Kane and Lynch review farce mark 2

super_furry

Linky

So Eidos are at it again, trying to strong-arm reviewers into holding off less than stellar reviews of their tired and outdated 90s game until after it's launch weekend.

Mr E

Unreal....

“Just that we’re trying to get the Metacritic rating to be high, and the brand manager in the US that’s handling all of Tomb Raider has asked that we just manage the scores before the game is out, really, just to ensure that we don’t put people off buying the game, basically.”

The game is buggy, has dodgy controls, was poorly tested, has bad clipping issues, a broken checkpoint system and is 6 hours long. Maybe thats the reason its getting less than stellar reviews? F**k off, Eidos.

L31mr0d

I think Eidos are within their rights. I mean they don't need to give advance copies to reviewers, so they can specify that if a reviewer wants an advance copy they must hold off their review until the release date. I mean the reviewer is burning their bridge if they don't agree as Eidos won't send them any more advance copies, neither will most other game devs.

Personally, I'm playing it at the moment and it's not that bad. The final release seems to of fixed the few issues I had with the demo. There is nothing innovative in it but for a Tomb Raider game it's hit the nail on the head. Worth a rent if you're a TR fan

Mr E

There is a difference between holding off reviews until release date, or holding off reviews until 3 days after release date.

I still want to play it though... I'm a fan of the series, but it looks like a rental for me.

L31mr0d

Mr E wrote: »

I still want to play it though... I'm a fan of the series, but it looks like a rental for me.

My only gripe thus far is the controls, they feel clunky, I frequently get snagged on some rock in the evironment. Also there are too many invisible walls. Platforms that Lara is well capable of jumping up onto she can't because it's a part of the scenery.

The combat system is as basic as ever, with a new adrenaline mode (bascially replaces the bullet time from Legend when you jumped off someones head and did a backflip) and a headshot mode which really adds nothing to it.

What I like is that they have reduced the amount of combat and have instead replaced it with puzzles, albeit, simple puzzles thus far.

I'd give this game a... eh... 8 out of 10

Kiith

The only reason not to give advance copies of a game to a reviewer are when the publishers know that the games are either utterly ****, or are buggy messes. If they are not willing to take the time to fix their own products, then we shouldnt be expected to buy them.

Now i havent played the new TR game, as i've never been a big fan. But this alone would stop me wanting to play it. I'd rather play a game that had a slightly bad review, then one that didnt get a review at all.

K.O.Kiki

Ah, what they won't do* to get it out the door for Christmas.


*develop the game completely

Q_Ball

L31mr0d wrote: »

I think Eidos are within their rights. I mean they don't need to give advance copies to reviewers, so they can specify that if a reviewer wants an advance copy they must hold off their review until the release date. I mean the reviewer is burning their bridge if they don't agree as Eidos won't send them any more advance copies, neither will most other game devs.

I dont think that is what's happening here. To me it seems that Eidos sent out the advance review copies but are trying to supress only the negative reviews to keep the metacritic score high. This is different to the reviewer signing an NDA or agreeing to an embargo, which is generally publication-wide. The GTAIV embargo for instance, where all reviews were suppressed until a few days before release. Unless there was a clause in the agreement that said "if you mark it less than x/xx then you cant release your review" then I think Eidos are being completely unreasonable and boo on them.

dreamers75

L31mr0d wrote: »

My only gripe thus far is the controls, they feel clunky, I frequently get snagged on some rock in the evironment. Also there are too many invisible walls. Platforms that Lara is well capable of jumping up onto she can't because it's a part of the scenery.

The combat system is as basic as ever, with a new adrenaline mode (bascially replaces the bullet time from Legend when you jumped off someones head and did a backflip) and a headshot mode which really adds nothing to it.

What I like is that they have reduced the amount of combat and have instead replaced it with puzzles, albeit, simple puzzles thus far.

I'd give this game a... eh... 8 out of 10

+1 to what he said, in HelHeim now and looks like its a decent level. Never have i died so many times in a game, fact game doesnt punish kinda makes you not care once you hear the dingaling :P

Never played a full tomb raider but enjoying this, think i played it about 10 hours so if thats fit into the rental scheme. Collision and the walls you cant jump on cos they a different colour to the ones you can is a bit crap.

Maximilian

It's up to Eidos whether they give advance copies or not. If they do they must take the good with the bad. Trying to have their cake and eat it is a joke, as there is no cake.

They are quite clear about actively trying to manage metacritic scores. That to me is deceit if not fraud. Shame on any games site that gives into Eidos here.

Jazzy

im only buying games now if ive played them or seen them being played before hand.

noodler

I bought EDGE this month and they had gushing praise for the thing.

I was looking forward to it.

L31mr0d

Jazzy wrote: »

im only buying games now if ive played them or seen them being played before hand.

Don't judge TR:U by its demo, the full game is a lot better although the story is fairly crap.. they are trying to tie together the stories from Anniversary and Legend but it feels very thrown together.

The puzzles and set pieces are quite good though.

AnCapaillMor

Yeah she's got some new moves too, the prince of persia wall jump and i don't remember having to repel and climb with the grapple in the others. The one thing i did miss was boss battles, running around dodging ttrying to figure out how to kill this f'er.

L31mr0d

AnCapaillMor wrote: »

Yeah she's got some new moves too, the prince of persia wall jump and i don't remember having to repel and climb with the grapple in the others. The one thing i did miss was boss battles, running around dodging ttrying to figure out how to kill this f'er.

Yeah, I was wondering when she would nick the Princes wall jumping. Shes already stolen slowing time down and wall running (with the grapple) :rolleyes:

I find the puzzles less rudimentary than Legend though. You have to use the grapple more for lowering and raising yourself, and not all ledges are at a 90' angle to you, so you have to jump off to the side.

It's also like they are going for the isolation feel of Anniversary, but because of this there are no bosses (at least none yet) only jungle animals

Helix

L31mr0d wrote: »

I mean the reviewer is burning their bridge if they don't agree as Eidos won't send them any more advance copies, neither will most other game devs.

eidos stopping sending someone review code wont affect any other company doing sending stuff to the same reviewer

OctavarIan

Eidos weren't forcing anyone to hold back the negative reviews, they were just requesting. If somewhere still wanted to publish a negative review early they could.