IGN posts 3/10 review for Borderlands 2 VR, gets called out for misinformation, review gets pulled.

get2sammyb · Dec 15, 2018

There are absolutely loads of control and comfort options in Borderlands 2 VR. I've seen a few people criticise the game for not being good "out of the box" but I think virtual reality is one of those scenarios where having a multitude of options is better because everyone has personal preferences.

I did a video on it here:

It can be cumbersome, I agree, because I required YouTube commenters to tell me how to move backwards with the PS Move. This is one of the better games with regards to a multitude of comfort settings and options, though, so you really shouldn't be slamming it for that. It really allows you to tailor the experience exactly to your needs/tastes, which is a positive.

Jecht · Dec 15, 2018

Yikes. That is one hell of a thing to miss in a VR game.

Hydeus · Dec 15, 2018

Wow. Professional.

RagdollRhino · Dec 15, 2018

Doesn't seem like the review has done much damage at all. At the time of this posting it was ranked 1# digital on amazon new release going against regular ps4 games. Not bad with such a small install base.

get2sammyb · Dec 15, 2018

get2sammyb said:
There are absolutely loads of control and comfort options in Borderlands 2 VR. I've seen a few people criticise the game for not being good "out of the box" but I think virtual reality is one of those scenarios where having a multitude of options is better because everyone has personal preferences.

I did a video on it here:

It can be cumbersome, I agree, because I required YouTube commenters to tell me how to move backwards with the PS Move. This is one of the better games with regards to a multitude of comfort settings and options, though, so you really shouldn't be slamming it for that. It really allows you to tailor the experience exactly to your needs/tastes, which is a positive.

For new page.

DC5remy · Dec 15, 2018

Options have always been my first go to since I was a child.

Deleted member 9317 · Dec 15, 2018

Braaier said:
The clap trap screen should be more informative. Okay...so I can change my movement mode. It should mention how you can sprint, strafe, jump etc. by going into the options menu. Just stating you can change your movement mode is way too general. Needs specifics!

SpEcIfIcS, PeOpLe!!

IGN is complaining there are no options, and you are complaining they're too many options lol.

There's a reason START button is called OPTIONS, reviewers like IGN needed a big bold button on the controller to show them it exists.

jayu26 · Dec 15, 2018

UsoEwin said:
People who don't look at options before or during the game are weirdos and I will have no backtalk about this.

Specially in VR games, because everyone's preference is different depending on their comfort level in VR.

LavaBadger · Dec 15, 2018

I'd say some people are going a little hard on this.

Is this an embarrassing mistake for a reviewer to make? Yes. Should they have pulled the review? Yes. Should they perhaps have it re-reviewed by some else? Sure. Should the writer issue and apology? Sure. (Because I'm sure review scores truly matter for a lot if games and their success, especially coming from a site like ign.)

But I can also see how something like this could happen. A lot of people probably never touch the options menu in a game (I'm sure a VR enthusiast would, but this writer is probably not that). Default settings being bad for a game would have been a legitimate criticism had the writer been properly informed. We should expect better of people who are paid to do this, but this really just falls under "dumb mistake" territory.

Scuffed · Dec 15, 2018

I've seen this happen several times with IGN reviews. The author saying something can't be done or there isn't an option to do something but the comments correct them.

Deleted member 4976 · Dec 15, 2018

This is pretty embrassing, especially for a VR title.

RagdollRhino · Dec 15, 2018

get2sammyb said:
For new page.

That's a massive amount of options. It makes me lean more towards a purchase. Playing with DS4 looks perfectly fine and playable.

I've heard alot of people love the Moves for this game but I prefer DS4 usually.

Mechaplum · Dec 15, 2018

Krejlooc said:
Braaier tries navigating VR options menu:

Very good.

LavaBadger said:
I'd say some people are going a little hard on this.

Is this an embarrassing mistake for a reviewer to make? Yes. Should they have pulled the review? Yes. Should they perhaps have it re-reviewed by some else? Sure. Should the writer issue and apology? Sure. (Because I'm sure review scores truly matter for a lot if games and their success, especially coming from a site like ign.)

But I can also see how something like this could happen. A lot of people probably never touch the options menu in a game (I'm sure a VR enthusiast would, but this writer is probably not that). Default settings being bad for a game would have been a legitimate criticism had the writer been properly informed. We should expect better of people who are paid to do this, but this really just falls under "dumb mistake" territory.

