MLB '08: The Show Review

[SoxChamp]

Quote: Originally Posted by Oldschool17

This game w/reliable online play is a 9...maybe a 10..But w/o its closer to a 6.5 - 7.0...Laugh if you want but until the voices in the community ring loud and clear in a producers ear about the overall dissatisfaction gamers have with next gen online play there will be no changes for the foreseeable near future. A frickin 9?!

No disrespect, but I don't give a rat's patooty about online play (on any game). I'll never touch it. I'll never understand the draw of playing against a bunch of cheating gamer geeks and preteens on the internet. The majority of people care more about their "status" on the online ranking system than they do playing a fair and fun game. So playing against these people is useless and unpleasant to me. I'll take my Franchise any day of the week.

So does that mean that I should still rate the game a 6.5? Or should I stick with a 9? The point is....a rating is a matter of opinion. What I might like in the game, you might not..and vice versa. So your rant was a tad misguided, as you assume that everyone cares about online play.

[Skyboxer]

Quote: Originally Posted by SoxChamp

No disrespect, but I don't give a rat's patooty about online play (on any game). I'll never touch it. I'll never understand the draw of playing against a bunch of cheating gamer geeks and preteens on the internet. The majority of people care more about their "status" on the online ranking system than they do playing a fair and fun game. So playing against these people is useless and unpleasant to me. I'll take my Franchise any day of the week. So does that mean that I should still rate the game a 6.5? Or should I stick with a 9? The point is....a rating is a matter of opinion. What I might like in the game, you might not..and vice versa. So your rant was a tad misguided, as you assume that everyone cares about online play.

I agree that no way, even with bad online right now, that I' rate it a 6.5. However playing online is great with the group of OS'ers. I don't play random ever. So in this day of online being a big part of gaming I would say the unreliable online is an area that should hurt the score somewhat but not to a 6.5.

[Oldschool17]

Quote: Originally Posted by SoxChamp

No disrespect, but I don't give a rat's patooty about online play (on any game). I'll never touch it. I'll never understand the draw of playing against a bunch of cheating gamer geeks and preteens on the internet. The majority of people care more about their "status" on the online ranking system than they do playing a fair and fun game. So playing against these people is useless and unpleasant to me. I'll take my Franchise any day of the week. So does that mean that I should still rate the game a 6.5? Or should I stick with a 9? The point is....a rating is a matter of opinion. What I might like in the game, you might not..and vice versa. So your rant was a tad misguided, as you assume that everyone cares about online play.

Here's a tip..I have at least 60 online friends who I know personally that play straight up..Thus I never play a random game...Not to mention the 4-5 guys I play and communicate with daily...Ignorant rants such as yours indicating..I don't care about (insert area of game here) are part of the larger problem.

Maybe I don't care about franchise...That doesn't mean I don't want it to work for the thousands of gamers who buy a game solely based on franchise play. I don't assume anyone places Online, franchise or whatever over any part of the game..I assume that all gamers, you and me alike want every facet of the game to work...Saying I don't give a rats pitooty about anything is simply ignorant at its most ignorant level...I never once placed any portion of the game over the other...They are all equal.

But lets be real...This is the era of HD and High Speed internet..These are the two factors that next gen console manufacturers sold to every consumer who decided to drop major cash on a next gen console and or a service like Xbox Live...Whether you care about online or not you still should care about game producers not making a quality game in every facet of the product...Imagine if what you cared about most in a game wasn't functional???...Then imagine some fool saying "I don't give a crap about (insert area of game here) because I don't play it"

Its time gamers have more understanding about the whole picture as opposed to a selfish view of what suits them best. I don't care what the score is on a game but game producers need to know that if any aspect of the game is neglected or subpar they will receive a score reflective of that negligence...And yes I mean negligence...MLB THE SHOW had similar online problems last year...Those producer guys were on this very forum posting pics, dialogging and guaranteeing improved online play. Now where are they???...Bin Laden is easier to find now...Sony IMO is negligent to allow sub par online play to plague the game for now a second consecutive year.

Reviewers are not doing whats in the best interest of gamers by pumping out reviews that blatantly neglect areas of the game...In fact..I don't even like scores because its all based on one man's opinion...Your 8.5 could be a 5.5 to me...Who's to say either of us are right or wrong??? All this being said..I still love THE SHOW but lets all support the fact that Online Play among other aspects of next gen sports games must be addressed.

[Oldschool17]

Quote: Originally Posted by Skyboxer

I agree that no way, even with bad online right now, that I' rate it a 6.5. However playing online is great with the group of OS'ers. I don't play random ever. So in this day of online being a big part of gaming I would say the unreliable online is an area that should hurt the score somewhat but not to a 6.5.

Agreed...and I submit that the proverbial "HURT" should be enough that game producers take NOTICE and are forced to make the appropriate changes..So if its a 6.5, 5.5 or 7.0 or whatever..Thats what is needed..But 8's and 9's for a game that is great but terrible in one area is misleading

[mattyg]

Quote: Originally Posted by Oldschool17

Reviewers are not doing whats in the best interest of gamers by pumping out reviews that blatantly neglect areas of the game...In fact..I don't even like scores because its all based on one man's opinion...Your 8.5 could be a 5.5 to me...Who's to say either of us are right or wrong??? All this being said..I still love THE SHOW but lets all support the fact that Online Play among other aspects of next gen sports games must be addressed.

Shoddy online was brought up 3 times; Once in the body, once in the conclusion and finally in the "Negatives". Every time it was mentioned, it got hit for being laggy. So online play was not "neglected" and the review is not "misleading."

