Rumor: Konami asking reviewers to omit things from Metal Gear reviews?
by Nick Doerr 
{ May 30th 2008 at 8:00PM }
Apparently, Konami has asked initial reviews to neglect mentioning install times and cut scene length when grading the title. Probably out of fear they would be seen as negatives and detract from the game's score. But some reviews mentioned them anyway. An install time would probably detract from the score slightly, but cut scene length is really more of the reviewer's opinion anyway.
If we could sit through the Xenosaga titles, we're sure MGS4 will be easy enough to handle. Then again, if you're used to Counterstrike, it might be rather irritating. Who knows if this is true or not, but when you're reading reviews for the game over the next few weeks, keep your eyes peeled for mentions of install times and cut scene lengths.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
J @ May 30th 2008 8:21PM
ign uk just released a review. they confirmed this in the beginning of the review. BUT THEY STILL GAVE IT A 9.9... i cannot wait for this game! Right now i'm playing beyond good and evil after hearing everyone talk about its greatness.
Anyway, haters have been saying that you cannot trust the initial reviews because they are biased, and gamepro gives every games high scores... well here's ur ign score now. Oh, i wonder if they'll say it's not good enough because it is not the IGN usa review.
Volomon @ May 30th 2008 8:52PM
Actually I prefer non-US IGN reviews.
sicklesdawg @ May 30th 2008 10:46PM
This game will OWN now back to GT4.
evilfoxhound @ May 30th 2008 8:27PM
An unknown source is going to extreme lengths to put down every good PS3 exclusive. I would not be supprised in the slightest if all rumours start from a Microsoft office.
Peacefuloutrage @ May 31st 2008 8:18AM
First of all, I don't even have a PS3 yet, but I don't care how long the cutscenes are (especially since you can pause them). As long as people have been waiting for this game, 20 mins for an installation is the last thing on their minds (although an option would be favorable) because if the game is good, they won't care, even if they have to delete stuff from their HDD.
This is not about MS, it is about Konami (and others) trying to control their products supposedly getting an unbiased fair review. Totillo has been talking about other things as well with the gaming press this week, and this is just one of the things companies use to try to manipulate the outcome.
frankym @ May 30th 2008 8:26PM
GOTY ....period
koehler83 @ May 31st 2008 8:33AM
GOTY is determined by number of copies sold. I find it very difficult to believe MGS4 stands a chance at overcoming GTA4. GTA4 will have sold on a 1:1 ratio with the entire PS3 install base by years end.
There is no way EVERY SINGLE PS3 owner will buy MGS4. I doubt there will even be enough copies published to meet such demand, if it somehow existed.
kevin @ May 31st 2008 2:30PM
hes right because im not planing on buying mgs 4. idk y
kevin @ May 31st 2008 2:30PM
hes right because im not planing on buying mgs 4. idk y
adolson @ May 30th 2008 8:38PM
8 / 10 from Eurogamer (who??).
mavbsbll21 @ May 30th 2008 8:45PM
exactly..
frankym @ May 30th 2008 9:14PM
LMAO
sicklesdawg @ May 30th 2008 10:42PM
"Their so edgy with their review they must be cool" pfft
Ill be in NYC Time Square @ Midnight.
wicko @ May 31st 2008 3:31PM
There will always be reviewers who will try to stir up some controversy... people are always trying so hard to be different these days :/
Kiltman67 @ May 30th 2008 8:43PM
I'd imagine stuff like this happens more often then we realise, it's just that in these post-Kane & Lynch/Gamespot times we're suddenly aware of all the external factors influencing reviews.
With that said, I don't really see why Konami thinks it's an issue. Most gamers (at least those who read through reviews) are aware that the MGS series is characterised by overblown cutscenes. As for the installation, maybe I'm in the minority here, but I don't mind waiting 20 minutes for it to install so I don't see why it should influence a review. Nobody is going to die because they had to wait a little for a game to install.
Plus I think if they had the chance of waiting 20 minutes for the game to install or waiting 20 seconds at the beginning of every cut-scene, level etc. while the game loaded off the slow Blu-Ray drive, they'd pick the install.
I'm disappointed with someone here, either Konami for thinking so little of gamers that we'd mark a game down for things like this, or gamers themselves for proving Konami right.
adolson @ May 30th 2008 8:48PM
I don't think gamers will base their purchasing decisions on the length of the cutscenes or the install, etc. I really don't... Not enough for it to matter, that is.
Konami really shouldn't care, because nobody reads reviews anyhow. They just look at the score and go "OMG HEVENLY SORD SUX CUZ IT GOTS %79 AVG!!1"
a.j. @ May 30th 2008 8:45PM
i don't blame them. the way the public react to ANYTHING these days is ridiculous. INSTALL?!! A LONG CUT SCENE IN A SERIES KNOWN FOR GOOD STORY TELLING?!!! THAT'S IT, I"M NOT BUYING IT, F_CK THIS!! F_CK THE PS3!! F_CK KOJIMA FOR DOING THIS TO US!!! i hope the cutscenes are 12 hours long and the install contains so much information that my system explodes. BRING IT ON.
