Anthem reviews

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I am... torn.

On the one hand, I can't deny that Anthem is a slog (especially when Faye tells you to do the Trials just to advance the main story), and the always online story just bogs the game down.

On the other hand, I've always appreciated Bioware trying to be inclusive and diverse-friendly. I like how they helped a lesbian couple get married. I like how they have representation in their games.

I just worry that the people criticizing Anthem (which it does deserve, don't misunderstand), don't end up scapegoating the people Bioware tries to appeal to.

But why are they trying to appeal to people in such a way? Why not simply make a good game?
I remember the time when developers tried to create good games without pandering to any specific demographic or sociopolitical ideology. You know, the time when games were meant to be a fun pastime.

And it's not like they're pandering because they care. It's just much easier to make people pay for microtransactions if you pretend to give a shit about things they based their entire identity around.

 

[Burnouts3s3]

I am... torn.

On the one hand, I can't deny that Anthem is a slog (especially when Faye tells you to do the Trials just to advance the main story), and the always online story just bogs the game down.

On the other hand, I've always appreciated Bioware trying to be inclusive and diverse-friendly. I like how they helped a lesbian couple get married. I like how they have representation in their games.

I just worry that the people criticizing Anthem (which it does deserve, don't misunderstand), don't end up scapegoating the people Bioware tries to appeal to.

I remember the time when developers tried to create good games without pandering to any specific demographic or sociopolitical ideology. You know, the time when games were meant to be a fun pastime.

In this political climate, it feels as though you will be criticized by taking the wrong position.

I think Bioware and EA feel they can wave away some of that criticism by appealing to those groups.

But then you have developers raked over the coals for not complying.

And it's not like they're pandering because they care. It's just much easier to make people pay for microtransactions if you pretend to give a shit about things they based their entire identity around.

I agree that microtransactions are not the method to use and are harmful to the industry.

But, even when someone pretends to care, it can mean a lot to someone out there who's struggling with those issues. "Tainted water in the desert".

 

[Trunkage]

Is it time to point out that Baulders Gate was only an okay game. Looking at it from today perspective, its very lackluster and only a framework of a game.

BG2 was far superior in every way.

I liked BG back in the day and loved Mass Effect and Dragon Age (all 3). But I'm not pretending that Bioware was a super developer. They were good, not great. Anthem is just another Bioware game following in line with all the other ones. Trying multiplayer is the biggest mistake. Just ask F76

 

[sXeth]

(supposedly BioWare tried many times to make KoTOR 3 happen but EA kept shooting them down).

That is rather ironic. Considering Bioware ended up falling into EA because they ditched their gravy train D&D and Stars Licenses to go pursue original IPs.

To which they barely got one Mass Effect out, and only got Dragon Age out finally two years post-EA

 

[Elfgore]

Why all this doomsaying? I've seen nada for sales data, just mediocre reviews. I fail to see how this means the death of Bioware and just looks to be people drumming on about how EA is shit for the hundredth time. EA seems to be anticipating about six million sales in six weeks, which seems really high. Even if it doesn't hit that, I'm like 99% sure Bioware will be fine. Even then, do people care anymore? Bioware hasn't made a game that's been honestly great since Dragon Age: Origins, maybe Mass Effect 2 if you want to push it.

 

[CaitSeith]

snip

Wrong meme.

 

[Trunkage]

Why all this doomsaying? I've seen nada for sales data, just mediocre reviews. I fail to see how this means the death of Bioware and just looks to be people drumming on about how EA is shit for the hundredth time. EA seems to be anticipating about six million sales in six weeks, which seems really high. Even if it doesn't hit that, I'm like 99% sure Bioware will be fine. Even then, do people care anymore? Bioware hasn't made a game that's been honestly great since Dragon Age: Origins, maybe Mass Effect 2 if you want to push it.

I heard that it's like Destiny. Which means its going to sell well

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Putting down a zombie isn't murder, it's a release.

I remember the time when developers tried to create good games without pandering to any specific demographic or sociopolitical ideology.

Well, except for the whole "war is awesome, oo-rah military" mentality.

 

[Elfgore]

Why all this doomsaying? I've seen nada for sales data, just mediocre reviews. I fail to see how this means the death of Bioware and just looks to be people drumming on about how EA is shit for the hundredth time. EA seems to be anticipating about six million sales in six weeks, which seems really high. Even if it doesn't hit that, I'm like 99% sure Bioware will be fine. Even then, do people care anymore? Bioware hasn't made a game that's been honestly great since Dragon Age: Origins, maybe Mass Effect 2 if you want to push it.

I heard that it's like Destiny. Which means its going to sell well

But, this game is part of the premium Origin Access thing. So I wonder if this means they'll be including those who play it via that as sales or if this is a full sixty dollar purchase only. I honestly don't see it hitting that expectation if they don't include Origin Access.

