Yesterday, EuroGamer published a review of Darkfall, scoring the game 2 points out of 10. Darkfall's Tasos Flambouras responded on the Darkfall forums, saying that the review was unfair and that game logs showed that the reviewer had only spent a total of 2 hours in the game.

Today, EuroGamer Editor Tom Bramwell has posted a response, saying the reviewer spent 9 hours in the game, and that EuroGamer fully backs the review, but they will be posting a new review for another perspective on the game.

Now, Tasos has posted a new response to the latest developments, clearly unsatisfied with what EuroGamer had to say.

Our server logs are at Eurogamer's disposal as we said. This isn't a one man operation. There are 40 professional developers here and 900 people at Audio Visual and to insinuate that a conspiracy to fabricate our logs is possible, while convenient for Eurogamer and for the reviewer, is very insulting to our entire operation.

All events on the server are stored in an SQL database. This database is backed up daily. We have routines for saving the logs and we keep them pristine in case of needing them to prosecute legal activities. There is no human interaction with the data unless they need to be manually checked because of special circumstances. Since they are kept in multiple places logs can be cross-checked against each other making this alleged doctoring improbable. These logs contain numerous details on a player’s activity. It’s theoretically possible to doctor the logs but it would be a huge operation.

We stand by our logs and we’re willing to prove our claims. Eurogamer can send one of their technicians here, we will be happy to cover this expense, and he can examine our procedures and our logs himself and he will be satisfied that our logs are accurate. That, or they can do what they’re doing at the moment: believe their reviewer blindly and keep an unfounded and damaging review of our game public on a few minutes of actual play-time.

Read the review here.

Read the first response from Tasos here.

Read EuroGamer's response to the response from Tasos here.

And read the response to the response to the response here.

Tasos is a sad, sad man.

And what about privacy? I see they are able to track us down pretty acurate?

Once again, sad.  We have to stick up with all the over-positive reviews, that is fine... but negative ones.. Oh noes!

Ones again, Adventurine you are a sad, sad company.

I like SOE and Funcom better.

"Response to the response to the response"... funny.

Anyway I find Tasos' reaction pretty legitimate as that review was pretty unprofessional, it was far from a review, it was like one random trolling that actually got to be accepted as a reviewer.

In reviews you are supposed to show what's generically good and bad about the game regardless of opinion backed up by true in-game features and how they feel like. Darkfall is far from having nothing good to talk about, otherwise it would have no people defending it - be it people who actually play it, or people who have stopped playing that have the basic idea of what you can or can't do when it comes to professionally reviewing.

Don't expect games to take lightly a review with a grade lower than 5, especially because if the game is truly below 5, it should not be alive to begin with.

Originally posted by Szark

All events on the server are stored in an SQL database. This database is backed up daily. We have routines for saving the logs and we keep them pristine in case of needing them to prosecute legal activities.

anybody else getting flashbacks to that guy from Mourning? (Realms of Krel, whatever)

Gyromancer?  something like that

I like the line "prosecute legal activities."  I guess you might get banned for not exploiting!

Obviously, if the reviewer says he was logged 9 hours and only 2 show up in logs, that means that they're using some crappy MS SQL that doesn't log everything.

Elementary, my dear Watson.

I downloaded it and played it for an hour or so and have to agree with every word the reviewer wrote!

Everything from the nightmare just trying to buy the damn game to the crazy control method (what's with all that clicking???)

Granted the reviewer did sound like he was on a personal vendetta against this game but to be honest I'm annoyed at the waste of my time and money as well!!!!

I'm with Eurogamer though at the end of the day, tell it how it is and you will never go wrong!

Every post Tasos makes just reaffirms my desire to stay as far away from Darkfall as possible. Instead of responding to the review as an adult would, he screams "Nuh uh!!" To be quite honest, the reviewer could've spent 40 hours playing this game and it still wouldn't have matched the magical "hundreds of hours of played time before reviewers review it!!!"

