Category: MetaReviews

A summary of other sites reviews for a given title.

Metareview: Batman Arkham Knight

The last (?) part of Rocksteady Studios’ Batman: Arkham trilogy has finally arrived and the reviews are glowing (91 on Metacritic for the PS4 version), at least for the most part. After the lukewarm reception Origins received (not developed by Rocksteady), Batman is back on form and some hail it as the best game this generation has seen so far. Only the implementation of the Batmobile seems to have some people disappointed …on consoles.The PC version on the other hand, well, you might want to look at this article about performance issues before you buy it.

The following reviews are all for the PS4 version, except the one from The Escapist (XBO)

Polygon (10/10): Arkham Knight is Batman perfected
Rocksteady has said this is its last Batman game, and I'm praying to the New Gods that they're on the level. After Arkham Knight, trying to find more meat on the Batman bone would define futility. After Arkham Knight, Batman has been perfected — and the end result is the best game of this console generation.

VideoGamer (10/10): Batman: Arkham Knight is not only the best Batman game ever made, but a game that will be remembered as exemplary. Obviously being a fan of the license is going to help no end - the Arkham trilogy as a whole is as important and impactful as its filming equivalent - and how this will ever be topped in terms of donning the cowl and being Gotham's protector is anyone's guess. But even those who don't frequent themselves with Bruce Wayne and his many adventures will still walk away feeling they've experienced something special.
It's epic; it's grand; it's addictive; it's ridiculously good-looking and it's going to be remembered for a long time to come. A masterpiece.

GameInformer (9.5/10): At the end of it all, Batman: Arkham Knight delivers a great sense of closure for this series. Rocksteady leaves a few plot threads dangling to tease and taunt us, but the grim tale that started all the way back in Arkham Asylum is done. I walked away from Arkham Knight shocked, satisfied, and in dire need of someone to discuss the story with. Rocksteady built a special experience that dazzles with its cleverness, intelligence, and ability to shift from kick-ass Batman moments to emotional gut punches to scenes stripped straight from some of Batman's greatest comic book stories. Lock yourself away, avoid social media and friends, and finish this game. You won't want this one spoiled for you.

IGN (9.2/10): If this is in fact the last Rocksteady-developed Batman game, the series will end on a high note. Arkham Knight is the biggest Batman game yet, not just in map size, but in the wide range of different types of gameplay, and its collection of characters. The addition of tank combat thematically clashes with everything Batman stands for, but it is fun, and having access to the Batmobile for the first time gives us a new world of possibilities for interacting with Gotham City. Arkham Knight is an outstanding game on almost every level.TheEscapist (4.5/5): The game performs well, but required a large day one patch - about 3.5 gigs - to function. Bugs were rare, but present, including two hard locks that crashed the Xbox One during my play through. Both occured during a key event that changes the face of the city, so it's unclear if that was their cause, but because the game frequently autosaves even in the open world I didn't lose any progress either time. An occasional bug caused enemies in stealth segments to forget they saw batman mid-fight, but that was rare and more amusing than troubling.

GamesRadar+ (4/5): Once I put a bit of distance between the campaign’s problems and the more positive experience of patrolling Gotham and mopping up these hours of sidequests, I really started to love Arkham Knight. I can see players just dipping in and out of this world forever, jumping in the Batmobile to chase down some criminals, visiting the villains in the lock-up at GCPD, gliding from an airship onto the LexCorp building; just being Batman in this worthy depiction of his universe.

GameSpot (7/10): What Batman: Arkham Knight does well, however, it does really well. Gotham is a dazzling playground where neon lights pierce through the rain and mist; all it takes is a single glimpse to tell you that this is a city in need. Moreover, many individual elements are so carefully constructed, and presented with such flair, that appreciation is the only reasonable reaction. Yet most of these elements--excellent acting, wonderful animations, moody soundtrack--are ones that Batman: Arkham City also excelled in, making Arkham Knight's missteps all the more noticeable. Rather than escape the pull of the games that spawned it, The Bat's newest adventure refines the fundamentals; it is a safe but satisfying return to the world's most tormented megalopolis.

Metareview: Mortal Kombat X

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First thing's first, I'm the realest. Drop this and let the whole world feel it. And I'm still in the Murda Bizness. I could hold you down, like I'm givin' lessons in physics. You should want a bad bitch like this. Drop it low and pick me up...for just $4.99 as DLC
Guess who hasn’t a launch day review for Mortal Kombat X.

Yes, us.

Why? Well, that’s conspiracy territory:
We requested a PC copy and as it turns out, the PC version seems to be broken for many people.
But we all know that a games publisher would never do something like this on purpose, so I’m sure this is only a very unlucky coincidence, as proven by the abstinence of Xbox One reviews. (Hell, even well known PC only magazines got PS4 code)

With that out of the way, let’s take a look at some already released reviews.

