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Hapimeses on 07 May 2009
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Okay, I'm fed-up with people claiming the UK Official Playstation Magazine is biased towards Sony exclusives when it comes to their reviews. In short, it isn't. Indeed, it is normally right on the ball or harsher than its contemporaries when you compare it to Metacritic. Really, the magazine is one of the few review-sources I reasonably trust, regardless of its 'official' status. Sure, I don't always agree with it (indeed, I like many games it rates fairly lowly), but I feel, as a reviewer, OPM UK has much credibility. Sure, you can deride them for many things, but please don't claim the magazine consistently marks-up exclusives: it doesn't; the opposite is far more common.

Below you'll find a list of all the PS3 exclusives reviewed by OPM UK (at least, all the ones I could find). The following explains the formatting used, and the number of games each formatting represents.

  • Underlined, bolded and blued entries have been marked-up by more than 20% when compared to the game's Metascore (thus, seriously increasing the overall Metascore). 1 Result
  • Underlined entries have been marked-up by more than 10% according to the associated game's Metascore (thus, significantly increasing the overall Metascore). 7 Results
  • Itallicked entries have been marked higher than the game's Metascore (as is necessary for a 1-10 scale -- or you would never have 10s, and all 9s would be 'AAA', and so on -- and increasing the Metascore). 26 Results
  • Unformatted Entries are spot on the Metascore. 1 Result
  • Bolded entries have been scored lower than the game's Metascore (thus, marginally lowering the overall Metascore). 25 Results
  • Bolded and crimsoned entries have been scored 10% or lower than the game's Metascore (thus, significantly lowering the overall Metascore). 14 Results
  • Bolded and redded entries have been scored 20% or lower than the game's Metascore (thus, seriously lowering the overall Metascore). 2 Results

So, as can be seen, OPM is significantly above the Metascore 8 times, whilst it is significantly below the Metascore 16 times, twice as much.  It should be weighted the other way, given the scale they use (where game scores are rounded up; otherwise a 10 would pretty much never happen; which is almost the case, anyway).

For fuller details, here's the game list sorted by the score OPM gave each title out of 10 (the number after each title is the Metascore it achieved):

The 10s (equivalent to 91-100)

  1. LittleBigPlanet: 95
  2. Metal Gear Solid 4: 94
  3. MLB 09: The Show: 90

The 9s (equivalent to 81-90)

  1. Killzone 2: 91
  2. Ratchet & Crack: 89
  3. Uncharted: 88
  4. Ninja Gaiden Sigma: 88
  5. Flower: 87
  6. WipEout HD: 87
  7. Resistance 2: 87
  8. MLB 08: The Show: 85
  9. Warhawk: 84
  10. SingStar: 82
  11. Disgaea 3: 79
  12. Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty: 76
  13. SingStar Vol. 2: 76
  14. SingStar: Abba: 70

The 8s (equivalent to 71-80)

  1. Valkyria Chronicles: 87
  2. Super Stardust HD: 85
  3. MotorStorm: 82
  4. MotorStorm: Pacific Ridge: 82
  5. Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection: 82
  6. Everybody's Golf: World Tour: 81
  7. Echochrome: 81
  8. Buzz! Quiz TV: 80
  9. Crash Commando: 79
  10. SIREN: Blood Curse: 78
  11. Ridge Racer 7: 78
  12. Calling All Cars: 77
  13. MLB 07: The Show: 77
  14. SingStar: Queen: 76
  15. Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli: 71
  16. flOw: 71
  17. Elefunk: 70
  18. Rag Doll Kung Fu: 68

The 7s (equivalent to 61-70)

  1. Resistance: Fall of Man: 86
  2. PixelJunk Monsters: 83
  3. Everyday Shooter: 83
  4. PixelJunk Eden: 80
  5. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue: 80
  6. Heavenly Sword: 79
  7. Folklore: 75
  8. Astro Tripper: 75
  9. Noby Noby Boy: 74
  10. Savage Moon: 73
  11. Geon: 73
  12. LocoRoco Cocoreccho!: 72
  13. Afrika: 71
  14. PAIN: 71
  15. SingStar Vol. 3: 69
  16. Blast Factor: 68
  17. Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle Cars: 67
  18. SOCOM: Confrontation: 63
  19. Toy Home: 57

The 6s (equivalent to 51-60)

  1. Cuboid: 79
  2. Burn, Zombie, Burn!: 76
  3. The Eye of Judgement: 75
  4. Formula One: Championship Edition: 74
  5. Piyotama: 70
  6. Alone in the Dark: Inferno: 69
  7. Dark Mist: 68
  8. High Velocity Bowling: 68
  9. Soldner-X: Himmelssturmer: 63
  10. Go! Puzzle: 62
  11. Haze: 55
  12. Lair: 53

The 5s (equivalent to 41-50)

  1. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm: 75
  2. Magic Ball: 66
  3. Snakeball: 65
  4. Trails of Topoq: 62
  5. PixelJunk Racers: 62
  6. Genji: Days of the Blade: 55
  7. Novastrike: 49

The 4s (equivalent to 31-40)

  1. Super Rub-A-Dub: 49
  2. Go! Sports Sky-Diving: 42

The 3s (equivalent to 21-30)

  1. Nucleus: 59

So, let's put this one to bed. OPM may do other things, but it does not over-rate Sony exclusives. Indeed, if you wish to claim anything about OPM UK's reviews, claim it is more likely, as a publication, to under-rate a PS3 exclusive, not over-rate it.

Lastly, why have I bothered to do this? Why not? I'm bored and ill, and I like OPM UK's reviews, and I was fed-up with people misrepresenting them. Sure, none may answer to this thread, but I can always link to this at a later date if someone claims OPM UK isn't credible for its reviews as it's likely to over-mark a Sony exclusive.



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