Fake Reviews: Videogame journalism and the 'dark arts'

Videogame Journalism and the 'dark arts'

As a part-time writer that would like to become a full-time journalist, I understand that there should be a portion of trust between the writer and their audience.

I would never set out to mislead my audience as it goes against the very reasons that I started writing in the first place. I wanted to inform, discuss and learn something myself. The problem with bigger publications in the videogame industry, (and in turn many media publications in general) is that commercial interests can create conflicts within an organisation.

If x company has invested x amount of money in promoting their game on your website, are you then obliged to give their product a higher mark? Of course not, but this doesn't mean this practise doesn't happen and this is one of the reasons why I trust user reviews more than official ones, despite their often more amateur style.

Don't get me wrong, I used to trust the more traditional sources, (as a child I used to read CVG religiously) but I've been burned a few times (damn you Dragon Age 2) and I prefer Youtube videos and trying the game before I purchase it.

Many people use aggregate websites like metacritic to get an idea of the general opinion of a game and the difference between an seven and a nine can bump the score up artificially. It would be naive to think that this couldn't happen, as a couple of flops can place many companies in jeopardy.

Of course, games are subjective and you can expect different reactions from different people, but misrepresentation is unethical and should be reported if you suspect foul play. However, as long as the writer isn't getting paid to have a certain view. they should be allowed to write what they think.

I read quite a few articles about the subject and came across an astonishing omission in one of the comments sections. An anonymous user said that he had been paid to write repeated positive reviews about an iOS app with numerous fake accounts to raise the apps profile and gain more sales due to positive feedback.

This practice is unbelievable and it must be illegal, (although I'm not a lawyer) users tend to trust other users to a greater extent and this just serves to undermine the trust that develops.

No matter the price, a four and-a-half star app with over 100 reviews should usually be decent, but if the developer decides to go down this route the gamer is the one that inevitably gets a shoddy product that has been misrepresented and it can take time for scores to balance out.

Some may say this is just a new sales tactic to combat increased user awareness, but in reality developers should focus on ways to improve their products, not ways to trick their customers.

Some journalists still have integrity and this well-written article here discusses Robert Florence quitting his job writing at Eurogamer and his thoughts on the lack of integrity in game journalism. This idea of 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours journalism is unhealthy and again the consumers bear the brunt of this bad practice. Robert was courageous to speak out but if the problem really is as bad as some suspect then it's strange that more people haven't spoken out about it.

Eventually, this model could hurt the websites and magazines themselves as their readership starts to dwindle. This is a very dangerous game to play as trust is usually built over time and can be lost in an instant. If a publication is known for writing false reviews, surely over time people will notice and act accordingly.

I enjoy reading and watching quality reviews from people like Angry Joe and I'm sure he would never badmouth his rivals as the quality of his work always shines through, but  when Samsung are alleged to have paid people to write bad reviews about HTC products, you have to wonder whether game developers would be prepared to do the same.

I used to receive a quarterly booklet from GAME that reviewed newly released games. From cover to cover there was never a mention of any problems in any games, as the objective of the booklet was solely to make me want to buy them and I can understand that, but I shouldn't have to hold established publications in the same regard as throwaway junk mail fodder.

As the videogame industry continues to become more profit driven, I think these 'dark arts' may be put to use on a more regular basis so we as consumers have to fight back and look after one another by sharing their opinions on products.

In a way I'm sure we can all understand how companies can be put in a tough position between their commercial interests and their readership, they have to stay strong and fight back against the rampant churnalism, lazy journalism and kick-backs.

The internet is a brilliant tool for learning, we can't let scammers and marketing professionals trick us into buying their shoddy products and if you think a games a stinker despite rave reviews, well, maybe now you know why.

Game journalism is looked down upon by some as a 'lesser branch' but it shouldn't be viewed that way. The sheer number of gamers (and their tendency to be computer literate) means that the backlash can be immense. Just look at the Mass Effect 3 ending debacle or EA becoming the first company to win the Worst Company in America award for two years running.

Gamers always seem to find a way to express their discontent and information on message boards can spread like wildfire. It seems that for now, gamers will have to look out for themselves, but no matter how big the company is, the bad publicity will eventually take its toll.

If journalists aren't careful, they could be end up on the wrong side of a colossal juggernaut that doesn't like to take no far an answer. I hope any bad apples come to their senses before that time comes.

Further reading:

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-08/31/pay-review-sites

http://www.electricpig.co.uk/2012/02/07/app-store-fake-reviews-heres-how-they-encourage-your-favourite-developers-to-cheat/index.html

http://leviathyn.com/games/news/2013/04/25/rumor-star-trek-the-video-game-getting-fake-user-reviews-and-forum-postings/

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/385227/ninja-theory-warns-of-fake-dmc-reviews/

Will Fernando Torres be the top-scorer at the Confederations Cup?

