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Breath of The Wild has enraptured fans and critics alike in the week since its launch. Touted as one of the greatest open world games in a decade, the most awesome Zelda since Ocarina of Time, and the most excellent video game to come out in recent memory.

Flawless and perfection are the adjectives that echo in everyone's words that talk about this newest iteration of Zelda. But not everyone has been echoing the same sentiment, and one man, in particular, is paying pretty dearly for his opinion.

Jim Sterling, known for his no-nonsense and polarizing views on the gaming industry, has taken fire for seemingly being responsible for Breath of The Wilds drop from 98 to 97 on Metacritic after publishing his review giving the game a 7/10. (Boy that sure looks familiar.)

“At its absolute best, Breath of the Wild offers some of the most absorbing experiences a Zelda game ever has.

“Unfortunately, it makes you work harder for it than you should, buried as it is under a pile of small but constant irritations that collaborate to form a thick crust of frustration around a delectable center.

“Breath of the Wild is a delightful adventure, one that tries its utmost to be as big a pain in the arse as possible.”

In the hours since publishing his review, Sterlings website has gone down and is currently inaccessible at the time of this writing. He has also received numerous public death threats and even has shared straw polls demanding he be hanged for his opinion.

Truly, I wish I could say I understood what all the critics were raving about in their onslaught of 10/10 reviews, but I don’t. I see too many things getting in the way of the brilliance, too much repetitive busywork and full-on dick moves for me to say this is even close to my favorite Zelda game, much less in the top five.

Close, but no Triforce.

Silencing criticism with DDoS's and hate speech is an unfortunate and unnecessary consequence of modern internet media. No one should be silenced for their opinion as everyone has a right to their views.

What does our community make of this recent news? How do you all feel about what happened to Sterling?

 

[Deleted User]

I didn't even like BotW as much as everyone else seems to be(hell I wrote a user review on here and gave it a 6.9) but Jim's review is kinda trite. Either way though, didn't deserve a DDoS

 

[Deleted User]

So he made a video to weigh in on his own review. I love his videos

Speeking of Jim, his website is still going down repeatedly. really says a lot about the people whining like a bunch of undignified babies because he didn't give it a 10/10 that they'd still be DDoSing his website. Thank God, for Jim Fucking Sterling Son.

Edit: I really have far too much to say about why this isn't the best game ever, and certainly not a great Zelda. I can't help but wonder if the REAL hardcore fans might feel a bit betrayed by BoTW in a year's time after the hype blinders fall off. In all likely hood in the same way Banjo and Kazooie fans felt about Nuts and Bolts after the hype faded, and in the same way Nuts and Bolts would have been a better game without the B&K name tied to it and all that brings, they might feel like BoTW would have been better if it wasn't tied to the Zelda name and all it brings...

 

[xdarkx]

As some other commenters said, DDoS someone's website is childish. If people like the game, then they should buy the game. Not like a 'bad' review would affect their purchase. Guessing people just want good reviews to justify their purchase (which is also childish in my opinion and nothing new).

 

[Kioku]

Neat.

But being realistic, mario oddysey looks promising. Sadly is the only first party game that looks promising. No, i'm not counting xenoblade 2 since it is being developed by a second party studio. Splatoon 2 you say? Pfft, looks almost the same as the wii u one and yet people shit on cod for being the same.

B-but mah fire emblem warriors... EW, another dynasty warriors resking. Disgusting.

Then you can't count Naughty Dog studios for Sony or Coalition for Microsoft.

Also, isn't Splatoon 2 just a port? I swear I remember reading that somewhere.

 

[Deleted member 333767]

My god, nintendo fanboys are second to none in the cancerous fanbase hierarchy

 

[Ritsuki]

This is really a shame. Good or not, this is just a question of opinion. If you don't like the guy, just ignore him. I really like this Zelda so far because it's different but still feels like Zelda, but I haven't played the game enough to give a final advice.

 

[drag0nscythe]

Haven't given a damn about review scores in years. Don't care what people think of a game. If I enjoyed it then it was worth the cost of admission.

I loved playing Armored core, .hack franchise, and Robot alchemic drive. All received low scores because of XY or Z. To take a critic so seriously is just a waste of energy.

