Mario Galaxy Review: “The Worst Two-Player Experience”
Variety.com writer Ben Fritz puts his name on the Nintendo fan blackbook after writing an insanely bias Super Mario Galaxy review attacking not only Super Mario Galaxy, but also Nintendo’s Wii graphic performance and the use of the Wii-mote.
A desperate move to bad mouth what could possibly be “The Best Game of the Year” and most likely “The Best Game for the Nintendo Wii Console” and believe me I’m not a fanboy at all, in fact I own a PS3.
As you read the review you will notice the majority of the effort is concentrated on picking apart the game’s limited two player mode, camara control, storyline and Nintendo’s Wii graphic shortcomings, this at a time when Super Mario Galaxy has received such a high amount of praise across the globe, even getting an unprecedented 11 out of 10 rating! This is simply neglecting to give credit where credit is due.
It’s amazing how this “reviewer” found Super Mario Galaxy “The Worst Two-Player Experience” while at the same time declaring Ratchet and Clank for the PS3 “vastly superior” when it’s close to impossible not to find Super Mario Galaxy objectively groundbreaking and superior to current games in its category.
I have screen saved a copy of the review, just in case they might decide to take it offline, which I hope they do, check out the “Sponsored by Sony” logo on the right top section.
Update: This topic is hot at the NSider forums.
EDIT:
I was recently contacted by Fritz Benjamin and I was asked to edit the title of this article from “Is the worst experience” to what it is now “the worst two-player experiences…” and I also got this quote from Fritz himself: “I stand behind it (my review) 100%”
The title has been edited along with references to a possible Sony conspiracy.
RANDOM QUOTES FROM ACROSS THE NET ABOUT THIS REVIEW:
“So this is what Variety has become – publishing a PS3 commercial disguised as an ‘independent’ ‘review’. Shame on you! You have no longer any right to call yourself a magazine. You have become a sell-out advertising vehicle with no journalistic integrity whatsoever.” – Tuomas Salo -
“Wow, what an excellent and accurate review of the Nintendo Wii Game Supermario Galaxy! I cannot believe I considered buying this console for such a horrible game. Now I can continue saving up for a PS3, Thanks! THIS COMMENT WAS SPONSERED BY SONY ENTERTAINMENT“ – John Hateface -
“Too bad, because at least a couple hundred people probably read his articles with a straight face on a daily basis. Can’t wait for the next one, Mr. Fritz; the internet videogame community is watching with salty eyes and a bucket of popcorn!” - Steve Schardein -
“Credit to Mr Fritz for having the courage to be contrary, but his review doesn’t really carry much credibility.“ – Gus Swan -
“This is probably the single worst (read: misguided, agenda-driven) videogame review I have ever read… as though he could not help himself from injecting his personal delirious opinions into this supposedly professional product review” – Steve Schardein -
Well, I’m buying the game. Nice try, Sony.
Oh. My. God.
Have you people ever thought for a single second that maybe, just MAYBE someone may support an unpopular opinion? For the love of christ, just because you cream yourself at the sight of this game doesn’t mean everyone will.
The best part about all of this is that the review wasn’t even THAT negative. He says in the FIRST paragraph that he thinks Nintendo has some of the best video game development talent in the industry.
Honestly, this is just like when people got all up in arms over Zelda getting an 8.8. People, reviews arn’t fact but mearly one person’s opinion of the game.
I agree with V13. Maybe he just didn’t like the game. Not everyone likes Mario games. I haven’t liked any of them since it went 3D.
[...] played it for more than a couple of hours. Update: This topic is hot at the NSider forums. in http://nsidernews.com/sony-sponsored-mario-galaxy-review-is-the-worse-experience/ Posted by David Amador at 00:17 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks [...]
Well, I think he made his point.
If you are all about graphics, don’t buy this game.
The story isn’t really strong either.
But I for my part enjoyed every core Mario game up to date. I prefer a nice "Wheee!" on gameplay much more than a "Whoa!" on graphics. Getting both would be nice tho.
a lot of the same points are made in pro-nintendo reviews. yeah, this guy takes it a little farther, but you kind of overhype it and misreprepresenting his spelling/grammar.