Will Torres be the top scorer in the Confederations Cup?

Fernando Torres has burst ahead of his rivals in the Confederation Cup scoring charts after his four-goal salvo against Tahiti, leading with five goals overall, but will he be leading the charts by the end of the tournament?

Uruguay are represented well in the charts, with Abel Hernandez notching four goals and Luis Suarez just behind with three but the Uruguayans have to face a rampant Brazilian side that many fancy for the final.

If Uruguay do manage to get to the final Hernandez has a great chance to add to his already impressive record of seven goals in only ten international games and enhance his reputation even further. He put four away against Tahiti and he will have to be at his best to add to his haul against Brazil.

Torres' sometime strike partner David Villa has three to his name and if things go Spain's way he could have a decent shout at snatching the crown from Torres' grasp by their final game.

Neymar is joint third in the charts with three goals and could be worth a punt at 5/1 at some bookmakers, but they'll have to beat a Spain side that have been prolific in recent years.

Four goals in one game is an impressive return for any player but Tahiti aren't exactly world-class opposition and he will be tested against a sturdy Italian defence, although they did ship four against Spain in the Euro 2012 final, so fate may continue to shine in Torres' favour and he may finish the tournament in pole position.


Confederations Cup Top Scorers So Far:

1. F. Torres (Spain) 5 goals 
2. A. Hernandez (Uruguay) 4 goals 
3. D. Villa (Spain) 3 goals 
3. L. Suarez (Uruguay) 3 goals 
3. Neymar (Brazil) 3 goals 
3. Nnamdi Oduamadi (Nigeria) 3 goals 
3. J Hernandez (Mexico) 3 goals 

Ten Facts About Tahiti

As the Tahiti squad prepare for one of the biggest games of their lives in the Confederations Cup, many are predicting a resounding defeat as they square off the current World and European Champions.

It occurred to me that I know next to nothing about the country, so here's a list of:

10 Facts you should know about Tahiti: 

1.  The Tahitian FA was founded in 1938, which is older than Iceland (1947) and Tunisia (1956).
2.  Tahiti are ranked 138th in the world, just in front of Afghanistan and St Lucia.
3. Their biggest win is 30-0 against the Cook Islands in 1978. However they were beaten 10-0 by New Zealand (2004).
4.  Tahiti are available at odds of odds at 250/1 at some betting chains ahead of their game against Spain.
5.  The Tahiti manager Eddy Etaela said he "would be happy with one (goal)" even if Spain score twenty.
6.  Nine of the squad are unemployed, according to their manager.
7.  Tahiti's national ground 'Stade Pater Te Hono Nui' only has a capacity of 10,000.
8.  They have dropped goalkeeper Xavier Simon after his error-prone display against Nigeria. It will probably be his last ever appearance.
9.  Tahiti have a tiny population of around 200,000 which severely limits their ability to field professional footballers.
10.  Tahiti are the current Oceanian football champions, defeating New Caledonia  1-0 in the OFC final. This is how they qualified for the 2013 Fifa Confederations Cup.

Well, that's the list, hopefully you learned something new, I did doing the research!

Remember Me: First Impressions

Remember Me - First Impressions 

Meet Nilin, the star of Remember Me

I fired up Remember Me immediately after completing the recent Tomb Raider reboot, which I found to be pleasantly surprising. The Combat and navigation in TR really brought the game to life and I hoped for the same from RM.

I want to get the worst aspects out of the way first so here goes:

Maybe Tomb Raider raised my expectations a little too high, but a lot of the gameplay felt tired in comparison. Walls have no collision detection and the climbing sections were insipid, Prince of Persia (2003) is more fluid in that respect, despite being over a decade old.

Every two meters you have a visual waypoint to babysit you along your journey which isn't needed. 

The combat leaves a lot to be desired. At best it could be described as a mix between the original Witcher title with a little Assassins Creed and a few unlockable moves thrown in, but it is less satisfying than either.

This is a major shame, as the Pressen fighting system could work if given a major overhaul. For many fights there was no need to bother unlocking new skills, let alone use tactics when choosing combos. (Which admittedly is a decent idea in theory.)

Basic Combo Lab

In fact the first fight that forced a combo change was the second boss as he repeatedly headbutted me into oblivion.

Despite the early exposition being boring, the remixing memories selling point was very well done and kickstarted a marked improvement in the game. Going through the different scenarios was as fun as you would imagine as you target weaknesses in your targets memory, slowly bending them to your will.

It may sound like a gimmick, but these help to immerse you in the story as you start to truly understand Nilin's power and how dangerous she actually is.

