Okay so in multiplatform titles Vita games often get scored lower because of bias across a wide swath of gaming journalism, so for exclusives we need to add scores to the metacritic average. I'm the weird one here? You and your cronies are nutcases. In any case, I have this coming from Gamefly and will make up my own mind.
Soul Sacrifice Review Thread
- Thread starter MagicWithEarvin
- Start date
Welp, western game journalism slanders another pretty good game since it lacks guns and tits..
The biggest joke is this "repetitive" claim... wtf? Isn't that a majority of major AAA games now
Kill this, get new power, wash, rinse repeat.
If this was too repetitive then what the hell was DMC???
At least I'm still having fun with the game, got my copy comin from amazon
The biggest joke is this "repetitive" claim... wtf? Isn't that a majority of major AAA games now
Kill this, get new power, wash, rinse repeat.
If this was too repetitive then what the hell was DMC???
At least I'm still having fun with the game, got my copy comin from amazon
Your obviously talking about ports here, for their to be a bias. Not taking your 500 game reviews as literal but if if the library is a lot of ports then comparisons will inevitably be drawn. Unless the Vita out performs the PS3 the most you could hope for is an even score.
As someone else pointed out though, there are far fewer sites even reviewing Vita releases than the PS3 counter parts so results are screwy anyhow.
diffusionx
Gold Member
You guys who are complaining about the scores are nuts. The game has a 77 Metacritic right now, which is 2 points below Monster Hunter 3DS. So the first Soul Sacrifice game is right below the latest entry in an established, popular series of the same genre. It has 16 reviews rated as positive and 5 as mixed, while Monster has 16 as positive and 8 as mixed.
MagicWithEarvin
Member
Inafune has also approached Sony about a sequel recently, so if SS2 happens then it can only get better.
MagicWithEarvin
Member
This game actually has 20+ hours worth of single player content with an actual story with voice acting. You can have AI companions too if you'd like.
Also, you can solo both games and still get your money's worth.
But the game is nothing like monster hunter so they are not moaning about that. Not sure what the game is most similar too but there not happy with what they seem are low scores.
it's not so much the scores... but more of the criticisms they are making. like it seems some did not try the multiplayer (which for the many who tried and loved the demo is the meat of the game)
and like my earlier post, their criticism of the gameplay being shallow or tedious (or button-mashing?!) just seems to show they have yet to really give it a good go
I only played the demo but I couldn't even beat the Cerberus without going into a multiplayer match. Having AI companions is a nice thought for Westerners but those AI companions are dumb as rocks. So I don't think you'll get that far into the game.
Schobeleth
Member
A very good point - combat in MH is really rigid in terms of how you can attack.
Say, there is a combo you're trying to pull off - the animations are what limits you, so you have to time everything perfectly. Since they haven't updated the animations since the original game
lol joking
Soul Sacrifice has you equipping six spells and using them in any order. You're nowhere near as limited when it comes to animations while you're casting spells. You can still be punished for not thinking critically, and because of that you can't just "mash buttons" like lots of reviewers are claiming.
How far did they play? I'm really getting tired of half-done reviews, as far as I'm concerned the majority of these reviewers didn't give this game a chance - especially since the online wasn't functioning. Reviewers should start being required to show screen caps of their progress and time played, some reviewers will at least say "I didn't even finish the game" but IMO, that should NEVER happen.
......
Yes, it's like if a movie reviewer only watch 30 minutos of each film.
One mans meat and all that lol. See I love the fact I get punished if I miss time a strike but I fully respect your veiw and can see both sides.
It helps that its my first ever MH. If I had played from the begining I guess I would have grown tired long ago.
cluxdeluxe
Banned
w
Schobeleth
Member
Yeah I barely touched the games before Freedom Unite, but I dumped roughly 500 hours into Freedom Unite - I got really burned out on that game. The concepts are essentially the same, grinding to get better gear.
I just got bored with MH, mostly because it just feels like there's no point eventually, for me. There's no end goal, essentially, because there's no overarching story outside of "oh there's a really huge monster nearby, we need to kill it". I guess you could argue it's the same with SS, but overall each monster has a backstory and there's the entire backstory with the main character and the sorcerer.
I really hope so as well. I'd love to see a meatier SS with a bigger budget, more options, etc. At least Sony can't close Comcept because they don't own them, that seems to be all they do these days when a dev finishes a Vita game for them.
