Forum - View topicGAME: Tales of Xillia
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Yep. "VIDEOGAMES JOURNALISM IS HILARIOUSLY CORRUPT"
"Oh really can you cite some examples" Jeff Gerstmann getting fired by Gamespot executives for giving a sponsored game a bad review in 2007, executives who no longer work there. Meanwhile Gerstmann and his former business partners trust the new senior management at CBSi (who owns Gamespot) enough to sell his company to them, where he now works. Driv3r. That's it. Nobody has any examples otherwise - it's all hearsay, conjecture, and "I disagree with this review so the writer was given a money hat". |
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RyanSaotome
 Posts: 4210 Location: Towson, Maryland |
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There may not be a lot of actual "Proof", but I have a hard time believing every reviewer who plays a highly anticipated game loves it... especially when theres never that kind of reaction among the fans no matter how good a game is. Some people will always not like a game, but reviewers from big sites make it seem like everyone loves the game (as long as its from a big publisher).
I don't believe theres actually money being exchanged for reviews or anything, but I believe that its more like reviewers want to keep friendly relations with these publishers, since they wouldn't be able to stay around if they made enemies with bigshots in the industry. If sites bashed your big AAA title and lost you sales, you'd likely stop dealing with that website or magazine, after all. When you deal with smaller publishers or Japanese companies, there isn't as much fear about pissing them off so you will get more reliable and varied reviews. |
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Crispy45
 Posts: 363 |
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^
that's pretty much how it goes. Keeping friendly with publishers is very important and kinda common knowledge from the few people we know of willing to speak out about the issue like Robert Florence, Jeff Gertsmann, Hasan Ali Almaci and Geoff Keighley Just imagine how many more incidents like these exist that you never hear of because the big wigs cover it up like they tried to do with Florence. Not sure why we should doubt people who worked in the industry and instead listen to people on some forums who try to handwave it away x_x |
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Rahxephon91
 Posts: 1859 Location: Park Forest IL. |
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Yes, actually asking you people to back up your claims is "handwaving" because handwaving is all about trying to get to root of the thing.
I understand there's probably a great deal of gaming websites being afraid to shit where they eat. Of course there's probably been a great deal of issues, it's a hobbyiest media. But many people make it seem like every review is bought and never genuine and I ask why? And well you can't really point too many examples and then it's just conjecture based on something like how some small Japanese game's get treated. Or how a series they don't like get's good reviews. I hate to tell you, Call of Duty and it's various sequels aren't bad games and it's reception can't be used as an argument as to why western reviews are so bought. The sameness of CoD works I guess, I go into a CoD looking for that. I wouldn't want my Metal Gear Solid or Uncharted sequel to be like the previous, because I'm not playing those games as comfort food or a e-sport or something. I'm playing them for that event that happens every few years, it's not comparable to what I play CoD or Madden for. Yet, we live in a world where most Atlus games get stealler reviews. It's not even just Persona it's most SMT spin off's and other Atlus games like Eterian Odyssey. So I don't even understand this "oh they don't treat Japanese games fair", because obviously these people who grew up on Japanese games must hate them and also all these Japanese games must be good. Did it ever cross you're mind that the stuff NIS puts out may be bad? But it's not even like a lot of actual internally made NIS stuff gets terrible reviews. So I don't even see this great Japanese hate fest that happens. And if does happen, I'm sorry. Right now western games are doing some great stuff, so I'm sorry it seems like they are getting the attention, because they are and it's deserved. But it's not like when a cool Japanese game comes out it's ignored. Xenoblade(which someone will cry is western because I guess jrpgs can't be anything else), Catherine, Platinum's stuff, hell Dragon's Crown and so on get enough praise. I'm sorry cute girl jrpg didn't. Oh noes. |
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Draneor
 Posts: 355 |
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Considering Xillia got fairly positive reviews (with some negative--including here), I'm not quite sure why anyone is even alleging bias. I do think some games take a hit for being so far out of our cultural comfort zone (such as a little series about female alchemists), but that's clearly not the case here.
As far as being "the same", most game innovation, regardless of genre, is incremental. Tales games are no different. It's rare for any game--especially in a series--to be a radical departure from the past. Instead, we get various tweeks and adjustments to the idea. |
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Jave
 Posts: 198 |
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Well I did back it up with a very length post by a game veteran  Guess that's not good enough. It's pretty easy to see the way different games get treated. Can't say I've seen a Japanese game get as toted as Game of the Year/Decade/Universe/Best Thing Since Sliced Bread! like Bioshock Infinite, Last of Us, and now the current trending game Gone Home have. Anime's in a pretty similar boat if ya think about it when it comes to award shows. Obviously you get more out of pleasing American companies in America than you do Japanese ones. It's all politics afterall 
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RyanSaotome
Posts: 4210 Location: Towson, Maryland |
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Japan is no different that way, either. Check any of their GotY awards from major sites or magazines and its always Japanese games. (Heres an example of the Game of the Year awards at the Japan Game Awards and Famitsu) You gotta appeal to what both your audience and the publishers want. You will have your audience (see Twilight Princess and the death threats Gerstmann got for giving it an 8.8) and the publishers turn on you if you don't say their games are amazing.
