GH Review: Nights: Journey Of Dreams (Wii)

Zardon · Jan 31, 2008, 08:17 PM

Read The Review Here
_________________________

Nights is a game about the world of dreams, a fantastic far away land you journey to while asleep. It is in fact your dreams that create this world, giving you, the player a choice of seperate sets of missions at the beginning of the game, what options have we then ? mmmm, so........... "are you a dude or a chick?" the game asks. Yawns. You either choose Helen or Will. Immediately we are presented with "Nights" a non gender specific jester, who sounds extremely like my overtly camp hair stylist. Apparently Nights is a character you can merge with, and he allows you to harness his powers to fly around the land. Before we progress any further, can I just say, this guy has to be one of the ugliest in game characters I have ever had the misfortune to meet. He was most certainly beat with the ugly stick during birth.

***craig5320*** · Feb 1, 2008, 11:56 AM

Brings back good memories of my Saturn, christmas nights rocked too. I might pick this up, as long as it's not a good looking chick on the till serving, maybe I'll buy it online to avoid any embarrassing situations.

Erroneus · Feb 1, 2008, 01:03 PM

Never played the original on the Saturn, which I guess would be a advantage. But the game sure looks fun, but I'm gonna wait for it, when I can pick it up for 20£

Shike · Feb 5, 2008, 05:12 PM

It seems it's obvious the reviewer never even bothered playing the original, which it seems he very well may have hated too had he ever had the chance.

Also, descriptors such as "gay" for a game isn't very professional. I'm surprised you let this tripe slide through Z.

Zardon · Feb 5, 2008, 06:31 PM

Its not tripe, its meant to be funny and John is an excellent writer with a long history in the industry - reviewing games should be colourful and entertaining, its certainly not like reviewing a graphics card. If that kind of humour doesn't appeal to you then im sorry. We certainly didn't mean to offend fans of the series, its firmly tongue in cheek. I have played the game myself this week and I think its awful so I could certainly think of more colourful words to describe it.

relax.

Shike · Feb 5, 2008, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zardon

Its not tripe, its meant to be funny

It wasn't. More annoying, obnoxious, irritating, much like any of the other descriptors that could have been used to describe what he wanted to say. Or should I say his review was "gay"?

Quote:

and John is an excellent writer with a long history in the industry

And that means anything and everything he says should be A-OK?

Quote:

reviewing games should be colourful and entertaining, its certainly not like reviewing a graphics card. If that kind of humour doesn't appeal to you then im sorry.

I'm sure that type of humour is reserved only for those below an IQ of 100. Anyone with a sense of decency or lick of intelligence probably rolls their eyes.

Quote:

We certainly didn't mean to offend fans of the series, its firmly tongue in cheek. I have played the game myself this week and I think its awful so I could certainly think of more colourful words to describe it.

"colourful" is one thing, but making gay jokes? I mean seriously, you try to portrait being a high quality source for gaming, hardware, etc. I don't believe I would have seen tomshardware or any other sites act in such a way. No major publication would have been caught dead releasing a review in that condition. Needless to say, I'm baffled as to why you did.

Also, I am perfectly relaxed. Just a bit disappointed. Especially with your ability to handle criticisms.

I understand it getting a bad review, fine. The general tone of the article, meh. I'm not looking to argue, just disagree on many multitudes.

Zardon · Feb 5, 2008, 09:51 PM

Shike, seriously. John was not getting at "gays", and he was not insulting anyone, you are overreacting. He has a wicked sense of humour which I think is very good to read and he pokes fun at everything, people who are easily offended will certainly get annoyed by John at times, but he just says things as he sees them - thats a good game journalist to me. His reviews are getting great feedback in email. One word said in humour can offend many people I guess. That's just a part of life, but don't be so quick to dismiss his intelligence and game knowledge. Trust me on this ! have a read of the other reviews he has done for us and im sure you will agree.

Turok
Aquaria
Kingdom Under Fire
No More Heroes
Rock Band

You raised your concerns and I answered and attempted to reassure you as to the context in which they were written. Not everyone will like every editorial we put up, there are many many people out there and opinions will certainly vary as to every score, and the thing about games is they are very subjective. No need to be disappointed with my apparent inabillity to "handle criticism", if that were truly the case these would be deleted, but as you are a long standing member and a smart guy who won a lovely prize here in the past I would hope you might at least listen to what im saying

Once again, I am sorry you seem to be getting wound up about this, but let's move on please ... I think you are joking though, I mean Tomshardware? really .....

