Hi there guys, just a quick post to show you my review. Recently I have been reviewing free to play games, and SK is my latest. I happily accept constructive criticism about my writing, so feel free to do so. Any good edits may be implemented, so thanks for helping me out. You can find the review here: http://fluxzy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/game-review-spiral-knights.html
If you like this review, check out my other posts :)
Tell me why you would give it 10/10, everyone has their own opinion. Thanks for the read :)
I'm in my mid-20's and I know many my age and older who play and enjoy this game. It saddens me that reading this review makes me think I'm stuck in my child years.
The fact that you only played the game for 1.5 hours probably means you didn't get to the hard (interesting) parts.
This reminds me of reviews of Super Mario 3D Land where the first half of the game is perceived to be the whole game, but really it's only training for the 2nd half which is the meat of the game. To many of us who have gotten to the end game of Spiral Knights, you haven't even touched the meat of the game.
Get to Tier 3 (Rank 7 in the missions) and then the game play actually gets interesting. You strike me as a person who quickly understood the mechanics of the game and therefore didn't need the "training" of other new players need. Tier 1 is basic training, Tier 2 teaches you that you need to learn to dodge attacks and hit, and tier 3 ups the ante. Then there are other levels which raises the bar even further (namely shadow lairs, T3 danger missions.)
There is also pvp, while it doesn't have the a high skill ceiling like a pvp-only game, which can really get fun and interesting (and sometimes rage-inducing.)
So I ask you, did you ever die? Or did you just kinda slash slash slash your way through things? If that's the case, then I can see why you found it easy. You'd need to revisit it and try to do harder things. When you start hitting that wall you can't overcome without having to think a little and figure out, then it should get more interesting.
"The gameplay is very simplistic."
"The majority of the game is learnt in the first two minutes"
"That is all there is to SK."
"I played the game in total for about an hour and a half"
"Personally the game lacked character development, excitement and originality."
Can I shoot him?
No, really...
CAN I SHOOT HIM??
No, more like this.
This dude is obviously just your regular Blizzard-fannie who played the game for 2 hours and thinks he has a solid, well-documented opinion on it. It's disgusting even.
Tip about videogame reviews: unless the game is absolutely TERRIBLE, don't listen to them. One persons opinion means nothing.
Tersakaff, actually I don't like WoW, and normally I think the company (Blizzard) makes some terrible decisions such as the problems they had with the release of diablo 3. That being said, I didnt enjoy the game. Basically what sypsy said. The game for me personally is just too simple. Thanks for proving me wrong and showing the maturity of some of the players in the game at the same time...
Sypsy, I may give the game a further playing, I just played it until I felt comfortable to write a review. And your right on the first dungeons, I solo'd a couple as well. I just wish that there was more to the combat system, since that is what the game is, a hack and slash. One of my favourite games in this genre, Dynasty warriors, is overly simple for me and that has at least some way of changing your style and rythm of attacks. The game just wasn't engaging enough. Maybe if I played with friends it would of been a bit more fun, but I dont think my friends would have been interested in the game frankly.
Gingermace: The idea of the review is to share my opinion, I encourage anyone who reads them to try them out. I explain why I didnt enjoy the game, and tell people to try it anyway. It's a hobby, and I'm just interested in constructive criticism for my writing. I started posting links to them on the game in questions forum since my last one, as those who have already played the game understand the concepts and are more likely to pick up on my mistakes.
Thanks Axonio and anyone else who reads the review :)
Unlike most games, your character doesn't gain skills. All the "acquired skill" earned in the game is kept in the various weapons, armors and such.
But yes, if I only had a calibur and blaster, I'd also find the game terribly boring. Slash slash, spin. Bew bew. It would almost be like back to the nintendo games where all you can do is shoot and jump.
If you want different attack patterns and methods (a la skills from other games) you would need to try different weapons. For instance, a flourish has a different attack pattern then a brandish vs a calibur vs a sealed sword. Charges become faster and can become more usable for normal damage dealing, so that also adds an extra element. Guns and bombs also add a different flavour. Unfortunately, you wouldn't be able to try all of them in 2 hours. Lots of people get engaged in the game from the very start, so if you didn't at the beginning, I think it's fair that you didn't want to continue.
