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Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 2015)

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Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 2015)

Old 01-26-15, 10:58 AM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

Originally Posted by Deftones
I hate that. The devs said there would be no review embargo, but absurd you have to wait until release date to find out if it is good.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertco...review-copies/

Tech 1/26/2015 @ 11:13AM 1,359 views
'Dying Light' Promises No Review Embargoes, Delivers No Review Copies [Updated]


[Update: Reports are coming in that review codes have now been issued to many members of the press. That leaves ~12 hours or so for reviewers to form opinions before launch, meaning that coverage either has to be first impressions pieces that will likely duplicate discussion of preview builds, or full reviews that have to be written over the next few days/week. Either way, giving out review codes a half-day ahead of launch is not much better than a launch day embargo, if not worse. At least with the latter, the press probably has time to play the full game, meaning a complete review can go up on launch day. That isn't the case here.]

Original article is below:

It’s been a little while since we had a dust-up over review policy in the video game world, not since Assassin’s Creed Unity didn’t let journalists share their opinions of the game until 12 hours after it had been released this fall. This was particularly problematic given the broken state in which the game had gone to market, and served as a cautionary tale as to why ahead-of-launch review embargoes are a consumer-friendly practice.

Today, we’re dealing with Dying Light, a new zombie survival game (is there any other kind?) from Dead Island developer Techland. When in December, lead designer Maciej Binkowski was asked if they would demand this same kind of “launch day” review embargo.

“No, we do not have embargoes of that nature. We want to be as transparent as we can towards our fans, so don’t worry – there won’t be any review embargoes before the game is released.”

No review embargoes at all seemed to be the ultimate form of transparency. It implies the press could get their review copies and share their thoughts at their leisure, right?

That would, of course, require review copies to actually exist.

From what I can tell, no outlets have received review codes for Dying Light to date, despite the game being released tomorrow. Even if codes did go out today, no respectable outlet could probably fashion a proper review in the next half-day to go up by launch. In effect, Techland’s solution to avoid review embargoes in the name of “transparency” is to not send out review copies at all.

And what’s happened is that instead of review copies, it seems Techland has worked out specific brand deals with YouTubers who are allowed to share gameplay footage and offer insight on the game as part of a deal directly with the developer. Some footage online comes from preview builds, some is from these kinds of deals, but this is one of the primary reasons YouTube can be cloudy when it comes to being a source of criticism. Often these types of deals come with strict stipulations that the game in question isn’t allowed to be critiqued in a meaningful way, as why would it be, given that the developer is paying the reviewer directly? In this case, we don’t have the specifics of a Dying Light deal at hand, so perhaps it isn’t paid or doesn’t have stipulations, but if that’s true, it’s unclear why review copies would be forgone in the first place.

The counter-argument is that many of these YouTubers are not “journalists” nor even “reviewers” in the traditional sense, especially in this “Let’s Play” generation of content creation. And yet, the practice amounts to essentially viral advertising, rather than anything approaching “transparency.” Often it’s the exact opposite, given that often YouTubers don’t disclose these deals, or may only mention them in passing. Even now, it’s hard to sort out what Dying Light content on YouTube has been purchased into existence, and what hasn’t.



This isn’t a diatribe against YouTube by a traditional words-on-the-page journalist. Many YouTubers are very up front about these deals, and let their audience make judgments about the practice. Others may take the deal, but refuse the money. Some refuse such deals altogether.

And yet, it should be a red flag when a game debuts with essentially only YouTube brand deals in place, completely replacing the usual embargo/review system the press enjoys for >95% of major releases. It’s usually a warning sign when a game has a launch day embargo for reviews, as Assassin’s Creed Unity did, but it’s another thing entirely when review copies don’t exist at all. It’s a like a movie “not screened for critics,” which usually impies a fairly low Rotten Tomatoes score shortly after release.

So this is the problem. I can’t say for sure Dying Light isn’t a good game, because I haven’t played it. I’m supposed to be able to see footage on YouTube of the game in action and make a judgment, but knowing that most of the videos are part of brand deals, that has to make me a little bit skeptical about what I’m seeing and hearing. Again, we see this in film on occasion where movies are sometimes screened to known “friendly” outlets at first to build up praise, but when released en masse to all critics and the public, review scores start to drop. And what’s more friendly than someone who is contractually not allowed to criticize a game?

Dying Light may turn out to be perfectly fine, and this is just Techland’s way of sticking it to the traditional press (critics haven’t been too kind to recent Dead Island games). But it does create the perception that something may be amiss, and ditching review copies is a marketing tactic that backfires if your game is in fact good. If you’re confident in the creation, I’m not clear why you would completely avoid judgment from the press. Doing things this other way, the logical assumption is that you’re trying to get as many day one purchases as possible before reviewers get their hands on the game and can formulate actual opinions, two or three days later. If those opinions paint the game negatively, you’ve made a bunch of money because day one purchasers had no one to listen to about what they should expect, other than paid promoters.

