AICN Reviews the DDI Character Builder!

[Fifth Element]

Speaking only for myself, I didn't say he was biased.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply you did. I wasn't referring to your post, I was just making a prediction about the thread.

Which was proved right 1 minute after I posted it.

 

[Fifth Element]

You can review something positively without gushing about it.

Yes you can. That doesn't mean you have to, or that you can't do it another way.

If you think something is awesome, why can't you just say so? This isn't an academic journal we're talking about here.

 

[Traycor]

...a review this syrupy would make my inner cynic only doubt the character builder - the more needlessly positive a review is, the more I suspect that they're hiding something.

In my experience, AICN reviews everything in this manner. If they dislike something, then the review will read like something akin to a monkey flinging poo. If they like something, it's spastic-exciting.

That's just kinda the AICN style. It's what their readers expect I suppose.

 

[Psion]

Lesson I earned on ENWorld: Any criticism of a gushing review is an invalid hatchet-job.

 

[Fifth Element]

Lesson I earned on ENWorld: Any criticism of a gushing review is an invalid hatchet-job.

A criticism of a gushing review based solely on the fact that it's a gushing review? I might agree with that.

 

[Shroomy]

I don't know, its a very positive review, something that my own very positive experiences with the application support, but I don't think its excessively gushing. Hmmm, maybe my expectations were raised by this thread.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

I don't understand the glowing. It's a good program, and "feels" better than E-tools or *shudder* PC Gen. I just think it needs smoe UI improvement.

 

[Hussar]

You can review something positively without gushing about it. It reads like a review in a modern video game magazine, and that's about as far from a compliment I can make. Are you honestly going to claim that
"And that’s where this goes from being a handy tool to one of the single most inventive, brilliant, borderline batsh*t crazy ideas I’ve ever seen a major gaming company do."

...is not gushing? I can't claim if he's biased or not, but even if I weren't a gamer, a review this syrupy would make my inner cynic only doubt the character builder - the more needlessly positive a review is, the more I suspect that they're hiding something.

Sure it's gushing. But, at the same time, is it not also true? Name a single RPG company that is doing this?

Heck, recall the massive backlash by 3PP when the idea of an OGL Wiki was first floated. People were throwing all sorts of accusations of others wanting to steal material for free. Yet, here we have WOTC putting EVERY book in a single application. For what, six bucks a month, you get access to every single book in their library.

And this isn't a completely new idea in RPG publishing?

 

[Thasmodious]

I'd write a gushing review too. There was a lot of skepticism that WotC could pull off anything actually interesting with D&DI, including from much of the 4e crowd, as we've seen the past offerings. That the CB delivers so brilliantly, and that its concept is unfettered access to the entire D&D 4e library in the CB, the Compendium, Game Table, etc., those are things deserving of a high level of gush.

The CB shows that the whole concept is not just talk, it looks like its going to happen.

 

[Truth Seeker]

Yes it will, as much it was said during a panel at Gen Con past.

Tabletop action may come to a end.

I'd write a gushing review too. There was a lot of skepticism that WotC could pull off anything actually interesting with D&DI, including from much of the 4e crowd, as we've seen the past offerings. That the CB delivers so brilliantly, and that its concept is unfettered access to the entire D&D 4e library in the CB, the Compendium, Game Table, etc., those are things deserving of a high level of gush.

The CB shows that the whole concept is not just talk, it looks like its going to happen.