Deus Ex - 8.2

Do I really need anymore evidence...I think not.

Y'know (and be aware that I am well into the single-malt by now)..

I'm sitting here thinking about that score, and I have to say that I feel the only sane way to interpret those kind of blanket grades fairly is to wipe the slate clean every year (this opinion is partly based on my hellish experience of teaching 4 semesters of grade 12 Visual Arts Photography. 'Hellish' because of the marking, not the teaching; it's not_possible to 'grade' art fairly without imposing some very strict parameters. Even then I'm not sure it's right.. Never sat well with me, anyway).

This way, you're not comparing this year's 8.2 with the 8.2 of 1994.. Afterall, game devs are also gamers, and it only stands to reason that they're going to build on the greatness of games-gone-by with their new efforts.

Therefore, if you're going to say that 8.2 = 8.2 no matter the era, you need to penalize the games which have had the benefit of hindsight more severely -- meaning it becomes increasingly difficult to achieve 8.2, or the comparison is meaningless; a game that scored 94.7% five years ago is going to seem somewhat quaint in many respects compared to the 96.4% heavyweights of today, even though both scores might have been completely on the mark at the time (HL1 vs. HL2 for those who are wondering)..

If you limit your sample size to games released in the same year, then suddenly the scores become meaningful in relation to one another and comparisons between them become much more valid.

I mean, King of Chicago was an amazing game when it was released, and at the time easily one of the best looking (on the Amiga, at least), but does anyone really think scoring it 0.2% lower than HL2 makes sense anymore?

http://www.freeoldies.com/review.php3?game=King+of+chicago

I hope not -- it's semi-stylish shit (at best) if you play it now.




Edit: RAY!! Back from the swamps!!! (98.9% for effort)
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"I want my lamp back. I'm gonna need it to get out of this slimy mudhole."
This comment was edited on Dec 11, 03:06.