This post has not been edited by the GamesBeat staff. Opinions by GamesBeat community writers do not necessarily reflect those of the staff.
Amy is a complete mess. It is a barely functioning interactive nightmare that I had absolutely no fun playing.
And yet all preview coverage seemed to be positive. But the finished product didn't quite pan out. IGN demoed Amy at E3 and dubbed it "brilliant" (before giving it an abysmal 2/10 review). It seems rather odd when you juxtapose the early hyperbole with IGN editor Colin Moriarty's critical analysis ("easily the worst game I've played in recent memory").
It's no secret that games journalism is publisher run. I do not mean that reviews are paid for or anything ridiculous like that. But if a publisher doesn't want to show their product, then they do not have to. Amy is an example of this taken to a crazy degree. Vector Cell showed journalists a small portion of the game, and the major publications had little to go on.
So the preview editor had to give an honest opinion based on what he saw. But the piece that IGN's Michael Thomsen saw was not in fact indicative of the game as a whole. And Thomsen presumably had no opportunity to see more. That may not sound like such a big deal, but that positive preview quote still exists and can be used to the detriment of the consumer.
Let's say, for example, that Amy actually did come out in a box. What's stopping Vector Cell from using the positive preview quotes as praise for the game? They wouldn't even have to mention how the review turned out. Naturally, this belies professional integrity, but I wouldn't put it past most publishers. The untrained consumer might see those quotes on the box and spend their hard-earned money on an inferior product.
The possibility of our trusted games-media outlets being used against us is troubling. It all has to do with access. We are not entitled to coverage of a game. The publisher's job is to sell the game, and they get to decide how much early access is appropriate toward that purpose.
This is not a problem unique to video games. Almost every entertainment medium deals with this. Movie trailers are the most understood mirror to games previews. How many times have you seen a movie and realized that the trailer revealed the only good parts?
We need to be vigilant and understand previews for what they are. I believe in games journalism, and it is sad to see it manipulated so badly.