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Rahxephon91
Posts: 1859 Location: Park Forest IL. |
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Maybe Japanese games are just kind of in a slump this gen? That couldn't be it, could it? Oh no that notion has nothing to it. Or has the western game media always had it for Japan even during those good olde PS2 days. |
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14795 |
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Japan is a more community society, so their industry and media are more close-knit. And sometimes the customary Japanese politeness avoiding confrontation gets in the way of disturbing the wa/harmony. There it's harder being critical. |
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Rai The Noblesse
 Posts: 77 |
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imo, Xillia is clearly better than any the following J-RPGs, even if the Metascores (Xillia 78) say otherwise
Tales of Xillia (78) > Tales of Vesperia (85 360) Tales of Xillia (78) > Eternal Sonata (80 PS3 / 79 360) Tales of Xillia (78) > Ni no Kuni (85) Tales of Xillia (78) > FF XIII (83 PS3/79 360) Tales of Xillia (78) > DQ IX (87) Tales of Xillia (78) > Nier (68 PS3 /67 360) yes, even better than DQ IX, which lives of it's "masses of mini quests"..., still don't undertand how the f**k Xillia can get lower Metascores than Eternal Sonata, Ni no Kuni or even FF XIII 
(guess Metascores can still NOT be trusted..) ... Tales of Xillia (78) < Xenoblade Chronicles (92) (but Xillia still is not as grand as XC...) ... ... Xillia is hard to compare to The Last Story (80), TLS has some cool strengths (cool characters and bosses) but also a few weaknesses (one real town, no overworld ect...), but again Xillia gets the lower Metascore (no suprise anymore..) imo Tales of Xillia deserves a Metascore of 85-87 (and DQ XI deserves a score of 84, Eternal Sonata deserves 77, and Nier deserves a higher Metascore than Eternal Sonata....) what did ANN give Ni no Kuni, Eternal Sonata ect.? |
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YamadaKun
 Posts: 304 Location: Sunny California |
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You must have missed the period between Zelda Link to the Past and Skyward Sword, which Edge(which is rather nitpicky, mind you) getting 9s and 10s. Though this was when Japanese games commanded 50% of the industry, it doesn't matter! Stop being a biased jackass. Also, you are aware the Famitsu overrates and overhypes a lot of western games, like certain western reviewers do with the same games and the Zelda franchise. If you think Japanese games are better, more power to you. If you think only one region makes good games, don't call yourself a gaming fan. You're not. |
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Haiyami
Posts: 11 |
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This one of the worst pieces of game journalism I've seen. It's ranked way to low. I could understand if he gave it a B+ because of the split story, but Xillia's story is really good and it has excellent character in my opinion. This guy probably has never properly played a tales game. He had almost nothing good to say about the game. What about the linking system, what about the expert level bosses during chapter 3 and 4? I admit that its easy to level up through grinding like mad early on hampering the challenge, but disagree with everything said here. This guy isn't trustworthy at all as a video game reviewer. Why do I get the feeling this guy is a critical of JRPGs. I wonder how he'd rate Graces F or Vesperia?
Speaking of Vesperia, it had one of the best script writing I've seen for clever dialogue. Graces F was excellent in anime type humor and dialogue. Xillia is excellent but I think Vesperia and Graces F are a bit of higher ranking or even tie with Xillia, though it was not bad enough for a C+. Plan and simple. This review is crap. Don't trust it. There were little positives about the new game mechanics, story and character development. He claimed everything was subpar. |
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YotaruVegeta
 Posts: 1061 Location: New York |
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Tales of Graces was mentioned in this review more than a handful of times. It's mentioned as if the reviewer had played Graces, because he compares Graces to this game. How would you know anything about games journalism if it seems that you only read the review score and notes at the bottom? |
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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I disagree with about 75% of the subjective parts of the review. I still think he played this and other Tales game and that the review is perfectly fine. Why is this so hard for people?
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Rahxephon91
Posts: 1859 Location: Park Forest IL. |
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"It's terrible because I don't agree with it"
"Don't listen to that guy, listen to me, the rabid fanboy" Because that's what that sounds like. You're not really trying to argue against the guy's points. Just yelling that he sucks because you think the game is good. Which you say so without really saying why? What about the Link system? It's fluff that dosen't add much? Who cares if he hasn't played a Tales game before(which would be impossible to think if you read the review), most of his point's stand and if you disagree with him, say why? Don't go on irrelevant angles like saying "he rushed through the game". If he did that wouldn't really change how good or bad things like level design, the combat, or even the core story is. And don't go on extreme hyperbole like "this is the worst game's journalism" because the review gave the game a C+ and not what you think should have been a b+. It just makes you look silly. Last edited by Rahxephon91 on Tue Aug 27, 2013 1:25 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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