Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Puppet publications!? Like?

Eurogamer
1up
GamesRadar
Eurogamer Portugol
Eurogamer Spain
GamePro
Computer and Video Games
Cynamite
Total Video Games
Level7
Ps3 bloggen

Those puppet publications?

P. S.

You realize you've just gone on record insulting a large number of your more well respected colleagues with the equivalent of the "money hat" argument?

This site is a complete JOKE!
Love how he calls puppet publications to all major sites...
And btw i love your Halo 3 ODST propaganda all over the place...
THE ONLY PUPPET I SEE IS SPONG!

96%? Yeah, show those puppet publications who's boss. All these Sony biased reviewers giving it 97%.

Seriously though, you gave it a near perfect score yourself, so why call other reviewers out on it. Otherwise ok review.

Eurogamer is a puppet publication for Sony? You seriously need to watch you say because that simply isn't true.

If I may interject?

I think what the article is getting at, is that -in spite- of all the super-mega-love that many other sites are unequivocally giving it (and many are advertising the game alongside these perfect-10 scores), the game really is that good. It deserves the 96%, not because of whatever hype SPOnG bought into, but because it is genuinely a good game.

Is it right to call the other sites 'puppet publications'? All up to your opinion, really. Has the hype machine gone into overdrive for Uncharted 2? Absolutely. Has most of the media in general bought into the hype machine? Absolutely. Is the game, despite this, very very very good? Absolutely.

Before you confuse 'advertising to make money' and 'propaganda', I just feel I should point out also that SPOnG has given Halo 3 ODST 85%. If the advertising really influenced the editorial, don't you think it would have gotten a much much higher score?

And Eurogamer wasn't mentioned in the article - it might be a good idea to be careful with exactly what you accuse others of in future. It can get you into a lot of trouble in the long run.

Just food for thought, whether you guys intend to stick around or just came here to nerd rage over someone's humble opinion.

Wow, I will never come back to this site. You made the most immature comment ever in the first two paragraphs. It was completely unprofessional and downright childish. PSm3 France,who gave Uncharted 2 a 21/20, is not even tied to Sony; they just concentrate solely on Playstatioin brand. Playstation: The Official Magazine is connected to Sony, but they're not biased towards Playstatioin exvlusives. On top of that, you gave way to many story details in the review without warning. I skipped over most of the review because of that. Just glad to see the game got a good score.

@johnylightly
Uncharted 2 is excellent, but it's not perfect. So those sites must have some other reason for giving it 100% 10/10 or 21/20.

What do you suggest that reason is?

@wontbecomingback What? U think those platform monogamous mags get access to all the good stuff by not sucking Sonys chubby? Get a clue!
Nice to see a well balanced review of UC2 for a change

I gave it a near perfect score, because it's a near perfect game.

I'm not calling out anyone who gave it 97%. But 100%. 10/10. Hell, yeah I'm calling them out... the game is not perfect!

Lol. I love all the "zomg u called eurogamer puppets" yet the only place these sites are listed is in a user comment. Hahaha. Where did u stupid don't-read-the-article fanboys all come from? N4g? Digg? Lolz up

Yeah I guess, how can any game be perfect right? Sounds epic anyway.

On another note I do have a bit of respect for the official mags. They're obviously on a tight leash, but they're pretty honest considering and aren't afraid to criticise. OPM (US) said Uncharted 1 was fairly standard game thats good, but not great.

@ROFL! Fool. Like someone just posted - this site Halo odst an average score. Look at all them sites and tell me you don't see same sort of ad overload

Wow.. what an unprofessional review. You do not have the journalistic integrety to be allowed to review games.

Guess what? You're going to get a reasoned response:

Here in principle are the notes:

1) All reviews are subjective. Therefore first-person. Reviewers and publications who pretend otherwise are foolish at best and mendacious at worst.

2) For us 100%, like 0%, are not scores to be attained, they are brackets. To be honest, I don't personally appreciate the need to provide a 'score' to précis a review that should be read in its entirety and to reduce a lot of hard work by developers, publishers and even marketers to an easily digestible but ultimately throw-away bite.

3) Savvy readers have always read more than one review. All reviews co-exist. All reviews are open to criticism by anybody.

At no point is this review 'unprofessional'. Not only was the game played through, it was also assessed on its merits rather than on a desire for some kind of group hug or bash.

The game exists as part of a wider world of video games - in which critics also exist. The critic has a responsibility to the reader. We see our readers as actual people - not hits - who do not live in a SPOnG-created vacuum. For Marcus not to have made comment (as a way to provide context for his review on the game) about how this particular, high profile, game has been reaping frankly absurd scores in the wider world would have been reprehensible.

We, like every single other site and magazine out there also have to ensure that we're receiving reviewable materials. So, actually providing a reasoned review and score that isn't part of the consensus because we believe in that review and score and wish to inform the readership, could well leave us out in the cold. Frankly, I don't see SCEE as being this silly, but other companies have reacted negatively in the past.

As for the point of view that criticising other publications is somehow unprofessional, where and when - outside of the standard "Never mention the competition" - did that become acceptable practice? As far as I am aware from my 20 years doing this job, the only people who state that you shouldn't criticise the media you work in are the kind people who believe that their publication is beyond reproach.

You might disagree with the review and the score - that's fair enough - however, to call it and by extension us unprofessional is missing the point entirely.

Tim
tim@spong.com