Titanfall has found itself in a position of being particularly susceptible to haters. It isn’t 1080p, is multiplayer only, and most of all can only be played on Xbox as far as consoles are concerned. It’s not all that shocking that people who can’t play the game want to tear it down. What is shocking is how rampant the trolling is.
I’ve been around the industry long enough to know that some people like to review games they don’t own. Really, it’s nothing new, but Titanfall has raised the bar this week with over a thousand negative user reviews posted around the web during its first 24 hours on the market. Actually, Amazon’s Titanfall page was bombarded so heavily with 1/5 reviews, which didn’t have an Amazon Verified Purchase by the way, that it had to take action. Titanfall‘s average customer Amazon review rating has risen from around the 2 mark all the way up to 4.5 in a matter of hours following deletion of roughly 100 1-star reviews. Meanwhile, Metacritic user reviews are averaging around 6.0, with plenty of 9s, 10s, 0s, and 1s. Wait, where are all the scores in-between?
I’m not saying you can’t dislike Titanfall. However, you can tell immediately that most of these reviewers have never even played the game. Here are some examples of the facepalm material I’m talking about:
Frame rate drops into single digits and there’s a buttload of screen tearing. Graphics are also not as good as I would have liked. – via Amazon
Yep, definitely worthy of a 1/5.
I am revising my first review down from a 5 to a 1. There is nothing new here. – via Metacritic
A lot must have changed since you last reviewed it 10 hours ago.
In order to play the game you have to buy Xbox One Live. Wish I would’ve known before buying the stupid game. – via Amazon
Nevermind that it says “Requires Xbox Live Gold, Not Included” on the front of the box and has been marketed as an online shooter.
Titanfall has a few novel ideals, but this is NOT a next-gen game in any way shape or form. – via Metacritic
A few novel ideas isn’t enough. Give this game a 1/10.
It’s really a shame that many gamers can’t get past the console war mentality. Where does it really get us? If anything, it holds the industry back by making it look juvenile.
inFamous: Second Son is just around the corner, and it’s Sony’s game of choice for combating Titanfall‘s momentum. I hope to see real user reviews for the game. You know, the kind that share the experience of those who actually played it.