Neo-Paris looks amazing at times and the game shows strong artistic direction across the board, from the flashy UI to the floating advertisements that dot the landscape. 

The story has brought up decent philosophical questions about the future of pure capitalism and the value of memories. I'll have to wait and see whether these issues are dealt with during the course of the game but hopefully they will be as the story is by far the strongest part of the game in the early stages.

The voice acting isn't anything to write home about, but in general the sounds are fitting for the futuristic setting and I had no concerns with the graphics or any glitches. 

 Sadly, Remember Me hasn't lived up to its early promise, but that doesn't mean it's a poor game. The gameplay may yet improve but I have a funny feeling that this may pretty much be it, with the combat and climbing unable to match the memory sequences.

So far it's been better than average, but it could have been so much more.

Is Juan Mata Moving?

(2012-13) P-64 G - 20 A - 35

Is Mata Moving?

Will Juan Mata be leaving Chelsea this year? The answer is a resounding no, according to an interview that can be found here on the Sky Sports website.

The media has been talking up a supposed rift between Mata and new Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, but Mata was insistent that "Nobody at Chelsea has told me that Mourinho wants me out" and that he is "very happy at Chelsea".

Chelsea fans will be hoping that the playmaker will see out the remainder of his three year contract and longer, as he was in scintillating form last season, winning the player of the year award at the club as a just reward for his 20 goal haul.

As for his new manager, Mata will "wait until I meet him and work with him before I judge him. That's simple logic".

 This was a cooler response to his new manager when compared to some of his team-mates such as fellow Spaniard Fernando Torres, who said "There is no better place and better conditions than with Mourinho at Chelsea".

Nothing is for certain until the transfer window slams shut, but with Real Madrid reportedly interested Mata should meet Mourinho and find out where he stands.

Hopefully, he'll be standing in a Chelsea shirt next season.

The best RPGs ever: Fallout 3

The best RPGs ever #1 :Fallout 3 




Scenic Overlook indeed
Fallout 3 came out in 2008 and instantly blew me away. A nuclear wasteland may not seem like the most varied of settings but exploring the ruins of post-apocalyptic Washington D.C armed with a snooker cue, Abe Lincoln's repeater and a portable nuclear missile launcher (AKA the Fatman) is a great experience that all should try.



I like RPG's as much as the next man. In fact, probably a lot more than the next man, but I knew little about the Fallout universe and as such, I didn't have any preconceptions. I was pleasantly surprised with the adult setting, humour and elder scrolls style gameplay. 

I said in the face dammit!
The game does have a number of bugs which do break immersion to an extent, such as enemies falling through the floor, broken quests and save file corruption but the core mechanics are second to none. I easily spent over 200 hours playing the vanilla game alone, combing through buildings and shooting raiders in the face. With VATS. Repeatedly.
Even with the wasteland setting, there is a lot of variety in the landscape, especially if you include the DLC and numerous character builds available to the player. The expansions take you to Pittsburgh, aboard an alien spacecraft and through other surreal scenarios tinged with a hint of darkness.
 Despite being released over five years ago, the game still holds up well graphically in comparison to later releases. This isn't to say there aren't any issues, with some NPC's looking plain creepy and body models leaving a lot to be desired, but mods can rectify the small graphical glitches.

I did it all for you, pops
Some may ask why I didn't choose Fallout: New Vegas instead, but for me it just made improvements to an already great base game. The connection your character has to the story is way more personal than in New Vegas, especially without the Lonesome Road DLC. 


You can tell that a lot of hard work and effort went into producing this game (despite the bugs) due to the sheer amount of detail there is to be found. Endless logs, transmissions and dialogue add extra layers to the story, as opposed to the 'radiant quest' style of side missions found in Skyrim (ie go to place x and collect x/deliver x for x gold) and I think this helps to draw you further into the game, as you explore vaults and unravel the mysteries inside.


Some aspects of the game did leave a bad taste in my mouth, such as the original ending and level cap, but at least these issues were fixed with DLC. Although the DLC itself was hit and miss the locations added by Point Lookout and The Pitt gave the game even more playability, especially for higher level characters.  



Zombies!



The game can be overwhelming at first, but as you level up and get to grips with the mechanics you'll soon be scavenging ruins for bobbleheads, unique named weapons and custom schematics, whilst fighting off deathclaws, super mutants and ghouls. 



Fallout 3 is a great game that only gets better with mods and DLC and it really does the post-apocalyptic setting justice. The game gives you choice, but is slightly more rewarding for players with good karma (except the great pay-off if you agree to help Mr Burke with the Megaton 'problem'). 


