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"Does Blinx prove OXM is really biased?"

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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....
Thu 10/10/02 at 19:06
Regular
"Wobble"
Posts: 264
gamezfreak wrote:
> WTF! Edge is multiformat, Not biased. Halo is a great game - thats why it got a top score.


But you say that no game is perfect, so how does Halo get a 10 - WHOEVER reviews it, multi-format or not?

You're basically saying...

(a) an all-formats mag can't be biased
(b) ONM are biased because they gave a Mario game 10
(c) OXM are not similarly biased for giving what may as well have been a 10
(d) OXM are the only unbiased official mag


Don't get me wrong - I'm not a Ninty, and I can't stand Mario games - it wouldn't be a 10 for me either; more like a 3.

But I think you're confusing actual game quality with personal preference, and a desire not to hear a bad word said about any Xbox game.

According to a few people in this forum, it seems it is completely impossible for a bad game to be produced on the Xbox platform. Some of you seem so eager for the machine to succeed that you'd talk up a lump of dogs crap if you thought it would help sales!
Thu 10/10/02 at 18:30
Regular
Posts: 10,364
Freddie Ljungberg wrote:
> Ah, so Edge did get it wrong with Halo. Figured as much! :-)

WTF! Edge is multiformat, Not biased. Halo is a great game - thats why it got a top score.
Thu 10/10/02 at 17:27
Regular
"Wobble"
Posts: 264
garbe123 wrote:
> If you want biased the Official Nintendo mag gave Mario 10 and no game is perfect.

Ah, so Edge did get it wrong with Halo. Figured as much! :-)
Thu 10/10/02 at 16:58
Regular
Posts: 10,489
It depends on who is reviewing it! I would give Mario Sunshine around 5.8 but that doesn't mean the game is rubbish. As for OXM if they are biased then it isn't the same mag that I read, they give low scores ofor great games. If you want biased the Official Nintendo mag gave Mario 10 and no game is perfect.

As for Blinx, here are some scores:

OXM = 9.3
IGN = 8.8
Games Domain = 4.5/5.0

Plus I have read a lot of readers reviews where it doesn't go below an 8.

The best way to find out how good is to play it for yourself.
Thu 10/10/02 at 16:08
Regular
"I dressed myself !!"
Posts: 494
Actually, OXBM gave Blinx 9.3........ but thats not the point.

Bias..... im not sure, OXBM have given some very bad scores. Though its quite rare to have a game getting such a mixed review. I mean 50% and 93% is a HUGE difference. Who should we believe?

Well..... this is where my little motto comes in, you are your own critic. So with a game like this, I would rent it and find out yourself whether it is good or not.

You could say OXBM are bias, but they did have previews leading up to Blinx, and they seemed to like it before they even reviewed it. Overall, this is a hard one to call, they say that they give honest reviews but to get 50% from planetxbox and 93% from OXBM is very sus.
Thu 10/10/02 at 15:54
Regular
Posts: 14,117
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....

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