Topic: Wiiware is lowering our expectations

This assumes that a reviewer is willfully diminishing his published opinion of the game due to personal preference, which would be bad faith. Consider that not every reviewer has the experience and preference for every genre, and therefore might not be aware of certain nuances in a game to which a more appreciative reviewer might bestow a higher rating. So it's not always about "objectivity." Preference does play a role, insofar as lending insightful expereince to a reviewer during his assessment of a game in his preferred genre, which only enhances said review's legitimacy and value.

I don't think it matters that VC Games were at one point games with full development times & teams. The fact of the matter is the games are priced similarly and most of the VC Games offer a full gaming experience. WiiWare does have some gems but I'd go so far as saying most of the games are extremely shallow. I do like having some games that I can pick up and play for a few minutes here and there but I'd like to see some more of the highly fleshed out WiiWare games. I'm just not into games that feel like $5 or $10 games, there are so many other games out there to play. I could go out and buy a PS2 (A system I've never owned) and play a whole library of $5 - $10 games of a much better value. This is a big problem. Some of the Wiiware games are quite unique and offer something new which is of great value. World of Goo is one of the best games I have ever played at any price but most of these games don't push any envelope & a cheap game from any previous generation console can match or exceed it in all areas.

The problem is a lot of the devs on Wiiware (and Wii) aren't passionate about making games. They don't want to risk putting too much time into a game that might not sell well so they invest just enough time to complete the game and make a likely profit. On the PC there is quite a good indie development scene and there are a lot of FREE games with better quality than the average Wiiware game. It's obvious why games can't be free on any of the consoles but that just goes to show how broken the system is. I know the ESRB ratings are beneficial to some but the fact is they are a middle man who charge money for MANDATORY ratings. This is a big hit for small developers. Instead of a game having only the cost of the developers time and no way of losing money they now have a large initial investment that needs to be paid off.

Objectivity regarding something like Super Mario Bros. 3 would be noting that it has great art design and the fact that there's a lot of levels, the music is good and the controls are decent.

That doesn't get around the fact that the difficulty level is punishing and therefore it's a game that will appeal to a limited audience. I know it's a "classic," but I'm sorry, if I was to seriously review it I cannot overlook the fact that I cannot get past world 2 and difficulty counts depending on what the nature of the game is. Something arcade-like that you're supposed to enjoy in short bursts like, say, Bit.Trip BEAT can be very difficult, but enjoyable. A game with a beginning, middle and end like a Mario game shouldn't be a chore to see all the way through. I mean, have you seen the Game Center CX 3-parter of Super Mario 3? I really do think you either have to be the god of platformers or a complete masochist to play that game through to the end!

Anyway, the bottom line is that you can inject a degree of objectivity, but if it's not a genre you really enjoy, I don't think you're going to feel the enthusiasm in playing it and it will come through in the review no matter how hard you try to be objective. For this reason I tend to avoid reviewing platforming games and adventure games as a rule, though when they're franchise favourites that's not a big deal since people are often fighting over those.

Seriously, who hasn't finished SMB3? I finished it when I was 8 years old.

Edit: Decent controls? Which platformer controls better?

Mario 3 is by no means punishing. I've never once known someone as terrible at it as you claim to be. I think you're confusing objective with subjective there considering you use only your own personal experience as evidence. When I was a child, my friends, siblings, and cousins never had half as much trouble. We got to World 7 without whistles back then. I am not a god of platformers, and I definitely wasn't when I was 6 or 7 years old. That's one huge exaggeration.

Mario 3 plays like a dream, and I had no problem finishing it when I was a kid. You failing to control a game doesn't mean it doesn't have good controls. The quality of the controls should be reflected in a review score, not your failure to control it. The review is about a game, not about what you can or can't, that's not informative or interesting to me.

Yeah I even beat it on the GBA, and it was no where near as hard as SMB2.

Is the GBA one based on the original or on the Mario All-Stars version? I forget. I seem to recall the All-Stars version being made easier. I know Lost Levels was for sure, but I can't remember if the other games were.

If someone can't finish world 2 of Mario 3 it simply qualifies that person as being practically unable to review the game.

@Adam

Mario 3 on GBA is based on the All-Stars version.

@Sean

You must be happy Nintendo has put the super guide in NSMB Wii.

That sort of describes Wii as a whole doesn't it?

Not entirely brandon, but I understand where you're coming from

Uh, mostly every other platformer in existence?

2D Marios always felt like you're on ice all the time, but they really made it slippery in this game. This would be acceptable in many other platformers (namely all the other 2D Marios), but unlike the other Marios, the levels simply don't work with the annoying physics. I could go on on how absolutely bad the controls are, but the fact is that you're probably going to ignore this and constantly say how "like, totally amazing" this game is, so.............................

IGNORE ME!!!!

(I will admit that this is the only problem with the game, however)

Mostly every other platformer in existence? This is becoming the baseless exaggeration thread. The NES and SNES were home to a slew of crappy platformers. It was the FPS of its day: innumerable representatives of the genre, precious few to represent it well.

Never noticed a problem with the level design accomodating this either, except in a couple cases in the latter half of the game such as the level where you jump off of those flying beetles (coincidentally a favorite of mine, although obviously a bit flawed). And it's not like there aren't more than enough helping hands in the game: infinite continues, lots of mushroom houses, etc.

Not to mention a power-up in plentiful supply that lets you skip huge sections of levels, slow your descent to prevent missing a landing or slipping, and is able to kill most enemies.

I am not surprised a few don't like the game. It's not my favorite platformer by any means. But it was the best in its day and holds up pretty darn well today. It held the "best selling game ever" title for a long time for a reason.

Actually, no it doesn't. Because if that describes the Wii, then it describes all 3 consoles this generation.

@dork

Well it's your interpretation of the controls, did you get past world 2?

@nintendork

Which platformers control better, can you give us any names? I would love to play those games!

"To my opinin Nintendolife scores Wiiware games way too high"

That's a problem with Nintendo Life, not Wiiware. Actually, the scores on this site are all over the place - sometimes I think they just roll some dice and put down whatever the hell comes up. Trust me, it's pointless to go off of review scores, especially on Nintendo Life.

Oh boy,

The other 2D Marios (the level designs fit a lot better with the controls)
2D Sonics (you can actually jump with accuracy every time, and same as above)
The Crash Bandicoot games on the GBA (same as Sonic)
2D Mega Mans
Rocket Knight Adventures
Ducktales 1 & 2
Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers
God knows how many 3D platformers
........You see where I'm going with this??

@dork

If you can't jump with accuracy in SMB3 that's your problem. To my opinion the game controls with great precission and no game you have listed is as good as SMB3, not in terms of controls or in any other way.