Biased TerraWars review of GamesMaster Philippines
In the August 2006 issue of GamesMaster Philippines, the magazine published a heavily biased and controversial review of TerraWars: New York Invasion. The reviewer gave the game a high 85% review, even though gamers and other professional reviewers widely panned it. The situation escalated in the following September issue, when the magazine's editor-in-chief attempted to publicly shame a reader and doxxed him by publishing his e-mail address in a brigading attempt.
Background
TerraWars: New York Invasion
TerraWars: New York Invasion is the first commercial FPS released by a Philippine developer. However, it was widely panned for having poor voice acting, mediocre level design, and dated graphics, among other complaints.
GamesMaster Philippines
GamesMaster Philippines is the Philippine counterpart of the GamesMaster UK magazine. August 2006 is the second-to-last issue of the magazine, as its local publisher, Summit Media, decided to discontinue it for undisclosed reasons. The following September 2006 issue is the 34th and final issue.
The magazine has a "Reader Reloaded" section, where readers can send e-mails and letters to the magazine's editor-in-chief, Ed Geronia Jr. Selected letters are published in the following issue with a reply from Geronia Jr.
It also has a "Reader's Review" section, where readers can submit user reviews in the online forum. Selected reviews are published in the following issue.
Prior to the August 2006 issue, the magazine had been providing exclusive first-look access to TerraWars. It also gave away free signed copies of the game to readers in the August and September 2006 issues of the magazine.
About
Controversial review
In the August 2006 (GM033) issue, GamesMaster Philippines published its TerraWars review. The reviewer, under the alias "Maine", gave heavy praises for the game while avoiding mentioning most of the problems that other reviewers had criticized.
The reviewer mentioned the low graphical fidelity and the poor voice acting but did not highlight them as strong negatives. He gave the graphics and sound categories 83% and 80%, respectively, as the lowest scores for all categories.
The final score for the game is a favorable 85%, with the summary "Terrawars can deliver strong hits of adrenalin [sic] rush at minimum system specs, it's a solid game for low-end rigs".
Other notes
In the same August 2006 issue, the magazine's editor-in-chief opened the magazine with an open letter praising the game, claiming that the release is "yet another astonishing feat".
In the issue's "Reader Review" section, a review of TerraWars by "Master Thief" gave the game an 85%. This review was put side-by-side with a review for another FPS, Half-Life: Episode One, with the latter given a score of 83%.
Controversy escalates the following issue
The controversy escalated when, in the following September 2006 issue's "Reader Reloaded" section, the magazine published an e-mail by a reader who criticized the review.
Under the mocking headline"Sidewhiner", the reader criticized the game's review, citing that it was the duty of GamesMaster, then the number 1 physical gaming magazine in the Philippines, to give constructive criticism.
Geronia Jr. did not give a statement, but instead publicly posted the reader's e-mail address in the magazine with the malicious reply, "I'm leaving it to the readers to reply". It is the first and only time the magazine has publicly posted the full contact information of a reader.
Ironically, the magazine's "Text Inbox" section, where readers can send short text messages that get published, states: "We value your privacy. The last three digits of your cell no. will be omitted."
Aftermath
The September 2006 issue is the final issue of the magazine, hence, it did not suffer repercussions in succeeding issues.
The GamesMaster Philippines community, however, continued through its online forum, which remained functional for a few years. The review was widely mocked by the community, with one of the staff later admitting on the forum that it was an attempt to promote the Filipino game development sector.