[...] to our new beloved Ben Fritz of Variety.com Vivendi games is in the talks with Sony about turning The Ghostbusters into a video game franchise, [...]
Can someone tell me if there is actually any proof sony paid this guy, or is this just the usual sony-bashing, perhaps he’s just biased, or maybe he just dosn’t like the game (althougth he does seem to over criticize it). It does sound like this guy is bias(althougth i havn’t read the article), but from the statements i’ve heard it isn’t that bad, Ratchet and Clank may not be "vastly superior" than Galaxy but based on the reviews these two games are getting there are going to be a lot of people who do think Ratchet and Clank (it is a really great game) is better. The things he complains about i’ve heard other reviwers complain, about the good but not brilliant graphics, alot of reviwers complained about the camera and of course the storyline (it is an italian plumber in space)
stop deleting posts you do not agree with
I’m sorry but if you really read the review it is clear he likes the game and many of its new concepts "Super Mario Galaxyâ is proof positive that Nintendo still has some of the best videogame development talent in the industry" "features the most astoundingly original levels of the year, enhanced by gravity tricks never before seen in videogames" "causing the camera to flip, they may feel motion sickness. But once they get used to it, they’ll find it enables some amazing tricks." "But the best ones take full advantage of the games fantastic physics" You could have red lined these quotes to make the point that he likes the game. and in all fairness the story is not a big thing in any of the supper mario titles and possibly it is the worst TWO user experience ever and more a gimmick the a real 2 player game. last but not least you miss quotes him in more than only the title of your article you say: "while at the same time declaring Ratchet and Clank for the PS3 "vastly superior" " while in the review it says: "given the vastly superior quality of the graphics in a game like Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction" he doesn’t like the wii graphics that’s it. And any one knows that the wii graphics are not the strong point of the wii and that the xbox360 and ps3 are vastly superior in this department. the only thing you can say is that he could not compare, that’s it. and indeed while the wii remote brings a lot of new possibility’s in lacks some standard possibility’s like camera control etc. I didn’t mind this to much in zelda, because with some tricks you can control the camera, but it is his opinion, that he doesn’t like this. Nothing wrong with that your article is little more than a way to get more traffic to your site and to set a fellow reviewer in a bad spot lite. ultimately it is you how writes a biased article and you miss quotes Fritz Benjamin to make your point of a far fetched conspiracy theory come true. I truly think you should be a shamed, because this is little more than a character murder.
[...] also Nintendo ’s Wii graphic performance and use of the Wii-mote. wonder woman custom costumeread more | digg [...]
Go to school – learn about webpage design, corporate sponsorship and having an objective, intelligent debate about topics where people WILL disagree with you. Most people think GODFATHER II is one of the greatest American movies ever made. My wife thinks it’s boring. Guess what? She’s right – because to her, it is boring. And guess again – I’m right. Because to me, I think it’s one of the greatest films ever made. All you can do is put your opinion out there – this isn’t math, there isn’t a single correct solution. Some will like the game, others will dislike it. It happens. Deal with it. Not everyone is going to share your opinion no matter how many times you holler and shout that you’re just plain right. I give you another example – critics cried that ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT was one of the greatest TV shows on air. But no matter how much they shouted, audiences didn’t show up. They didn’t care for it. They weighed arguments for and against the show, they watched it themselves and then made a choice of their own. Guess what, EJRaven, people are going to disagree with you in this life, even on topics that, to you, are CLEARLY black and white. I applaud Mr. Fritz for not taking personal potshots back at you, because essentially, this is what you’ve done to him – you’ve started a rally cry not around Mr. Fritz’s review, but around his intelligence, his personality and his very being. People on the board have told this complete stranger to "screw off" and that they’ll beat him if they see him. In a world with so many problems, why have you created something with hate…about a video game? And regarding Sony’s logo on the page, I’m perplexed that you don’t understand that Mr. Fritz isn’t associated with Sony in anyway other than the fact that Sony pays for advertisements on the website, just like Audio, just like the other market research groups. You work for Digg, you understand how this works – Mr. Fritz is not part of a vast conspiracy to undermine the Wii. He’s one man, writing an article about how he views this particular video game. You can disagree with him all you want and state your case, but I’d advise you to keep things classy – don’t go after the man on a personal level and don’t rally others to do the same. If you talk about fair journalism, then you must practice it and accept when others voice opinions different from you own.