If someone out there loves online play and their only intention was to play online, then I'd hope they would've read the portion about online play, saw that it wasn't refined, and passed on the game until it was fixed.

[Oldschool17]

Quote: Originally Posted by mattyg

Shoddy online was brought up 3 times; Once in the body, once in the conclusion and finally in the "Negatives". Every time it was mentioned, it got hit for being laggy. So online play was not "neglected" and the review is not "misleading." If someone out there loves online play and their only intention was to play online, then I'd hope they would've read the portion about online play, saw that it wasn't refined, and passed on the game until it was fixed.

IMO you can't score...or should I say...you shouldn't score a game as high as THE SHOW when a major portion of the game is unreliable and poorly constructed...Now please try to tell me ONLINE play is not important...Whether someone plays online or not the IMPORTANCE of online play for all games CANNOT be denied.

So just like the reviewer has an opinion...So do I...I simply don't agree with the score...he mentions poor online play but where is the accountability for it in the score???

This review is a prime example of why gaming companies will not make any changes for the better regarding online play for the forseeable near future...Grading out as a strong B while neglecting a major portion of the game will not promote any changes. If I'm a producer I'm thinking...Our reviews are great despite our subpar online play...No need to change it, right???

A review...any review...should be constructed from the standpoint that the reviewer values every aspect of the game equally or at least sets a criteria where even areas that may not be of great interest to the reviewer are still judged with the same level of importance as those areas that are important to the reviewer.

For example I would never play Franchise so I wouldn't even attempt to review it...I'm not qualified..I don't like or have an interest in Franchise...But what I would do is find my most reliable franchise player and have him play the hell outta franchise and allow me to interview him to get his feedback...Now I'm not saying the OS reviewer doesn't like online or whatever...I'm simply saying that here should be a higher standard of quality that is equal on all levels of the game. If I don't play Franchise I'm not gonna be a donkey and say "screw it"...Thats about as ignorant and nearsighted as it gets. I want it all to flow nicely for every gamer who enjoys every part or even small parts of a game.

I think PastaPadre clearly understands my point..THis is a decent read:

MLB ONLINE GAMEPLAY UPDATE

[Knight165]

Quote: Originally Posted by Oldschool17

IMO you can't score...or should I say...you shouldn't score a game as high as THE SHOW when a major portion of the game is unreliable and poorly constructed...Now please try to tell me ONLINE play is not important...Whether someone plays online or not the IMPORTANCE of online play for all games CANNOT be denied. So just like the reviewer has an opinion...So do I...I simply don't agree with the score...he mentions poor online play but where is the accountability for it in the score??? This review is a prime example of why gaming companies will not make any changes for the better regarding online play for the forseeable near future...Grading out as a strong B while neglecting a major portion of the game will not promote any changes. If I'm a producer I'm thinking...Our reviews are great despite our subpar online play...No need to change it, right??? A review...any review...should be constructed from the standpoint that the reviewer values every aspect of the game equally or at least sets a criteria where even areas that may not be of great interest to the reviewer are still judged with the same level of importance as those areas that are important to the reviewer.

OldSchool.

I understand where you are coming from...that each portion of the game should work...and properly...but I think you might be overestimating just how important online play really is .....and to how many people find it so important.
Yes... A LOT of people like to play online. That's a given.
But...if you tell people..."this is a great game...except the online sucks"
......and you tell them..." this game not so great...but the online is tremendous" Which game do you think most people will get? Seriously.
I'm a big fan of manage only mode. I think any game that doesn't have it takes a HUGE hit towards the "final score"...but that's for me.
Others understand it......and might like to try it.....but if it comes down to the game being great...but the manage only mode is subpar....they wouldn't think twice about not getting the game because of it.

I've played MAYBE 3 games online...in ALL the baseball games I've played.
I'm sure there are others here that haven't played the game outside season/franchise. I've heard you call that "BOOOORING".......so then you must realize that just like you don't look at some things as important in the game....others don't find your "essential" items to be as important as you do.
I'm just trying to break it to you nicely.

M.K.
Knight165

[Oldschool17]

Quote: Originally Posted by mattyg

Shoddy online was brought up 3 times; Once in the body, once in the conclusion and finally in the "Negatives". Every time it was mentioned, it got hit for being laggy. So online play was not "neglected" and the review is not "misleading." If someone out there loves online play and their only intention was to play online, then I'd hope they would've read the portion about online play, saw that it wasn't refined, and passed on the game until it was fixed.

Matty,

With all due respect...I don't read a review to determine if I want to buy a game..Why?...because I don't value another man's opinion more than my own when it comes to making a decision on what I like or don't like.

A true knowledgable, veteran gamer is not gonna let a review decide for him if he wants to buy or play the game...Again, no disrespect to reviews because I read and enjoy them but its just some dudes opinion...An opinion thats no better or worse than mine...So why would I rely on someone else???..I never understood guys who decide to buy or not to buy a game based on a review.

Reviews for the most part are for the gaming companies to brag about meta-critic scores and pound their chest regarding how great their product is and well received by the community even when they know they released the game with defective areas that should have been dealt with prior release. Peter Moore touted Madden 08 as this great game due to the Meta-critic scores but in real life most gamers have been continually disappointed with that game since its inception to next gen.

So..in retrospect I don't need the review for me...I need the review to speak to the producers and let them know that the community is highly dissatisfied and concerned that certain areas have been continually, irresponsibly been neglected.