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mrk · 05-09-2011, 06:05 AM

I have followed this website almost since the beginning and it was always my first place to visit for adventure gaming. But now I am truly disappointed and feel the need to comment on the following:

Why is Portal 2 (and similar games) reviewed on Adventuregamers?

The editorial policies prohibit reviews of games that are clearly "action hybrids or “genre blending” games. Portal could not be considered anything else than one of those. System Shock or Deus Ex are not reviewed but Portal is? This is just puzzling. I am not sure if it is just ignorance not following its own policies or maybe a special service to publisher Valve.

What makes matters even worse is the five star rating (only five other games have this rating). The true classics in the genre Adventuregamers should be covering only have 4,5 or 4 stars. I name Grim Fandango, Gabriel Knight 2, The Last Express and the most abominable example is The Longest Journey which was lowered to 4,5 stars blaming the so called "poor state of adventure gaming" in that period. How is it explainable that these kind of classics are considered less by "Adventuregamers" compared to a random "outsider game" like Portal 2? Please don't get me wrong, Portal is a decent game and well liked amongst the gaming community but I do not think it should be discussed under the banner of "Adventuregamers".

"Every true adventure fan must have this game in their library" is stated in the explaining of the scoring system. In reality every true adventure fan (without an interest in genre blender games) would never want this type of game in their library. "We do make exceptions for games that are deemed to be of substantial interest to adventure gamers, such as sequels in longstanding adventure series. However, it's likely these will be treated as special feature articles and not reviews." The previous is also stated in the editorial policies but makes matters even more confusing.

The presence of puzzles seems the only reason for reviewing Portal 2. In that case The Legend of Zelda and Beyond Good and Evil should also be reviewed. Why not add Tetris-like games or Mario Kart-like racing games for good measure, since they have "puzzles"? Why not consider merging with the other website which claims to "just" focus on Adventure?

In all seriousness I hope Adventuregamers will just go back to the basics and abide by its own editorial policies which made them such a great website in the first place.

05-09-2011, 06:05 AM	#41
mrk Junior Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 2	I have followed this website almost since the beginning and it was always my first place to visit for adventure gaming. But now I am truly disappointed and feel the need to comment on the following: Why is Portal 2 (and similar games) reviewed on Adventuregamers? The editorial policies prohibit reviews of games that are clearly "action hybrids or “genre blending” games. Portal could not be considered anything else than one of those. System Shock or Deus Ex are not reviewed but Portal is? This is just puzzling. I am not sure if it is just ignorance not following its own policies or maybe a special service to publisher Valve. What makes matters even worse is the five star rating (only five other games have this rating). The true classics in the genre Adventuregamers should be covering only have 4,5 or 4 stars. I name Grim Fandango, Gabriel Knight 2, The Last Express and the most abominable example is The Longest Journey which was lowered to 4,5 stars blaming the so called "poor state of adventure gaming" in that period. How is it explainable that these kind of classics are considered less by "Adventuregamers" compared to a random "outsider game" like Portal 2? Please don't get me wrong, Portal is a decent game and well liked amongst the gaming community but I do not think it should be discussed under the banner of "Adventuregamers". "Every true adventure fan must have this game in their library" is stated in the explaining of the scoring system. In reality every true adventure fan (without an interest in genre blender games) would never want this type of game in their library. "We do make exceptions for games that are deemed to be of substantial interest to adventure gamers, such as sequels in longstanding adventure series. However, it's likely these will be treated as special feature articles and not reviews." The previous is also stated in the editorial policies but makes matters even more confusing. The presence of puzzles seems the only reason for reviewing Portal 2. In that case The Legend of Zelda and Beyond Good and Evil should also be reviewed. Why not add Tetris-like games or Mario Kart-like racing games for good measure, since they have "puzzles"? Why not consider merging with the other website which claims to "just" focus on Adventure? In all seriousness I hope Adventuregamers will just go back to the basics and abide by its own editorial policies which made them such a great website in the first place.