 

[Deleted User]

So funny, internet... 7/10 isnt high enough for you? What fucked up reality we live in? Like, 8.5/10 is a middle score? C'mon .....
He got death threats for a review? Wyf? @Tom Bombadildo did you also got threats for your life for the "low" score? Wow internet is so stupid...

 

[netovsk]

Guy probably just likes bad games, suck at botw then bash the game for clickbait views or maybe Sony cashed him a bit.


People don't understand this is more serious than they think it is. It's not "just a game" but the history of the video game industry. Zelda being a benchmark does dictate the way the industry trends from now on and is bigger than the needs a YouTuber or a site has for views and is sure bigger than a potential Sony's "tip", if there was any.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

So funny, internet... 7/10 isnt high enough for you? What fucked up reality we live in? Like, 8.5/10 is a middle score? C'mon .....
He got death threats for a review? Wyf? @Tom Bombadildo did you also got threats for your life for the "low" score? Wow internet is so stupid...

Wanna know why people consider 7/10 a bad score? Look at some of games who get 7/10 or even 8/10. They're mostly garbage. That's why.

 

[ihaveahax]

Guy probably just likes bad games, suck at botw then bash the game for clickbait views or maybe Sony cashed him a bit.


People don't understand this is more serious than they think it is. It's not "just a game" but the history of the video game industry. Zelda being a benchmark does dictate the way the industry trends from now on and is bigger than the needs a YouTuber or a site has for views and is sure bigger than a potential Sony's "tip", if there was any.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Wanna know why people consider 7/10 a bad score? Look at some of games who get 7/10 or even 8/10. They're mostly garbage. That's why.

...no this isn't that serious. he just didn't like the game as much as others and is being honest about it. it would actually be worse if he lied and gave it a 10/10 just to make people happy.

 

[netovsk]

...no this isn't that serious. he just didn't like the game as much as others and is being honest about it. it would actually be worse if he lied and gave it a 10/10 just to make people happy.

I don't like dark souls games because I wanted them to be something else. I suck at them, have no patience for constant half second dodging or trying the same boss dozens of times.

But I'd never dare review the game, because I get what the idea behind this design was and it's not bad, I just don't like it.

Now this is not what this guy or some others did. They did wanted to be heard saying "Well weapons break that sucks because you know, they could just not break or at least easily" or "I don't like this because it's different from other Zelda games and not giving it a pass because it's a Zelda game".

Unless these people can come with a sound argument on why the game is not that good and explain why those decisions Nintendo made were bad, they should not be "reviewing" the game because all they're going to do is get people who hate on the game and mostly didn't really play it to cozy around them like a campfire.

 

[FAST6191]

Guy probably just likes bad games, suck at botw then bash the game for clickbait views or maybe Sony cashed him a bit.

People don't understand this is more serious than they think it is. It's not "just a game" but the history of the video game industry. Zelda being a benchmark does dictate the way the industry trends from now on and is bigger than the needs a YouTuber or a site has for views and is sure bigger than a potential Sony's "tip", if there was any.

Wanna know why people consider 7/10 a bad score? Look at some of games who get 7/10 or even 8/10. They're mostly garbage. That's why.

If game companies look at scores and go from there then that is their problem. If game companies consider simple games as a benchmark without looking into it then that is also their problem. Nobody seems to have a problem with a game company committing financial suicide by trying to make a new world of warcraft or call of duty.

On scores are these from the same reviewer in the same timeframe (there are some places that adjust scores as time goes on but it is a logistical nightmare so most don't), and is the reader of a similar likes and dislikes for games?
Otherwise why should we care if a random review reader is incapable of doing good maths and logic?

My god, nintendo fanboys are second to none in the cancerous fanbase hierarchy

Worse than fanboys of various gods?

 

[ihaveahax]

I don't like dark souls games because I wanted to be something else. I suck at them, have no patience for constant half second dodging or doing the same boss dozens of times.

But I'd never dare review the game, because I get what the idea behind this design was and it's not bad, I just don't like it.

what I'm getting from this is that if you don't like the game's mechanics or the ideas behind it, then you can't review the game, which is flat out false. if it's done poorly it should be criticized, in a review or anything. this should *not* stop you from reviewing the game. he did say he doesn't like that weapons break too fast, and he explained why he doesn't like it.

