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Critique the Critics: which reviews on the site do you disagree with?
I thought it would be fun to have a thread where we can talk about reviews on the website and give our reasons why we might not agree. Are there any you saw and said to yourself “I loved that game, why’d it get only 1 star?” or “5 stars? Bah.”?
Hopefully it will be more of a discussion of the actual reviews and not just “I think this game should be 4 stars instead of 3.5” or “this game is awful and shouldn’t have got a 5”.
(Also remember the reviewers are only giving their opinion and don’t deserve any harsh words, even if we may not agree with them. But I’m sure we all know that!) 
So as self-appointed ThreadMaster(tm) I officially open the thread and will now start us off 
Testament of Sherlock Holmes (4.5 stars)
I enjoyed this game, it’s just that I would keep such a high score for the classics and I don’t think this game is a classic. The review is right about this: on the technical side it’s perfect. Graphics, sound, the ability to play in 3 modes. What bugs me is that despite this “sheen” the game really isn’t very different from the previous Frogwares games, and I would have to say the content is weaker. It wasn’t a very memorable story for me compared with The Awakened, and most of puzzles belong in those awful casual games produced by the dozen every week. I would give it no more than 3.5 stars.
Starship Titanic (2 stars)
I only played it recently and was surprised such a negative review, but reading it and seeing Myst criticized more than once I think I know why (he’s not a Myst fan!). I agree with a lot of the reviewer’s points: the conversation system wasn’t great, the navigation was frustrating. Any yet it was fun. The thing is, you either like roaming around in isolation solving puzzles, or you don’t. Maybe I would change my mind if I replayed it, but I think it’s a game worth playing.
For the most part, I think the reviews here are done in such a way that even if the given score doesn’t reflect yours, and even if it’s a game that the reviewer personally dislikes, they still provide all the information needed for you to decide if it’s a game that’s likely to appeal to you.
That being said, I would have liked to see Curse of Monkey Island have a higher score than 3,5 stars. Personally, I would give it 5 stars, because it is for me the very template of what an adventure game should look, sound and play like. However, I don’t really disagree with much of what the reviewer wrote. His/her biggest issues with the game seems to be its length being too short, and that the ending seemed a bit rushed. I never really considered these two points in any of my 30+ playthroughs of of the game, but I certainly wouldn’t have minded if the game lasted longer and had a more elaborate ending.
Duckman: Can you believe it? Five hundred bucks for a parking ticket?
Cornfed Pig: You parked in a handicapped zone.
Duckman: Who cares? Nobody parks there anyway, except for the people who are supposed to park there and, hell, I can outrun them anytime.
For the most part, I think the reviews here are done in such a way that even if the given score doesn’t reflect yours, and even if it’s a game that the reviewer personally dislikes, they still provide all the information needed for you to decide if it’s a game that’s likely to appeal to you.
Of course, and there’s no suggestion otherwise.
That being said, I would have liked to see Curse of Monkey Island have a higher score than 3,5 stars. Personally I would give it 5 stars, because it is for me the very template of what an adventure game should look, sound and play like. However, I don’t really disagree with much of what the reviewer wrote. His/her biggest issues with the game seems to be its length being too short, and that the ending seemed a bit rushed. I never really considered these two points in any of my 30+ playthroughs of of the game, but I certainly wouldn’t have minded if the game lasted longer and had a more elaborate ending.
30+? You’re kidding, right? 
30+? You’re kidding, right?
Not at all, playing Curse is like consuming nutrition for me. It revitalizes me in every possible way There’s a reason why I’m so upset that no other adventure game treats me like Curse does
Duckman: Can you believe it? Five hundred bucks for a parking ticket?
Cornfed Pig: You parked in a handicapped zone.
Duckman: Who cares? Nobody parks there anyway, except for the people who are supposed to park there and, hell, I can outrun them anytime.
15 Days got 1.5 stars and there’s a big debate under the review. I actually agreed with the reviewer when she said there was too little interactivity, however I don’t think that would be a proper criticism today as interactive fiction is coming back into fashion. To be honest I’m puzzled why she gave such a low score? Like she said, the plot was intelligent and the relationship with the characters was one of the game’s strongest points. There were more than a few bugs and plot holes but in the end it was a pretty good experience with a lot of personality, which many better-reviewed games lack. It’s been my favourite House of Tales game ever since I played it.