Embargoes are usually good. The concept may invoke some picture of an elite journalist/publisher cabal conspiracy, but in practice, they let all outlets release their opinions at once, avoiding a race to complete the game/write reviews first, and if set properly, give players ample time to make an informed decision about a game based on the opinions of dozens of sources. But on days like today where review copies have been forgone in place of brand deals, that’s the opposite of transparency in every way.
Old 01-26-15, 11:11 AM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

Originally Posted by discostu1337
I would wait that one out if I were you... Just saying.
Didn't you say the same thing about The Last of Us?
Old 01-26-15, 11:33 AM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

He said it about Uncharted 3 as well. He's not much of a fan of Sony exclusives.

I'm not saying he's wrong about The Order, since I'm sure he's beta-tested the hell out of it, but he has a touch of bias as well. FWIW, I enjoyed the hell out of my 45 minute extended Demo and thought it had plenty of gameplay (as opposed to just QTE, though it does have a LOT of them as well) and looked amazing. My interest in that game went up considerably after my play session.

-- Now back to the topic at hand...
Old 01-26-15, 11:43 AM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

Uhmm.. he has Disco in his name... he is out of touch
Old 01-26-15, 11:48 AM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

A touch.
Old 01-26-15, 01:16 PM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

You've all been warned, that's all I can say. Really don't give a shit what you people spend money on, even if you choose 5 hour games with 3 hours of cinematics

Back on topic, Dying Light surprisingly looks good from the streams I saw yesterday. Might have to pick it up eventually.
Old 01-26-15, 01:21 PM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

Originally Posted by discostu1337
You've all been warned, that's all I can say. Really don't give a shit what you people spend money on


It's all good stu.
Old 01-26-15, 01:38 PM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

Originally Posted by discostu1337
You've all been warned, that's all I can say. Really don't give a shit what you people spend money on, even if you choose 5 hour games with 3 hours of cinematics

Back on topic, Dying Light surprisingly looks good from the streams I saw yesterday. Might have to pick it up eventually.
What do you mean "you people?"

Old 01-26-15, 02:16 PM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

I was already on the fence for this due to my backlog and life being quite busy at the moment. This review nonsense was enough to cause me to cancel. Had to go back to Nov. 2013 in my Best Buy order history to find and cancel it. I forgot that this had originally been due last March.
Old 01-26-15, 08:30 PM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

Originally Posted by Deftones
I hate that. The devs said there would be no review embargo, but absurd you have to wait until release date to find out if it is good. I will probably keep my BB Preorder, but still obnoxious we have to continue to have to deal with this shit.
They're even shooting themselves in the foot, sorta. If it had good early reviews, I'd buy it day one, and they chalk that up as a sale. Now, I'm gonna have to wait on the consensus of what people think later down the line, and might even wait on a price drop. Basically, unless they make a really shitty game, they gain nothing by holding back review copies/codes of the game until after release.
Old 01-26-15, 10:43 PM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

Old 01-27-15, 12:03 AM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

The guy at GameStop was drooling over this, saying he can't wait. Take that with a grain of salt.

My IGN prediction is: 7.2
Old 01-27-15, 10:51 AM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

Reading the CAG posts, looks like there was a Game Stop screw-up where the $20 Season Pass codes and the $60 Full Game codes were inverted last night. People who bought the Season Pass online were getting the full game and folks who were buying the online full game code were getting the Season Pass instead. As you can imagine, folks went nuts spending $20 on the Season Pass purchases to get the game for $20 until they stopped it by pulling the item. And folks who went on other sites and tried it were stuck with $20 Season Passes for a game they didn't own.
Old 01-27-15, 10:54 AM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

still no reviews...
Old 01-27-15, 11:09 AM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

Originally Posted by OldBoy
still no reviews...
They're gonna bundle them with the free version of ####driveclub###.
Old 01-27-15, 11:13 AM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

Originally Posted by OldBoy
still no reviews...
Nobody had a review copy until less than 24 hours ago. I don't want a review based on 8-12 hour marathon gaming session anyway.
Old 01-27-15, 11:57 AM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

i just picked up my copy. i'll probably open it. what the hell. only cost $40 (after BB preorder $10 credit) and if it sucks, i'm sure i can sell it back to them for like $40.
Old 01-27-15, 12:05 PM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

Reading GAF, most impressions seem very good. Also checked out the Giantbomb Quicklook and again, overly positive. I'm looking forward to it.

If anyone wants to get some co-op in, on X1, send me a friend request. Name in signature.
Old 01-27-15, 12:10 PM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

looks like it's got a 2.6 GB day one patch. yipee!
Old 01-27-15, 12:20 PM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

Originally Posted by M Polo
If anyone wants to get some co-op in, on X1, send me a friend request. Name in signature.
Liar!
Old 01-27-15, 12:56 PM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

the one thing that's going to make people have to retrain their brains is to jump, you have to push RB, not a standard button. my brain still can't make me do it.
Old 01-27-15, 01:00 PM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

You can't remap it?
Old 01-27-15, 01:01 PM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

That sounds like the most counter-intuitive control system since Donkey Kong Country Returns.
Old 01-27-15, 01:09 PM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

Originally Posted by nickdawgy
You can't remap it?
nope. you can change it from trigger to bumper, but not to buttons. it's super odd.
Old 01-27-15, 01:11 PM
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Re: Dying Light (from Dead Island Devs -- PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One -- Feb 201

Originally Posted by Music
Liar!
No I'm not, my LIVE name is in my signature!

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