Infinite Undiscovery Review IGN 7.1/10

[mrstickball]

Sansui said:
From 1UP

"To me, though, Undiscovery is really more than the sum of its parts -- despite the badly botched opening segments and frustrating menu and navigational issues, it really won me over with its rewarding combat, kooky charm, and goofy humor"

"Undiscovery is absolutely worth playing through at least once, with the regrettable caveat that it really could've been so much more."

Sucks that it's so inconvenient to interact with your playable cast of characters (dispersed around cities that are a pain to navigate to). But it sounds like the story is good (the point I was worried about most) and combat is fun, so I'm pretty confident my preorder has been justified :D

See, this is why I feel Goldstein's review was "atrocious" - it lacked solid depth about what was in the game - it only hammered out what was bad, or (in few of the cases) good. As a JRPG-er I want to know WHAT the game consists of, and how it fares.

Missing something like 4 difficulty modes that allow for multiple playthroughs is something that a review should have - Could you imagine someone reviewing Resident Evil 2, and missing the second playthrough's?

 

Here are a few issues with his scoring, IMO:

7.5	Presentation The story is engaging and, while it does rely on many standards, there are some unique elements that help it stand out. Mysterious lack of voice dialogue in 20% of cut-scenes boggles the mind.
7.0	Graphics There are moments when Infinite Undiscovery looks really good. In fact, you can really appreciate the detail when the framerate slows to a crawl. The character design is forgettable.
7.0	Sound No Japanese voice option and average American voices will leave many unhappy. The score is one of the bright spots.
7.5	Gameplay The real-time combat system is simple and enjoyable, but the Connect Attacks don't work well and there are far too many characters to manage for an RPG this short.
7.0	Lasting Appeal For an RPG, this is a pretty brief experience. Doing everything may take you 35 hours, but the side quests are often so boring, it's a struggle to do it all.

 

Presentation: He is positive about the story being engaging, and unique...Why 7.5 then?

Graphics: Mass Effect, anyone? Mind you, I had no beef with ME graphics/frame rates. But I don't see how IU gets a 7.0, and ME a 9.0+ for graphics when it has bad slowdown too.

Sound: No mention of the soundtrack? WTF?

Gameplay: Seems reasonable.

Lasting Appeal: No mention of changing difficulties, or extra dungeons on other playthroughs.

Because of those issues...And both Famitsu and 1up address both, makes me feel like Goldstien didn't bother doing much after playing the game once...As a reviewer, aren't you going to do everything possible to ensure you've experienced the full game to ensure your not missing anything to review?