Man-is-Obsolete
Member
Great site, good review. Look forward to see what rpgamer.com has to say.
As for the whole Vita tax thing. I agree it sounds terrible and elicits tin foil hat wearing conspiracy nut imagery, however, I honestly do think a lot of reviewers just don't want to be bothered to review a Vita game. Thus they plow through it the best they can (some cases not even finishing it) in the wrong state of mind and some of the reviews here completely reflect that sentiment. Vita Tax or not, that is a silly way to approach a professional review. The thing that irks me is if they would have received the same treatment on another platform. I have my doubts. That's the last I will mention it.
ThatStupidLion
Member
sorry dude!
graywolf323
Member
I find it interesting that a former writer for RPGFan wrote EGM's review and seems to have completely missed the point, it got a 6/10
http://www.egmnow.com/articles/ps-vita-2/egm-review-soul-sacrifice/
at least he was the same guy they had review Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate which he gave a 7.5/10
hmm I would prefer that actuallly.. rather than completely English names that see out of place with the setting/theme (original vision)
Infinite_Daremo
Member
I assumed you were being sarcastic... maybe even British.
Just remember, for it to qualify as a 'proper review' around here, it has to score 95% so it doesn't hurt its status as a system seller.
Felt weird and seem too hard to be cool. Merlin and lancelot sound what better than random names we got.
Magusar does sound a little weird. lol. Don't quite get how they went from Merlin to Magusar but oh well
You're really not getting their point, huh?
Man-is-Obsolete
Member
Whoa he is tearing the game apart. Even the story part of it, which RPGfan praised lol.
graywolf323
Member
I can't dislike him though because of his review of Suikoden III back in the day
http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/suikoden3/suiko3.html
that was one of my favorite RPGs last gen
FantasticMrFoxdie
Mumber
Good scores. Expected around this range. Great to hear the combat/gameplay is even deeper than the demo. Sold on that alone. Surprised nearly all of the reviews didn't mention anything about the soundtrack, which I was hoping some would cover.
I only spent a few hours in the demo, because I wanted to save some of that game time for the retail game, but from my experiences, I found the combat a bit more strategic than just mashing buttons.
Because of the fact that you have limited spells, you can't just play the game like a traditional action game and Square, Square, Triangle your way through enemies with impunity.
You quite literally can't afford to whiff or waste a single attack, and it forces you to be a lot more methodical in how you attack. Sure, when the enemy is open for attack, you can go to town with an attack, but it's a very short window before the opening is closed, and you have to "reset" so to speak.
The reviews seem about on par with what I was expecting. I'm not a big Monster Hunter fan (I own Freedom Unite on the Vita/PSP, and have invested quite a few hours into it, but I honestly don't care much for it. I kept playing to "see the magic," that so many on GAF talk about, but I just don't), but I find Soul Sacrifice more interesting and rewarding for me, personally. I think it's a combination of the setting, art design, and narrative, coupled with a unique and interesting combat mechanic.
To be honest, it really just feels like a lot of thought, care, and love was put into the design of this game, but, like most things that are not following the norm, there will be people that don't dig it.
I happen to dig it, and I wasn't sure I would. That demo really did help sell me on the game, because I didn't have much intention on buying it otherwise. Because of the strategy inherent in the combat design, the repetition is more challenging than boring to me, personally.
But this is based off of just a few hours with the demo. My retail version won't get to me until tomorrow.
EDIT: I also wanted to add that I think these score numbers seem fair, it's the body of the reviews that are a bit questionable, but in the end, it's all down to taste. I personally don't put scores in my reviews, because I don't think a number score really quantifies a game well. Besides, I want you to read my damn review, not skim it just to see the score. I worked hard to write the sumbitch, at least give it a read...
Speaking of, I'll eventually write a review for SS at some point, but I want to spend some good time with it first.
I think they were going for something even more generic than Merlin: Mag(ic )us(e)r
.Lol. Live Lvl 1, and Magic Lvl 19?! Yeah, I'm not playing with you, you sacrificer!!
ragincajun77
Banned
Overall, the reviews have been pretty impressive. I figured the game would average around an 8 out of 10. With regard to the Polygon review, you have to remember that they also gave Ni no Kuni a 6.5.
