Gamespot Finally Reviews RCT-3... Hmmmmm...

Ok, Gamespot has finally released their review for Rollercoaster Tycoon 3

Is it just me, or is something seriously wrong.
They gave the game a 7.8, which is a "very good" rating based on their scale. They're usually very critical of games, and they rated this one quite high. I really got to wonder... are we just being too nit-picky, or are the reviewers just not being critical enough of any flaws?

Here's a quote I grabbed:

What's more serious, though, are RollerCoaster Tycoon 3's gameplay issues:
Unfortunately, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 managed to ship with a number of glaring bugs that can make your park feel a bit lifeless, even when there are hundreds of peeps roaming about. For example, popular rides that are hot one moment mystifyingly go suddenly ice cold the next, and even slashing prices to the bone can't seem to resurrect their appeal. Or sometimes you can have a park full of rides, yet few peeps seem interested in actually riding them even though there are no lines--those rides then become money pits that slowly drain your coffers. And in some cases, certain rides refuse to reset properly, meaning that your peeps will get stuck in line and complain. Shutting down and starting up the ride in question doesn't reset the ride, either.

That's the only bugs they found...
Although similar to what was mentioned here, not nearly to the scale that us 'Buzzers found.

Are we being too critical?

I get the distinct impression they didn't spend much time playing it. It's amazing how everyone is so blown away by the graphics in the game. I was too, but by the time I finished the second scenario, my opinion changed.

The game play is so screwed that you don't do any significant amount of coaster building. I've finished six of the scenarios, I've built about four coasters. The rest of the time I've spent waiting for VIP's to leave the park or trying to make money with rides the peeps won't ride. That's not fun or interesting.

Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog

Well, maybe they find better things to do with their lives than just play a computer game non-stop and critique every single element. Oh, wait, that is there job;)

I don't think they seriously dedicate the timem to give an accurate review of any sort! IGN has better review coverage, and coverage all together, although most of us disagree with their ratings.

Funny thing is, I'm trying to approach them in the "Ask Gamespot" forums and find out how much time they really spent and why they rated it so high...

...I get a retarded response like "you didn't read page 2 which stated the bugs"... and it wasn't even from the reviewer. These guys dance around the questions more-so than Kerry & Bush answering how my social security & health care will be affected when they are elected!!

Ahh, finally a worthy response.....

Not that we need to defend ourselves against your accusations, but Jason played the game regularly for about two weeks prior to committing to our full review. During this time, he clearly encountered some of the bugs you've also experienced--hence the reference to them in the review, and hence a lower-than-it-could-have-been overall score. However, Jason also had a lot of fun with the game, as evidenced by the review. This balanced out to the overall score we chose for RollerCoaster Tycoon 3.
There's no hard and fast rule when it comes to how bugs affect reviews or review scores--it depends on the bugs and how the reviewer encounters them. Jason's experience was that the bugs were unfortunate but not showstoppers. Also, above and beyond the context of the review, it's a reality of PC gaming today that games get patched. I'm sorry that you seemed to encounter more issues with the game than we did, and I suppose I understand why, if you've been unable to play the game, you'd think that we should have given the game like a 3-range or a 4-range score. However, if you waited for our review, maybe you would have been better prepared for what to expect. Our reviews are not designed to validate the opinions of those who've already come to a decision.
We make no apologies for this review (or any of our reviews)--we believe it presents a thoroughly balanced argument, and includes all the necessary information and caveats to help inform our users to make an intelligent decision about whether or not to spend time and money on the game. If your own personal experience with RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 is different, and you feel strongly about it, then I invite you to post a community review in the gamespace.

Came directly from GregK of Gamespot

At least it seems a little more acceptable of a response than locking my first thread with minimal explanation... sounds a little generic, if anything, but at least it's something.

A thoroughly balanced arguement...

obviously the reviewer having 2 weeks of fun in sandbox mode looking at the pretty graphics is balanced against the fact that the coasters don't work and people won't stray from the main midway.

hmm, yeah if that balances itself out it certainly deserves a 7.8 :(

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