Should X Rebirth's meta-critic score be re-reviewed?

[yoyolll]

No. If someone wants to buy this game they should sit through all the reviews on steam and metacritic, and if they still want to buy it after that then they will probably not mind the state of the game.

Although if it were re-reviewed, I think khartsh is right on the money with not breaking a score of 40. So I guess it doesn't make much difference.

[Graaf]

No. If someone wants to buy this game they should sit through all the reviews on steam and metacritic, and if they still want to buy it after that then they will probably not mind the state of the game.

They will probably buy it due to the "It can't be that bad"-attitude accompanied with the "Oh look, V2.0, they must have fixed it"-justification.

The former part caused the marketing success in November while the latter made the sales spike in May.

[yoyolll]

No. If someone wants to buy this game they should sit through all the reviews on steam and metacritic, and if they still want to buy it after that then they will probably not mind the state of the game.

They will probably buy it due to the "It can't be that bad"-attitude accompanied with the "Oh look, V2.0, they must have fixed it"-justification.

The former part caused the marketing success in November while the latter made the sales spike in May.

Ironically, that is exactly what I was thinking when I bought the game on release day.

[Simoom]

The game may be worth a re-review but I doubt its critical scores will be high.

The thing is the X games were always meant for a niche market - they are very different in presentation and feel from mainstream (American) games, since it's by a small German studio.

Now, relatively-speaking the X games aren't exactly rich in content (even as a sandbox) - I think from a critic's perspective, all the X games are "bad games" in the sense that they presentation of the narrative is lackluster and the all the non-campaign missions are fairly shallow and repetitive. This was an issue with X3 (for people who like a bit more narrative to their games) and remains an issue in XR. In fact the issue is particularly noticeable in XR because with the modeled station interior and interactive NPC's, I have a feeling it was trying to offer some RPG elements similar to Mass Effect or the Elder Scrolls games in terms of exploration, mini-games, and non-plot missions. But Egosoft simply didn't have the budget for a proper implementation of such features.

I think XR, more than any previous X games, feel "incomplete" for this reason. Whereas in X3 there are no such things as station exploration or NPC models, so you simply dismiss them for not being there in the first place, in XR you expect there to be more depth to the world and its characters because the contents are present - but in a very hollow form. Again, because I think Egosoft ran out of both time and money before they could properly do everything they wanted with the game.

All of that said, I think as a player I do forgive Egosoft for all the things that went wrong with their games (developmental delays, poor state of release, on-going bugs, lack of substantial content, etc.) - for the following reasons:

• Egosoft is a tiny studio with 20 people. I don't know how much budget they have for each of their games, but I know they weren't anywhere near triple-A budgets. I think what they have managed to accomplish is already impressive.
• The X games, despite all their flaws, do demonstrate to me that the devs have both vision and ambition (even if their ambitions usually fall though). With each game they do try to present a universe that truly feels immense and overflowing with beauty. I particularly like how poetic the X games are when it comes to space - I have a strong feeling that the creative team at Egosoft are truly passionate about space and feel fascinated by the idea of going out there. In a strange way, the X games - despite their lack of content compared to bigger titles - do feel like they have more "spirit" or "soul" than the big-budget titles. At least when it comes to space itself.
• Last but not least, the X games have been a lifeboat for many of us who love space sims, and personally I really enjoy the European take on space (the vibrant background artworks and awesome new-age-industrial soundtracks are very "fresh" and welcome).

So yeah, even with all the bug fixes and improvements, I doubt the critics will like it. That's ok with me though - I know I enjoy XR in spite of it all.

[Slashman]

So yeah, even with all the bug fixes and improvements, I doubt the critics will like it. That's ok with me though - I know I enjoy XR in spite of it all.

You're actually wrong about critics not liking X games in general. Quite a few of the reviewers for XR liked X3 and its predecessors and were looking forward to something good from Egosoft again.