Mike @ May 30th 2008 8:52PM
5 gig install
Popfrogs @ May 30th 2008 11:19PM
*yawn* 55GB free, I'll take 10 please.
Gonzo @ Jun 2nd 2008 5:48PM
That's the thing. I don't think install times and (skipable) cutscene length should drag down reviews/scores.
I wasn't worried until I found out that some publications are choosing NOT to write a review. That sounds like:
if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Or if you can't say anything nice, we'll sue you for saying anything at all.
RatBoy @ May 30th 2008 8:53PM
This rumor was all but confirmed by EGM who refused to do a review in their latest issue because of the restrictions imposed by Konami.
Just goes to show, even though MGS4 looks to be a great game, business is business, and it's rarely pretty.
doc j @ May 30th 2008 10:34PM
While I basically agree with you ("business is business") and I DO subscribe to EGM (for free, thank you Joystiq!) - I just want to say that the EGM folks tend to come off as rather self-righteous
sicklesdawg @ May 30th 2008 10:44PM
Game Install should NEVER be a Rated feature... It's a douche move IMO.
proArchy @ May 30th 2008 8:54PM
i think most early reviews just fall into the same hypetrain that we do. The scores are adjusted up or down according to how much they can ignore the flaws of a game, and how much the flaws buzzkill the hulabaloo surrounding the game. thats when you get 10/10's for gta4; its good but it isnt perfect. the "perfect" game hasnt come out yet, and probably never will.
adolson @ May 30th 2008 9:04PM
Bzzt, wrong. ActRaiser was released in the early 90s (1991 in North America).
doc j @ May 30th 2008 10:51PM
Gotta hand it to a game whose final boss fight is God vs. Satan.
proArchy @ May 31st 2008 6:42PM
huh? What are you talking about? By "early reviews" i meant the reviews that come out before the game. And i was saying that the reviewers are hyped just like we are for games so its hard for them to make impartial review. What does Actraiser or the fact that it came out in the early 90's have to do with it?
HalJordanGL @ May 30th 2008 9:01PM
Kiltman67 hit the nail on the frickin' head.
highman888 @ May 30th 2008 9:44PM
If they give a game bad reviews for install time that is the same thing as having downsyndrome, really not much more can be said about that, if a game is great that yur gonna put 50 hours + to who knows how many and your complaining about a coupla minutes install...wow...and if they give it bad reviews for lengthy cutscenes that's also downsyndrome. The Metal Gear series is amazing...on an epic level, the storyline, the music, the graphics, the voice acting, all of it is grade A video game material. If they complain about gaming at it's absolute best, I would have to lose faith in those types of articles. Especially if they give GTA 4 perfect scores on every magazine (an amazing game as well) when it also has lengthy cut scenes. If you want a short cheap game with no cut scenes by a pixel junk game and have some fun, if you want an epic cinematic experience combined with amazing gameplay / graphics / storyline / musical score than pick up metal gear solid 4. Maybe these retarded game reviewers should spend more time playing games instead of knocking them so their superiors wont complain about them giving too many good ratings all the time....
preciousdeath @ May 31st 2008 6:41PM
Although I agree, lets not get too upset that it gets an occasional less-than-perfect review. Metacritic has it at 97 right now and that's with the below-the-rest score of 80 from Eurogamer. Once the rest of the reviews poor in, the average will definitely go up. Just got OPM yesterday and they gave it *****!
Some quotes from the review:
"You'll uncover one of the most absorbing stories ever told in cutscene vignettes, produced as brilliantly as the medium has ever witnessed."
"You'll appreciate the moments that deserve a standing ovation!"
"If you weren't sure before that this was a next-generation game, pushing the PS3's limits, then the architecture and gameplay moments packed into this act will have you so convinced that you'll be calling over friends, keeping save games for do-overs, and making sure everyone witnesses the staggering visuals."
"A game deserving instant recognition on any all-time top 10 list."
Sir_FerdivalDannyV_El_Acme @ May 31st 2008 6:57PM
Agreed. You know what I'm gonna do when I get the game? When I tart installing it, I'll go downstairs, fix myself a sandwich, eat it and wash it down with a Coke, go back upstairs, and play the game until I'm hungry again, which won't be for like 6, 7 hours because of the meal.
taichi31 @ May 30th 2008 9:47PM
I don't think I've met one person that would care about a 20 minute install when they know they're about to play a decent game.
But we're talking about potentially one of the best games of all time. (not my opinion, but this is what's been floating around)... I would wait hours for an install if that's what it took to play this game.