Shike · Feb 6, 2008, 01:07 AM

Well, I tried to send a PM but that didn't work. So, here are my thoughts:

Zardon,

I'm going to have to say agree to disagree. You consider the tone of the article funny, while I do not. While it's easy to say it's overreacting, I'm expressing what I consider a genuine concern. If I wanted to read how "gay" a game was, I would head over to gameFAQs. And while I admit, John does have a sense of humor, it fell apart Dane Cook like in the delivery as in . . . what delivery? His Turok review though? Great stuff.

I'm not disagreeing with the review. Sega messed up some of the core mechanics that made NiGHTS such a hit, and those that don't like the art style should probably stay away. The problem is, a good chunk of the beginning feels like filler dedicated to insulting just how bad the art style was (to him), and digressing to gay jokes about it.

As a rather normal reader, I didn't think what I was saying was so far off. You say John calls them like he sees them, it's not so surprising that someone else would right?

Regardless, most of the other reviews I've seen recently have been done well. This is the only real one that I feel just wasn't up to par with the ability of the writer and standards that I've normally seen in place at Driverheaven. Surely you can respect this as my opinion?

(P.S. Tomshardware isn't bad all the time . . . just a good chunk of it)

Vikingod · Feb 6, 2008, 01:15 AM

Thanks for voicing your opinion Shike, your response was very professional. I guess what's comical to some, isn't to others. Just so long as it's understood there were no bad intentions. Sometimes agreeing to disagree is the best way.

(oh, and Tom's is all that bad

)

Zardon · Feb 6, 2008, 09:17 AM

hey you have been here since Oct 2004. If in that time you have only complained about one review I guess we are doing something right! thats how I see it anyway.

Thanks for the feedback, ill maybe start editing out some of his more colourful phrasing in future

Blame me, im the editor in chief.

Tril · May 10, 2008, 08:14 PM

The review does not work. There's only the title being shown.

**MIG-31** · May 10, 2008, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tril

The review does not work. There's only the title being shown.

The review link works and loads within 10 seconds for me..

May be a net issue your side.

riles9262 · May 21, 2008, 04:46 AM

I do agree with shike that using gay as a description was a poor choice of words. It did leave a bad taste in my mouth - it was just plain unprofessional. I will however agree that his other reviews were good.

Jan 31, 2008, 08:17 PM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	GH Review: Nights: Journey Of Dreams (Wii) Read The Review Here _________________________ Nights is a game about the world of dreams, a fantastic far away land you journey to while asleep. It is in fact your dreams that create this world, giving you, the player a choice of seperate sets of missions at the beginning of the game, what options have we then ? mmmm, so........... "are you a dude or a chick?" the game asks. Yawns. You either choose Helen or Will. Immediately we are presented with "Nights" a non gender specific jester, who sounds extremely like my overtly camp hair stylist. Apparently Nights is a character you can merge with, and he allows you to harness his powers to fly around the land. Before we progress any further, can I just say, this guy has to be one of the ugliest in game characters I have ever had the misfortune to meet. He was most certainly beat with the ugly stick during birth.

Feb 1, 2008, 11:56 AM	#2
*craig5320* HH Administrator Join Date: May 2002 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 8,568 Rep Power: 445 System Specs	Brings back good memories of my Saturn, christmas nights rocked too. I might pick this up, as long as it's not a good looking chick on the till serving, maybe I'll buy it online to avoid any embarrassing situations. __________________ HardwareHeaven on Facebook

Feb 1, 2008, 01:03 PM	#3
Erroneus Get off my lawn! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Denmark Posts: 13,417 Rep Power: 119 System Specs	Never played the original on the Saturn, which I guess would be a advantage. But the game sure looks fun, but I'm gonna wait for it, when I can pick it up for 20£ __________________

May 21, 2008, 04:46 AM	#13
riles9262 Driverheaven brewmaster Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: British Columbia, Canada Posts: 4,842 Rep Power: 72 System Specs	I do agree with shike that using gay as a description was a poor choice of words. It did leave a bad taste in my mouth - it was just plain unprofessional. I will however agree that his other reviews were good. __________________ A beer a day keeps the doctor away.