The reviewer seemed to have a lot of trouble with the game. Instead of crying and moaning about how the reviewer isn't the "right" person for the game, they should be looking at the first 8 hours of the gameplay and see if there are infact problems and if there's anything they can do to fix/tweak/make it more straightfoward. They could've also responded with some tips for new players on how to quickly deal with loot, easily handle a combat system they're not familiar with, etc. There are so many POSITIVE things that could've come from this review that it's pretty pathetic that all Tasos can do is throw a tantrum and talk about how "right" they are and how anyone that doesn't agree with them is wrong.

Tasos needs to be fired. Bottom line. I understand that he should defend his game, but not to be childish and insulting about it. Unbelieveable!

its blatantly obvious that EuroGamer's reviewers are founded 50% in hearsay 45% in business interests and 5% in the real deal,the game itself

how can a site that gave warhammer online a 8/10 keep the smallest bit of credibility,is beyond human comprehension.

Tasos is in the right because a professional review should actually review the game instead of having a /ragequit because he can't even handle the lowest of monsters.

SQL logs don't lie and the screenshots in the review pretty much prove what Tasos said.

It's only freedom of speech that is stopping AV from bitch smacking that reviewer for deflamation.

MMORPG score is 6.7 - that's nowhere near 2 and that is haters vs fanboys.

I don't play Darkfall... however, 9 hours to review an MMORPG? I don't care if that guy is a contribution writer or a staff writer... 9 hours? That's about long enough to get out of the starter zone in most MMOs, but clearly not enough to experience mid - end game content.

I'm sure the new review of Darkfall will raise the score significantly, even if someone actually plays the game or not, due to the bad rep Eurogamer has received from this.

 WOOOWWW...

WOOOOOOOWWWWW...

wtf... they were stalking the reviewer ingame?... LOLOL... thats creepy and funny at the same time... and 2/10? that's too much... i give it -10/10... there thats more like it...

serisouly... wtf did TASO think they were going to get... DF is less than 50% complete... you people are paying for a game that is still in it's ALPHA...

Originally posted by moozaad

Tasos is in the right because a professional review should actually review the game instead of having a /ragequit because he can't even handle the lowest of monsters.

SQL logs don't lie and the screenshots in the review pretty much prove what Tasos said.

It's only freedom of speech that is stopping AV from bitch smacking that reviewer for deflamation.

 

MMORPG score is 6.7 - that's nowhere near 2 and that is haters vs fanboys.

A reviewer point of view is his own and in the case of the Eurogamer guy, he is entitled to express his feelings and opinions on the game, no matter how bad they are.

And people should take that into consideration when reading a review.

Originally posted by ParkCarsHere

I don't play Darkfall... however, 9 hours to review an MMORPG? I don't care if that guy is a contribution writer or a staff writer... 9 hours? That's about long enough to get out of the starter zone in most MMOs, but clearly not enough to experience mid - end game content.

I'm sure the new review of Darkfall will raise the score significantly, even if someone actually plays the game or not, due to the bad rep Eurogamer has received from this.

that's probably because the game bored him to DEATH... LOL... the only "bad rep" they received are the QQs from the QQ land of the starved sandbox loving fanboi freaks...

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While Eurogamer questions our credibility, we will not go so far as to insinuate that Eurogamer's second attempt at a Darkfall review will only serve to confirm the first one. We will also not insinuate that the situation created by the first review will not affect the second reviewer.

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Um, you just did.

MMORPGs don't have end content because new content is constantly being added.

What is considered to be enough play time?  30 hours?  60 hours?  80 hours?

First Impressions are the most lasting impressions and Darkfall doesn't make an appealing package.

Instead of starting a flame war with Eurogamer, Tasos should be asking himself why hasn't any other game magazine review Darkfall if the game is so great.

