Topic: Updated Score/Reviews for updated Games?

Hey there fellow gamers
Ive been on this site for quite some time and Im curious what your thoughts are on this:
Would you say that pushsquare (and other gaming sites as well) should go and check in on games after they released to see if certain (maybe game-breaking) bugs have been fixed?
I usually dont buy most games within release, and this has many reasons:
my backlog of games to play is huge, the price drops shortly after release, bugs have been patched
So for me, a player that usually doesnt play everything that comes out like from day one, a sort of "final verdict"/"revisit" would be awesome, an updated review to be precise - some german gaming site already does kind of "revisit" games a few after release to see if things are improving, bugs have been fixed and so on - and also re-review the game with a new score if it is deserved
Best examples I can think of on this site here would be DRIVE CLUB and ULTRA STREET FIGHTER 4 - I believe the score of both games would be different if reviewed now
I think in times like this, where day one patches, season passes and DLC are pretty much standard for any new game, reviewers should "re-visit" games a while after release to check if something big has changed - for the better or the worse.
Would not only help people that consider games a bit later after release but also give credit to developers that are workin on fixing issues

what do you guys think about this? Is it unrealistic or unneccesary, or maybe a good idea?

It's something I think that all websites are looking at now. The way we try to tackle it on Push Square is follow a game as it develops. You're right that our DriveClub review would read very differently today, but I think that we've done a good job following the game as its grown, and updating our impressions along the way. DriveClub recently raced its way into our Top 20 PS4 games, and rightly so.

We'll be following Street Fighter V in a similar way. This means that regular readers will follow the game with us, and know where the improvements are coming from.

The worry is that someone randomly visits our site as a one-off, and reads the DriveClub review which is no longer representative of our opinion on the game. This is something that we need to solve, but I'm not sure how yet.

WOW thanks for the reply ^^ Its amazing to hear an opinion from an editor of this site!
My topic should please not be seen as pure criticism please - but this topic is really something thats important to me as gaming is my number one hobby like ever since and Im a person that just loves to read about games in general, I buy games that interest me regardless of their rating but at times like this, nowadays, I think some games like the ones I mentioned, or for example "Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2", games that are constantly played online by many people surely do improve over time a bit, they get re-balanced and tweaked too, not only improved in terms of performance/bugs (which is also extremely important for me!).
Im glad that pushsquare is aware and looking into this topic as well - I think its important, not only for those "random visitors", but also for dedicated fans ^^

i think that they should be checked and tell us if any problems that have been fixed but i also think the original score and write up should stay as they are, after all the score and review was given to the game at launch and it should reflect that

so maybe adding some kind of addendum to an old review that notes all the changes and fixes and a second updated score to reflect that as well

@consolfreak1982: I absolutely agree that this should happen more, too many sites put too much stock in having a review out as soon as an embargo. A lot more are starting to do first impressions but it doesn't help to give a verdict on a game because they haven't played enough of it. Dualshockers is a good example where they don't do reviews often and when they do it's usually after a game is released. I've also noticed this trend that reviewers are trying to judge a game's value (Street Fighter V been the latest example) when it's completely subjective, after playing the game over a week I think it is worth it because of online and the fighting is so good. But when sites don't tell people about how a game has progressed since launch because it helps those that decided to wait, such ss yourself.
One example is Battlefield 4, busted on launch that's become a whole different beast since, of course people will say that games should work at launch and they should but unfortunately developers are put under a lot of strain to meet the deadline that publishers set months ago, I know because I've heard the stories.

@consolfreak1982: Oh and welcome mate.

@adf86: thanks for your response ^^ my topic here is one major reason why I skip SF5 for example and wait until late summer 2016 - there are some games, like Final Fantasy for example, that I just MUST have at release, no matter what LOL
but with most games I like to wait a bit - and SF5 will surely be patched and fixed like A WHOLE LOT, after the s+*#-storm thats been going on on the internet - and I really hope that users and press are appreciating the hard developers-work if done right of course
BATTLEFIELD 4 was a very good example too - Ive seen the release, and hell when I think back of the BLACK OPS 3 release ... oh man, I sometimes wonder how so much bugs can happen to such major game companies LOL

@consolfreak1982: Getting the game in June will be great for you cos more will be added by then etc. I'm with you I hate seeing developers get slaughtered online despite the hard work they put in usually for things that isn't there fault, it's why I always defend indie developers because there games get dismissed because of how it's graphics look, which I feel is harsh especially a lot of them are one to two person teams working for three years straight in a grungy garage just to create a piece of entertainment to us.