Feb 5, 2008, 05:12 PM	#4
Shike Official Cyberpunk ^_- Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 912 Rep Power: 0	It seems it's obvious the reviewer never even bothered playing the original, which it seems he very well may have hated too had he ever had the chance. Also, descriptors such as "gay" for a game isn't very professional. I'm surprised you let this tripe slide through Z.

Feb 5, 2008, 06:31 PM	Thread Starter #5
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	Its not tripe, its meant to be funny and John is an excellent writer with a long history in the industry - reviewing games should be colourful and entertaining, its certainly not like reviewing a graphics card. If that kind of humour doesn't appeal to you then im sorry. We certainly didn't mean to offend fans of the series, its firmly tongue in cheek. I have played the game myself this week and I think its awful so I could certainly think of more colourful words to describe it. relax.

Feb 5, 2008, 09:51 PM	Thread Starter #7
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	Shike, seriously. John was not getting at "gays", and he was not insulting anyone, you are overreacting. He has a wicked sense of humour which I think is very good to read and he pokes fun at everything, people who are easily offended will certainly get annoyed by John at times, but he just says things as he sees them - thats a good game journalist to me. His reviews are getting great feedback in email. One word said in humour can offend many people I guess. That's just a part of life, but don't be so quick to dismiss his intelligence and game knowledge. Trust me on this ! have a read of the other reviews he has done for us and im sure you will agree. Turok Aquaria Kingdom Under Fire No More Heroes Rock Band You raised your concerns and I answered and attempted to reassure you as to the context in which they were written. Not everyone will like every editorial we put up, there are many many people out there and opinions will certainly vary as to every score, and the thing about games is they are very subjective. No need to be disappointed with my apparent inabillity to "handle criticism", if that were truly the case these would be deleted, but as you are a long standing member and a smart guy who won a lovely prize here in the past I would hope you might at least listen to what im saying Once again, I am sorry you seem to be getting wound up about this, but let's move on please ... I think you are joking though, I mean Tomshardware? really .....

Feb 6, 2008, 01:07 AM	#8
Shike Official Cyberpunk ^_- Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 912 Rep Power: 0	Well, I tried to send a PM but that didn't work. So, here are my thoughts: Zardon, I'm going to have to say agree to disagree. You consider the tone of the article funny, while I do not. While it's easy to say it's overreacting, I'm expressing what I consider a genuine concern. If I wanted to read how "gay" a game was, I would head over to gameFAQs. And while I admit, John does have a sense of humor, it fell apart Dane Cook like in the delivery as in . . . what delivery? His Turok review though? Great stuff. I'm not disagreeing with the review. Sega messed up some of the core mechanics that made NiGHTS such a hit, and those that don't like the art style should probably stay away. The problem is, a good chunk of the beginning feels like filler dedicated to insulting just how bad the art style was (to him), and digressing to gay jokes about it. As a rather normal reader, I didn't think what I was saying was so far off. You say John calls them like he sees them, it's not so surprising that someone else would right? Regardless, most of the other reviews I've seen recently have been done well. This is the only real one that I feel just wasn't up to par with the ability of the writer and standards that I've normally seen in place at Driverheaven. Surely you can respect this as my opinion? (P.S. Tomshardware isn't bad all the time . . . just a good chunk of it)

Feb 6, 2008, 01:15 AM	#9
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,197 Rep Power: 112 System Specs	Thanks for voicing your opinion Shike, your response was very professional. I guess what's comical to some, isn't to others. Just so long as it's understood there were no bad intentions. Sometimes agreeing to disagree is the best way. (oh, and Tom's is all that bad )

Feb 6, 2008, 09:17 AM	Thread Starter #10
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	hey you have been here since Oct 2004. If in that time you have only complained about one review I guess we are doing something right! thats how I see it anyway. Thanks for the feedback, ill maybe start editing out some of his more colourful phrasing in future Blame me, im the editor in chief.

May 10, 2008, 08:14 PM	#11
Tril S-3D enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 1,676 Rep Power: 64 System Specs	The review does not work. There's only the title being shown.