Can someone explain why IGN has two reviews of Just Cause by two different reviewers, both giving a score of 6.8? Yet, one reviewer clearly liked it more than the other.
Erik Brudvig:
Closing Comments
Newly formed Avalanche Studios out of Sweden should be given credit for a good attempt at its first game. It seems that if they had a little more time to iron out the bugs and add some polish, then they would have produced a great title. The graphics are, for the most part, quite good looking and there is a lot of fun to be had while playing through the storyline, performing crazy aerial stunts, and trying your hand at a few of the side quests. The lack of depth really comes through once you get more than about 10 hours into the game and the monotony of doing the same side quests over and over takes its toll. After that, it comes down to how much fun you can create by yourself. Just Cause works well as a rental on Xbox and Xbox 360 or as a game to pick up and play for a short while, but if you want something to keep you entertained for a long time then you should look elsewhere.
Matt Wales:
Closing Comments
Ultimately, if massive destruction and daredevil escapades are your bag, you’ll probably love Just Cause. It’s fair to say that Avalanche seems to have struggled to fill its gorgeous, living island with engrossing content beyond the main missions, but that doesn’t mean you won’t still have a monumental amount of fun exploring it – that fact in itself justifies its sheer size. If you’re still undecided whether Just Cause is for you, understand that the game proper will probably last you fifteen to twenty hours, factoring in story objectives and general messing round. If that doesn’t seem like much to you, we can’t stress enough that those are fifteen hours of some of the most spellbinding moments of giddy, adrenaline-soaked euphoria we’ve had from a game in a long time. At the end of the day, Just Cause is a game that practically demands you use your imagination to make the most of its potential – and if you’ve got it, you’re in for an absolute rollercoaster ride.
How am I supposed to let other people make my game buying decisions for me with this kind of thing going on?
EDIT: I just realized that it is 6.8 on both reviews, but only in the side bar. Matt Wales actually gave the game a very high 8.8.
EDIT 2: Answering my own question. It is more than just an attempt at fairness in journalism. On the sidebar, the 8.8 is listed as the UK review score.
