In my opinion, a reviewer should complete a game and try to experience as much of it as possible. Details of this rule of mine can come later, over tea and cakes, but what brings this up is IGN's review of PixelJunk SideScroller. Maybe the pressure of scowling bosses and quick deadlines made this reviewer crack and take the easy way out — or rather, easy way through, as the case may be.
The review is here, but it's had some cosmetic surgery following a callout by Q-Games president Dylan Cuthbert, which insisted that the reviewer "rushed through the game on casual". Reviewer Daemon Hatfield initially denied the accusation and insisted he beat the game on Normal difficulty, but Cuthbert countered that if he had done so, the "last epic stage" would have been unlocked, which contradicted Hatfield's review comments. The review then had a portion reviewed, presumably as a sort of damage control.
See below.
Twitter pic 1: Check mate
Twitter pic 2: Aftermath
Twitter pic 3: The cold hard proof, so cold and definitely hard (click image to enlarge)
Was IGN right or wrong? Does it even matter? Let us know below or on Faceblog and Twittweet or whatever you kids do with your telephones these days.
[Via]
[Update] Daemon Hatfield has released a blog insisting he's done nothing at all wrong, and is restoring the removed text from his review. He believes Dylan Cuthbert is just upset about his game receiving a low review score.