Originally posted by arcdevil

its blatantly obvious that EuroGamer's reviewers are founded 50% in hearsay 45% in business interests and 5% in the real deal,the game itself

 

how can a site that gave warhammer online a 8/10 keep the smallest bit of credibility,is beyond human comprehension.

 

hey hey, warhammer was great and excelent game for first week, its broken patches, and server limits that ruined the game . so you cant exactly say that, if i were to review warhammer i gave it  a lot too, if i would did second review month later, i would gave it minus..

Based on the 3 hours that I played DF I agree with eveything that Eurogamer said. It may not be a clear review of 200 hours into the game but I don't really want to spend time playing a game I hate to get to the so called "good part".

We are talking about the same Eurogamer that awarded Kane & Lynch: Dead men with a 7 out of 10?

Think i will pass, thanks..

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Originally posted by ParkCarsHere

I don't play Darkfall... however, 9 hours to review an MMORPG? I don't care if that guy is a contribution writer or a staff writer... 9 hours? That's about long enough to get out of the starter zone in most MMOs, but clearly not enough to experience mid - end game content.

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It takes hundreds of hours to reach mid-to-end game content. Find me a game reviewer who has the luxury to play a game for that length of time before reviewing it and I'll show you a blogger who lives in his mom's basement. Professional journalists have deadlines that have to be met, and stacks of games to review at a time.

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I'm sure the new review of Darkfall will raise the score significantly, even if someone actually plays the game or not, due to the bad rep Eurogamer has received from this.

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Originally posted by Sain34

Based on the 3 hours that I played DF I agree with eveything that Eurogamer said. It may not be a clear review of 200 hours into the game but I don't really want to spend time playing a game I hate to get to the so called "good part".

Isn't that the entire point of a review? Don't they get paid to spend 200 hours playing something they don't like?

Give it a year, we won't even remember Darkfall by then....right now it's just a turd that won't float in the toilet, no matter how much they polish it.

Originally posted by Mrbloodworth

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While Eurogamer questions our credibility, we will not go so far as to insinuate that Eurogamer's second attempt at a Darkfall review will only serve to confirm the first one. We will also not insinuate that the situation created by the first review will not affect the second reviewer.

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Um, you just did.

My thoughts exactly. That quote above and the fact that a company shares data from the game log with the public makes me rather worried. Ok, it was free review accounts, but still. Couldn't this be taken with Eurogamer directly, or did it really hit that hard?

Originally posted by Postal13

Originally posted by Sain34

Based on the 3 hours that I played DF I agree with eveything that Eurogamer said. It may not be a clear review of 200 hours into the game but I don't really want to spend time playing a game I hate to get to the so called "good part".

 

Isn't that the entire point of a review? Don't they get paid to spend 200 hours playing something they don't like?

 

Give it a year, we won't even remember Darkfall by then....right now it's just a turd that won't float in the toilet, no matter how much they polish it.

Reviewing is a lot diferent from merely giving a opinion, you're saying what's there and then what *he* thinks is good and bad. You don't bash a game through a review, that's what trolls do.

Reviews do in fact influence people and that is why it generates so much sentimental discussion, especially when you're talking about MMOs, they have the constant struggle - if it's good, it survives and if it's bad it dies. A review saying the game is a disaster is completely wrong, if the game is a complete disaster, it will die, but it is not yet the case.

Trolls will constantly bash a game without facts supporting it, fanboys will defend it without the same reasoning that should be done. Reviewers are not supposed to be any of these. Still, I've seen random comments that have this reasoning in both sides - EG supporters and Tasos supporters. You will even see people who hate Darkfall supporting Tasos on this one, it's not about Darkfall being good or not, but about how reviews must be done.

Until someone at Aventurine wakes up and muzzles Tasos, the company will continue to be the laughing stock of the MMO genre.  Using a techie that can't separate his emotions from his attachment to the game as a mouth piece is probably the worst decision Aventurine has ever made.

We will continue to get our daily laughs at the expense of this harried individual as long as they continue to use him in this capacity.