 

[Mcgeezaks]

I don't understand some game journalists, PCgamer gave it a 55 while giving Destiny 2 a 85, they even gave Fallout 76 a higher score than Anthem. It just doesn't make any sense to me, there's no consistency.

I think this sums up my opinion about ''professional'' game critics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG2dXobAXLI

 

[Hawki]

BioWare will die, so Respawn could live. So it was written.

...written by whom?

I loved the idea of the Jade Empire. It was a game that I wanted so desperately to have a sequel or a remaster.

https://www.vg247.com/2019/02/05/jade-empire-trademark-2019/

You may be in luck.

But why are they trying to appeal to people in such a way? Why not simply make a good game?

Since when did inclusion and good games become mutually exclusive?

To which they barely got one Mass Effect out, and only got Dragon Age out finally two years post-EA

3. 4 if you include Mass Effect: Galaxy.

I don't understand some game journalists, PCgamer gave it a 55 while giving Destiny 2 a 85, they even gave Fallout 76 a higher score than Anthem. It just doesn't make any sense to me, there's no consistency.

Maybe because different critics are doing the reviews? Maybe because standards change over time?

A review by itself can tell a reader a lot, especially with a score. It doesn't need to be weighted against others per se.

 

[Dalisclock]

I am... torn.

On the one hand, I can't deny that Anthem is a slog (especially when Faye tells you to do the Trials just to advance the main story), and the always online story just bogs the game down.

On the other hand, I've always appreciated Bioware trying to be inclusive and diverse-friendly. I like how they helped a lesbian couple get married. I like how they have representation in their games.

I just worry that the people criticizing Anthem (which it does deserve, don't misunderstand), don't end up scapegoating the people Bioware tries to appeal to.

I'm cool with inclusivity and diversity. Ubisoft is pretty good at this as well. And it is kinda sad when people will blame a game being bad and SJW just because it has a female PC or a gay person or whatever despite the flaws being pretty much unrelated.

That being said, Anthem sounds like it's not gonna bring back the Good Old days of Bioware. Instead it sounds like they're trend chasing Destiny but a few year too late. They can learn from this and improve or they can fail to learn and die. Granted, EA has probably marked them for death at this point, because that's what EA do.

 

[Dalisclock]

But why are they trying to appeal to people in such a way? Why not simply make a good game?
I remember the time when developers tried to create good games without pandering to any specific demographic or sociopolitical ideology. You know, the time when games were meant to be a fun pastime.

And it's not like they're pandering because they care. It's just much easier to make people pay for microtransactions if you pretend to give a shit about things they based their entire identity around.

Who are they pandering to and how? And how is this "pandering" making the games bad?

Is it a sense of cognitive dissidence where the game is doing a "War is bad" but then shows you all the cools military toys and implying the military(ours, not theirs) can do no wrong, thus undercutting their own narrative by saying one thing verbally but having the spectacle and plot reinforce the other?

Or is one one of those "There are too many ladies/gays in my video games" sort of "pandering"?

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

To which they barely got one Mass Effect out, and only got Dragon Age out finally two years post-EA

3. 4 if you include Mass Effect: Galaxy.

If we are talking number of games, it is technically zero. EA announced the acquisition of Bioware in October 2007, with Mass Effect being released in November. Obviously, EA had no input into the process of making Mass Effect, which means it can be seen as the only game in that series that wasn't under the supervision of EA. But everything after that, including DA:O, was made under EA's supervision.

As I said in my previous post, I don't think we should blame EA too much for Bioware's failings (excluding DA2, which is all EA's fault). Rather, the really good writers, directors and producers at Bioware left and the people that took over were not on the same level. This can be seen in the gradual decline in details first orientation in Bioware games (ME and DA:O featured extreme world building via their codices) in favor of drama first, but also the increasing dissatisfaction of long-time fans with both the stories and gameplay of newer games. Somewhere along the way Bioware lost its touch.

 

[Here Comes Tomorrow]

I am... torn.

On the one hand, I can't deny that Anthem is a slog (especially when Faye tells you to do the Trials just to advance the main story), and the always online story just bogs the game down.

On the other hand, I've always appreciated Bioware trying to be inclusive and diverse-friendly. I like how they helped a lesbian couple get married. I like how they have representation in their games.

I just worry that the people criticizing Anthem (which it does deserve, don't misunderstand), don't end up scapegoating the people Bioware tries to appeal to.

A bad game is a bad game and chucking in a bunch of LGBT stuff won't change that. If you make bad games when you're main job is making good games then you deserve to fail.

Incidentally I've not seen anyone make any comments on diversity in Anthem either for or against so I dunno why you think anyone would scapegoat anyone.

 

[CritialGaming]

I am... torn.

On the one hand, I can't deny that Anthem is a slog (especially when Faye tells you to do the Trials just to advance the main story), and the always online story just bogs the game down.

On the other hand, I've always appreciated Bioware trying to be inclusive and diverse-friendly. I like how they helped a lesbian couple get married. I like how they have representation in their games.

