, is an enzyme which in humans is encoded by the SOD2 gene on chromosome 6.

Profchaos669d ago

After 5 killzone games including portable Sony felt it needed a break I wouldn't say its abandoned however I believe we may randomly get a ps5 remaster with improved lighting to test the waters and eventually a full blown new game after all you can't just leave shadowfall on that ending

SeTTriP669d ago

Horizon is priority now its a mega franchise for them maybe after Horizon they might revisit.

Imalwaysright668d ago

I refuse to play for online play but there is one game that would make pay for it and that's Resistance Fall of Man. That's the only game that would make me throw my principles out of the window without feeling ashamed of myself.

jBlakeeper668d ago

Remember in the mid 2000’s when nearly every developer started to do FPS or linear third person? Now nearly every developer wants to do open world exclusively because it’s the easiest type of game to leave things out and then expand upon the world with DLC.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 668d ago
deleted669d ago

So many fond memories of both Shadowfall and Mercenaries Vita online! Shadowfall's SP may have been weak, but the MP was still a ton of fun. I had a lot of time in both, and it's especially tough seeing the Vita's best mp experience get shut down.

RIP my old friends.

LoveSpuds669d ago (Edited 669d ago )

In my opinion, I thought the single player games was really decent too and was treated quite harshly by the critics, but then, I think the Killzone franchise as a whole was kinda under rated by the critics. I always enjoyed the story in these games and I liked the slower, more deliberate gunplay too.

I remember getting my PS4 on day 1 and the first game I installed was Killzone Shadowfall, my workmates and I would play it for hours on end, the mode whish switched between game modes was brilliant.

P_Bomb669d ago

A world without Killzone Online. That it’s come to this…

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