Now this is not what this guy or some others did. They did wanted to be heard saying "Well weapons break that sucks because you know, they could just not break or at least easily" or "I don't like this because it's different from other Zelda games and not giving it a pass because it's a Zelda game".

Unless these people can come with a sound argument on why the game is not that good and explain why those decisions Nintendo made were bad, they should not be "reviewing" the game because all they're going to do is get people who hate on the game and mostly didn't really play it to cozy around them like a campfire.

a big portion of the review is about the weapon durability. he explains how it works and what problems it has. a lot of them break way too easily so you'd have to pause and pick another weapon or try and pick one of the ones off the ground. even though you can repair weapons, he thinks it's not worth the amount of resources it requires to do so.

another big part is stamina; he also talks about stamina and how it runs out too quickly, when the world starts raining and you can't climb up cliffs, etc. these are all very valid points. and you might not have a problem or enjoy these in the game, which is just fine. but it's also fine if someone else doesn't like them, and mentions that in a review.

quick question, did you read the review?

 

[heartgold]

So funny, internet... 7/10 isnt high enough for you? What fucked up reality we live in? Like, 8.5/10 is a middle score? C'mon .....
He got death threats for a review? Wyf? @Tom Bombadildo did you also got threats for your life for the "low" score? Wow internet is so stupid...

Scores by reviewers have changed what meant 10 years ago, is no longer in the same ballpark, these days you got just an average ok games scoring 7/8's what would have been 5/6, so now if a game doesn't get a 9 or 10, it isn't considered high quality. Reviewers have scewed this over by giving mediocre games higher scores than they deserve. 7 is considered low in this day and age if the game is meant to be a top notch quality which Zelda botw is, has few flaws which aren't enough to put it down.

 

[netovsk]

what I'm getting from this is that if you don't like the game's mechanics or the ideas behind it, then you can't review the game, which is flat out false. if it's done poorly it should be criticized, in a review or anything. this should *not* stop you from reviewing the game. he did say he doesn't like that weapons break too fast, and he explained why he doesn't like it.

a big portion of the review is about the weapon durability. he explains how it works and what problems it has. a lot of them break way too easily so you'd have to pause and pick another weapon or try and pick one of the ones off the ground. even though you can repair weapons, he thinks it's not worth the amount of resources it requires to do so.

another big part is stamina; he also talks about stamina and how it runs out too quickly, when the world starts raining and you can't climb up cliffs, etc. these are all very valid points. and you might not have a problem or enjoy these in the game, which is just fine. but it's also fine if someone else doesn't like them, and mentions that in a review.

quick question, did you read the review?

That's mindless rant. If weapons breaking were really a problem then how can a guy beat the game in less than 2 hours, forcing himself to beat the last boss at full hp and its 4 incarnations in a row and without "that" weapon?

It never is a problem, there are many many weapons throughout the game, this mechanic is just incentive for you to try dozens of different weapons instead of sticking to one. Where other games would lock you out or just put an invisible wall to prevent you from fighting an enemy you're not supposed yet, BotW just makes it hard but it's technically possible even beating a guardian without using weapons proper and relying on Sheikah Slate powers instead. It was an excellent design choice on Nintendo's part and it's pros easily outweigh any cons imaginable.

 

[ihaveahax]

That's mindless rant. If weapons breaking were really a problem then how can a guy beat the game in less than 2 hours, forcing himself to beat the last boss at full hp and its 4 incarnations in a row and without "that" weapon?

It never is a problem, there are many many weapons throughout the game, this mechanic is just incentive for you to try dozens of different weapons instead of sticking to one. Where other games would lock you out or just put an invisible wall to prevent you from fighting an enemy you're not supposed yet, BotW just makes it hard but it's technically possible even beating a guardian without using weapons proper and relying on Sheikah Slate powers instead. It was an excellent design choice on Nintendo's part and it's pros easily outweigh any cons imaginable.

and he doesn't like that. so what? reviews aren't entirely objective and they are based off the reviewer's opinion. you might think it's "excellent design choice" but he thinks it's a poor design choice that weapons break too quickly. that doesn't make him any more right/less wrong, that's just what he feels about it.

