KickStarter Jane Jensen's Pinkerton Road Studio & Moebius Closed Down

[Darth Roxor]

Actually, for non-AAAA titles, Gamespot and also IGN reviews are often surprisingly decent.

They really aren't. In 90% of cases those reviews are "6/10 gaem is outdated, shoddy, buggy, clunky, where's muh nextgen graphix, there's a reason modern gaming has left those oldschool outdated mechanics!!!!!".

 

[Infinitron]

Actually, for non-AAAA titles, Gamespot and also IGN reviews are often surprisingly decent.

They really aren't. In 90% of cases those reviews are "6/10 gaem is outdated, shoddy, buggy, clunky, where's muh nextgen graphix, there's a reason modern gaming has left those oldschool outdated mechanics!!!!!".

Oh? In my experience those types of reviews are more often found on lesser known gaming blogs. Keep in mind though that I said "non-AAAA" titles, not "oldschool hardcore" titles.

Of course, it's not clear to me that Moebius is "oldschool hardcore" at all, and the Gamespot review actually complained that the puzzles were too easy, so that doesn't help your argument.

 

[Keshik]

Hm, can agree with him on the puzzles being too easy.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Oh? In my experience those types of reviews are more often found on lesser known gaming blogs. Keep in mind though that I said "non-AAAA" titles, not "oldschool hardcore" titles.

I'm not talking "oldschool hardcore" either. Them mainstream sites have a very predictable and recurring scoring pattern

If AAAAAAAA -> 10/10
If non-AAAAA:
a) if indie hipster shit -> 10/10
b) if game catches the spotlight and is popular among the audience for whatever reason before release -> 9/10
c) if nobody's heard about the game and it's safe to give it 2/10 for "look we are so criticool!" cred -> 2/10

 

[Infinitron]

I'm not talking "oldschool hardcore" either. Them mainstream sites have a very predictable and recurring scoring pattern

If AAAAAAAA -> 10/10
If non-AAAAA:
a) if indie hipster shit -> 10/10
b) if game catches the spotlight and is popular among the audience for whatever reason before release -> 9/10
c) if nobody's heard about the game and it's safe to give it 2/10 for "look we are so criticool!" cred -> 2/10

Yes, that is the popular generalization, but from my experience of those two sites specifically (Gamespot and IGN) it's not always accurate. I don't really feel like arguing about it though.

Anyway, here's the RPS review: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/04/15/moebius-review/

Moebius is an utter disaster of a game. An entirely unlikeable or vacuous cast, a contempt for women like I’ve never seen, and indeed almost equal contempt for men, gibberish puzzles, ghastly animation, flawed conceits, the stupidest plot idea I can remember, and the whole thing scored with lift music. It’s as if the moustache puzzle from Gabriel Knight 3 got an agent, and a starring role as an entire game.

 

[DeepOcean]

Actually, for non-AAAA titles, Gamespot and also IGN reviews are often surprisingly decent.

They really aren't. In 90% of cases those reviews are "6/10 gaem is outdated, shoddy, buggy, clunky, where's muh nextgen graphix, there's a reason modern gaming has left those oldschool outdated mechanics!!!!!".

Man, to the gamming journo credit he didn't mention any of those dismissive buzzwords and actually complained about the puzzles being too easy and formulaic to the point of the gameplay feeling boring. He complained as well that the protagonist and his bodyguard are two dimensional characters without charisma what is a big negative point in the plot. Popamole gamming journo thinking a game is too easy means a big "Houston we have a problem!"

 

[DeepOcean]

Moebius is an utter disaster of a game. An entirely unlikeable or vacuous cast, a contempt for women like I’ve never seen, and indeed almost equal contempt for men, gibberish puzzles, ghastly animation, flawed conceits, the stupidest plot idea I can remember, and the whole thing scored with lift music. It’s as if the moustache puzzle from Gabriel Knight 3 got an agent, and a starring role as an entire game.

Now THIS is a shitty review from a moron.

 

[Keshik]

Men, in this game, are controlling, emotionless bastards, who find women stupid and contemptible. Women generously comply, by being portrayed as either astonishingly spiteful and vain (a favourite descriptive word of the game) or feeble and useless.

Seems like a good thing to me.

 

[Infinitron]

Moebius is an utter disaster of a game. An entirely unlikeable or vacuous cast, a contempt for women like I’ve never seen, and indeed almost equal contempt for men, gibberish puzzles, ghastly animation, flawed conceits, the stupidest plot idea I can remember, and the whole thing scored with lift music. It’s as if the moustache puzzle from Gabriel Knight 3 got an agent, and a starring role as an entire game.

Now THIS is a shitty review from a moron.

Wait, what? http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/07/17/hands-on-jane-jensens-moebius/

It’s good!

EDIT: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/04/15/moebius-review/#comment-1536503

John Walker says:

As the review says, it began being mildly interesting and charming. And from that, I had hopes. The premise, as I noted back in the preview, was extremely daft in those first two chapters, but there was something pleasingly competent about it all. And it had so much promise. It felt like the beginning of a big, interesting story.