It was Egosoft who didn't deliver and I'm not forgiving them for being a small studio. If they are too small for a job like this, then they need to either grow or deliver projects of a more reasonable scope. The consumer didn't form the studio and force them to make the game. They botched it. Not the buyer.

[Sibilantae]

I can't be responsible for anyone's else's behaviour, I can only be responsible for my own.
Just as you're responsible for your own behaviour.

The person you're referring to is also responsible for their own behaviour.
But they're also entitled to their own opinion.

I don't think their view was put across in a particularly derogatory way, they're just expressing their view about Egosoft's behaviour.

You might not like that view and you can choose to respond to that view expressed whatever way you like.
But responding in a civilised way, whether you agree or disagree will give you a much better opportunity to get a constructive and civilised reply.

Well put and point taken (again =P ). I'll back off.

[BigBANGtheory]

The thing is the X games were always meant for a niche market - they are very different in presentation and feel from mainstream (American) games, since it's by a small German studio.

Now, relatively-speaking the X games aren't exactly rich in content (even as a sandbox) - I think from a critic's perspective, all the X games are "bad games" in the sense that they presentation of the narrative is lackluster and the all the non-campaign missions are fairly shallow and repetitive...

...but X Rebirth was supposed to be different, arguably not part of the X Universe franchise etc etc

I don't disagree with the points you made, rather illustrating how weak the position of "it's different, wasn't meant to be X Universe" because as a stand alone game even separated from the history of X Universe its still a 30-40% metacritic score because of its gameplay weaknesses and that's the point. Address the gameplay then you have earned a right of review imho.

[ravage_za]

It would be interesting to know the disposition of reviewers who had never played an X game before, versus those who had. In other words, to those without preconceptions of what an X game should be, how did it fare as an actual game?

[plynak]

It would be interesting to know the disposition of reviewers who had never played an X game before, versus those who had. In other words, to those without preconceptions of what an X game should be, how did it fare as an actual game?

It would be the same. The game is simply boring with totaly stupid game mechanics. If it was so great, there would be many new players playing it. But there are none. Only 500 or so poor souls finding fun in god knows what.

[ravage_za]

I do believe it is simply a bad game, but I am biased as a long-time X franchise devotee. A largely negative score does seem to indicate that, for whatever reason, most people don't like it. It should be enough to hopefully impact Egosoft's decisions in the future.

[CBJ]

...

By all means express your opinion of the game, but stop being dismissive and patronising towards people who don't happen to agree with you.

[JClosed]

It would be interesting to know the disposition of reviewers who had never played an X game before, versus those who had. In other words, to those without preconceptions of what an X game should be, how did it fare as an actual game?

It would be the same. The game is simply boring with totaly stupid game mechanics. If it was so great, there would be many new players playing it. But there are none. Only 500 or so poor souls finding fun in god knows what.

Hmm... Why "poor souls"?

As far as I can see it they are the ones that are having fun, while you obviously have not.

Now - who is the "poor soul" again?

Sorry - just having a bit of fun. I could not resist...

[CBJ]

I doubt you saw my warning before you posted, JClosed, as our posts have roughly the same timestamp, but please do not exacerbate the problem by responding to that kind of comment. Leave it to the moderators.

[JClosed]

Sorry CBJ, I indeed posted before you posted your warning..

It was meant as a lighthearted comment, but I will stop reacting on this from now on..

[Graaf]

The thing is the X games were always meant for a niche market - they are very different in presentation and feel from mainstream (American) games, since it's by a small German studio.

Now, relatively-speaking the X games aren't exactly rich in content (even as a sandbox) - I think from a critic's perspective, all the X games are "bad games" in the sense that they presentation of the narrative is lackluster and the all the non-campaign missions are fairly shallow and repetitive...

...but X Rebirth was supposed to be different, arguably not part of the X Universe franchise etc etc

I don't disagree with the points you made, rather illustrating how weak the position of "it's different, wasn't meant to be X Universe" because as a stand alone game even separated from the history of X Universe its still a 30-40% metacritic score because of its gameplay weaknesses and that's the point. Address the gameplay then you have earned a right of review imho.