Default settings are usually at max comfort levels, it has been explained many times in this thread. A VR gamer would spend a couple of minutes setting it up to suit their tolerances. You don't need to be a "VR enthusiast" to get this, merely one who has played VR games.

angelgrievous · Dec 15, 2018

eh, it was a mistake and it was corrected, not a big deal.

jacks81x · Dec 15, 2018

BioDigital Jazzman said:
That makes zero sense. There's no way for the reviews editor to check for plagiarism from a non written source from a small YouTube video. It makes no sense to fire them

Actually, there is. It's been discussed in the original thread about that whole situation. It's just whether IGN wants to invest the money on a NLP recognition product. However, that's besides the point. It's not uncommon for a manager to resign or be fired after a scandal involving an employee that's under his/her watch, even if the manager has no direct involvement or knowledge in the matter.

ZeoVGM · Dec 15, 2018

New Fang said:
lol

Literally had a similar feeling reading about this.

It makes absolutely no sense to think that.

Unaha-Closp · Dec 15, 2018

When you have to play Inverted Y-Axis you learn to go to the options before anything else. Putting on Subtitles and turning down Music to 75% is my trifecta of things to do before hitting New Game. I'm not even a reviewer!

Yaqza · Dec 15, 2018

It's even funnier when you consider the fact that they have previewed this game and talked about movement options (time stamp included):

Budi · Dec 15, 2018

piratepwnsninja said:
When their complaints are about the lack of options, I'd say it's mandatory for them to look.

Yeah as I said reviewer should check options/settings, just that I don't think those have to be a part of a review text. Of course if there are some glaring flaws like missing basic features such as no audiosliders altogether or no subtitle toggle, that's kinda important. If the reviewer went through the options in this case while playing, that would have prevented them for writing misinformed review.

Soundtrack2chaos · Dec 15, 2018

ACG, Easy Allies, Kotaku and maybe a handful of other outlets. That's it. Every other big reviewer in this industry is a joke.

Ze_Shoopuf · Dec 15, 2018

LOL. Stay winning IGN.

I'm not a reviewer, but it seems it would be professionally a good idea to have a checklist or workflow when you approach a game, like check the options menu.

RagdollRhino · Dec 15, 2018

As much I hate the misinformation about the review, I really hope the guy doesn't get fired over this. Maybe he just shouldn't do VR reviews. Simple enough.

m0dus · Dec 15, 2018

Well. That's discouraging.

mrmickfran · Dec 15, 2018

LewieP said:
It's not too late for God Hand #JusticeForGene

Ah, I see you are a man of culture as well.

Riderz1337 · Dec 15, 2018

Krejlooc said:
Braaier tries navigating VR options menu:

I'm dying over here lmao

Lukemia SL · Dec 15, 2018

LewieP said:
It's not too late for God Hand #JusticeForGene

Add Alien Isolation to this.

ItsOKAY · Dec 15, 2018

UsoEwin said:
People who don't look at options before or during the game are weirdos and I will have no backtalk about this.

I dont look at the options at all. I just want to play. Everthing else is to much work for me. I have to say, i'm not that type of gamer, who plays a ton of games. Maybe i would do it differently, If i would play a lot.

CozMick · Dec 15, 2018

angelgrievous said:
eh, it was a mistake and it was corrected, not a big deal.

Surely good sales are dependant on reviews this day and age?

It is kind of a big deal.

Noodle · Dec 15, 2018

ItsOKAY said:
I dont look at the options at all. I just want to play. Everthing else is to much work for me. I have to say, i'm not that type of gamer, who plays a ton of games. Maybe i would do it differently, If i would play a lot.

I can accept that, but if you were running into game-stopping problems with controls from the get-go wouldn't you then check the options page?

Johnnybarra · Dec 15, 2018

LavaBadger said:
I'd say some people are going a little hard on this.

Is this an embarrassing mistake for a reviewer to make? Yes. Should they have pulled the review? Yes. Should they perhaps have it re-reviewed by some else? Sure. Should the writer issue and apology? Sure. (Because I'm sure review scores truly matter for a lot if games and their success, especially coming from a site like ign.)

But I can also see how something like this could happen. A lot of people probably never touch the options menu in a game (I'm sure a VR enthusiast would, but this writer is probably not that). Default settings being bad for a game would have been a legitimate criticism had the writer been properly informed. We should expect better of people who are paid to do this, but this really just falls under "dumb mistake" territory.