@adf86: same here, Im a huge indie Fan - thats why I just cant understand all those debates about "psplus freebies" every month
I just came up with this topic with ULTRA STREET FIGHTER 4 in mind actually - now that 5 has been released I was wondering how things with the PS4 Version of the 4th installment have been developed since its launch - USF4 has also been bashed at for various bugs and glitches and I hardly found any updated reviews or so that would tell me if all those complaints have been fixed by now.
That said, Im a person that mostly jumps into games late as I said, so Im usually only aware of "start issues" from reading on the net, but also have suffered from catastrophies like BATTLEFIELD4 or BLACK OPS3 launch - thats why I think this topic is important

Personally I think a 'score'should reflect the game at launch and shouldn't be updated as additional content or patches to fix issues come out. At most reviews should be updated at the bottom to reflect any additional information but the score should remain static.

The reason being is that I think this 'practice' of releasing half a game or requiring 'big' patches after release to fix major issues is unacceptable and by updating scores as the games get fixed or additional content is almost giving developers the licence to continue with this practice. Its fair enough to update a review to reflect these but I also think the original review should stand. After all its what you actually buy but these fixes are purely digital.

If a company (like Capcom - SF5 or Evolution Studios - Driveclub) make a follow-up and as part of their advertising use 'updated' scores (for example makers of 'X' game 9/10 - but was originally reviewed as 6/10) its also misleading.

Like I said, I have no problems with reviews having a dated 'update' at the bottom to reflect any additional content or fixes. In fact I think that is fairer than leaving them as they were initially written but I don't think the score should be altered

There are games which have been reviewed which had big issues which still got high scores. So I pretty much ignore the score games get. What would be more useful like on other websites would be user scores added to the review averaged out.

@BAMozzy: I think that's better going forward, stick an updated paragraph just above the score or verdict saying how a game has changed since and is it worth recommending if it previously wasn't.

@consolfreak1982: I too would love to know about USFIV but was put off from getting because of V coming.

We all like to look at the number, but it isn't important really. Read the review, check the list of updates and make an informed decision. Or just take a punt, likely the game can be picked up for peanuts at the point where it's been updated enough for a new review to be required anyway. Driveclub for a fiver, anyone?

@consolfreak1982: Great point. I do agree with this statement from @Bamozzy The reason being is that I think this 'practice' of releasing half a game or requiring 'big' patches after release to fix major issues is unacceptable and by updating scores as the games get fixed or additional content is almost giving developers the licence to continue with this practice.

But then again with big hitters like EA, Ubi and Capcom releasing shells of AAA games I think the practice is here to stay (unfortunately). So absolutely we need a 6 month update or something.

@kyleforrester87 But if Final Fantasy 7 got a 4/10 you would do your nut!

@themcnoisy: haha the fanboy in my would, but really that just illustrates my point, because if you re-reviewed FF7 today it probably would get a 4/10, so you're best off reading an old review of it and ignoring the score if you want to know what it's like.

Actually I mentioned the same thing about a year ago

https://www.pushsquare.com/forums/help_feedback_suggestions/se...

I will leave this thread open since it has more responses but please next time use Search function. Also I will move this to the Suggestions section since this is more of a site suggestion then anything to do with the PS4.

Testing....

@Tasuki: i did use the search function before hand and didnt find your thread before starting this one ... just sayin
@BAMozzy: well you really have a point there - I agree with you that most companies should have "finished" the game at release and that the score should reflect that - in times like this when publishers are like kind of "forcing" developers to release their game at some certain point its clear that the game is in danger of being "unfinished"/"unpolished"
I just dont understand (as a gamer, I know how the industry works of course) why release a flawed game? it doesnt make sense to me at all, releasing a flawed game hurts the company, sales, reputation and I really hope that this will change in the future
nowadays it seems to be wiser to not buy most games at release and wait a bit, which i do, so scores at release are just noticed by me and wont affect if I buy a game or not.

So how about a kind of note - like "initial score/release score" and "updated score", only regarding major releases of course or games that are like really bad/disappointing/flawed at launch, or maybe just a "revisit" after some time? (Maybe put games that are "major"/or suffering from major issues, on a kind of watch list or so to revisit them after some weeks to see what has changed)

For example - one major i noticed and that got me quite upset was the game/release of Black ops 3
(has nothin to do with the score on here but just as an example for an issued day one)
, if I did knew about the almost unplayable online mode at launch I would have not bought it day one - it was almost unplayable with my friends in a party online, we waited forever for a game to start - and I know that those issues are patched by now so anyone that was interested in the game at launch and asked me about it got to hear about those issues - I play with at least 4 people at the same time in a party and they differ - I know that this is not representative for like "all" gamers, but 8 of my friends had exact those issues and reading on the net made it clear that "we" are not the only ones

So - games like BO3, DriveClub, SF4 would really deserve a closer second look in my opinion, and it would really help improve the overall quality of reviews - at least in my opinion ^^

@adf86: yeah me too, I mean I did play it on 360 but I want it on my PS4 ^^ haha, but not with the flaws of course