 

[netovsk]

and he doesn't like that. so what? reviews aren't entirely objective and they are based off the reviewer's opinion. you might think it's "excellent design choice" but he thinks it's a poor design choice that weapons break too quickly. that doesn't make him any more right/less wrong, that's just what he feels about it.

You're wrong.

I pointed out why it's great and why it's better than other options. It encourages you to use every weapon in the game and use your abilities. It makes finding a weapon always significant and makes you decide if an enemy is worth engaging or not.

Other options would just have you mashing Y your way with a single weapon through the game.

The criticism about raining is ridiculous. Raining makes climbing impossible but makes sneaking easier allowing you to go undetected. If raining is a problem just find a roof or a cave, set up camp and wait for rain to go away like you'd do in real life.

This guy and other reviewers who bashed the game couldn't come up with real criticism. On that joke of a review posted here on he temp for instance the guy just assumes shrines are meant to replace dungeons. How does he know that? Does the game at any moment say that? Are you forced to do any shrines? No you're not. All you get is being rewarded for doing so.

Jim Sterling review was probably meant to attract attention as he pleases haters going against general consensus that this game is a breakthrough in the game industry. Well he got the attention of haters, that's for sure.

 

[omegasoul6]

I really enjoy BotW and don't really enjoy any of Jim Sterling's videos.

That being said if you're sending someone death threats or DDOSing someone over a low review score, you're insane.

 

[Molina]

I seriously doubt that overall performance will be hit 50%, running at lower speeds does not necessarily equate literally to overall performance. The performance will ultimately be less, but you could compare this to a PC game running at "high" quality settings (docked mode) vs "medium" (portable mode).

Hahaha no, the modified chipset make the switch a more powerfull shield K1, nothing more, nothing less (okay more, you can run nintendo game). This console is faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa[...]aaaar from allowing high quality on low/med perf...
In term of price/perf and considering add-on price, this console would have receive a low score.

BotW is a really good game, but it should have not receive so many "10/10" with all those flaws it got. It was a flagship game. If it would have failed, the console would have been dead born.
Nintendo being not sure about, he may have helped a bit. But seriously it would not have been necessary, with gameplay and story the game would have won his medals easily.

I stay on my opinion that Nintendo could have done way more with the hardware but no, Nintendon't.

 

[ihaveahax]

I pointed out why it's great and why it's better than other options. It encourages you to use every weapon in the game and use your abilities. It makes finding a weapon always significant and makes you decide if an enemy is worth engaging or not.

cool, it's good that you enjoy it and think it's great. but it's not wrong at all for someone like Jim to dislike this at all. not at all. this is a very subjective thing and you can't just say "your opinion is wrong and mine is right/you just don't get it". you don't have to like a game mechanic!

The criticism about raining is ridiculous. Raining makes climbing impossible but makes sneaking easier allowing you to go undetected. If raining is a problem just find a roof or a cave, set up camp and wait for rain to go away like you'd do in real life.

sure it does, but it still makes climbing harder, which sometimes might be the only way to get somewhere. it also affects certain parts of the story I'm not going to spoil.

This guy and other reviewers who bashed the game couldn't come up with real criticism. On that joke of a review posted here on he temp for instance the guy just assumes shrines are meant to replace dungeons. How does he know that? Does the game at any moment say that? Are you forced to do any shrines? No you're not. All you get is being rewarded for doing so.

Jim Sterling review was probably meant to attract attention as he pleases haters going against general consensus that this game is a breakthrough in the game industry. Well he got the attention of haters, that's for sure.

to me you're acting like you didn't read the review and that he has to like the game as much as other people. he's not trying to stand out by giving it a lower score, that's just what he thinks of the game. remember he still *liked* the game, but apparently 7 must be shit.

he doesn't like the weapon durability and neither do I. weapons break too quickly and it makes me scared of using better weapons because I don't want to lose them. stamina is too low by default which can make it harder to run away or climb - climbing especially since if it runs out in the middle, I can fall to my death.

please stop acting like any score that is not 10 or 9 is automatically clickbait, because that is not what clickbait means.