Topic: Yoshi's Woolly World - OT

Anything on Wii U is pretty much going to be outsold by huge, over-hyped third party games, with the possible exception of something like Mario Kart or Zelda.

More reason why number scores shouldn't be a thing in reviews. The reviewer at IGN says mostly positive things about the game, and gives it a 7.4. People ignore the review and just look at the number and think it's a bad game, or that the reviewer didn't like the game.

Good-but-not-great is often damning praise, apparently...

But most are rating it higher than that so...?

I think I'll wait to hear what actual players think about this game. I don't trust game reviewers half as much as some of the people in these forums whose taste I know is similar to mine with regard to platformers.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii-u/yoshis-woolly-world/crit...

For clarification

Honestly, I think watching gameplay was more helpful in forming my opinion of this game than reading Gamespot or IGN's reviews. If it looks like something you'll enjoy, then you probably will. If not, then just move on.

DigitalSpy complained that the game was too difficult, GameSpot said it was too easy. Just watch gameplay from the Nintendo Treehouse or something, reviews are always all over the place.

I disagree. If they only gave it a 7.4 but only said nice things, all you're doing is putting the burden on the score rather than writing to explain its shortcomings.
Your complaint is no more inherently justified that the converse e.g: If they only gave it a 7.4, why have they left so much out of the explanation in their writing?

All this is doing is choosing the format you instinctively prefer and demanding the one you don't meet a higher burden. I much prefer numbered scores over not having them so I'd instinctively go with the second complaint.

That's the thing though: Once people have scores, then they expect a generic number to actually mean something without specific context. But that's not how it works. And most people never learn that. At the very least, I've seen more useful systems put into place - even Metacritics operates more on a "positive, negative, mixed" format than an actual graded system, because people are just as likely to be happy about an 80 metascore as they are about a 90 metascore, so all you really need to know is that the reviews were generally favorable and if you still have questions, you have access to the reviews to find out yourself. I'd much prefer stuff like that be more common than people trying to figure out the difference between "good, very good, great, excellent, okay, mediocre, etc. etc. etc...." because all that does is take discussion away from the actual content. I've seen it a million times, and it never helps. Simpler is generally better in these cases.

Well, it looks a lot more original than the DS and 3DS ones.

I'm not sure what "how it works" even means. There is no 1 way how it works. People like number scores because it allows them to interpret a wide range of opinions quickly and put it into a rough valuation that they've already imagined in their heads.
Of course it's a clumsy tool. But the only alternative in a busy world and crowded market is to read through various reviews. Which takes longer so you can read fewer. It's just a trade-off. Rough understanding in large volume VS careful understanding in low volume.

Or you could...skim. That's an option. ****, I can't remember the last time I read a review top to bottom. I usually just skim through 2 or 3 paragraphs so I get the biggest complaints and praises. It takes a minute, so if I can read through 5 reviews and have a much better sense of what the game is actually like than looking at 100 numbers...

Honestly, I try to find reviewers that, historically, I seem to be on the same page with (good or bad), you know?

Oh, and like most people are saying, I don't give a flying wombat about the score. I just look at the write-up.

The last paragraph or two is all you need to read for a review. They are normally summarizing their thoughts and stay vague enough to not spoil major things, while the main body of a review might spoil things. It is easy to tell the person's overall opinion from just the last paragraph or two.

My order has been dispatched!

Seriously considering buying this at launch even though I have some gaming left in other titles. It's just so woolly!

I don't buy things online often, but when it says it was dispatched it means that it will be laying in my postbox the next day.
Lucky thing you.

I don't know if this has been said here or not but I'm thoroughly convinced the Yoshi Amiibo is the reason for the delay of the game in NA. Nintendo already has a problem with supply as it is and they know that Europe is a smaller market so they can market there first. In October they can also make a Holiday push with both the game and many more Amiibo's by then. Long story short I'll bet money the delay has to do with that amiibo!

I can even see thousands of people buying the Amiibo that won't buy the game. I think Nintendo has gone from just a gaming company to a split gaming/toy company. Its all about keeping the shareholders happy these days and that's the bottom line.

My order of the limited edition with the green Yoshi yarn amiibo has been dispatched! So have my light blue and pink yarn Yoshi amiibo!