这真是够鸡巴的
Ok then. either one of three things happened here…
A: Sony got desperate and payed Ben Fritz to bad mouth Super Mario Galaxy.
B: Ben Fritz really does beleive every word in his review, and stands by it as his own personal opinion. Even if it is littered with clear signs of bias, misleading information, and blown-out-of-proportion complaints.
or C: Ben Fritz turned Sony’s offer down, and offered to bad mouth Mario Galaxy as a service to Sony, in which case he belongs in jail, or in an insane asylum.
Either way, he gets a
D: from millions of people, and the acclaimed "I got fired from my job" award.
Super Mario Galaxy is awsome! Sony… i dont even know what to say
So yeah, they just removed the ‘Sponsored by Sony’ sticker at the top of the 1st page of the review.
*eyeroll*
A little late there, Variety.
That’s why I only trust Famitsu’s rating and review. By far, they are the least biased magazine that I have ever read.
Also, they have been reviewing games since the Atari era, so they know what they are talking about.
Sony Sucks it all. Microsoft and Nintendo will rule the market and hopefully even work together with each other and one day just one day phase out sony… sorry but never buying anything sony agian. fascist
It’s a great game and if any ill-informed people refrain from buying the game due to this review, it’s a crime. Fritz, you’re a taint on the gaming industry.
You can email B. Fritz and let him know what you think:
ben.fritz@variety.com
[...] also Nintendo ’s Wii graphic performance and use of the Wii-mote. scooby doo cartoon characterread more | digg [...]
[...] out what NSider2 has to say about the review at: Sony Sponsored Mario Galaxy Review: “The Worst Two-Player Experience” Bookmark [...]
[...] fireworks kicked off with Nsider News. Some overcaffeinated writer over there discovered Variety’s effrontery, and then saw a SONY [...]
My main issue with the review is the half-hearted
comparison to Ratchet and Clank. He comares the graphics, but not the rest of the game. Ratchet and Clank is indeed a visual spectacle, but to me, the rest of the game feels incomplete. The plot is so under developed that they had to stoop to a cliffhanger ending to make it seem interesting. The levels have become increasingly linear and in doing so lost much of what made the early Ratchet and Clank games great. Finally, the game play brings nothing new; I could have just popped in Going Commando and had the same game play experience.
But my follow up issue is that anytime some one wants to bash a Wii game they go after graphics and controls. Either no analog stick is used and the controls are "too gimmicky," or the nunchuck is used and the game "doesn’t make good use of the motion controls." If I remember correctly, the reason for having a modular controller was so that you could specialize the control scheme for particular types of games, play different games different ways, and have only the controls you needed for a particular game.
Furthermore, people like to slam Nintendo for being "gimmicky" while quietly ignoring Sony’s infractions in that area. I can’t be the only one who found Ape Escape (the first game to require the Dual Shock) awkward to play and lacking in substance. And the use of the Sixaxis in Ratchet and Clank didn’t add anything to the game, it’s like Sony came to Insomniac and said "The game’s looking good guys, but can you use the Sixaxis a little bit? Oh, and we need it out before the holidays, don’t worry if the game is lacking, as long as the graphics are good and you use the motion controls." I think it benefits Nintendo (and the consumer) because they know if they actually do implement something as a gimmick, there’s a horde of people just waiting to call them on it.
That being said, that the review does make a valid complaint regarding the camera (as does every other review of the game). Would it be so hard to allow me to center the camera directly behind Mario a la Ocarina of Time? I mean come on.
