Jaffe’s response to Calling All Cars reviews; Gamespot gives game a 6.7

While David Jaffe is pleased with IGN’s and 1UP’s review scores of his downloadable game for the PlayStation Network, Calling All Cars, he notes in his blog that he felt Gamespot’s review score of 6.7 was unfair. He says in his blog:

I’m not so keen on the GAMESPOT review, and who would be? It simply feels unfair and simply wrong. Granted, why would I not say that? I am the director of the game they are saying is simply “fair”. So take my opinion with a grain of salt.

He goes on to say that Gamespot’s main criticism of the game – that the single player game was particularly short – was a bit out of place. He says that contrary to Gamespot’s opinion, for a ten-dollar game, it has enough play time to warrant its price. He says that it isn’t like other small downloadable games like Bejewelled and Hexic where one can lose themselves in it alone for hours on end. He likens Calling all Cars to a different genre of games.

ItÂ’s like a fighting game in that sense: you work thru the single player to learn the game and unlock stuff. And when you get thru one level if you want to get better, up the difficulty. I get thru Tekken and Mortal Kombat single player in 5-15 minutes on default setting. Again, maybe our presentation did not make this clear and it’s a fair call that Gamespot would want more from the single player experience. But it’s not like I go out and buy Madden or NBA JAM or NBA HOMECOURT cause I’m going to be playing it by myself.

Yes, he does admit in his own blog that perhaps the fault lies with them for not presenting their multiplayer intentions with the game properly. Perhaps he wasn’t able to make people understand that their game is a “balls to the wall, trash talking, fun ass multiplayer/party game” that requires, well, other people to play with for maximum enjoyment.

Regardless of how you wish to react to Jaffe’s reaction to Gamespot’s “unfair” score of 6.7 for Calling All Cars, perhaps he is at liberty to react in that slightly indulgent manner. After all, it IS his blog. Jaffe probably said it best in the closing words of his long-ish post: “Ok gotta run…thanks for indulging me. A more mature designer would say: ‘my game is my response’ and shut up about it. But come on, this is me :)” And what else are personal blogs for? Where else can one rant, and rave, and pontificate so freely?

While David Jaffe is pleased with IGN’s and 1UP’s review scores of his downloadable game for the PlayStation Network, Calling All Cars, he notes in his blog that he felt Gamespot’s review score of 6.7 was unfair. He says in his blog:

I’m not so keen on the GAMESPOT review, and who would be? It simply feels unfair and simply wrong. Granted, why would I not say that? I am the director of the game they are saying is simply “fair”. So take my opinion with a grain of salt.

He goes on to say that Gamespot’s main criticism of the game – that the single player game was particularly short – was a bit out of place. He says that contrary to Gamespot’s opinion, for a ten-dollar game, it has enough play time to warrant its price. He says that it isn’t like other small downloadable games like Bejewelled and Hexic where one can lose themselves in it alone for hours on end. He likens Calling all Cars to a different genre of games.

ItÂ’s like a fighting game in that sense: you work thru the single player to learn the game and unlock stuff. And when you get thru one level if you want to get better, up the difficulty. I get thru Tekken and Mortal Kombat single player in 5-15 minutes on default setting. Again, maybe our presentation did not make this clear and it’s a fair call that Gamespot would want more from the single player experience. But it’s not like I go out and buy Madden or NBA JAM or NBA HOMECOURT cause I’m going to be playing it by myself.

Yes, he does admit in his own blog that perhaps the fault lies with them for not presenting their multiplayer intentions with the game properly. Perhaps he wasn’t able to make people understand that their game is a “balls to the wall, trash talking, fun ass multiplayer/party game” that requires, well, other people to play with for maximum enjoyment.

Regardless of how you wish to react to Jaffe’s reaction to Gamespot’s “unfair” score of 6.7 for Calling All Cars, perhaps he is at liberty to react in that slightly indulgent manner. After all, it IS his blog. Jaffe probably said it best in the closing words of his long-ish post: “Ok gotta run…thanks for indulging me. A more mature designer would say: ‘my game is my response’ and shut up about it. But come on, this is me :)” And what else are personal blogs for? Where else can one rant, and rave, and pontificate so freely?