Now if you wanted something similar in the the fact that you dodge and attack with a more varied attack patterns and skills, then you'd probably look to play something like Tera Online (of course you can only play the demo for free.)
@Tersakaff
If you want to help, perhaps describe where it misses the mark due to insufficient time. To expect someone to play a game for longer than 2 hours before passing judgement is unfair, so he's allowed his opinion. How long must someone play before deciding if a game is for them?
If you wanted to try out a different game (like WoW, which I have never played), would you be required to play until level 40 or something ridiculous? Just because you stuck it through doesn't mean you can expect the same from others. Unfortunately, your behaviour in this instance is probably on the lower half of the maturity of the forums.
"I played for an hour and a half before writing this review."
"I will scale graphics on the same scale as game play"
"Gameplay is WAY too simple."
"I give this game a 5/10"
Put these together and that just about sums up your current reviewing skills.Its just not a fair review.
Amtoj, how is it not a fair review? It's my opinion. I reviewed the game in front of me, and this is how I felt. I've played a lot of games, and I find it easy to get to grips with the mechanics of games. I considered studying Games design at University, so my mindset as a gamer has always been in how it feels to play it. I actually played the game for just over 2 hours and had just finished the mission where I had to craft a gun and a blade. If the game ramps up in skill and difficulty and adds a new element such as more than just a charge attack and normal attack, then I have judged too quickly (some how). My score of the game doesn't agree with what you think. That isn't my reviewing skill (which should be analytical and writing skill combined). If I sat you down to watch a 3 hour movie and said "don't judge it by the first 170 minutes, the last 10 are awesome" most people wouldn't bother in the first place. If there is a particular part of my analytical or writing skills you don't like let me know. The other game's I have reviewed so far have a mixture between 5 hours to probably over 100 hours of time spent on them. I spotted SK on steam, tried it and just couldn't stick past the 2 hour mark. I went into the game as open minded as I could be, and just felt like I couldn't play it anymore. So this is the opinion I shared.
@Sypsy, The reviews are focussing on free to play games at the moment (I'm a university student with minus money, and there can be some hidden gems in this genre. I have some indie games to review which I picked up in the steam sale as well, but I want to review something people can just download after reading and try it out themselves without having to commit to a buy. Thanks the suggestions though :D )
"I played for an hour and a half before writing this review."
"how is it not a fair review?"
You should stick to collecting beer cans.
"If you want to help"
I don't want to help, I'm just calling OP a very bad reviewer. <3
I'm not a fan of struggling to get my point across when it's obvious, or when I have to do it to close minded people.
NUUUUU, First the sun sard nerf, then soarell lieng about his leaving the forums for a while, THEN THIS QUICK 5 MINUTE REVIEW???
HOW MANY CHROMOSOMES DO I HAVE LEFT??? 6??
If you wan't to fairly review Spiral Knights, you should AT LEAST make it to tier 3. And you'r review doesn't follow many MMO standards. Character development isn't what most online games do, but simple combat is. You must realize, while this game is simplistic, it has lots, and lots of depth. It takes lots of skill too. Try a Shadow Lair. I doubt you'll make it to the end. So if you are to ever re-review this, only do it after the real action begins.
@Tersakaff, It's funny because your calling me close minded for spending 2 hours on a game and not liking it, yet suggest I should stick to collecting beer cans. Hate to play this card, but I'm a University student studying biomedical science in the UK and just passed my 1st year at a first. Your quick to judge me as unintelligent on what basis? Opinion is not the same as IQ, and if your only genuine critique I can get from you is that 2 hours isn't enough than I'll accept that. If I put you on a game that you didn't enjoy, would you play it for more than 2 hours? more than 1? I didn't even disagree with you, I just stated your immature. I don't think thats a harsh or quick judgement considering you only threatened me and didn't even explain your standpoint in the first place.
@Grittle I like to respond to each person who takes the time to read the thread/review and respond since thats only polite and fair... but just... chill out?? Cool...
