A Word About Reviews

Just a couple of thoughts here...

I've noted, as have many others, a disparity among many reviews for Wii titles. Where games like Zelda have come out with solid and consistent numbers in the 9's, other very good games have received everything from 3's to 8's, depending on who reviewed them. This is pretty strange, in my view, and also unprecedented as far as I know.

So, what's causing this? I have read terribly negative opinions of things like Wii Sports Boxing, only to later read blog posts that state that the game is really quite good, but you have to spend some time learning it and working on it. I've read everything about Red Steel from "It SUCKS!" to, "Must Have". Even Excite Truck, which I can't really find much fault with, has had it's share of stinker reviews. What's going on? Have the critics lost their minds? Do these titles change dramatically in quality as they get out there more?

Neither. The reality is, this disparity between poor and good reviews of Wii games reflects something that many of us already know; Wii is changing things, often times dramatically.

When a critic picks up the Wiimote and Nunchuck to try a new title out, right now it doesn't matter how seasoned a gamer they might be, or what other platforms they have played the game on. It doesn't even matter how much they have played Wii titles at this point; the fact is, they cannot really be prepared for what new things the game may ask of them. Will they be waggling the Wiimote around a lot? Will they be comfortable aiming a gun with the pointer while moving with the nunchuck? Will they quickly and easily adapt to new styles of play? There are so many more factors at work here than with games on the competing systems, it's really ludicrous to go into a review with any kind of expectations, except to ask, "Am I having fun?".

So, forgive me if I sound like a raving fanboy (which I am) when I give higher marks to many of these titles (see Rampage) than some do, but I really believe that one must try to be devoid of preconceptions when reviewing these games.