Forum - View topicGAME: Corpse Party: Book of Shadows
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Chagen46
 Posts: 4377 |
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Newsflash: all reviews are opinions, and to demand that they be "unbiased" shows that you don't know what a review actually is.
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Cecilthedarkknight_234
 Posts: 3820 Location: Louisville, KY |
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Chagen you win a Internet for Just being bluntly honest. I do not in most ways agree with this review and have stressed/showed my opinion for that however the said reviewer is not biased for stating what they didn't like.
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JoePianist
 Posts: 37 |
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After reading this review, I really felt like this game wasn't given a fair chance. I know that "everybody is entitled to their opinion" and all that jazz, but I feel that giving this game an "F" does not accurately reflect the quality of this visual novel.
Then again, I guess this is why I don't rely on ANN for reliable video game reviews. |
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sorincha child
 Posts: 31 |
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Whether or not you agree with the review (and I do agree with some parts, actually), you must admit that this review is particularly opinionated. Now, I think writing an opinion piece is wonderful. It gives great insight into someone else's views and I enjoyed reading this review to an extent because of that. However, when you see the word review, you also expect more than just someone's opinion. Reviews are typically supposed to be objective and show whether or not the reviewer found the media in question (assuming it is a media review like this) good or not. They are supposed to say whether or not they thought the writing was good, the characters, the gameplay, etc. Not just whether they liked it or not. It is fine to say "I hate this" or "I love this" in a review. Opinion and objection cannot be completely torn apart. However, this particular review seems to run completely on the author's opinion that the gore and violence was too much and not necessary (which is fine, that is his opinion). But that is all the review is. There is a small note that he thought the story in the first game was ok, and that he thinks the sound is good and the graphics passable. But the later is in the teeny tiny footnote grades. In the end, there is more to this game than what the reviewer does not like. But what the reviewer does not like is essentially all he talks about. He does not mention the music, voice acting, the fact that these are short stories connected to the original game and not a sequel, the artwork's style and over all quality outside of what he found objectionable, or even the small amounts of gameplay. I would have loved to see what he thought about the point and click gameplay! If I wanted to only read someone's personal opinion on a game, I would read an opinion article. But when I read a review, I want to know what someone thought about each part of the game as well as their opinion. This review did not serve that. All it tells me is that someone doesn't like the way the content is executed. It doesn't tell me if the writing, characters, music, you know what I mean, was good or not in their mind. You can hate something and say that it's good in some areas. You can love something and admit it is horrible. You can also hate something and say it is bad based on your opinion, like this review, but that is going to get people riled up. And it did. The author's opinion is not the problem, I think, it is the fact that it is all he talks about. Seriously, what was his opinion on the gameplay? The extra unlockable content? The writing quality outside of the gore? I would like to know this. |
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誤称
Posts: 549 |
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Yeah, this wasn't a review. This was an assassination. But hey, it's Anime News Network and that's the standard operating procedure. Just ask them about kissxsis, Kodomo no Jikan or Mysterious Girlfriend X.
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Saffire
 Posts: 1255 Location: Iowa, USA |
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"The change to a visual novel format (Blood Covered was more of an RPG) gives the characters internal monologues and these monologues are filled to the brim with oozy, overwhelming, unnecessary detail. Descriptions are replete with terms like "sappy mucus." A girl details how she is peeing herself uncontrollably. Every inch of every bloody mouth of every decapitated head is defined in as explicit language as possible. And yet, there's no horror here because the descriptions are weirdly objective in their viewpoint that it all might as well have been summarized by a robot.' "The characters in Book of Shadows are not very deep, but they are deep enough. These people have likes, dislikes, hobbies, aspirations, boyfriends and girlfriends (prospective ones, anyway). They are more than cardboard cut-outs, though they are all relentlessly archetypal." Three quotes easily pulled on the writing quality. (I did find it odd that he says that the game can "pass muster" but gave it an F anyway, but maybe that's just how offensive it is. And how do you even review the gameplay of a visual novel?) |
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sorincha child
Posts: 31 |
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The game has segments of point and click adventure gameplay. Reading this review you... wouldn't actually know that. Because he never mentions it. From what he says, you would think there is no gameplay what so ever in this. That is untrue.