@Amtoj I haven't uninstalled the game. I didnt think it was awful, I just felt there are better games out there. I'll keep playing the game since opinions can change and the game could grow on me a bit more. I found initially I liked the game and my opinion got worse, so hopefully it will spring back up. Tier 3 would take how long to reach on a f2p account? (out of interest :D )
Which means you need to spend A LOT of time to write a proper review. About as much as I said in my previous post. Would you give RuneScape the same score even if you didn't finish a single quest? (And I mean the real ones that take time.) Would you give Minecraft the same score before mining you'r first diamond? (Or mining at all?) You fail to understand what we are saying. This is an MMO. Not a normal game on consoles. It requires time and patience (Sometimes $$$). 2 hours won't make the cut when it comes to Spiral Knights. I admit I hardly understood the game after 2 hours, but I kept playing, and it is now my favourite MMO of all time. (And I have played tons of MMO's.) Please, reconsider you'r review...because this game deserves at least a 9/10. 8.5 sometimes....but 9/10.
"Hate to play this card, but I'm a University student studying biomedical science in the UK and just passed my 1st year at a first."
Oh, really? Then I have to weep over the UK's educational system. You can seriously make it to university over there without being able to even use "you're" and "your" properly? Oy. English is not my first language, but I'm able to tell that difference, at least.
There are different opinions on our game, sure. But don't pretend yours is more important than that of anyone else and stop being an attention *beep*. Especially if you are not capable of speaking your own language and haven't seen most of the game yet.
Go away.
Most reviews seem to hate the energy system, but like everything else. You've flipped that on its head with your scoring system.
Most game reviewers dump a good 10-20 hours into/complete a game before coming to a verdict, unless the game is outright broken or so horrendously unfun they stop. Since you didn't give the game a 0 in gameplay, I'm assuming it wasn't that. What you did do was a first impression. You should alter your title to reflect that.
^ +1
1.5 hours definitely is a first impressions and not a review.
1.5 hours is waaaaaay too little time to see what this game has to offer.
I'll agree on that its a first impressions, and not a proper review. You have not seen all the content the game has, nor have you seen the other weapons.
I sometimes forget if people are rating movies or games, lol.
If you go to any MMO site then you would quickly realize that it takes months before reaching the final verdict. Why is that? It takes time because MMOs normally have alot of content ( Spiral Knights isnt an exception), you also need to get a sense of how characters progress,the story,lasting appeal ,and UI( User Interface). 2 hours is a first impression not a full,well thought out, and fair review accessing the games strengths and weaknesses.
play some more then update youre review.
"I'm a University student studying biomedical science in the UK and just passed my 1st year at a first. "
"stated your immature"
AND he also thinks student = can review games after 1.5 gameplay time.
I know I'm being a jerk here but COME ON. XD
It's like he has a "i'm stupid please call me stupid" sign on his forehead.
If you play a game for one and a half hours and it still is a boring pile of grindfest crap, you're not going to stick around for another six weeks to get to tier three in four star gear just to have people kick you for not having five star gear.
Not going to comment on the discussion, only focusing on your review:
Personally, i find that a review is not just an opinion, but also to give interested people an idea of how it is by seeing it not just from your own view. It is definately not a game aimed at younger audience just because of the, how you call it, 'simplicity'. I am positive that many adults are playing Spiral-Knight. I do respect that it is not your game, but i do not think that after one and a half hour you are able to write a neutral review. There is definately more in this game to explore, and that needs time. I've played several games that seemed boring the first day, but later got amazing.
I've only been playing SK for 21Hours of playtime, and even though a good friend is running with me through the clock-works, making it faster, there is quite a lot for me to learn. I normally really dislike these games like Spiral-Knight, because there are so few attacks (which i think is the genre) and the graphics just don't appeal to me because of how complex they are. But i enjoy SK. Why? Because you need skill in PvE. Movement. It's your skill that is going to save you, not the gear or 'level'. The mission system is quite simple, indeed, including your limited runs, but that is okay. Through the day, you do your daylie runs, talk to people, and then do other things. I totally adore the graphics, too. It is the only type of graphic i really like. These 'realistic' graphics are, for me, just not nice. I play a game, to have fun and get a rest from real life, and not have a 'fantasy' reality around me, which is why i rarely find games i like 100%. It is nice to have the clear graphic where you step, and then the clock-works reaching down beneath you. Putting a lot of detail in something that far away would just over-do it, really. And it is quite obvious that after one and a half hour you don't get new enemy models.
Later, like i have heard and seen, there are many ways to give your character a intresting and eye-catching look. Sure, comparing to other games there may not be that much choices, but you should never compare a game to another one, unless you want to decide which to play. Additional to that, i am sure these games are designed for mouse-users, which will also work with graphic-tablet. You can not demand a PC-Game to be compatible with a gamepad.
What i am trying to say is. Please don't give people a review and then be like 'it is my opinion' to everyone that tells you the review is bad. If it is your opinion, say it as such, and open an enjoyable discussion about it. One and a half hour is NOT enough for a review. Because you have not seen the whole content. Even i could not write a whole review, because there is a lot i have only seen, but not experienced.
- Kenaeshia
the controls are simplistic, it's pretty much the same controls throughout the game. I actually found the game really fun and engaging, but if you really didn't after an hour and a half of playing, i doubt you'd change your mind after playing a bit more. But you really should've known! It isn't exactly the best idea to put a low scoring review on the game's forum; and if you hadn't noticed, the threads surrounding this one don't exactly scream acceptance xD
Personally i would've given the graphics a higher score, i like it when game visuals stay constant. But hey, the review's good too.
Sorry for the 'your' and 'you're' mistakes, it isn't a mistake I would make normally. I was commenting at 2AM and didn't proofread my comment, which I should have done. I'm not here to judge anyone else's intelligence, so do not do that to mine over a forum. I understand that a normal reviewer spends longer than I did, but this is something I started to do in my spare-time. Since I don't have any money, f2p games have been the focus of my reviews. I know plenty others are in my situation so I share my reviews with friends and on a couple websites. I posted it here so that those who know the game could correct me if I was wrong about anything (game mechanics/cash shops stuff). The reviews score was not meant to offend anyone, and I understand that people enjoy the game. I did not, and wrote about that. I just wanted some critique of my writing/reviewing. Thanks for all the feedback from people, I will implement them in future reviews. I will continue to play the game and if my opinion changes I will make sure the writing reflects that. I wish that I could spend more of my spare time on the game (around the 20 hour mark as someone suggested) but this is a hobby for me to practise writing an opinionated article/piece and so I am more focussed on consistently releasing a review every 4 days (or around that time). If I had an income I would happily put all of my time into exploring every single aspect of this game. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury to be paid to do this, it's something I'm doing for fun. I can easily understand people not agreeing with my opinion, which is why I posted it here. I really appreciate all the constructive criticism people have given me, thank you for taking the time to read my review.
"originality"
and yet in your other review you give an awful dota ripoff 9/10
double standards much? xDDDDDDDDD
xDDDDDDDDD
I thought you wanted to have credibility.
no
i just have
triple standards
if you know what i mean
@Fluxzy, first you said you don't like WoW, then you gave 9/10 on a WoW ripoff in HoN?
/laugh
World of warcraft is an mmorpg based off the RTS series warcraft. How is HoN a WoW ripoff? HoN is based on DotA, which was a map mod for Warcraft 3. So, I don't like WoW, but I do like WC3/DotA/HoN/LoL which are similar games. They are nothing like an mmorpg. Just saying :)
I feel like one of the few who has more than just a neutral opinion of the review here. I can't blame your opinion on anything, I've had some friends on Steam play for a few hours and quit (not to mention they still rip on me for playing it), and this review is just a simplified, and far more polite, version of their own vocal thoughts.
Fluxzy: Thanks for sharing, man, but it probably wasn't the best idea to post this on the forums since they have a somewhat linear progression for, well, that ^^^^^^^
A: Dont write a review if you haven't even gotten near the halfway point of the game. My guess is you spent some time, killed your Mist Energy, and called it quits.
B: Yes you entitled to your own opinion, but here your arguing with people that have played the game for months, some over a year. They (including myself) have had countless hours of fun on this game (you don't even want to know what my play time is on this).
C(worst of all): You thought it would be a good idea to go to the OFFICIAL forums for a game and post a 5/10 review? Do you not know how the internet works? of course we are all going to hate on you! You said that one of our favorite games is bad, and isn't really worth playing.
Word to the Wise: Delete this thread, and move on.
Some of the replies in this thread are atrocious. Mercifully, the people posting in this thread do not represent the entirety of the player community.
That said, while I disagree with the verbal abuse, I do agree with the comments about the depth of your review. Much of the depth of gameplay comes from experimenting with weapon and armor types: be it shooting around corners with alchemers or crafting to become a support bomber. That's the main source of character development, rather than grinding to level... But crafting good items is a slow process, especially for the casual player.
Also, I notice that your review makes no mention of guilds. If you find a good one, I think that your experience would be better- you need to cooperate with other players to experience interesting content, and knowledgeable friends will help you to choose good gear. The control scheme *is* simple, but for the most part, it's also well executed. I think that in the right setting, your review might improve to ~7-8/10.
Meh, I think OOO should lift up the verbal abuse sacred bs. I know they have a lot of young kids, but people here are assuming that people will screw each other anyway, as it's the nature of adults. Lots of nasty things are sometimes said in the game(though not as frequently as in other games like L4D2 or even TF2). Verbal abuse or harm doesn't have to be directly verbal, some things are said tongue in cheek as well. So it's stupid to let these guys off the hook. It'd be like praising say an mma fighter for their classless act, most of whom lose a lot or don't get credit for. Or say a 2nd amendment advocate who thinks they can watch their back all the time and feel protected and secure from others.
Eh I just say just let him have his opinion, not every review has to be positive and still be legitimate. Heck, I've seen legitimate reviewers write games that have only a cult following of maybe say a couple of hundred people. The idea of UVs is okay, not really original, just discovered and eventually was going to happen as there are other games that it built upon. The problem was how the odds were stacked against players. but the execution just didn't work out. The profiting system just brings the game down, because you really gotta buckle down and devote your entire life on it almost to the point where working at a job is not a viable option, and especially school, ignoring other things in your life. Selling stuff and trying to get people to sell at your advantage seems rather tedious as well to get that 10kce in a week or so, if you want to play the market, or which you could do at FSC. And it's just no fun at that rate if it only gets you one out of 30 pieces or so of equipment that you've been waiting too patiently for.
My friend is a better reviewer than I am, but I know he's not the type to likely play games like these since he says he doesn't like to be addicted to them or even game forums for that matter. I applaud him for his intelligence and discipline. So he'll probably share some of the opinions(not sentiments, he can get real technical about innovation from games, he's not into mainstream games or cult games that don't share any of his interests, be it western or not). Well I'll just stop there, I know his opinion is much better than mines, and I don't think he'll agree that this game is better than all the games we've experienced. But it seems like the guys on here just make it like it's better than anything in the world and like the only game they play or will play.
@Fluxzy
The games is obviously designed for a older audience used to old school arcade games without the tons of crap like skills, stats, paths, races, classes etc. That's why character progression is mostly limited to equipment/pick-ups. It's not designed for kids born in eighties and later on (I consider anyone younger then my little sister to be kid and she was born in 1984 so go figure. I suppose I will consider her kid even when she will be 50, but that's how being older brother works). Mario didn't gain skills or stats, he could pick up flower or mushroom to gain certain ability temporary. That's how it works in SK - there's no skill that boost you melee speed, there's armour that do this. Generally player has to improve his own skills, not his character skills. Your statement is like saying Ghouls'n Ghosts is a designed for a younger audience because there are no skills, no character development and you have just one attack. I think you totally missed some good designer rules that "less is more" and "keep it simple". I'm 30+ and I'm enjoying SK very much. Yes, I agree that all those promos and accessories are mostly crap, but guess what? You can ignore them entirely. I'm not discussing business model, promo strategy or general development (or lack of it) here. Just a core game play, which is awesome IMO. I'm enjoying Clockworks and Arcade on daily basis since April 2011.
Also, you may have one attack button, but every weapon has different combo and attack pattern and it is how gameplay becomes more sophisticated. How many weapons types have you tested in battle before making an opinion about combat system? How many types of swords? Handguns? Bombs? You have several main classes for swords (standard swords, heavy swords, thrusting swords, fast swords) but in every class there are usually sub-classes that differ with attack patterns and charged attacks. Same goes for handguns and bombs. Not to mention damage types system, that you also ignored entirely (care to elaborate why? I'm just curious why you didn't mentioned one of the fundamental part of combat in SK).
Also, after reading your review, I'm surprised that you haven't mentioned shields and shielding which is one of the most important part of combat system. The combat system in SK is based on ACTIVE DEFENCE while most mmo has PASSIVE DEFENCE. That's why kids are usually mauled in SK because they are used to passive defence and are trying to tank hits. Blocking and dodging requires gaming skills, not just point allocation in Dodge or Shield skill. In regular gameplay (I assume you haven't finished tutorial so you may not be aware of it) you are usually killed with 2 or 3 hits. Maybe 4 if you're really geared properly.
I Am 13. And I find myself more mature than 60% the average game players.
To get to 5*... to get to 5* F2P.... *checks total game play time* 15 days. :P Ive played the game a total of 15 days? I bet my afks take like half a day off.
One and a half hours is terrible for SK. I took a whole day to 1*, for 2* it took me two days, two weeks to 3*, 2 months to 4* and a few more months to 5*.
AND, I was fast as I already had a Kongregate acc for SK (but I have no access for unexplained reasons) And knew the basics of the game. I use Steam now. If I had no idea how to play, I tell you I would take MUCH longer.
Really, one and a half is not even enough time for even a full 1* set, and one and a half isnt enough to see the proper uniqueness of the game, the different levels, the fun areas, let alone all the monsters, the difficulty, the tricks and the feel of awesome dodging.
One and a half hours is the time needed for a first impression. And i have to say, the game is boring at the start. Ridiculously boring. I tried making alt accs for the heck of it and Dang, It was BORING. Maybe cos I Already knew the game, but I started steam before the Rescue camp was changed, and i made my alts after the change. I still wasnt amazed by the new start much.
I suggest you get back into the game and play to at least killing RT. I only got hooked before I even got to JK, Danger rooms were SO fun. 9 party deaths. May be the reason I hardly do them now.
Look at all these posts...I guess reviewing just isn't your thing.
"@Fluxzy, first you said you don't like WoW, then you gave 9/10 on a WoW ripoff in HoN?
/laugh"
/double laugh
I think we should let OP go on with the blindfold over his eyes and see how he will eventually crash into a wall. :D
Do explain. With examples.
And do tell how WoW and DotA are the most original ever.
You simply do not post a bad review of a game on the game's forum.
Especially when said forum has some die-hard fans of the game.
Especially when your stupidity level is too big for the room.
Especially not AFTER 1.5 HOURS.
Instead of being like the rest of the forumers here, tonight, how about I treat you to some runs tonight? My treat. I will tab you and cover elevator fees and take you to what many players consider the true part of SK. I will be on around 11PM EST tonight. My username on there is the same as my forum name. We're gonna have some fun. And don't worry about deaths. I will make sure to revive you ASAP so you don't miss a second of it.
A game reviewer made a review here, rated an average rating.
Everyone in the forums states arguements.
@Trydeth Such generousity. :3 I hope he is worth of yer time. *giggle*
+1 Pauling
Geez guys..sure, it's not that great a review and he should have spent more time but you don't need to completely rip him up and wish him to hell for it.
I just completely feel so sad for the guy.
Imagine a official game reviewer was being thrown with briefcases for bad ratings.
Personally the game lacked character development, excitement and originality.
Lol. You only rate this 5/10? If I was you, I should have rate 10/10 :p