Moments before yesterday's review of Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One went live, I received a message from Insomniac Games via Twitter. It said, "We will still love you, though you realize as a dev it's terrifying knowing Jim S's wit/snark/hate is about to crash down on us."
So yeah, that made me feel bad.
It's a common misconception that reviewers love to give negative reviews. Perhaps the sociopathic ones do. The rest of us are gamers, and it gives us no joy at Destructoid to have a bad time with a game and then write about it, especially with the rage that follows from both gamers and developers.
Except in this case, the anger came from only one of those sources and it wasn't Insomniac, a studio that may well be the classiest developer in the whole bloody industry.
After the review went live, I came to learn that I had just awarded Insomniac Games the lowest review score in its 17-year, 15-game history. The review is also the lowest-scoring non-port Ratchet & Clank review of all time. It's not a record I'm exactly thrilled about, but there it is. However, rather than get angry or upset, the message I received from Insomniac was one of dignified acceptance.
"It's bound to happen at some point," said the studio during our exchange. "No hard feelings. You backed up [the] score with your thoughts."
By no means is this an endorsement of the review by Insomniac. Nobody likes getting slammed by the critics, and Insomniac is certainly not pleased with what I wrote. Did it get upset, demand a rewrite, or complain about the score? I received nothing of the sort. Not from Insomniac, nor from Sony -- a publisher that has always treated me with respect and friendliness, despite the litany of criticisms I've written about the company before (and still stand by, I might add).
Insomniac Games has been one of my favorite developers for a long time. I've long admired the way it respects its workforce and I love its ability to craft truly endearing characters. It's unpleasant taking a dump on someone's hard work at the best of times, but when it's a studio you truly value, it's all the worse. Nothing's worse than souring a relationship with people you like.
Recently, we had Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski whine about 8/10 reviews for Gears of War 3, claiming to be "upset" by criticisms and implications that Gears of War 2 might have been slightly better. He is another developer I've always liked, but he now refuses to talk to me, ever since I asked him to justify his Gears 3 outrage. When I see that kind of behavior over a positive, very high review score and contrast it with the dignified, adult response from Insomniac, I am astounded. One side is cheapening the entire idea of a review system and encouraging melodramatic fanboy backlash, while the other -- in my opinion -- reacted with the professional responsibility that so many more studios need to adopt.
We have the same problem with gamers themselves. I've received a few hateful messages from people furious over the 8.5/10 score I gave Batman: Arkham City, and there are communities almost obsessed with crying over our critiques. Yet while the members of N4G and GameFAQs go on the attack within seconds of any of our reviews going live, looking to undermine our writing and whip themselves up into a childish frenzy of emotional convulsion, it's cheering to know that people who have a better right to be angry than anybody else can take criticism on the chin and move forward with their lives.
As someone who has received phone calls and emails from all manner of folk upset by my reviews, I can't tell you what it means to me on a personal level to have such polite discourse and understanding from a developer who really had no impetus to be polite at all. If more developers had the grounded grace of Insomniac, this would easily be the best industry in the world.
Insomniac Games' attitude should serve as an example to everybody working in videogames and ought to shame many of those same people.
Contest:
2:15 PM on 10.20.2011 | 
just for that, i will get this game for my little cousin.
Also, fuck Cliffy B, and execs that fire devs for scores less than 9s.
@Magnalon
+1 Fuck Cliffy
when their game is treated unfairly and they are able to prove it.
Has that ever happened?
@Magnalon
+2 Fuck Cliffy
I've played Ratchet & Clank All 4 One since Tuesday and really enjoy it but I may be in the minority. Regardless, I like knowing Insomniac Games has a positive attitude toward criticism.
I was going to grab Resistance 3 sometime down the line but after hearing that, I'm grabbing it when I receive my next paycheck.
Way to be awesome Insomniac.
Duh Hydrophobia, sorry couldn't resist ( no I thought that game was as suppar as the review stated so it's a joke.)
When you compare their reaction to the Hydrophobia stuff from way back when ("You're playing it wrong!") or Cliffy B's childish and, frankly, embarrassing petulance ("You're just a hater!"), it just goes to show that there are still great developers out there who have some class.
I'm looking forward to picking up Overstrike when it comes out, to support one of my favourite developers.
Cheers for sharing this with us, Jim. It's much appreciated. It's a nice palette cleanser after the Arkham City nonsense.
I will never understand all the hate. I simply can't. I can always understand a 4/10 or even a 1-3/10 from Destructoid. Whenever I see a (Real) low score from other sources the best explanation I get is "I don't get it.", "OMG BUGS, I REFUSE TO MENTION ANYTHING ELSE." (Though bugs are indeed bad.) or, worst of all, "Stuff."
DTOID is the only place where if I want to use a review to consider a game, I only have to read one review. Every other place (Especially GameFAQs) I end up having to look up several reviews because the person is just tearing up the game in rage or is simply way too easy to win over and probably had a score settled before even playing it.
Or if the reviewer is actually a reviewer as a profession the person tends to give opinions in a manner that makes issue out of the game due to personal preference. Every person will have their own opinions, but DTOID is that I've seen best at pointing out the difference between issues of taste and just plain problems with the game.
In other words, Insomniac is better people.
I'm shocked!
*looks over at cliffy b-1000 and Bobby "the terminator* kotick*
Skynet is here, bitches.
Insomniac doesn't agree with my review at all. Acceptance of an opinion isn't an endorsement, I must stress.
Also + 3 Fuck Cliffy
The only people that take video game reviews serious, are the pretentious, self-indulgent people who right them. Those who are desperate to prove their profession is relevant. The people who are clearly envious of the people who are creative and smart enough to make a game. They challenge that creativity with harsh words and childish insults. Just to fill space and get their word count up. All in the name of hits and advertising revenue. Unless they do it for free. Of course we know that is not the case. The video game media is becoming more and more useless to the consumer. Developers have more ways to reach the customer then ever and the wannabe journalist know it. That is why they find it necessary to write such aggressive and childish reviews. It's the only way they can generate traffic. Being polarizing, is a lot more profitable then being nice and respectful.
Understood.
@Magnalon
+4 Fuck Cliffy B.
It makes me think of the review process at my last job. The week before the review, I was given a copy of my evaluation. Later that week, I'd visit with my manager about the evaluation. I took this as a time to ask why, come up with suggestions on how to improve, develop an action plan, and to really understand how I could improve in my career.
I still feel that I was held to a standard that was a bit higher than I felt was necessary for my position, but I understood what the standard was. Each year, my review scores improved, and each year I had a better understanding of what the standard I was being held to really entailed.
I could have been a dick about the whole thing, but I did not do that. There were reasons behind the ratings and things to do to improve, a lot like a game review.
At my other job, I get perfect ratings each year. I have no idea what's expected of me or how to be better. Guess which I've learned more from.
I can't wait to see how Jaffe reacts if Twisted Metal gets a review under 11/10.
Jaffe is a douche,and so is Cliffy.
glad to see they didn't try the ol' "you're playing wrong" shit.
is there a wrong way to play a game? i mean, as long as i'm playing it, i can't play it wrong.
i can suck at playing it, but playing it wrong? there is no fucking way to play anything wrong.
its like telling someone going through a no kills play through of mgs4 is playing it wrong.