If it was supposed to be different and not part of the X-Universe, then they shouldn't have put an X before it. They also shouldn't have used the lore of the X-Universe either. And as a result they probably wouldn't have sold much copies of it.

X Rebirth represents a spectacular new beginning for the X series

Since it is sold as an X-title, described as part of the series, and chronologically placed after Albion Prelude it means it is a sequel of X3. Praise Xaar it's not named X4.

[Sam L.R. Griffiths]

@Graaf: While I do see your point, personally I believe BBT is right.

Take the Star Wars franchise for instance, it covers a multitude of books, games, movies, and other material. The X-Universe franchise is not that dissimilar in real terms, except perhaps in terms of diversity and scope (to date).

From your quote from the Egosoft shop the emphasis should be on "new beginning" which in essence implies change. Whether we like the changes or not is a different matter entirely.

[ravage_za]

Unfortunately, "X series" implies some sort of spiritual succession too. I do really believe that Rebirth was not the game Egosoft was expecting to release, but it is up to everyone to decide for themselves whether their intent was malicious or an unfortunate sequence of events.

[plynak]

Unfortunately, "X series" implies some sort of spiritual succession too. I do really believe that Rebirth was not the game Egosoft was expecting to release, but it is up to everyone to decide for themselves whether their intent was malicious or an unfortunate sequence of events.

Just read any interview with Bernd. IT IS the game they, or I should rather say he as I really doubt anyone other from Egosoft was happy with that, wanted to release. The game is perfect, a huge success with ingenious game mechanics and only a few people are having some problems with it.

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=368731

[BigBANGtheory]

If it was supposed to be different and not part of the X-Universe, then they shouldn't have put an X before it. They also shouldn't have used the lore of the X-Universe either. And as a result they probably wouldn't have sold much copies of it.

What you are describing is more along the lines of false advertising, not much (or a weak link at best) to do with metacritic scores. I think people in general place too much weight in franchise continuity, when really all that matters is whether the gaming experience is any good i.e. you get sucked into and run with it.

When or if you start seeing that behaviour from a sizeable chunk of the player base, that is when you can legitimately say something positive has changed and revisit. I do not think v2 has done that, I think one or more of the big gameplay topics has to be addressed to achieve that. I also think Egosoft needs to produce a new product to distance itself from XR even if it is clearly built or expanded from XR.

[Sam L.R. Griffiths]

@ravage_za: Maybe, but to me it just means that Egosoft plan to release more games based on the same engine - when taken in the context of the whole phrase.

This all really goes back to Egosoft's management of customer expectations, there was too much speculation pre-release which possibly resulted in too much community generated hype over the X-Rebirth release. Referring to it as TNBT (The Next Big Thing) initially (as far back as X2 - or perhaps further) probably did not help matters much. However, what is done is done.

Is the game worthy of a re-review at this point in time is what this thread is really about and not what Egosoft should have or not have done leading up to and immediately following the release. We all need to really concentrate on the present and future if we want things to improve rather than wallowing in the past (which is all too easy to do).

The present is that X-Rebirth is released and undergoing changes, not major league changes perhaps yet but in accordance with a rough plan of actions. IMO We can be pretty sure that X-Rebirth is not going to significantly change in terms of nature/UI but will probably expand in terms of C&C, button/key map-able controls and improve in terms of AI (at least in terms of making it work as originally intended).

The future is really unknown at this point, the speculative X4/XR2 mentioned in the RPS article is the key to that and given some of the speculation currently going on I personally fear that a similar level of community generated hype could be generated. I hope that Egosoft plan to release some hard information soon in order to help keep our collective expectations at the appropriate level.

As for X-Rebirth being re-reviewed - it could be a moot point if the reviewers took a disliking to X-Rebirth at first sight, since although it has improved in a real measurable way it has not substantially changed from the original nature and is unlikely to based on past experience with other X games. Where X4/XR2 is concerned, that may be a different story.