Yeah, people are slamming them with the same "lol dumb ign is dumb".

But, damn.
It's a simple mistake that should be corrected and appears to be in the process of doing so.

Some people need to get off their high horse.

It sucks for the reviewer, but they definitely should have checked the options and not have based a 3/10 review score on something such and the comfort settings.

$10 Bagel · Dec 15, 2018

UsoEwin said:
People who don't look at options before or during the game are weirdos and I will have no backtalk about this.

On PS4 I don't because options are usually so limited I don't bother.

Then again I'm not a professional reviewer that millions of people look to when deciding to buy a game so I think it's okay in my case.

Deleted member 9317 · Dec 15, 2018

Yaqza said:
It's even funnier when you consider the fact that they have previewed this game and talked about movement options (time stamp included):

That's hilarious. They even talk about a lot more features and options that they added that wasn't in base game.

Johnnybarra said:
Yeah, people are slamming them with the same "lol dumb ign is dumb".

But, damn.
It's a simple mistake that should be corrected and appears to be in the process of doing so.

Some people need to get off their high horse.

It sucks for the reviewer, but they definitely should have checked the options and not have based a 3/10 review score on something such and the comfort settings.

Bull. IGN gave the game 3/10 for its damn controls. The same 3/10 was given to God Hand for its controls/style. IGN's review essentially affect sales, and they need to know the impact of it. Sucks for the reviewer? No, sucks for the developers who works so hard on this game only to be told "3/10, do you even have options to change controls?!"

IGN can play the high horse and pull the review after being completely wrong about it, but the impact is always nasty. Will this become an 8/10 game now for IGN? For their "integrity" I fucking doubt it, and that's a shame for the marketing at Sony who spend millions on TV ads to market their VR for the holidays.

Next time, they should stop hiring freelancers. I will stop paying attention even more to IGN, and I'm glad I've solemnly ignored them since Miller/Casamassina's departure. The company is a shell of its former self, a house of shilling and bad contributors contributing to it.

But yes, feel bad for the man who is doing his job, baffled by the controls and writing 1000+ words on why it's so bad to not have option, when the OPTIONS button is in big, bold letters in the controller.

Like "do you even game, bro?" level of silliness lol.

Conkerkid11 · Dec 15, 2018

Too bad they didn't get enough flack to have their Path of Exile review pulled as well.

Dunno how they let shit like this through in the first place.

Electro · Dec 15, 2018

Johnnybarra said:
Yeah, people are slamming them with the same "lol dumb ign is dumb".

But, damn.
It's a simple mistake that should be corrected and appears to be in the process of doing so.

Some people need to get off their high horse.

It sucks for the reviewer, but they definitely should have checked the options and not have based a 3/10 review score on something such and the comfort settings.

Imo that's not a mistake, it's bad work to criticize things before taking a look at the options.

It looks more like the reviewer has no plan about VR games and that's not professional for one of the biggest gaming sites...

DarkFlame92 · Dec 15, 2018

What a surprise. A reviewer in 2018 turns out to be a complete amateur. Game journalism is getting worse by the years

rpm · Dec 15, 2018

Johnnybarra said:
Yeah, people are slamming them with the same "lol dumb ign is dumb".

But, damn.
It's a simple mistake that should be corrected and appears to be in the process of doing so.

Some people need to get off their high horse.

It sucks for the reviewer, but they definitely should have checked the options and not have based a 3/10 review score on something such and the comfort settings.

I'd agree with you if it was a simple mistake isolated within a sentence or two, but these factual errors formed the basis of the entire review. If you took out everything factually wrong from the previous review, there'd barely be anything left. If it was a simple mistake, it would have been kept up but with the mistakes edited out. It's been taken down because a whole new review is going to have to be written, because the previous review isn't salvageable.

BUNTING1243 · Dec 15, 2018

Hmmm, maybe the whole strategy of only hiring twenty year olds that are stupid enough to accept 40K salaries in the Bay Area is backfiring

Deleted member 3010 · Dec 15, 2018

Options are what made DOOM VR good.

Please take the time to look at the options ffs.

Deleted member 9317 · Dec 15, 2018

BUNTING1243 said:
Hmmm, maybe the whole strategy of only hiring twenty year olds that are stupid enough to accept 40K salaries in the Bay Area is backfiring

Bay Area? I think this reviewer is sitting in Toronto, emailing it in along with the cheques lol.