Look at the drones cry. "OH NOES LOOK THEREZ A BIG CONSPIRACY AGANST NINTENDO WAAAH WAAAH"
lol dongs
EJ - I’m not on Variety’s payroll. In fact, I don’t even work in the vid-game industry. I’m dismayed that you found it necessary to delete my post on your website. Clearly, this isn’t a free and open discussion. Instead of getting into an intelligent debate, you have opted to blame "Variety’s PR Team". Which I am not. Trust me, Variety doesn’t need any help with its business – it’ll be reporting entertainment news to the film/theater/music/gaming folk long after both of us are retired.
you guys do realize that the ’sponsored by SONY’ is for the site not the specific review right? If you add "?categoryid=1269&cs=1" to the end of any page on that site it will say ’sponsored by SONY’
This is nothing more than a fanboy bait article. No Journalistic credibility at all… not that i’d expect that from a pathetic site like nsidernews.
I think nothing of this review and any one who does is a dick bitch, I mean dude it’s just one guys opinion, jeez get a life you masterbaiting while thinking about nintendo, dick bitches
My friend Kierran sherry (the biggest sony nut alive) thinks this review is a bit exesive, he doen’t think sony paid this guy, and niether do I, we just know that sony is super cool ;D, and if any thing has happend to hurt nintendo’s feelings…well he’s just praying that they can get along ( and so do I because it would be awesome if they made milti platform game).
I don’t understand what all the fuss is about. Really. I mean, all those underlined points are either true or/and meaningless. Wii is not the most powerful system, true, the graphics don’t match Xbox 360/PS3, also true. Also, story in Super Mario -games, come on now, really? Since when?
This whole thing is just Nintendo fanbois crying over completely meaningless things. Yeah, there actually are people who might have a differing opinion, get over it.
And yeah, I’ve been thinking of getting a Wii just for Super Mario Galaxy. Since Mario -games have always been about gameplay.
….every man has his price.
my god you guys need to get a life jezus why do you even care about one guys opinion on some game thats right…. you do know it’s just a game….right? don’t think i’m just siding with sony, i’ve got a Wii, DS, ps2 and in the long run who give a shit I mean they are just trying to make a living by making you waste time in front of the tv, give them a break. If you are truly upset about this review there is a fantastic site called http://www.dntbdikbitches.getalife (I think jack hill and john hill are the same guy so if you read this, "nice touch" lol
Interesting post, but as someone who works in the gaming industry (not Sony) your "ideas" about the marketplace are simply not true. Your assumption that Sony’s sponsorship for Galaxy’s review is biased but media spending does not work that way. Sony places ad and sponsorship dollars to many websites but in no shape or form does that influence the reviews. It may for your garage gaming sites but not for an entertainment entity like Variety. I’ve been on the other side as well, by advertising on gaming sites and then getting my games crapped on, but that’s just the way the business works. I may not agree with Ben’s review of the game but in many ways I know there is absolutely no truth in calling him a feltcher who accepted payola to write a bad review. Reviews are opinions people, get over it. An interesting post I read this week on Penny Arcade, read Gabe’s review of Assassins Creed – http://www.penny-arcade.com/2007/11/14
Note to self: ignore all articles on nsidernews.com, as they are written and responded to by foolish, foolish people.
I thought Nintendo fanboys were happy, dew-faced scions of innocence, dreaming about rescuing Peach for the 100+200+400+800+1600+1UP! time. This site is populated with Bowsers.
[...] Ben Fritz from Variety tries to redeem himself after the now famous Super Mario Galaxy review fiasco, by sending our friends over at Infendo some tips on how to make Super Mario Galaxy look like an early Xbox 360 game. [...]
yea ben, get a life wii is a different gaming style controllers are getting old, i dont care that u can tilt the ps3 controller sideways and something will move that way, you feel more "into" the game when your actually moving about, holding a case for the wii mot that resembles a gun is awesome, like the resident evil 4, amazing, mario-amazing,ranchet and clank is gay, as i recall in ps2 the only reason i hated it was becuase the controller was crapy, and all of the game seemed to have this orange and purple affect or mixing colors that really dont go together.