That being said, I would have liked to see Curse of Monkey Island have a higher score than 3,5 stars.
Agreed, if only because Escape got 4 and a few Tales episodes got even higher. I wouldn’t give it a 5 though.
I love reading Adventure Gamers reviews, and I should really repeat that review reflects the personal opinion of an individual - not only that he/she might have different taste and might look for something different in games, but even the reviewer alone can experience the SAME game differently depending on the mood and other factors. However, some games do have overrated or underrated scores IMO:
Overrated:
- Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 3 - Lair of the Leviathan (4½ stars). I enjoyed the series, but on the whole, each episode is too limited and not of that high overall quality to deserve an almost perfect score.
- Back to the Future: Episode 1 - It’s About Time (4 stars) and Back to the Future: Episode 3 - Citizen Brown (4 stars) - while those two might be the best episodes in the series, I don’t think they would still be deserving more than 3-3½. It’s not really about weak puzzles throughout the whole series, but I was expecting even more of that “movie” atmosphere.
- The Walking Dead: Episode One: A New Day (4½ stars) - Enough had been said, already. Solid game, but I got bored.
But enough with the Telltale bashing. Some more are L.A. Noire (5 stars) and The Cave (4 stars).
Underrated:
- Tale of a Hero (2 stars) - I agree it’s unpolished and dull on moments, but I’d still give it 3 or 3½ stars because it’s a pretty long game with plenty of locales (and the biggest underwater world in any adventure) which is quite refreshing in all of the short-episodic trend.
- Simon the Sorcerer 4: Chaos Happens (2½) - I agree the humor can’t match that of the originals, but the game still has its qualities and is above average game IMO. The game world is rich, there’re again plenty of characters, and the puzzles are descent with the hefty amount of inventory items. Slightly mysterious story is actually not that bad.
Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale
I find most reviews on this site to be too favourable. I personally think game play is much more important that most other aspects of a game, while reviewers tend to average things out, so if a game is really annoying to play but has great music, it gets an okay grade.
Also, most reviewers seem to dislike puzzles, so they underrate games that pose a challenge, as they equate challenge with frustration.
The review I disagree with most, so far, was The Feeble Files. I think it’s a terrible game in every way (I checked now, it turns out I wrote 1900 words about how awful it is) and it got like 4.5 stars somehow.
Personally I think reviews for Simon 4 and 5 are too generous. I’d personally give Simon 4 one star just because it runs and you can play it through, but as an experience it’s horrid. Simon 5 is a bit better but not that much. 2 stars, because it’s not repulsive, but I didn’t find it funny either.
I find most reviews on this site to be too favourable. I personally think game play is much more important that most other aspects of a game, while reviewers tend to average things out, so if a game is really annoying to play but has great music, it gets an okay grade.
Also, most reviewers seem to dislike puzzles, so they underrate games that pose a challenge, as they equate challenge with frustration.
That’s a recent trend I think. If you look at the reviews by order of rating, most of the highest are from the last couple of years or early 90s. I won’t say whether that’s due to more generous standards or the games improving, although the fact that between around mid 90s to mid 00s relatively few got anything above 4 might say something about the much speculated “death of adventure gaming” during that period.
Generally i find that the reviewers are doing a great job, and that you get a got impression on the games by reading the reviews. Whether you like a game or not is of course a matter of personal taste, but the reviewers usually gives a fair description of the games regardless of their personal taste.
There is i believe a tendency to misinterpret the rating system, and to consider a rating of 3 or 3½ star as a low rating, but according to the description of the scoring system 3 is actually above average, or at least games with more positive than negative aspects.
Having said that, then there are also games where i wholeheartedly disagree with the reviewers, and not just with the rating.
Overrated
The Walking Dead - I have already voiced my opinion on this, and don’t want to start a new heated debate.
Captain Morgane and the Golden Turtle - A very positive review, but IMO the games is at best mediocre and the negative outweighs the positive.
