Page 10 - The University Star
TRENDS/DIVERSIONS
✯Star Comics
Thursday, January 25, 2007
RIX’S
TECHNOLOGY FIXES
Game-rating Web sites put focus on wrong things
A while back I but the NES version, which wrote that I have is a sly observation consida hard time findering you can’t download ing good gaming “arcade versions” of games. publications, and When you do go to downI meant to add load games, you usually find that I haven’t games by choosing what confound any good sole they were originally on. BILL RIX Web sites either, The icing, though, is Star Columnist but I didn’t have the phrase “the graphics room. Now I do. are rather archaic.” Yeah? And I have a good reason to re- Boy, you’d think a 24-year-old visit this, too, as I recently took video game would hold up beta look at GameSpot’s reviews of ter, huh? But I know how the the games out on Wii’s Virtual reviewer feels — I was kind of Console. disappointed when I downloadSome of the reviews complain ed it and realized it didn’t run that certain games haven’t aged DirectX 9.0c and DK’s pop isn’t well. Fair, but some are gauged bump mapped. against modern standards — So GameSpot doesn’t underTennis on the Nintendo Enter- stand the concept of time, but it tainment System, for example, does point out that on occasion, gets slammed for having poor the cost of the games doesn’t resound effects and “not a lot of ally cover the amount of fun to game-play options.” The re- be had. I must agree with this, viewer also does a passive com- as five dollars is a bit steep for parison of the game to another Donkey Kong Jr. But what about NES sports classic, Ice Hockey, another gaming-centric Web except Ice Hockey was released site, say, 1UP? four-and-a-half years after TenWell, 1UP doesn’t even nis. Ice Hockey even used differ- touch virtual console games. ent cartridge technology. Good It doesn’t really even cover all comparison, huh? That’s like comparing Doom to Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and complaining that Doom’s mapping leaves something to be desired. Also bashed by GameSpot is Donkey Kong Jr., also originally for the NES. In the first paragraph, the reviewer notes that this isn’t the arcade version, no,
SU DO KU Complete the grid so that every row, column, and 3-by-3 box contains every digit from one through nine inclusively.
of the games out on the Wii. I guess the editors are too busy borrowing content from their message boards without giving proper credit. IGN, on the other hand, manages to do things at least partially right. Most scores are better than those at GameSpot, the reviews are somewhat more indepth and the write-ups include more screenshots. Additionally, IGN has a more explanatory ratings guide, where the reviewer breaks down point allocation. Unfortunately, they still tend to rate things too low and with a comparison-style review. Given that the reviewers are a bit too taken with graphics and sound to really concentrate on game play, it’s no wonder most of the games are graded solely on how cool they are by today’s standards. Then again, most of these sites are parts of larger networks, which are in turn owned by massive media groups, so the ratings are pretty consistent with what you’d expect from out-of-touch 30-year-olds.
“T
he icing, though, is the phrase ‘the graphics are rather archaic.’ Yeah? Boy, you’d think a 24-year-old video game would hold up better, huh?.”
Yesterday’s solutions:
© Pappocom
Yesterday’s solutions: