NCAA 2007 (PSP): the WTF Review Team
Okay, I am completely blown away by the people who review sports games. It's nothing short of incredible, really.I did some research after hearing about the game-killing bug in the PSP version of NCAA 2007. On running plays, the ball is spotted where the runner is first touched by the defense. Not tackled--touched.
In other words, it's NCAA 2007: Two-Below (Doug Walsh suggested that).
That's a recall situation. As a game ranking, that's a big fat zero.
Now check out these excerpts from some of the reviews. They're classic.
Gamespy gives the game a rating of 4 stars out of 5, which is their "Great!" category. Here's an excerpt from the review:
I noticed that the ball is spotted where the ball carrying player is initially hit, instead of where his knee hits the ground, which can lead to some frustrating results on running plays. It'll be important to note that the initial point of contact on tackles is where your yardage gained will end -- a serious bug in an otherwise enticing running game.
Hey, no problem, though. He even finds the bug and it's still "Great!"
Gamespot gives it 7.6 out of 10, which is their "Good" category. Here's an excerpt (full review here:
...spotting the ball seems to be slightly off--a three-yard gain on the ground sometimes is spotted as no gain at all.
He didn't even play the game long enough to clue in on what was going on. Well done.
IGN is the best, though. Curiously, even though Gamespot and Gamespy's build had the bug in it, IGN claims their review build didn't. I find that very interesting, but let's move on. They've adjusted their review score to reflect the bug in the running game, and now they've given the game a 6.9, which is "passable."
So here's what we've got: a bug that renders the game unplayable. Period. No one can play the game for any length of time with two-below rules on running plays. Yet Gamespy still gives the game 4 stars out of 5, and IGN gives it 6.9 out of 10!
What does a game have to do for IGN to give it a "not passable" score--set your PSP on fire?
Oh, wait-that would be a 5.2.
Good grief.
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