Lysander91
Banned
An incredibly niche game is considered good by critics so people complain that they didn't score it high enough? What do you people want? Do you want every reviewer to have the same taste as you? I thought that the game was good. It seemed like a 7.5. Does this mean that I'm biased or hate the Vita?
To the people complaining about reviews saying that the game lacks depth: Assuming that there is as much depth in the game as you claim, there are still one or two legitimate issues. The game may not teach the depth well, or it might not be enjoyable enough to the reviewer for him/her to really delve into the game.
To the people complaining about reviews saying that the game lacks depth: Assuming that there is as much depth in the game as you claim, there are still one or two legitimate issues. The game may not teach the depth well, or it might not be enjoyable enough to the reviewer for him/her to really delve into the game.
He could at least stay on point and not meander off into his hatred of the JRPG, and unabashed love of WRPGs. That's an embarrassing piece of writing.
diffusionx
Gold Member
I actually remember that Polygon is a shit website and I do not read what they write.
Ryu Hayabusa
Member
International Reviews
IGN (Italy) – 9
ElDojoGamer (Argentine) – 80%
Gameblog (France) – 4,5/5 stars
PSVitage (France) - 8.5
Vandal (Spain) – 9
Meristation (Spain) - 84
3DJuegos (Spain) - 8,0
IGN (Italy) – 9
ElDojoGamer (Argentine) – 80%
Gameblog (France) – 4,5/5 stars
PSVitage (France) - 8.5
Vandal (Spain) – 9
Meristation (Spain) - 84
3DJuegos (Spain) - 8,0
Canis lupus
Member
Scores are much lower than I expected, the demo was awesome, waiting til Amazon ships my copy.
Schobeleth
Member
Why is it that international gaming sites seem to have been giving Vita games higher reviews than the American ones? The reviews seem to be much more thorough too. Could it be that American reviewers just don't care about the Vita anymore???
graywolf323
Member
given his prior reviews on RPGFan I don't really get the impression he hates JRPGs
I do get the impression he's not a fan of Japanese Action RPGs (outside of Kingdom Hearts)
I think a more interesting question what must a game in this genre do to get a 90+ score? MH couldn't do it, Soul Sacrifice couldn't do it. As far as I know, none of the games in this genre did it, no? Unless it's a genre that is considered to be less equal to other genre.
I have no experience in this so I can't comment but for fans of SS, MH, GE etc. what should be improved in this formula?
Ollie Pooch
In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
Seems if it clicks for you, it clicks and it's overflowing with content.
That said, the demo didn't grab me at all - stuff like the drab environments and colour scheme just felt really oppressive and none of it really stood out as being particularly exciting or as areas I wanted to visit. Not a fault of the game at all, just didn't do it for me.
In terms of grindy-boss-attack games MH has completely sucked me in - the monsters seem to have a lot more personality. But that's nitpicking
That said, the demo didn't grab me at all - stuff like the drab environments and colour scheme just felt really oppressive and none of it really stood out as being particularly exciting or as areas I wanted to visit. Not a fault of the game at all, just didn't do it for me.
In terms of grindy-boss-attack games MH has completely sucked me in - the monsters seem to have a lot more personality. But that's nitpicking
I can only speak for MH, but my complaints are lack of an extensive tutorial for newcomers, loading screens between areas being quite long, and terrible inventory management.
The first complaint is really what causes the review scores to stay at this range.
Chance Hale
Member
http://www.rpgamer.com/games/soulsac/soulsac/reviews/soulsacstrev1.html
3.5/5
"Soul Sacrifice is a noble first effort from Inafune and company to fill the Monster Hunter void, but it can't quite match the addictive depth of that series."
graywolf323
Member
RPGamer seems to have enjoyed the story but I find their negatives a bit odd
- Disconnect between the story and gameplay.
- Lack of variety in enemies and spells.
- No real hook to keep multiplayer engaging.
reading the review now to see if there's a good explanation for them
edit: ah okay yeah I can see that disconnect part if there's a big fight with a creature and no one ever talked about it in the story segments
but they don't seem to really explain why they the multiplayer isn't as engaging as Monster Hunter
I have to imagine that the lack of true customization for your appearance is a big part of it. I love going online in MH3U and seeing all the different sets that people use. Soul Sacrifice opting to use a limited amount of costumes with no impact on the gameplay itself is a big step down from that, IMO.
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