Valve's Cliffe has officially confirmed US PC Gamer score of 98%!!!

[AC1D]

Well think about it this way which game executed its gameplay elements to a more enjoyable standard.

 

[Lazlow]

I don't see this game a 98%. It can't be almost perfect. No such game has ever wowed me. When I pick this game up with a 98% score shouldn't I walk away from the computer stunned? Absolutely shell shocked? Can that really happen?

With this game, yes. You will yell out with glee and squeal like a schoolgirl. Sometimes, you will have to just push back from the computer and pace around the room, trying to pull yourself together and come to grips with the intense rush. You'll grab the phone and call your friends, and then just giggle because you can't put it into words.

Oh yeah. It's all that and more. :thumbs:

 

[ShadowFox]

Half-Life blew me away like you said.. and I expect HL2 to do the same.

 

[DrEvil]

Gamespot is not reliable at all, and has a ton of questionnable reivews that look very suspect. UT2004 for example. They gave it 9.4/10 which is just plain stupid. I'd give that game a 7/10. For an online game, it's not popular and the servers are filled with bots

I agree, I disagree with a lot of gamespot's ratings.

 

[Dsty2001]

100% is perfect, 98% is near perfect.

 

[wtfmates]

With this game, yes. You will yell out with glee and squeal like a schoolgirl. Sometimes, you will have to just push back from the computer and pace around the room, trying to pull yourself together and come to grips with the intense rush. You'll grab the phone and call your friends, and then just giggle because you can't put it into words.

Oh yeah. It's all that and more. :thumbs:

How do you know all this without playing it??? Please, tell me, I'd really like to know.

 

[MetEoRA]

The only thing I don't like about 98% is that it leaves no margin of error for games in the future All games from here on out have the bar set at 98% for highest rating (US) Problem is, in the future there will surely be better AI/Graphics etc. So all these games are gonna have to beat hl2 at gameplay/story. All other pc games kinda just got hosed hehe.

 

[SixxHole]

If HL2 gets a 98 then Starcraft should have as well. I highly doubt the game will be THAT good after so long. Maybe if it came out 2 years ago and had graphics and AI still going for it.

 

[Dsty2001]

If HL2 gets a 98 then Starcraft should have as well. I highly doubt the game will be THAT good after so long. Maybe if it came out 2 years ago and had graphics and AI still going for it.

Uh, 2 years ago? The game has only been delayed a year, and the Reviewers are saying the graphics and AI far surpass anything seen before. Go take a hike troll

 

[joule]

Cool! PCGamer awarded Half-Life 2 with a 98%! That's awesome. :bounce:
Ohh...When will my issue come in?!

 

[Xailia]

Half-Life: 97%
Alpha Centauri: 98%
Half-Life 2: 98%

 

[Platinum]

If HL2 gets a 98 then Starcraft should have as well. I highly doubt the game will be THAT good after so long. Maybe if it came out 2 years ago and had graphics and AI still going for it.

lol wow you're an idiot

 

[Asuka]

Sweet! Makes me shake i want to play this game so much.

 

[Lazlow]

How do you know all this without playing it??? Please, tell me, I'd really like to know.

I have played it, at Valve - and it really does shatter all expectations. It's a genre-defining game, just like Half-Life was.

 

[SixxHole]

Uh, 2 years ago? The game has only been delayed a year, and the Reviewers are saying the graphics and AI far surpass anything seen before. Go take a hike troll

KK. This game hardly "far supasses" anything in terms of graphics. And team mates that get in the way hardly say revolutionary AI. But go ahead and worship it. We'll see if its worth a 98%.

 

[Dr. Freeman]

only 98%?
i kid, i kid!! :E

 

[epmode]

so when will a non pc-exclusive mag review hl2? i'd like to get another perspective.

 

[Lanthanide]

About the gamespot reviews and ratings: generally I feel, as someone else mentioned, that the reviews fit exactly with the scores they give (although I think the D3 score was a little low given the tone/contents of the review).

However, while often Gamespot do gauge a game quite well, there are instances where particular games do get rated considerably too high/too low - in these instances just compare the gamespot rating to the user rating and it's generally a good indication as to how 'generally accurate' the gamespot review was. Two games I can think of off the top of my head that were mis-reviewed: Diablo 2 and Black and White. The former to low (read all their pre-release previews and interviews and diaries, and read the review - it seems completely different people wrote them, and the 2nd person didn't want to like the game, so purposefully gave it a lowish score) while Black and White was of course rediculously too high - I think they learned from this mistake with their Doom 3 review, where they waited several days after the game was out and they'd played through it all extensivly before they gave it a score (while posting diaries of their play experience to keep people interested during the wait).

IMO, I would rate Doom 3 about an 83-85, whereas looking at the gamespot review vs it's rating, I would have rated it about 87-88 based on what the review said.

Oh well, in general, I find gamespot reviews (more detailed and telling you about the things you want to know - what shortcomings and annoyances there are in the game, and what things it does well) to usually be better than other sites, and their ratings usually pretty good. The reader reviews/ratings also help a lot to give you an informed opinion.


So I await Gamespot's HL2 score with interest; I suspect it'll get something around 9.5 or 9.6.

 

[Sparta]

Depends whose reviewing it. Greg Kasavin is a real critic

 

[Ownzed]

They sure as hell deserved it.

 

[Lanthanide]

Greg Kasavin reviewed Black and White.

So no, he's not. He lets his personal experience/expectations of the game and the company that made it colour his reviews more than they should.

 

[lans]

Depends whose reviewing it. Greg Kasavin is a real critic

Gotta agree. He is harsh but true. He burned Doom 3 down into a crisp.

Except he definately overated Halo for the PC...I mean 9.0 for such a horrible port?!

 

[The Monkey]

Is this the best score ever in PC Gamer US?

 

[Logic]

...
However, while often Gamespot do gauge a game quite well, there are instances where particular games do get rated considerably too high/too low ...

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/thedig/review.html

I'll never trust a gamespot review again... The Dig is without a doubt one of the most immersive, cinematic adventure games ever created... It's one of the most atmospheric games I've ever played, and is easily in my top 5 games of all time. This reviewer seems to have bashed it completely based on pre-concieved ideas of what a "lucasarts adventure" should be (and because he couldn't figure out the puzzles, aparently). No, it's not funny. Yes it does take itself seriously. I consider that a real step forward for Lucasarts at the time, and it remains, in my opinion, one of their greatest achievements.

And they give it a 4.5\10? I don't trust any review site that will publish such a short, shallow review that fails to mention any (apart from the music) of the game's positive atributes. I'm fine if I just disagree with a reviewer about something, but a score (particularly one this low) really needs to be justified.

Glad I got that off my chest

*AHEM* back on topic....

By the looks of it, having seen most scores and reviews so far, HL2 is going to be an unquestionable classic, and an incredibly influential game. 'Raising the Bar' indeed.

 

[PvtRyan]

Is this the best score ever in PC Gamer US?

98% for HL2 and Alpha Centauri.

And Gamespot also rates games too high, like Freedom Fighters (93%) don't get me wrong, really cool game and had lots of fun with it, but 93%? That's way too high. And don't get me started with the 10 for THPS3. Or Far Cry.