Game Informer (9.25/10 PS4): “Mortal Kombat X is a fantastic successor in every sense. The mechanics may be similar to 2011’s strong release, but with so many new modes and features permeating every part of the experience, it’s a worthy upgrade. Mortal Kombat X is more than the continuation of NetherRealm’s successful vision for the franchise; it’s one of the best fighting games in years.”

The Escapist (4.5/5 PS4): “Mortal Kombat X offers the best story mode I've ever personally seen in a fighting game. Its cohesive plot and extended cinematics makes you feel much more like a participant in a film than a player on the couch. The fighting is frantic, fluid, and dynamic, with the glorious goriness of the X-Ray moves often turning the tides of battle.”

Metro (8/10 PS4): “Surprisingly generous is not a phrase that gets used much nowadays but in terms of the number of characters, modes, and unlockables Mortal Kombat X exceeds expectations. And more importantly it’s a really fun, and amusingly grotesque, fighting game. It’s still not the deepest fighter around but that’s not what’s its aiming for. Instead, there are several things it does better than its rivals and even just being identifiably different is no mean achievement for such a crowded genre.”

Videogamer (8/10 PS4): “With fighting games requiring pinpoint precision and timing, input lag in online multiplayer is a noticeable and disappointing issue. Each of the online matches I’ve played has suffered with input delay. When trying to pull off special moves or X-Rays, having to wait half a second for the command to pay off in the fight is nigh-on impossible to compensate for, and more often I’ll fail to do the attack. It remains to be seen if this will be fixed, but it's not a great start.
Overall, however, Mortal Kombat X is the most entertaining fighting game on next-gen.”

GamesRadar+ (3.5/5 PS4): “As a whole, Mortal Kombat X is a rock-solid fighting game that owes a lot to the power of its presentation. The story mode is unparalleled in terms of sheer entertainment, but MKX has a way to go in terms of teaching the player how to get the most out of its core systems. Once you've wrapped your head around the many variations and found some actual people to play against, the blisteringly fast back-and-forth matches really start to open up. If you're not willing to make the commitment to seeking out challengers and learning beyond the basics, though, this fighter definitely has a shorter life expectancy.”

Metareview: Bloodborne

Seems like Sony finally found its killer exclusive. The first reviews for Bloodborne are in and from the looks of it, we got our first real GOTY contender. Jim Fucking Sterling Son gave it his first 10/10, Metacritic has it at an impressive 93 and even the user score is at 90.
Since we didn’t actually had a review copy (Jye is currently playing it. His opinion so far: “I'm not hating it, I'm not getting my ass kicked so far...  In the first 20 min anyway”), I take this opportunity to bring back something from the old Joystiq days: Metareviews!Let us all bath in the glory of scores from all over the web, without having to read those pesky reviews that they usually stick on them.

The Jimquisition (10/10): “Bloodborne is as glorious as it is grotesque, a harsh and unyielding exercise in getting battered mercilessly while feeling encouraged the whole painful way. While very much a Souls game through and through, the switch from methodical and slow progression to a faster, ultimately more savage environment provides just enough of a twist to give it a wholly unique feel, a more empowering journey, for both the player and the opposition. Bloodborne is something truly special – a barbaric horror RPG that will giveth and taketh away in perfect measure, wrapped up in a perverse world that will refuse to let you go.”

The Guardian (5/5): “Bloodborne like its predecessors, will spill its secrets slowly, over months rather than days. Part of the appeal of Miyazaki’s games is this slow-release effect, whereby riddles are unpicked and shared by the community, rather than plainly laid out on the first day of release. It brings players together, where the fiction itself keeps them somewhat apart. Bloodborne is, by any measure, an extraordinary game, one that runs forcefully against the commercial tide, subverting perceived wisdom that contemporary games have to hold their players’ hands, or make their shape and rules explicit from the get-go.”

The Escapist (4,5/5): “All things considered, Bloodborne is an absolute must-buy for fans of the Souls series and for fans of games that push a player's skill to the absolute limit. It's easily the best PS4 exclusive title yet, a game that's more than worthy to be considered a part of the fantastic Souls series, and it's one of the best games of 2015 thus far.”

Destructoid (9/10): “Bloodborne is an interesting mix of everything From Software has learned throughout its storied developmental career. Not everything will gel with fans old and new, but for the most part, the shift towards a combat-oriented game is a net positive. From Software is still one of the only developers left that makes you work for your satisfaction, and Bloodborne is damn satisfying.”

Gamespot (9/10): “The finest treasures are found within the city of Yharnam and the forests, lakes, and purgatories beyond it. Only Bloodborne would be so bold as to bury an entire factional player-versus-player mechanic within an optional region, which is in turn buried within a series of oblique steps you might miss if you aren't exploring every nook and cranny, or ignore the game's enigmatic hints. I finished Bloodborne in less time than I did Dark Souls II, yet I treasure it more in spite of its few missteps. In death there is life, and in blood, there is redemption. More hyperbole, yes, but for a game this theatrical, only hyperbole will do.”

Image: Sony