I just worry that the people criticizing Anthem (which it does deserve, don't misunderstand), don't end up scapegoating the people Bioware tries to appeal to.

A bad game is a bad game and chucking in a bunch of LGBT stuff won't change that. If you make bad games when you're main job is making good games then you deserve to fail.

Incidentally I've not seen anyone make any comments on diversity in Anthem either for or against so I dunno why you think anyone would scapegoat anyone.

I've always said that diversity shouldn't be forced into video games. I'm all for more LBGTQ characters and such in video games, but it shouldn't come at the cost of good writing. Like I feel like Mass Effect 3 did it right, but Andromeda had a random NPC trans character that iirc the trans community hated because it felt like a cheap afterthought.

We saw this in Battlefield 5 too right? They put the handicapped woman on the cover and made it a big thing about how inclusive they were trying to be and people didn't react well to it because again it was forced and had no purpose. It was there for the sake of it and not for any character reason.

From what it looks like in Anthem, I don't really know. I mean the writing for the entire game is shit so I feel like the LBGT characters could be great in the setting, but because the whole game is phoned in, nothing comes across well.

Anthem to me feels like they spent 6 years trying to make the game look as good as possible, but forgot to actually work out gameplay and story into it. I mean how do you spend 6 years making a game and have it feel so fucking small and short?

At least when Square-Enix spend 10 years on a game, when it comes out finally it's fucking huge! KH3, FF15, all very good looking and very big games. Which means you can see that there is actually something to show for all those years of work.

Anthem's 6 years of work has a very pretty microtransaction dispenser to show for it.

 

[BrawlMan]

Oh look at that, another shitty EA game while whoring out whatever good talent they have left. Bioware ain't totally blameless, but I wouldn't be surprised if EA totally axed them. This is why I have not bought a game from them since 2011. Well there was that one time I bought Need for Speed Rivals: Complete Edition in 2015, but I got that on a sale for $30.

 

[Worgen]

I am... torn.

On the one hand, I can't deny that Anthem is a slog (especially when Faye tells you to do the Trials just to advance the main story), and the always online story just bogs the game down.

On the other hand, I've always appreciated Bioware trying to be inclusive and diverse-friendly. I like how they helped a lesbian couple get married. I like how they have representation in their games.

I just worry that the people criticizing Anthem (which it does deserve, don't misunderstand), don't end up scapegoating the people Bioware tries to appeal to.

But why are they trying to appeal to people in such a way? Why not simply make a good game?
I remember the time when developers tried to create good games without pandering to any specific demographic or sociopolitical ideology. You know, the time when games were meant to be a fun pastime.

And it's not like they're pandering because they care. It's just much easier to make people pay for microtransactions if you pretend to give a shit about things they based their entire identity around.

No, because pretty much all games pander to a certain audience. Its just that if its pandering to your audience then you probably wont notice it. I mean you probably don't see Duke Nukem as pandering but it sure as hell is.

 

[Here Comes Tomorrow]

I am... torn.

On the one hand, I can't deny that Anthem is a slog (especially when Faye tells you to do the Trials just to advance the main story), and the always online story just bogs the game down.

On the other hand, I've always appreciated Bioware trying to be inclusive and diverse-friendly. I like how they helped a lesbian couple get married. I like how they have representation in their games.

I just worry that the people criticizing Anthem (which it does deserve, don't misunderstand), don't end up scapegoating the people Bioware tries to appeal to.

But why are they trying to appeal to people in such a way? Why not simply make a good game?
I remember the time when developers tried to create good games without pandering to any specific demographic or sociopolitical ideology. You know, the time when games were meant to be a fun pastime.

And it's not like they're pandering because they care. It's just much easier to make people pay for microtransactions if you pretend to give a shit about things they based their entire identity around.

No, because pretty much all games pander to a certain audience. Its just that if its pandering to your audience then you probably wont notice it. I mean you probably don't see Duke Nukem as pandering but it sure as hell is.

I'm pretty sure most people are aware when they're being pandered to. I don't think anyone plays Senran Kagura because they force themselves to look past the fan service because the story is good.

 

[Mcgeezaks]

Maybe because different critics are doing the reviews? Maybe because standards change over time?

A review by itself can tell a reader a lot, especially with a score. It doesn't need to be weighted against others per se.

That's the thing, isn't it? They're reviewing games under the same company which makes the Metacritic score not make much sense, one reviewer at IGN might give Fallout 76 an 8/10, another reviewer at IGN might then give Metro Exodus a 7/10. This will reflect on Metacritic as IGN likes F76 more than Exodus which is a bit jarring even though we know it was probably made by 2 different people under the same name. So why do people care about what scores these sites give when they have no idea who's reviewing the games? People look at the reviews on Metacritic and assume that the reviews made by IGN are by the same guy when in reality they're made by some random dude on the internet who you don't know anything about.

Listen to individuals whose tastes you're familiar with instead of these big sites with 200 different reviewers.