Initial Review Roundup - Calling All Cars!

by Colin Torretta { Apr 28th 2007 at 9:30PM }

After delay after delay, Calling all Cars! has finally gone gold and the initial rounds of reviews have started to trickle in. Gamespot, 1up, and IGN have all weighed in on David Jaffe's 'casual' follow-up to God of War, and the response has been... interesting.

IGN gave it an 8.5, stating that "Calling All Cars is Sony's first truly original, must-have title on the PlayStation Network, and it bests just about everything there is to be found on Microsoft's online arcade center."
1up gave it an 8.0, calling it "a chaotic successor to the likes of R.C. Pro-Am and Super Off Road that's easy on the wallet, and it's also among the best examples of how the concept of downloadable content should be used."

And then there's Gamespot.

Gamespot gave it a 6.7. They said it was a "frantic good time that's cut short by a serious lack of content." They dinged the gameplay for being too random and luck based, and practically rioted over the inclusion of only four maps, saying "that it feels more like a demo than a full game."

As you can see, there is some interesting contrast in reviews between the 'big three' gaming sites. Unfortunately, we cannot really give a rebuttal at this point, since us mere mortals will not be able to get our grubby little hands onto it until next Thursday.

Conveniently though, David Jaffe has posted a rebuttal for us! It is a surprisingly thoughtful critique of the Gamespot review and game reviewers in general. Check it out, I highly recommend it:

(P.S.: First post!)

Tags: Calling All Cars, CallingAllCars, David Jaffe, DavidJaffe, DLC, PSN

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Atomu @ Apr 28th 2007 9:35PM

This game will provide me with cheap thirlls for a few weeks, then I dount I'll touch it again. Price will determine my purchase.

4 maps IS a bad thing, they don't look very large, or difficult to make :S

Still, excited for its release!

Colin @ Apr 28th 2007 9:36PM

First post on Colin's First post!

;)

Colin @ Apr 28th 2007 9:36PM

Doh!

Moe @ Apr 28th 2007 9:49PM

Omg Colin! Are you in anyway related to Colin from the Colin McRae series?

Colin @ Apr 28th 2007 10:00PM

I know I'm not...but tell me Moe, are you in any way related to the Moe from the Simpsons?

kingofwale @ Apr 28th 2007 10:09PM

I wouldn't read too much into Gamespot's rating. they are historically anti-Sony. Just read their News section.

as long as this game keeps on getting good reviews elsewhere, I will buy it.

Moe @ Apr 28th 2007 10:19PM

I like the cut of your jib Colin. Well played sir.

Arno @ Apr 28th 2007 10:23PM

David Jaffe is a joke. Take the critique like a man.

Hoffer @ Apr 28th 2007 10:29PM

I don't think I'll be picking this up. It looks like a really fun game to play with friends. I have a bunch of friends on Xbox Live, but no friends with a PS3. I don't see having the same fun with random people over the net. It would be a lot better to be voice chatting with friends and mocking them when I steal a convict from them.

Moe @ Apr 28th 2007 10:53PM

Hoffer, I'll be your friend! I swear I'm good at being a friend.

sicklesdawg @ Apr 28th 2007 11:50PM

since I bought a ps3 I have avoided GAMESPOT.

#1FanBoy @ Apr 29th 2007 12:46AM

gamespot is is owned by cnet, which is owned by microsoft.

Atomu @ Apr 29th 2007 2:08AM

but cnet has the PS3 as the #1 most wanted this week, and #5 last week, X-box never even made the list.

explain that!

ok. cnet also has sony adds all over. But if cnet is unaffected in there honesty, why not gamespot. I think they are just 360 fanboys, and even if they wernt paid off by microsoft they would be the same dicks they already are.

The Jerk. @ Apr 29th 2007 2:13AM

2 colins? (head esplodes) this could get messy.

I also have 0 PS3 friends :( A few people have added me after playing on resistance, but we never talk, then just delete eachother after a while. They really should include just a small cheap usb headset with the ps3. Very few people use headsets I find.

I wish someone I already knew had a PS3. soon... soon...

humpty @ Apr 29th 2007 8:54AM

GameSpot are a bunch of FPS and Sports whores.. unless the game has you go around shooting people or has a football in it, it wont get rated well.

kingofwale @ Apr 29th 2007 9:34AM

>but cnet has the PS3 as the #1 most wanted this week, and #5 last week, X-box never even made the list.

Sure, I will explain that. "Most Wanted" is ranked by how many people pick that product and put it in their "I want" section.

now, don't you wish you actually know how Cnet work before commenting now? ;)

Ray @ Apr 29th 2007 11:47AM

Gamespot seems to hate most games people like, so I never put any faith in their reviews.

Dahk @ Apr 29th 2007 1:31PM

Congrats on your first post! haha.

Eh this game should be absolutely amazing with a bunch o friends. Ufortunately that means i gotta pick up 2 more controllers >< ahhhhhh. I'm splurging again. Someone stop me.

donnie @ Apr 30th 2007 12:25AM

I also need to pick up 2 more controllers for this game and Resistance. But should I wait for rumble or not or wait or not...aahhh!