Seik said:
Options are what made ALL GAMES good.

Please take the time to look at the options ffs.

Fixed. Who doesn't go to options as the very first thing in the game? Inverted/subtitles/audio/video/FOV settings be damned lol.

Francesco · Dec 15, 2018

I tried to stay on IGN after Miller left, but their news section has become worse than buzzfeed and their reviews are, well, often bullshit.
I wish they were forced to get it together, but people will visit the site regardless.

Jersey_Tom · Dec 15, 2018

LavaBadger said:
I'd say some people are going a little hard on this.

Is this an embarrassing mistake for a reviewer to make? Yes. Should they have pulled the review? Yes. Should they perhaps have it re-reviewed by some else? Sure. Should the writer issue and apology? Sure. (Because I'm sure review scores truly matter for a lot if games and their success, especially coming from a site like ign.)

But I can also see how something like this could happen. A lot of people probably never touch the options menu in a game (I'm sure a VR enthusiast would, but this writer is probably not that). Default settings being bad for a game would have been a legitimate criticism had the writer been properly informed. We should expect better of people who are paid to do this, but this really just falls under "dumb mistake" territory.

I'd be more willing to forgive if the reviewer had said that they couldn't find the options as opposed to it just saying definitively that there were no options. Now I haven't been able to read the article as not even the sea.ign link doesn't seem to work for me. But from what I'm gathering from some other reactions here that's what it sounds like.

And frankly it seems like if you're working at IGN then there's some due diligence you need to do on your part to be sure. I'm not much of a VR believer myself, but even I would think to investigate the options menu before stating there's no way to change certain settings. Even then if you couldn't personally find any options, maybe go the extra step and try to contact someone at Gearbox to confirm that there's no options for this.

The "a lot of people" excuse I don't think really works here since to be working at a publication like IGN you'd think there'd be a higher standard held here that the reviewer isn't just some rando but a seasoned gamer who actually would have the natural inclination to play around with the settings as opposed to sticking with all defaults and basing their experience off that. Sure bring up the defaults are not an enjoyable experience but point people in the right direction to change things at their own risk for motion sickness.

But this is another instance of a credibility issue with someone working on their editorial staff. Not as serious as plagerism, of course. It's certainly one of either laziness or ineptitude though.

justin haines · Dec 15, 2018

I used to read in religiously during the n64 days but bonuses for that site since GameCube days. IGN is what I don't like about the industry. Just about the money.

flyinj · Dec 15, 2018

DrMoguera said:
Regardless of whether or not checking the options is mandatory for a trustworthy review, I gotta say I wouldn't expect basic game mechanics to be a toggleable switch in the options menu.

Sony mandates that all comfort options on VR games are enabled as default.

One would think a professional reviewer would be aware of this.

Deleted member 9317 · Dec 15, 2018

For those that missed the review. Here's a video review:

https://me.ign.com/en/m/shooter-2/156718/video/borderlands-2-vr-review

angelgrievous · Dec 15, 2018

CozMick said:
Surely good sales are dependant on reviews this day and age?

It is kind of a big deal.

Okay yeah, I wasn't looking at it in that light by you're right.

ItsOKAY · Dec 15, 2018

Noodle said:
I can accept that, but if you were running into game-stopping problems with controls from the get-go wouldn't you then check the options page?

Yes, i have to say, that i would. That's true.

BrucCLea13k87 · Dec 15, 2018

wonder how much time Tina has left

Cactuar · Dec 15, 2018

I give IGN a 3/10. What a way to end their 2018. The fact that they have someone reviewing their VR titles who clearly doesnt know the first thing about VR games is telling. What was the real intention of that review anyway if the guy didnt spend 5 minutes with comfort settings? And since when have poor controls mattered to them? It certainly didnt hurt their RDR2 review.

Mona · Dec 15, 2018

UsoEwin said:
People who don't look at options before or during the game are weirdos and I will have no backtalk about this.

especially when they're complaining about missing features

on the flip side if you start up a game and think its perfect then theres not much reason to goto the settings

hydro94530 · Dec 15, 2018

Damn missed all the fun. I guess there's no way to read the article at this point?

Also I'm a good couple hours in, and as this is my first time playing any Borderlands game, this shit is great and controls beautifully:-)

IGN posts 3/10 review for Borderlands 2 VR, gets called out for misinformation, review gets pulled.

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