I ain't got nobody. Nobody.
27 Apr 05

I'm feeling a little sorry for myself. It all started innocently enough. I was doing the website rounds for the latest info on the upcoming console generations. I noticed something. All these articles and columns had impressions or feedback from developers with dev kits. Either that or some had major purchasing agent comments. I realized I don't have much in the way of industry contacts.

Don't get me wrong. I get tons of industry email. I get most of the press releases available. Heck, once every blue moon, a review game shows up on my door step. But pretty much all the people I talk with (read email) are PR and media relations. Most work for publishers. Don't read that the wrong way. These people are very professional and helpful with what they do. Most of them even respond to my questions in a timely manner.

I guess I just expected that maybe an indie developer or some plebe at a studio might have stopped by the site and been intrigued. I thought somebody on the development side of the industry would have dropped me a line by now. Maybe there are dozens of them lurking out there right now, but I'd never know. So if you're out there, let me know. Even just a lowly, just hired temp tester can be an anonymous source in the industry. Ok, I'm done with the pity now.

I keep thinking about that Eurogamer Empire Earth II review. If a "better than Rise of Nations" game can top out at 7 out of 10, I wonder how far that slope can slide. Will Age of Empires 3 top out at a 6 if it's not better than EE2? If a mythical Starcraft 2 was released and didn't revolutionize the genre (it's hard to argue Starcraft was revolutionary, just polished and darn fun), would it only garner a 6 or 7? There's a point where that just becomes insulting to the hard work of developers.

Look expectations do go up over time. You can't release the same game and expect to get the same score a year, two or three down the road. But that's not how this review reads. It's more that the genre is stale, old and dying. Only a rebirth could save it. I'm waving the BS flag on that one. Fans of the genre who don't play everything that comes out will not be as jaded as a burned out reviewer.

I think the proper thing to do would have been to leave the nuanced bit to the worded explanation. Just tell people that if you're expecting the reinvention of the RTS, this isn't it. Then give the higher score with the caveat that if you're burned out on the genre, knock off a point or two based on the degree of your burnout. The other possibility was that the game had more flaws that brought down the score, but they weren't articulated well in the review.

I put up the new announced details of X3 on the news section. It certainly has some strategy elements in it even if it falls more in the space sim category. I'm still a sucker for Privateer like games. Feel free to roast me/discuss in the Forum.

Jason