Well, I haven't gotten too far in, so I can't say a whole lot. I'll say this: from reading those two reviews, I don't know what those guys were expecting. They were obviously expecting more than was ever promised, because from what I can tell, this is exactly what it was supposed to be and nothing more.
Anyway, initial impressions are as follows:
It isn't as funny as
Psychonauts, but I don't think it's trying to be. Funny is only part of it. But again, early on here, so I can't comment on that as a whole. There were some good laughs thus far either way. It looks good, and while there are a few technical issues, it's hardly anything to waste time whining about, IMO. The art is utterly fantastic, and a hitch or two here or there are no big deal. I've seen plenty of other high-profile games perform even worse and get little abuse about it from the press. But again, that's only so far.
Ultimately, the single player feels like it's going to be teaching you how to play the multiplayer. They gradually give you new stuff to think about, you get new units, and then supposedly the latter half of the game focuses more heavily on the full-battle RTS part of the game. From what I've seen of the mulitplayer, this seems tight and fun, and something you can get good at as you play. The different unit types are fun and have interesting mechanics, and being able to "use" every unit to do an extra-powerful move or to manually control them is neat.
The base game is what it is. Expecting it to go very far from that is a mistake. The above
is what the game wants to be, and it manages to do some other stuff that's a little bit different and then pepper it all throughout the awesome game world. That's what this game is, and if you're expecting anything else, you'll come away disappointed, I think. But I don't know why you'd be expecting anything else. They've been pretty clear about the premise and method right from the beginning. You drive your car around, do missions to advance the story, explore to unlock shit, and then you can do some side stuff if you feel like it to upgrade your car and guitar. And you do it while screwing around with stuff, riding crazy animals that have spikes sticking out of them everywhere, and listening to
High Speed Dirt really loud.
I think the complaints of those two reviews are valid for some but are probably subjective. The real complaint, ultimately, sounds like the length of the campaign. Apparently you can finish it quite fast if you put your mind to it, and while collectors and explorers will have fun trying to do everything, the main game just isn't all that substantial from a content standpoint. But again, this was a multiplayer-focused project from the start in a lot of ways, and they never really billed it as super long. I can't remember specific quotes or anything, but I was always under the impression it wasn't going to be a long ride. I figure I'll get at least 10 hours out of it myself, potentially more depending on how obsessive I get with finding stuff (I tend to enjoy that sort of thing).
Anyway... *shrug*.
Uncharted 2 actually doesn't interest me in the least because I've played that game before in other various forms about a million times, and while the raw gameplay of
Brutal Legend may not be the most original or the most compelling ever (again, it's too early for me to truly say one way or the other), the actual package is something totally unique. That means more to me than it does to some.
EDIT - I'd also like to take a minute to point out that those reviews felt a bit on the skimpy side and didn't even mention a lot of stuff, or glossed over the multiplayer almost completely. The combat is certainly better than "swing axe up close, use guitar at range" unless you're an idiot. There are a fair number of options available at any given time, and in MP you've also got two different factions to choose that are dissimilar to the regular good guy faction. The reviewing there feels a bit cheap, like they weren't that into it from the start and just sort of oozed their way to the end to write the review. Dunno'.
Also, it's sad to see how dependent people are on reviews. The comments at ArsTechnica were like, "Oh, it isn't as good as I hoped? Well, I guess I better not bother to play it, then," which is fucking retarded if you're only going on some general comments. If you read a bunch and just get the impression it isn't for you, that's another matter, but... eh, I don't know, I just hate what reviewing has become, I guess. Other reviews have been much more positive, so why are the words of one person so important? I mean, they could all be wrong too... it's personal opinion. I fucking loved
Dawn of Mana even though seemingly every reviewer on the planet panned it (and personally, I think most of the complaints were complete bullshit) - you just never know with this stuff. I suppose the crux is the fact that games cost so much now nobody ever wants to take a risk. But I'm usually far more satisfied with games people liked less rather than with the ones everybody loves.
Half-life 2? Passable at best.
The Darkness? One of the best games in 10 years.
EDIT x2 - I'd also like to point out that KISS released a new 3-disc Walmart exclusive album, and it's apparently extremely popular. KISS is one of the worst motherfucking bands in the history of mankind, with Walmart closely behind as one of the worst store chains to ever bulldoze a small town so we could buy cheaper toiler paper. Other people's opinions = horseshit.
EDIT x3 - Some good gameplay footage
here, with Shafer and some dudes chatting. Second half is a half-hour of multiplayer.