When all else fails, Mini Nuke
Little gameplay gems, such as finding the body of Argyle in the ruins of Rockopolis (next to the unarmed bobblehead no less), or discovering the reason why Arkansas was sniping up in his bolt-hole, make Fallout one of the most memorable games of this generation and one of my favourite RPGs of all time.


Verdict: If it ran perfectly it would be a 10 in my mind, but the glitches and bugs take the gloss off an impressive game. Even so, it's still a masterpiece.  9/10

5 of the greatest last stands in film

5 of the Greatest 'Last Stands' in recent film history

When used correctly the last stand is a great way to add tension to a film, be it through heroic sacrifice in the face of superior opposition, or to motivate the hero (or villain) to accomplish their goals.

A character may attempt to hold the line, or protect others as they escape, often whilst injured.

It can give a character redemption in death, or it can show the magnitude of the cause (as someone was willing to give their life).

So without further ado, let's start off with:

1. Sean Bean - LOTR: the Fellowship of the ring

Boromir finds redemption as he vainly attempts to keep Pippen and Merry from the clutches of the Uruk-Kai.

 Despite his failure, he proved that he was a pretty effective tank, taking multiple arrows as the hobbits looked on.

His death gives Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas an added reason to ensure they rescue the hobbits, but they most probably would have attempted it anyway.

Cliche rating 5/10 - He survives long enough to die in a comrades arms, which earns bonus points, but in reality he achieved little (expect making you not hate Boromir as much).


2. Jackie Chan - The Myth

This is probably one of the purest examples of the last stand, as General Meng-Yi stands alone against a full battalion of troops.

He dispatches the first few waves, but is finally caught with a stray blade and despite being given a chance to yield decides to continue regardless.

 The enemy leader decides enough is enough and Jackie is promptly given the Boromir treatment.

Cliché Rating 7/10 - So many; the enemy leader decides to give him an honourable death, he sees a friend die a few minutes beforehand, it takes a cheapshot arrow to finally fell the hero, he refuses to die etc.

3. Hugo Weaving - V for Vendetta

As the eponymous hero fights in this climatic scene, V himself says that he will die.

Not before leaving ten highly trained men dead, armed only with his "bloody knives and fancy karate gimmicks".

Despite being shot at point-blank range over 100 times, he still has the energy to choke his nemesis to death, before staggering off to die.

Cliché Rating 8/10 - "Bloody knives and fancy karate gimmicks".


4. Clint Eastwood - Gran Torino

Just like V, Walt Kowalski makes the ultimate sacrifice for a cause he truly believes in, gunned down in the street by lowlife thugs.

However his death isn't meaningless, because for some reason you cant shoot old men in the street over petty feuds and the culprits get sent to prison afterwards.

The scene gets added points for the relatively high credibility factor, as he goes down like a fly in comparison to others on the list, but he still manages to achieve his goals. (Plus he looks about 80).

 Cliché Rating 3/10 - Not as bad as others on the list, as some old men are genuinely crazy and brave like  Epic Beardman.


5. Gerard Butler - 300

As one of the most famous last stands it just had to be in the list. Leonidas and 300 of his Spartans fight a Persian army of 300,000 men and beasts until they are finally overwhelmed.

As a last show of defiance, Leonidas makes the God-King Xerxes bleed with a desperate spear but is cut down in a hail of arrows surrounded by his dead men.

Cliché Rating 9/10 - Hail of arrows, slow motion, impossible odds, last words and the fact that Leonidas is clearly the last Spartan standing.



I hope you enjoyed the list, let me know of any you think should be there.

Mourinho: the return of the special one

With the return of Jose Mourinho, Chelsea have a great chance to challenge for the EPL next season.

 Mourinho is Chelsea's most illustrious manager of recent times and the former Madrid boss is still well-respected at the bridge, but will a second spell in charge bring as much success as his first stint?

 

The landscape has changed somewhat in the years since Mourinho graced the Premiership, so does he still have what it takes?

Chelsea's squad has an emphasis for flair with players like Mata and Oscar, who have been described as different to the typical Mourinho player, but players of such a high calibre can enhance any team in the EPL.

Mourinho is loved by many Chelsea fans who feel he should have never left and he will certainly be given more time than Benitez was ever afforded, but what will he do with the time allotted? 

Will Chelsea return to the siege mentality that defined them so well during Mourinho's first tenure?

At first I was apprehensive about his return, but when the rumours of Man City putting in an offer came around, my mind was made up and thankfully, we were able to seal the deal. 

I think it'll be hard to emulate the record breaking form of his first stint as manager, but with the fans and key players in the dressing room with him we have a great chance to challenge for the title, especially with SAF's retirement and Mancini moving on from City.

All in all, I wish Mourinho well in his new job, I just hope he can live up to his reputation as one of the greatest managers in the world.