the makers of wii are brillant, doesnt take much to make a box with a controller and good graphics, who cares? i NEVER EVER laughed or had funny expiriences with sony, for example, super smash bros funnyest shit ive ever ever played, games are about having fun, i dont care about good graphics, i dont care about "extras" or the internet thing, i mean most of us americans have a computer or a cell phone/ipod that can go..if the wii is so bad if u say..why is it leading? and ps3 way behind..i know this is only ur opinion, but u dont have to say "its the worst gaming expirience ive ever played" just say wasnt that good becuase i couldnt hold my arms up for that long >_>
get a life…loser
EJ, I’m going to post this again… and ask for a response this time since you seem to be making this intensely personal. Why? A lot of us would like to know. Why has this become a personal vendetta for you? And also… did you read the article? Here’s a direct quote, " This post goes out to my boy Ben Fritz from Variety. He caught flack on Monday for panning Super Mario Galaxy in his review saying the game “looks old fashioned and lifeless” when compared to PS3 graphics. Aside from dismissing the fact that Nintendo has long since marginalized the importance of HD graphics, I don’t think Ben was following my guide to playing Super Mario Galaxy in a post-HD world:" Do you notice, the tips come from the creator of the article, not Ben? He’s sending the tips TO Ben. "…I don’t think Ben was following MY guide…" Ben didn’t send the tips, the article’s writer wrote them TO Ben. What do you think, EJ?
[...] but also Nintendo ’s Wii graphic performance and use of the Wii-mote. futurama porn comixread more | digg [...]
Your comments are unfair to the Variety guy. His biggest criticisms including the Ratchet & Clank comments relate to the Wii graphics ability and he is objectively correct. Even Nintendo agree that technically Wii is not as capable graphically as the other consoles, but this is INTENTIONAL. The Wii is not about sitting at the top of the performance curve with the highest price to match. The camera can be a bit frustrating since it is locked counter to just about every other game in related genres. Your review of his article is less accurate and less objective than his review of Galaxy.
john hill is a dick bitch… catcher
Wow. I like the game, and everything but I don’t see a problem here. Do people not know how random ads work? Funny that it came up (and left soon after), but that’s how they work…. It all comes down to lol opinions.
EJ and all the readers who’ve taken one review WAY out of proportion, I applaud the efforts you’ve made to sensationalize Ben’s article and promote the viewership of this website (a little transparent EJ, isn’t it?). And EJ, special kudos to you for respecting your readers like Tim (ala “Get the fuck out of here Tim!”). I hope we all “get the heck out of here” and leave this site to dry, this site doesn’t deserve our attention that it’s getting… And for everyone else, I know the video game community is much smarter than this so let’s act like we are and stop the mob mentality. I get (and value) loyalty, especially to Nintendo. But to actually think for a minute that an ad on a website constitutes paying off a reviewer is just absurd (thank you EJ for finally changing this post to reflect that). I guess we should target Paramount/Dreamworks, Universal as well as Adobe if this is the case… It’s almost embarrassing to be a video gamer when I read the comments made on a review like this. You don’t have to agree with it but at least read it with a semi-objective eye. Let’s take the emotion out of this and take a step back and look at his review objectively. Why he would highlight its more positive features by saying SMG has “the most astoundingly original levels of the year, enhanced by gravity tricks never before seen in videogames” and how Nintendo “still has some of the best development talent in the industry.” For all those who’ve lambasted Ben, are we to take these statements in the same article with a grain of salt also? Sure he does find faults in the game, that’s his job. And I for one take this criticism of Galaxy as a good thing, a challenge if you will (does that make me a culprit of being paid off by Sony also?). We need critics like Ben to continue being critical, pushing the boundaries for what a video game can be. IT’S GOOD BUT IT CAN ALWAYS BE BETTER. I want to be wow’d by games that push that experience like Donkey Kong Country did or that first moment when you play Wolfenstein (yes I could go back further, but you get the idea). I’m done. I look forward to getting this post taken off almost immediately. And for everyone else, Game On.
@ KatamariKid
First, you have to realized where you are standing in terms of the nature of this website, it’s the Nintendo NSider2 community, created after the Nintendo NSider forums.
