I've been with IGN for a few years now. By 'with' I don't mean working for (hey, I wish) or having some weird human-corporation relationship with it, I mean I've been a common reader. Time and again, I've read their reviews, enjoyed their thorough, reasonable and often witty opinions on games and have very rarely indeed had reason to argue with them. However, that changed for the first time on February 26th, when IGN released their review for Bad Company 2.
Yes, it's true, I go on about this game a hell of a lot these days, and I'd forgive you for mistaking me for some kind of fanboy. While the term is basically dead post-console war, I AM a huge fan of DICE and Bad Company, and believe to the last that it is infinitely superior to Modern Warfare. However, the reviewer, in this case one Erik Brudvig is not only the opposite to this, but also lets it interfere with his job and result in writing a review which is, in many places, plain incorrect in a blindingly obvious fashion.
It's said about a lot of critics these days that each game should be viewed of itself, and not constantly compared to a rival game or a predecessor. Apart from some obvious exceptions, it's a statement that should be taken into account, not least by Brudvig who included in his Bad Company 2 review more comparisons than you'll find on confused.com (even if they're not literally said, and instead heavily implied). Comparisons to what you ask? Well, you absolute hypothetical moron for asking a question I put in your mouth, Modern Warfare 2 of course. Yes, it seems that Erik enjoyed Infinity Ward's tool for controlling the mindless casual gamer so much that he's entered a delusional alternate reality in which every modern FPS is simply clasping at the heels of Call of Duty, begging a drop of its sweet, sweet idiot juice. A quote in particular being 'DICE seems to have taken a cue from Modern Warfare 2 and tried for a very large and cinematic scope', as just an example. I would very much like to ask Mr Brudvig:
1. At which point the Battlefield games DIDN'T have a large scope, what with having much larger maps, more players and bigger destruction than Modern Warfare.
2. When Modern Warfare 2 ever had a 'large scope', at any given moment that WASN'T watching an EMP explode from space. The majority of the game was shooting in tunnels or in buildings, occasionally broken up with flying in a helicopter. 'Large scope'? More like an ACOG. Har-har.
Another critical quote being 'when everything is a high-action sequence, there's very little tension building'. Apart from congratulating him on his incredibly basic knowledge of film studies, I'd also like to ask him when there is ever anything close to 'tension' in Call of Duty. The series is famed for having a constant guns-blazing approach to absolutely everything, including a sniper mission. It's called excitement. And there's more of it in Bad Company, considering you're not completely invincible as you are in CoD, just to please the morons - and there are plenty.
The man also nitpicks as if his life depends on it. Complaining about a bug where the game momentarily freezes during weapon selection was almost fair enough but I was astounded when he was annoyed that a multiplayer match can end 'right when the game is warming up.' Sure, this is true... if it takes you more than ten minutes to 'warm up'. And since when did that not happen with every multiplayer game?
I won't de-construct every line that came out his mouth - and believe me, what I have quoted is but a portion - but what absolutely must be highlighted as the jewel in the Imbecile Crown is the set of stats included in the written review. Most notably, the 'Sound' section. 9.0. Excuse me? And Modern Warfare 2's sound was a 10? Bad Company 1 was released in 2007 and still has some of the best game audio around, let alone Bad Company 2. Modern Warfare's is little more than shouty-shouty bang bang bang. Literally. The caption with the stats is 'Some fantastic audio samples and above average voice acting.' Great, don't feel free to mention the epic Battlefield score making a majestic return, or the mindblowingly good use of surround sound. No, Modern Warfare 2 had a Hanz Zimmer soundtrack, so it must be better. Shark Tale had a damn Hanz Zimmer soundtrack, how highly did you rate that?
I don't hate IGN, not by a long shot, but to be honest the next time I see Erik Brudvig's name at the top of an article, I'll stop before I die a little more inside. For once, even IGN UK rated BC2 higher than his pathetically ungenerous review. Makes you wonder how much a kid this guy really is.
The IGN video review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c1RrJ_sg4w
The written review (by the same guy): http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/107/1072632p1.html
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