GetDotted Domains

Viewing Thread:
"Does Blinx prove OXM is really biased?"

The "Xbox Games" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.

Thu 10/10/02 at 15:54
Regular
Posts: 787
I ask this as I've just been having a snoop around PlanetXbox, and saw that they'd reviews Blinx. So I had a quick look, and nearly har a heart attack when I saw the score: 50. Yup, that's right. 50%. With this to sum up:

50
The Lowdown: Largely boring and aggravating, Blinx is an ill-conceived attempt at creating a marketable mascot.

Pros: Graphics, sound, and controls are more or less workable.

Cons: Deeply, inherently un-fun; time control gimmick is just that; flawed aiming system; generally bland and uninspired.


OXM gave this 9.7. Something is obviously amiss here. Did they both review the right version of the game? Is the official magazine amazingly biased? Or did one of the two review an incomplete version of the game?

From the review:

Blinx is actually one of the most tedious, poorly-conceived 3D platform games that I've had the displeasure of slogging through. That said, it doesn't screw up the technical stuff -- while not impressive, the graphics are okay, the sound is passable, and the control is mostly there. Where Blinx fails, and fails badly, is the gameplay: it's redundant, it's uninteresting, and it's just not fun. In fact, Blinx quickly speeds past the "not fun" border and stops in the neighboring lands of boredom and aggravation. Most platformers have at least some modicum of fun to offer; with Blinx, I was literally forcing myself to finish the game so I could evaluate the entire product.

"But wait," you say. "Those time powers are nifty-keen and innovative! " They might be innovative, but they add more annoyance than entertainment to the mix. Not every level requires savvy use of the time powers (which is questionable in itself, since that's the game's big gimmick), but those that do often have very specific requirements you can't know ahead of time. If you don't have the appropriate powers stockpiled you might be up the creek -- time to start over with your newfound knowledge, collecting different crystals along the way. Even if you do have the right powers for the situation, the sense of accomplishment or interest just isn't there. Rewinding a bridge back into existence or pausing a boss so you can hit it isn't exactly the height of smarty-man puzzle-solving; for all intents and purposes, you're just pushing a glorified switch. There are so many better ways in which time powers could have been implemented; as they are, they barely deserve a bullet point on the back cover.

- - - - - - -

And from later in the review:

I could go on about the boring level design, insipid art direction, inane challenges, insulting "rewards" for collecting cat medals, and a variety of other pertinent topics. I'm sure you get the idea, though. Blinx is a half-baked attempt at an AAA platform game. It fails on most important counts, and is wholly undeserving of the hype which it's received. The Xbox is not exactly rife with good platform games, and Blinx doesn't change a thing. If you're interested in the genre, you should probably just pick up a PlayStation 2 or Cube and forget this game exists. If there's any justice, Blinx will go quietly into the night just as Bubsy, Glover and Awesome Possum have before him. The Xbox still needs a mascot, because this genocidal feline custodian sure as heck isn't it.


Ouch! Maybe I wobn't buy this afterall. The PlanetXbox review says almost the complete opposite of the OXM one. I wonder why....
Fri 11/10/02 at 19:09
Regular
"ATAT Supremo"
Posts: 6,238
And the NES is just a rip off of the old Atari. ;-))
Fri 11/10/02 at 13:19
Regular
Posts: 21,800
NES even.
Fri 11/10/02 at 13:19
Regular
Posts: 21,800
And the D-pad on the Xbox is just a rip off of the SNES pad :D
Fri 11/10/02 at 10:34
Regular
"ATAT Supremo"
Posts: 6,238
Oooooooook and Luigi's mansion is just a rip off of Ghostbusters on the Commodore 64. :-)
Fri 11/10/02 at 01:09
Regular
Posts: 21,800
Blinx is just Majoras mask crossed with Luigi's Mansion, innovative my ar$e.
Thu 10/10/02 at 22:20
Regular
"ATAT Supremo"
Posts: 6,238
Yeah Quantum Redshift is the best futuristic racer I've played. Wipeout was annoying, F-Zero is a great game, but this title beats them both in my opinion as it allows a player to come up with their own ideas for winning a race thanks to the strategic elements to it.

As for Blinx, I played it for a little while and it seemed like an excellent game to me. :-) Can't wait for the full version.
Thu 10/10/02 at 20:23
Regular
"Oi you- sort it out"
Posts: 2,969
I think this is down to the review, and how they interperte.

xboxaddict rated Hunter has being better than Halo-which we all know isn't true. The reviews so far of Blinx have leaned much more towards the high 80s and 90s. Planet Xbox and gamespot are the only ones that have cited the game as not living up to the hype.

Fromt he video footage of Blink that I have seen, it looks brilliant. The time thing looks much more than a gimmick as it is implimented in loads of different ways.

OXM have been prety spot on with reviews but I must say Quantumn Redshift really did deserve the elite badge.
Thu 10/10/02 at 20:09
Regular
Posts: 3,182
I've just noticed that PlanetXbox gave Azurik 84% and Artic thunder 84% - Now ask yourselves: can this website be trusted?
These two games are universally recognized as being well-below par (to put it politely).
Thu 10/10/02 at 19:37
Regular
"everyone says it"
Posts: 14,738
Listen to the .com.

All magazines are biased and have been rigged in one way or another, yeap, including all Nintendo Magazines. Thats why 'free' website ones are the best.

YH, I will let you know about Blinx though :) A demo copy will be sniffing about work somewhere... I hope :)
Thu 10/10/02 at 19:35
Regular
Posts: 3,182
Well, PlanetXbox seem "totally" out of sync with most other reviews of Blinx.

I don't think OXM are biased, but I do disagree with many of their reviews - for instance I don't think anyone in the right mind could say that Buffy The Vampire Slayer is equaly as good as Hitman 2 - both scored 8.3.
But then again, most of their reviews I find to be spot-on.

PlanetXbox's review of Blinx seems way too cynical - perhaps they are trying to make a name for themselves or something.
It sounds to me like they're taking it all too seriously.
Maybe they had ridicuously high expectations and when it didn't quite deliver, they went to the other extreme and wrote it off.

If Blinx is total cr@p, I'm sure OXM wouldn't give it 9.3.

It's also worth remembering that games which feature "innovative and original ideas" often receive a wide range of opinions - both positive and negative.

Freeola & GetDotted are rated 5 Stars

Check out some of our customer reviews below:

Easy and free service!
I think it's fab that you provide an easy-to-follow service, and even better that it's free...!
Cerrie
Impressive control panel
I have to say that I'm impressed with the features available having logged on... Loads of info - excellent.
Phil

View More Reviews

Need some help? Give us a call on 01376 55 60 60

Go to Support Centre
Feedback Close Feedback

It appears you are using an old browser, as such, some parts of the Freeola and Getdotted site will not work as intended. Using the latest version of your browser, or another browser such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Opera will provide a better, safer browsing experience for you.