Underrated
The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav - That i “wholeheartedly disagree” is properly an exaggeration here as it got 3½ star, but the reviewer obviously didn’t like the game as much as i did, and i disagree with some of the points made, but i wouldn’t call the review unfair.
Edit:
Toonstruck - 2.5 stars
Didn’t catch that one myself, but 2½ star is defiently underrated.
Come to think of it, there aren’t really many games that i believe got an outright underrated review.
BTW If you disagree with a review, then you can also add a comment to the review, that way anyone looking for a game to buy doesn’t only see the reviewers opinion, but also gets a general idea of how much others like or dislike the game..
You have to play the game, to find out why you are playing the game! - eXistenZ
I don’t pay much attention to review scores, so went to the section and randomly clicked around to see how long until I saw something I completely disagreed with. Took about 45 seconds until I saw
Toonstruck - 2.5 stars
I think it’s a solid 4, maybe a 3.5 at worst. I don’t know how such a polished adventure could get such a poor review, considering some of the dreadful games that slide by with threes. Last time I’ll be looking through the old reviews…
I like reading reviews after playing the games, just to have a different perspective on the game. Some recent ones I read:
- Overrated - The Cave - I agree with most of what is said in the review but in end I would think it would fall in the 3 stars category according to the score policy.
- Underrated - Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward - I think the score is really too low, although the review does provide an explanation, I just disagree with most of what is said in it (like saying there is no real benefit in playing 999 first)
- Spot-on - Priomrdia - Sometimes a review captures exactly my opinion of a gae like this one.
I agree that 2,5 stars for Toonstruck is ridiculously low, and one might wonder what the reviewer was on. Whatever it was, I don’t want any All the comments below the review are about how they disagree with the reviewer aswell. However, it’s an 11 year old review, and Adventure Gamers have come a long way since then. Therefore, Toonstruck deserves to be re-reviewed in my opinion, as the current one is surely gonna discourage people from playing one of the greatest adventure games ever made, and that’s a horrible shame!
I also agree with Izno about Morgane. The only thing I truly appreciated in that game was the artwork (I even voted for it for the Aggies Graphical design), and I was surprised to learn that Steve Ince was involved with the story, as I would expect much better writing from him.
Duckman: Can you believe it? Five hundred bucks for a parking ticket?
Cornfed Pig: You parked in a handicapped zone.
Duckman: Who cares? Nobody parks there anyway, except for the people who are supposed to park there and, hell, I can outrun them anytime.
I always thought that most reviews of Starship Titanic were too low because I absolutely loved it. Of course, it was the first adventure game I ever played, and I had absolutely no point of comparison at the time, but even after replaying it with many other adventures under my belt, I still love it. Yes, the navigation system is frustrating. As a newbie, it took me hours to figure out how to find the plinth at the beginning of the game because I kept going around and around the room. However, the wacky bots, the puzzles, the bomb, and that maddening parrot kept me laughing and wanting more.
I, too, like to read the reviews after I play a game. On the whole, I find that I tend to be more forgiving of problems than many reviewers. I’ve written a few reviews myself over the years, but only once did I have to add a ranking, which I found very difficult to do. I believe I was fair, but the stars seemed so final on something that was just my opinion.
“Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.” -Bill Watterson
However, it’s an 11 year old review, and Adventure Gamers have come a long way since then.
This is very true. In no way is this a knock on those whose reviews helped get this site off the ground—we wouldn’t be here today without themm—but editorial policies were minimal back in the early days, so you’ll see a lot of stuff that wouldn’t pass muster anymore.
I actually would like to re-review some of those very early reviews. But with about 400 old games we never covered still needing their first, it’s hard to justify covering the same ones twice ahead of them. (And frankly, it’s hard enough just staying on top of the new stuff. 
)
I’d say some of the reviews on this website can be redundant. As in, if it’s an adventure game that’s generally well received on Metacritic than this website will praise it and there’s no point in reading the review. The reviews on this website are at their best when they’re examining less mainstream titles.
Having said that, Episode 5 of Walking Dead getting full marks is nonsense to me. The other episodes are far superior.
EDIT: ALSO, not giving ALL THREE HUGO AND PENELOPE GAMES 5/5! Shameful AG! They set the benchmark for ironic shareware pablum.
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