Strike Man @ Apr 30th 2007 2:11AM

"gamespot is is owned by cnet, which is owned by microsoft."
C|Net is not owned by Microsoft.

Atomu @ Apr 30th 2007 2:36AM

@17 *ahem*knew*ahem*
and yeah, I feel terrible :P

san @ Apr 30th 2007 1:27PM

"After delay after delay, Calling all Cars! has finally gone gold and the first round of reviews have started to trickle in."

Poor guy. You hired him to be a writer and on his first post he hands us that one. The noun that takes the action is "round" not "reviews"; it's singular and the verb has to agree with it. Colin, you need the third person singular present, or "has" not "have".

Thank you for playing. Next.

p.s. Sure it's a nitpick, but it's a tell-tale error. The quality of games journalism -- which 75 percent of us complain about -- won't improve until the quality of the writing behind it improves; you have to take it *all* seriously, not just the games. And this is an easy one; it's grade-school caliber; it's not a "lay, lie, laid" quiz or any such thing. Colin, you also owe whoever passes for the site's senior editor a slap across the mouth for letting that slip through in your first post. Editors are indeed supposed to *edit*.

p.p.s. Colin, are you English? The English take the plural form of the verb in agreement with singular nouns that can be intepreted as collective. In American English, although both are correct, "Sony *has* shipped the PS3"; in the UK and International English in general, "Sony *have* shipped the PS3". In this particular case it's still wrong as "round of reviews" is most appropriately singular, but the mistake is more understandable if you're English.

p.p.p.s. (Been a long time since I put so many "posts" in there.) You guys should use a style manual. I don't care if it's International English or American English; but you should pick one and stick to it. There's an American manual going into print for games journalism sometime in June. Legitimate games journalists -- that would be, I am loath to admit, you guys -- can get a copy for free.

haywood jablomey @ Apr 30th 2007 1:29PM

Original? Isn't this based on a board game of the same name? How is that original?

Sony's next original release....Chutes and Ladders.

Heather @ Apr 30th 2007 2:02PM

Calling the Grammar Police!

I too was appalled by the flagrant grammatical error mentioned (and so succinctly so, I might add) by San (post #23). Colin, how dare you; you have let us all down today. I for one will be weeping at the steady decline of videogame journalism. I know that I take my video games quite seriously. I have always been bothered by the label ‘games,’ as they are so much more than mere ‘games.’ I take them seriously in their game play, graphics, advertising campaigns, soundtracks and most of all their coverage in the media. This sloppy journalism has soured the anticipation I once felt for this game. Colin, by not showing us, the readers, the respect we so deserve you have made a mockery of all fanboys. I am appalled, outraged, and offended. Who is with me?

Don’t you realize that this very country is dependent upon the checks and balances provided by the free press and that as a member of the press you have the duty of quality and correctness? When a simple grammatical error is allowed to ‘slip by’ the whole process unravels. I think a public apology is in order. I shall be waiting.

san @ Apr 30th 2007 3:00PM

Heather,

You're an idiot: a fine example of the reason that the language is falling apart and that journalism of all types is going into the garbage with it. With this attitude the press will indeed decay unil it is irrelevant and indecipherable.

Your entire argument, which you spun sarcastic: Professional writers of the press are to be held to no good standards in writing, especially if -- you said it, not me -- the subject matter is entirely trivial, like games; and their editors have no obligation to, well, edit. You've established that substandard effort is okay by you. (Remember we're talking about correcting the grammar of the writers, not the damn commenters.)

Go "IM" or "txt msg" one of your pals and ask them to explain what mediocrity means and why we should seek to avoid it.

ndoerr @ Apr 30th 2007 3:09PM

san -- If you insist on continuing to antagonize our writers and other readers, you run the risk of getting banned from commenting. Since there's a sore lack of proper grammar in the commenting field, I would be remiss to continually miss these errors in our posts at PS3 Fanboy. If we don't set some kind of bar as to how grammar should function in the pseudo-writing sphere that is "bloglandia", then we may resort to using very base vocabulary which we wouldn't even spell out the words for. R U hearing me?

Anyway, your comment is duly noted. However, attacking the writers, our integrity, and other commentors isn't necessary.

Heather @ Apr 30th 2007 3:29PM

San, I am sorry you seem to feel that I am responsible for the downfall of journalism. I shall do my best to change that, devoting my every effort to undoing the damage I may have already done.

What a fool I am to think that a topic so (yes, I’ll say it) trivial as videogames can be looked at lightly. While I do agree that proper grammar is always preferable and appropriate, I feel that in a casual blogging medium perhaps we need not condemn and ridicule someone for making a small error—I am sure you have never made such a mistake.

PS—Didn’t your mother ever tell you it’s rude to make personal attacks and call names? I feel sorry for you.

PPS—I totally IM’d Lindsey and asked her about that mediocrity thing, but she didn’t know what it was, so she texted Meagan, but she didn’t know either. So I went “duh, I’m at the internet, I’ll totally look it up myself!” The top listing was: Looking for mediocrity? Find exactly what you want today. www.ebay.com, so I’m gonna go bid on some; I’ll let you know how it goes!