The only people that are going to complain are the people with some kind of agenda...*cough* xbox fanboys *cough*
OrionnoirO @ May 30th 2008 9:54PM
lmfao @ "best game of all time"...
preciousdeath @ May 31st 2008 6:44PM
He said "ONE OF the best games of all time" and from the reviews I've read so far, that's entirely possible.
Mein Bratwurst @ May 30th 2008 9:53PM
I really don't get why people complain about cut scene lengths in MGS games. I personally love them. I also don't get what the big deal is about install times, boo-hoo you have to wait 5-10 measly minutes. Cry more.
Meximan @ May 30th 2008 10:36PM
It's not so much the waiting as it is the using up of space pn the hard drive. Eventually, your hard-drive is going to run out of space, no matter how big it is... It's not that big of a problem now, but a time will come when people will HAVE to get an external hard-drive. I'm sort of fine with the installs, however they could at least make them optional, that way those who choose to "suffer" through longer load times can, without having to sacrifice HDD space.
Mein Bratwurst @ May 31st 2008 7:19AM
I agree.. it should be an optional install but in my case, I'll always want to install a game to shorten load times so the lack of said option doesn't really affect me. I guess that's just me being selfish.
KUB1977 @ May 30th 2008 10:51PM
I don't care about a 30 Minute install or the 5 Gigs, however, the above mentioned review states that the game installs data before every act and that you get to see Snake smoking for that time. Now that would be totally stupid and annoying. Why can't i just install everything that's ever needed, before i start playing? I wonder if that is true, although i don't think that anyone would lie about that, as the lie would be an obvious one, once the game releases...
Popfrogs @ May 30th 2008 11:21PM
If that's true it sounds like a compromise for Adderall-hyped Western audiences that can't wait 20 minutes for an install. Or the Special Olympics trophy-winning gaming press that dock points for installs.
Face it, it has a hard drive for a reason. Any sensible person would take a short hd install over a game chock full of LOADING... screens (GTA4 there's no excuse for that OR the 2 minute initial load).
JackkStraw @ May 30th 2008 11:36PM
what kiltman said.
Thomas @ May 31st 2008 12:03AM
Hard Drive installs will help increase the life of the laser, and its components. WHne you install a game, that's less disc reading the laser has to do. Thus you get more life out of the system. Thats a benefit that I don't anyone has thought about.
Anton @ Jun 1st 2008 10:33PM
At the expense of the hard drive. There's a lot more life in a laser than a hard drive.
kentuckyfried @ May 31st 2008 4:04AM
This whole thing reminds me of the negative hype machine that got turned on in the months leading up to the ps3's release...
It didn't exist before and a part of me believes that this is part of Microsoft's concerted smear campaign to downplay anything good that can happen with this console. B/c seriously...ranting on about mandatory installs and their time requirements is akin to making the proverbial mountain out of a molehill.
Yes, it's unfortunate for the 20 gb ps3 owners but you had to have seen this coming along at some point, even if there were no game installs back at that time. Hard drive space is relatively cheap...$56 and you're already up at 120 gb, your mileage may vary.
Mikemyerz666 @ May 31st 2008 2:57AM
it's not a rumor, it's true, in the new EGM they said that Konami was limited what was being said in their reviews. They didn't give it a letter grade like they usually do. They said they'll give it a bigger review after the game is releases so that we'll be on the same page as them.
Ethan @ May 31st 2008 3:26AM
People are all talking about the cutscene length, but as long as they keep a decent pace they can be as long as they like. Shorter does not mean better but concise does. It's like we're moving the goalposts, if it's drama we should judge it by dramatic standards, if you're wondering how long it's going to take while watching it, the scene's failed.
Stoo @ May 31st 2008 5:44AM
Its not about complaining about install times or cut scene lengths. Look past that. Its about a game developer trying to tell reviewers what they can and can't put in their review. I don't care how self righteous EGM are, kudos to them for putting it out there and saying f-you we review the game not the game developer, you don't get to tell us what we should or shouldn't say in a review.
Any magazine or website who follows Konami's request in the review (that I know of) will not get any of my business in the future.
kiros @ May 31st 2008 10:11AM
If this game had a 50gb+ instal I would still play it. If it cost $500 I would still play it. Nothing can part me from my Snake!
kevin @ May 31st 2008 2:31PM
surgery can
frankym @ May 31st 2008 3:21PM
Game reviewers will always talk about what they want
John @ May 31st 2008 6:28PM
Yes, please just focus on the positives and ignore the shortcomings!! If only all reviews were like that we would have more games with scores close to 10. From now on all developers should tell reviewers how to review their game. Nice job konami and sony. This is not the first game sony tries to tell reviewers how to review the game...very sad IMO.