With that said, this is the home of Nintendo fans across the many Nintendo games.
Second, I didn’t ask for this article to be dugg, readers like you decided to actually read the review and make their own conclusions, you see Katamarikid, this site is not the only one reporting this review.
http://kotaku.com/gaming/reviews/variety-not-that-impressed-by-super-mario-galaxy-322758.php
And their comments are no less "nicer" than the comments left on this post by different members.
I have edited my original post and I hope we can move on, Ben Fritz turns out to be a friend of one of my friends, and the last thing I wanted to do was to hurt the reputation of a friend’s friend.
Now… get the f@#k out here KatamariKid lol!
Actually now that I think about it more…It’s hard to entirely disagree with the guy. I still have to say that it might not have been such a good idea to criticize the graphics. They are some of the best for the console…and unless they expected Nintendo to develop a game for the Xbox I don’t really know what they could want. I also don’t really think that using the nunchuck for movement in a third person game is all that awkward. However I am willing to accept that motion sensing may seem tacked on, and although I don’t own the game, the multiplayer experience at least from what I understand of it doesn’t seem to be all that great. However I don’t really think SMG is about the multiplayer experience. Overall the review seems to focus more on the negatives…but I’ll have to say that it’s easy to find something to complian about even in a good game. Perhaps I shouldn’t make judgement…on someone else’s judgement before experiencing what they are judging, but as of present…well that’s all I have to say right now.
I’m at a loss to understand the response to this guy’s review. He calls the game "brilliant," compliments the "clever art design," points out that "Nintendo still has some of the best videogame development talent in the industry," and sings multiple other praises… But since he says he thinks the other two consoles are graphically superior and that the Wii’s motion-sensing controls are kind of an after-thought for this title, a bunch of folks are calling him corrupt, incompetent, and a sell-out to Sony (I’m sure Sony paid him to say that the XBox 360 is ahead of the Wii, yeah)? I just don’t understand. Just because a critic has valid points about a game you like not being perfect (or even if s/he has invalid points), it doesn’t mean you’re wrong to like the game. It’s been a great year for gaming on each of the three consoles, but, no matter what any 360/PS3/Wii fanboy might claim, there hasn’t been a perfect game released on any of ‘em yet. And the Variety guy shouldn’t be strung up, tarred, and feathered for pointing it out.
Anonymous Says:
The funniest part of this is how all of you nintendo fanboy morons think that the random Sony advertisement on the first honest Wii game review ever is somehow a conspiracy. Face it guys, your system sucks, it’s just another gimmick-laden Gamecube update with a 3-year lifespan. By 2009 you’ll all be buying the next crappy Nintendo console just like you all do with those stupid Gameboy systems, and Zelda remakes, and lets not forget Super Mega Metroid Prime Zero Hyper Championship edition. When are you idiots going to figure out that Nintendo keeps polishing the SAME turd and selling it to you AGAIN? Hi guys, me here. Disregard that, I suck cocks.
You know what, anonymous? FUCK OFF! Nintendo rocks, and so does their new system, as it offers a new way to play, amongst some other cool additions, too. So, what if Nintendo is giving us the same franchise? It may consist of the same basic concept, but the majority of the time, they do plenty of stuff to keep the games fresh and new. They’ve never been to big in terms of plot, but gameplay wise, there’s plenty of new stuff to keep it fresh. Go fuck off and suck a cock, and come back when you actually have some decent criticism to leave, rather than just outright flaming the console.
Anyway, I agree with most of the other people here. A lot of the points made in that review were quite stupid. Super Mario Galaxy is AWESOME!
Mario Galaxy sucks, that guy is right… is a kiddy and boring game and I don’t care about what the media and a bunch of Nintendo fanboys say, it sucks!
well, the review isnt that bad. you’re just making a big thing out of it. while i also think super mario galaxy is a superb game, i also think that the wii console isnt that fun regarding controls for alot of games. the only game that really got me, was resident evil wii edition. friend of mine thinks rockstars table tennis is more fun on wii. but me, i think it sucks. the controls arent fun at all. also not precise.