Skyrim: Missing The Point
There's a review... well, an article, anyway, about Skyrim up on Futurismic, which is such a spectacular example of missing the point that it should probably be printed out and framed. Maybe calligraphed and illuminated.
Quite aside from the fact that I disagree strenuously with the article, this is one of the things that drives me spare about computer game reviews. I'm sure it happens in other fields as well, but I don't read many film or book reviews any more. That is, the reviewer plainly doesn't like the genre. Jonathan McCalmont doesn't like open world games. So why have him review one? It seems clear that he'd be much happier reviewing something with a wholly pre-written storyline - there are excellent examples out there like Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins.
Indeed, it's worth arguing that unless you like the genre, you can't identify good or bad within it. Broadly speaking, I'd be hard put to identify good or bad country & western music, because it all makes me grind my teeth and look for a hammer.
But in this case, McCalmont sits down, ploughs his way through the game, and then proceeds to whine through a long article (as web articles go), wherein all the points can be summarised as "I don't get it". If you don't get it, a) play something else, and b) review that instead.
Posted by Drew Shiel at January 25, 2012 2:50 PM