And while those quotes are all well and good, they still bring up what I mentioned. He's focusing on the gore aspect in the second and the third is similar to a foot note. What were his opinions on how the dialogue was written? The scenes that did not involve gore and violence? Again, reading this review, you would not know that many of these stories involve slice of life segments set before the first game for the purpose of character building. How well rounded were the characters? Or not? Who grated on his nerves, who did he like? How did they stick to archetypes while not being cardboard cut outs? ... WHAT WERE THEIR NAMES? There is no detail about much in this review and that is my problem with it. It finds one thing, the gore and violence, and sticks with it and subsequently pushed everything else aside as unimportant. If you base your view on this game around this review, you would think it is Uncomfortable Gore: Read About It. And while it is all well and good to have that be your opinion after playing the game, I don't think it is fair to the readers who have never played the game or people who played it (who liked it or not) to give them what essentially your opinion on half the game. (And the first is the section I mentioned talking about the first game, so that is not at all related to his opinion on this one.) I suppose my main problem with this review is... it is one note. I wanted to know more about why he thinks the way he thinks, what he thought about things he didn't mention. What he thought the game did do well and how he felt the game could have been improved (aside from the obvious that you can gather already). And I don't think it's does the game justice because it just doesn't look at everything in the game. I would have actually been happier if he gave EVERYTHING in this an F and went into excruciating detail about why it all deserves to die in a fire, personally. At least then he would have touched on every aspect. Last edited by sorincha child on Tue Jan 29, 2013 2:34 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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BalmungHHQ
Posts: 392 |
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Reviews are not opinions, opinions just form the basis of review. If you let your opinion dominate the entire article, then I can't honestly call it a good review. Which is the case here. But as I said, as an article saying what this particular person thinks of this game, it's fine. But I don't see it actually reviewing or analyzing the merits of the game... |
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TsubomiKoneko
 Posts: 247 |
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The only times I remember anything seeming that way was during chapters where it was appropriate from the perspective of the character you were viewing things through at the time. In such a case it's good characterization, as they got across very well that the person just wasn't right in the head anymore. |
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Eustace
 Posts: 7 |
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I think the fact that most of his review is based around that half of the game just goes to show how much of an impression the violence left on him (And possibly anybody planning on playing the game), in comparison to whatever else the game had to offer. In the end, whatever sweet tunes might have been playing to give the music a B- don't really matter if you're being bombarded with the things that Dave described in his review. |
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sorincha child
Posts: 31 |
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You make a very good point. This review is good for people who were wondering about an opinion on the violence and gore, and it proves that it does leave a lasting impression. And it is unfortunate that it seems to be the only thing to have left enough of an impression for him to focus on.
But what about people who aren't as bothered by violence? The ones that either overlook it or are uncomfortable but willing to stomach it for everything else? This review is essentially useless to them. If you aren't as bothered by violence as he is and want to know if it has good follow up for the first game or how good the gameplay is, this review leaves you mostly in the dark. Letter grades only get you so far. Every game leaves different impressions on people and I doubt that only one thing ever leaves an impression so strong that it is impossible to note anything else in the game. And no, the music does matter. Every aspect of a game matters. Without noting them it is as if you forget they exist. Just saying "the music is dark and atmospheric but does nothing to elevate my issues with the descriptions and violence/makes the descriptions worse" would have been nice. If that is his opinion. Oh well. I think everyone is going to have vastly different opinions on the game AND this review. I personally think the review could have been written better to cover everything, but I understand his concerns and his opinion is valid. |
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Ryusui
 Posts: 461 |
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Ahh, that guy. Yeah. It might be worth playing through his chapter just to see him properly get what's coming to him. Frankly, I don't remember what happened to him in the original, apart from freaking out once he realizes whose pulverized corpse he's ogling - I hope the karmic justice inflicted on him doesn't end with just that. The review does highlight one issue I had with the original: some of the dialogue seemed a little "adjective-happy." Like, they used a few too many words in places to sound entirely natural. And I'll admit Book of Shadows is a bit of a harder sell given that, from what I gather, it lacks the catharsis factor of the original, where the protagonists actually manage to win - although not without cost. (For some reason, the final "battle" with Sachiko makes me think of the endings of Mother and EarthBound.) Still, it's an XSEED release, and XSEED is @#$%ing awesome - whether or not I feel compelled to actually play it, I'd consider it an investment in the future of game localization. |
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krelyan
Posts: 173 Location: Utah |
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Even if you disagree with his qualitative results he's still providing the data on why it didn't resonate with him. This is the crux of any good reviewer. Does every review need to include some form "[x] doesn't work for me, but those that like [x] will enjoy it." Isn't this redundant? If the review has articulated why the work was enjoyable or not, surely you should be able to deduce that those same base elements might have different results for you without it needing to be literally stated? You're really just complaining that the reviewer didn't come to the same opinion you did. And by invoking "objectivity" to mask your dissenting opinion just says that you have no confidence in your own opinion and have to hide behind a mirage of so-called truth and fact. There are times when reviewers could be more level-headed... this isn't one of them.
And what is the "accurately quality?" It greatly amuses me that there is the notion out there that there is some invisible, objective score that you're only allowed to deviate so far from with your subjective analysis before being pelted with the rocks of "objectivity" and "professionalism" by others. Given that no one can agree as to what this arbitrary "objective number/grade/etc" is, doesn't this show you how oxymoronic this idea is? Last edited by krelyan on Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:43 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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VPedge
Posts: 69 |
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Yep just look at every other review and forum about this game. 
kinda laughing at this 'review' and most of the comments here. |
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sorincha child
Posts: 31 |
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Did you miss the part when I said I agreed with the reviewer about some things?
Or when I said that I would have rather him completely despise every part about the game as long as he went into more detail?
Or when I said he has a valid opinion?
Taking one quote where I say this review is useless for some people doesn't mean I'm mad he has a different opinion. I am annoyed that he didn't ELABORATE on that opinion more and explain the letter grades or even mention other parts of the game in favor of one aspect. His opinion is just fine. He brings up great points, in all honesty. I just don't think review was written as well as it could have been. It doesn't read like a review, it reads like... disgusted rambling. Also to note: This is the only (official/"professional") review I can find that gives this a completely irredeemable score (but not the only negative reveiw) and that focuses almost completely on the gore and violence. While this certainly makes it unique... |
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