It really wasn’t.

Everything in that preview that evoked, “Gosh, I’m excited about where this is heading!” ended up going nowhere, or just to awful, stupid places. The daftness just becomes utter gibberish. As I said back then, “What I’ve played is far too little to give an impression on whether the story and concept will hold up.” And sadly, it didn’t. At all.

 

[visions]

Men, in this game, are controlling, emotionless bastards, who find women stupid and contemptible. Women generously comply, by being portrayed as either astonishingly spiteful and vain (a favourite descriptive word of the game) or feeble and useless.

Seems like a good thing to me.

Seems like the real world to me.

 

[Morgoth]

Men, in this game, are controlling, emotionless bastards, who find women stupid and contemptible. Women generously comply, by being portrayed as either astonishingly spiteful and vain (a favourite descriptive word of the game) or feeble and useless.

Seems like the main writer was simply trying to portray stereotypes as truthful as possible.

I mean, it can't be contempt towards women when it was written by a woman, right?

Spoiler

 

[tuluse]

So the game sounds like it's fueled by hate. Good... goood.

 

[VonVentrue]

Gamespot is the last place I'd go looking for "merit". In hindsight Jensen and co. are probably regretting not having that game journalism dorito stretch goal.

To be fair, Cameron Woolsey does seem to have some degree of competence - I didn't find anything flat out offensively inept about his review of Broken Sword 5, at least, ergo: I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss his views as mere ramblings of a clueless CoD addict.

 

[Infinitron]

Well, it's out now: http://store.steampowered.com/app/264520/

 

[J_C]

Hi Gabor,

Thanks for your interest in Moebius! Here's a Steam key for your review copy: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I just love doing business with indies. :D

 

[evdk]

Hi Gabor,

Thanks for your interest in Moebius! Here's a Steam key for your review copy: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I just love doing business with indies. :D

So you admit to being bribed here?

 

[RPGMaster]

One puzzle requires you to bribe an explicitly teenage girl to bend over such that her arse will distract an adult man while you steal from him. Another requires you to bestow a woman with empty gestures and gifts until she’s interested in sleeping with you, whereupon the only correct solution to the following sequence is to horrifically threaten to murder her with a knife, in possibly the most ill-advised scene I’ve seen in a long time.

But if it's BioWare, TellTale or RockStar: "Great storytelling. GOTY."

 

[J_C]

Hi Gabor,

Thanks for your interest in Moebius! Here's a Steam key for your review copy: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I just love doing business with indies. :D

So you admit to being bribed here?

Come on, this is no bribe.

 

[J_C]

One puzzle requires you to bribe an explicitly teenage girl to bend over such that her arse will distract an adult man while you steal from him. Another requires you to bestow a woman with empty gestures and gifts until she’s interested in sleeping with you, whereupon the only correct solution to the following sequence is to horrifically threaten to murder her with a knife, in possibly the most ill-advised scene I’ve seen in a long time.

But if it's BioWare, TellTale or RockStar: "Great storytelling. GOTY."

Fuck mainstream joursnalism. Fuck it that you can only write political correct, faminist approved storylines in games. And they want to medium to mature? Fuck you, then let the creators do whatever they want instead of making kid friendly stories.

 

[evdk]

Come on, this is no bribe.

I was riffing on the "doing business" part.

 

[J_C]

Come on, this is no bribe.

I was riffing on the "doing business" part.

Oh that's nothing serious, I was just begging for a review copy.

 

[felipepepe]

Oh? In my experience those types of reviews are more often found on lesser known gaming blogs. Keep in mind though that I said "non-AAAA" titles, not "oldschool hardcore" titles.

I'm not talking "oldschool hardcore" either. Them mainstream sites have a very predictable and recurring scoring pattern

If AAAAAAAA -> 10/10
If non-AAAAA:
a) if indie hipster shit -> 10/10
b) if game catches the spotlight and is popular among the audience for whatever reason before release -> 9/10
c) if nobody's heard about the game and it's safe to give it 2/10 for "look we are so criticool!" cred -> 2/10

Case in pont, PC gamer:

The Walking Dead - 90
The Wolf Among Us - 90
Broken Age - 86
Gone Home - 85
Dear Esther - 84

Primordia: 55

And they never even reviewed a single Adventure game from Daedalic..

 

[m_s0]

To be fair, Cameron Woolsey does seem to have some degree of competence - I didn't find anything flat out offensively inept about his review of Broken Sword 5, at least, ergo: I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss his views as mere ramblings of a clueless CoD addict.

He shouldn't associate himself with the likes of Gamespot if he's somewhat competent. Unless he doesn't give a shit about his reputation, that is.

 

[evdk]

Primordia: 55

 

[Humanity has risen!]

So now gaming journalists are giving significantly lower score when a game doesn't expressedly celebrates feminism and marxism?