Rebellion are probably sick of Metacritic, the review aggregation site that seems to come under fire rather frequently. There highest rated game this generation has been the PS3 version of Aliens Vs Predator, a game which received an average of 65. CEO Jason Kingsley has spoken out against the site, claiming that it could ruin the industry.
"There’s a bit of tyranny there, though, because it also means that if you try to make an original product that some people love and appreciate what you’re trying to do, and others say they don’t get and give a bad score, that can almost mean that everybody just goes for the standard thing they know everyone will probably like. I think that’s potentially dangerous for a creative industry like the games industry. Nobody’s going to try anything if they’re being shot down all the time for trying something new.
“There are also difficulties in terms of budgets. Do you compare the special effects in the latest blockbuster movie to the effects in an independent low-budget feature? Boiling down any form of creative into a single score is difficult.
“Shakespeare. Well, some of his plays I like better than others, [but] the idea of giving certain Shakespeare plays 8/10… I mean, what the hell does that mean?
“It’s tricky, I’m probably getting a little bit pompous here because it is honestly an area that affects things badly or well, and is one everybody needs to be aware of.”
There are a couple of problems with what he's saying here. Firstly, the gaming public doesn't really know what it takes to make a game as opposed to a film. There are rarely making-of videos that last more than a couple of minutes for a video game, and they tend to be rather superficial – a PR creation rather than an education, a chance to brag over features rather than how those features game about. Secondly, Shakespeare was hardly the most popular writer of his time (his contemporaries were far more talked about) and it was only after his death and the publication of his completed works that he became "the bard." So, yes, 8/10 during his lifetime was probably pushing it.
The problem I think is that it takes time for people to work out what they like. Sometimes a title is an instant hit, but sometimes it can take multiple generations for a game to become a classic. Metacritic, especially the user score, represents the instant reaction rather than the longterm effect and, honestly, if looking at prior generations is anything to go by, more creative games will be remembered far after standard titles are forgotten.
Although, really, I'm not sure Aliens Vs Predator is going to get any better with age.
You can read the full interview at Gamerzines.
