PS3 Downloadable Game "Rag Doll Kung Fu" Is Free, Still Not Such A Great Deal
Thanks to a sponsorship by Sprint, the PlayStation 3 game Rag Doll Kung Fu is free for a week. The freebie downloadable title is a first for the Sony console.
But even free is not without its costs. You're wasting time, hard drive space and thumb energy on a dull, lifeless arena fighting game that lacks personality and, even worse, online multiplayer.
Lest you think I'm being harsh because Rag Doll garnered a seemingly respectable 68/100 score on the review aggregator Metacritic, bear in mind that the video game rating system skews alarmingly high — reminiscent of Homer Simpson's evaluation of Marge's cooking as "Seven thumbs up! My lowest rating ever."
Total PlayStation, which gave the game a 70 out of 100, wrote "Rag Doll Kung-Fu: Fists of Plastic is a disappointment in almost every sense of the word" while PSX Extreme, which rated the game a 60, said "There just isn't a whole lot here, and we weren't enthralled enough to recommend a purchase."
Still, free is at least better than the $10 the game originally cost.
PlayStation Store Update [PlayStation Blog]
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Comments:
Who complains about something that's free?
And, seriously - I love video games and everything - but why is this even Consumerist's business? Shouldn't we leave the game reviews to Kotaku or other sites?
@seamer:Negative, Comsumerist is pointing us to a freebie! They're just appending some review info to help us make more informed decisions!
Yeah, but game critics usually use harsh language when a game is okay and not a big-name sequel. Some games deserve the bile, others don't, and hell, a game needs some bile every issue.
Attention, attention! Free video game not as good as moderately priced game! Buyer beware.
I just downloaded it last night and played a four minute round with my brother before heading to bed and I can definitely see it being very fun to play with three other people in the room with you, especially with the King of the Hill and Capture the Fish game types.
It is kind of disappointing that there is not online component but the game makes FANTASTIC use of the Sixaxis controls in the PS3 controller, something that has almost completely vanished from PS3 games.
Wow I didn't know the freebie was sponsored by Sprint. Sooo I guess ...Thanks Sprint....hope you don't go bankrupt this year... o_O
@seamer:
Actually the Consumerist is doing what it mostly does and that is point out a "Free" item and give advise based on someone elses experience or opinion, so what's the point of your thought?
@Gene Gemperline: a lot of people complain about free stuff. haven't you seen the free kfc posts?
and consumerist is writing about this because it affects consumers. they point out freebies and deals all the time--posting about a freebie and offering reviews is pretty consumer-related, if you ask me.
Which part of free didn't you understand? How is this anti-consumer?
I feel bad for the people who wasted $10 on this, only to find it free now! That $10 could have been used to download Castlevania: Symphony of the Night or 5 Rock Band songs! *insert trumpet waa-waa sound here*
Well, I just got this for free. Even with the bad reviews. Who knows maybe someday they will make an awesome patch and it will be even awesomer.
dude, it's free!
@seamer: This will probably get me disemvoweled but it has to be said:
Consumerist has been getting into the habit of making bad posts. They seem to have a 'post now and retract later' policy where they do very little research (if at all) and make an attention whoring story. Almost like a 'whatever generates the page views' mentality.
Try the game. You like it - good. You don't like it - good. write your own review after. I've tried the original Rag Doll Kung Fu for PC and found it a strange, very indie-ish, but entertaining game.
However, I don't think that the Consumerist should be anyone's own personal soap box. I don't think it is that type of site (per a relationship with Consumer Reports and a non-profit status).
Just bring us the facts please.
I'm giving away free kicks to the crotch!
Who wouldn't want one? It's free!
IMO 68 is really not that respectable of a metacritic rating. For the most part, games below 80 are okaaaay, and anything below 70 normally turns out to be a waste of time.
So metacritic might actually be spot-on in this case.
good for folks who bought the PS3 for a blu-ray player... might intise them a little more than bowling/pool/poker on PSN's Home.
wow, entice* not intise... wtf is wrong with me...@Ayo:
wow, entice* not intise... wtf is wrong with me...
@Ayo: But what about us folks who bought one for more than just the Blu-Ray player? What about us? :P
@VeeKaChu: That's my point - just saying its bad just because someone else says it's bad doesn't actually mean its bad.
Pointing out the freebie is quite fine, I just don't like the extraneous 'everyone says it sucks' part.
@LiquidGravity: I agree with that. I just don't see how this is a consumer story at all. This seems like an angry review about the game by those annoyed they paid $10 for and it was later put out free as a promo.
I tried the Demo on PC a while ago, and I thought it was a lot of fun personally. I could see why it wouldn't be on a PS3, but still, harsh. (AND IT'S FREAKIN' FREE!!!)
the game is fun, i paied for it too :/ wich makes me mad at buying it at all
its fun with people
its not meant for one player
@FlashbackX01: I've had your kicks to the crotch and honestly I'd give them a 6/10. I'd rather pony up 10 bucks for a 8 or 9/10 crotch kicking experience.
i think u are being to critical of this game. it can still be a bit fun with a couple of friends, and the unlockable pieces for your fighter can be fun looking.
I had to see for myself after I saw this writeup plus the first post.
I played it for about 10 minutes, basically just the tutorial, and I thought it was fun, enjoyable and funny. Who are these people reviewing these games and why are they such haters?
One word:
Yaris.
D/L'd it last week, played through the tutorial level.
For a free game it's fine. Get it before it costs $9.99, becuase then it's not worth it. ;)
I thought it was pretty good, heaps of fun and a game that the whole family can play! You can also upload your in game video to youtube, so you can boast about your high score on King of the Hill.
It's free! Enjoy
I am a heavy heavy gamer, and I gave this a shot with a friend and my daughter over the weekend. We were up for hours laughing our ass off playing this. None of us were amazed by the graphics or gameplay, but we just had fun being stupid and it was a nice break from all those AAA titles that take hours to learn and days to play.
Slapping someone across the face with a kung fu fish is pretty damned funny to me.
The part about "wasting hard drive space" is just friggin retarded. Thumb Energy and time are obviously expendable ... especailly the time aspect, as anyone here has time to read this idiots post.
Talk about grasping for straws.
So consumerist is reviewing games based on other people's reviews?