Talk:Amerzone/GA1

GA Review
The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.''

Reviewer: AdrianGamer (talk · contribs) 15:50, 3 November 2015 (UTC)

The game looks interesting. I should be able to complete the review before next week.

Infobox/Lead

 * Anuman Interactive is a port developer and should not be listed
 * Remove unlinkable engine per Template:video game reviews
 * Some citations in the release fields seem to be in the wrong place. You can actually remove them per WP:LEADCITE
 * June 6–7, 2011? Why it has two release dates?
 * published by Microïds and designed by Benoît Sokal - Infobox calls Microïds is the game's developer instead of publisher
 * Development information is too light in the game's lead. I suggest to add a new paragraph summarizing the game's development and move who based it on his 1986 Inspector Canardo comic strip L'Amerzone. to it
 * Plot was covered too much in the lead. It differs from the comic, however, in adding a player character (the journalist) who continues Valembois's quest as the man nears death. can be cut.
 * Gameplay information is needed for the lead
 * Amerzone received generally positive reception. - "a" positive reception, or generally positive "reviews"
 * with critics claiming that it lent it a poetic and dreamlike quality - don't know what "it" is. visuals?
 * It was a great commercial success, with over 1 million copies sold in its original release - remove "great", change "in its original release" to "since its original release". When exactly did the game reach this sales figure?

Plot

 * The setting section definitely needs source, especially claims like "inspired by the real-life Amazon rainforest" and "tend to resemble real-life animals, but with bizarre flourishes"
 * Is it really necessary to mention the game's setting in such in-depth way? The flora comprises mostly herbaceous plants such as the orchid-like Orcochi, Their wings keep growing after the rest of their bodies has stopped, such that they end up disproportionately long. are not really useful.
 * Character list does not really seem to add any significant plot point and can be merged to the character section.
 * corrupted by power and leading his once-beloved country into ruin. - "leads"
 * The overall plot section is a bit too long. I wonder if the part about 1932–1934: the Valembois expedition or the 1998: the journalist plays more significant role in the game's overall plot. You should omit the details of the less important one.
 * he learns of the White Birds from one Luis Angel - Who is Luis Angel?
 * He narrowly escapes death when the hook catches on an ill-tempered rhinopotamus - Not an important plot point

Gameplay

 * by clicking on them - not needed
 * Players and the player, choose one
 * but instead serve to flesh out the game's plot: this is the purpose of the explorer's journal and Valembois's letter. - Rephrase it to but instead serve to flesh out the game's plot, such as the explorer's journal and Valembois's letter."
 * The first paragraph of the gameplay section is unsourced.

Development

 * His comic publisher, Casterman, approved of the idea - Remove "of"
 * Sokal began work - began "to" work
 * but he soon left the project - Does the source mention why?
 * I would name the subsection heading as "Design" instead of "Pre-production". More accurate this way.
 * Do not really understand what and failure states in which the player character is killed. means
 * The latter's skills were applied to the game's more complex visual effects, such as dust particles being buffeted about. - unsourced
 * In an interiew with JATV, he was quoted as saying: "I recall that [for] the first chapters of Amerzone, I modeled everything because I wanted to be on top, but it was impossible of course. So little by little, people made their way into the team and started modeling, and I told myself it made me sick but... in a way it was a revolution in my mind!" - Do not see the need of having a lengthy quote like this. The experience made Sokal overcome his misgivings about working collaboratively had summed it up very nicely.
 * In 1997, Casterman had fallen on hard times - Rephrase it to "In 1997, Casterman suffered from financial troubles"
 * Microfolie themselves went bankrupt - When?
 * was "saved" when Microïds - Do not need quotation marks here
 * bought them out - Who is "them"?
 * A day-to-night progression was scrapped, as was a requirement to feed and hydrate the journalist, since this would have created frustrating failure states. - needs source to support
 * re-released or rereleased, choose one
 * and collaborated with the Tetraedge team. - at what role he collaborated with them? adviser, consultant?
 * Comparison with source material section is not useful and trivial, unless they are significantly covered by reliable sources.

Release

 * Amerzone was released in France on 4 CD-ROMs to It is identical to the iOS release. can be merged to the "Later development" subsection. "Later development" can be changed to "Release and marketing"
 * The release section barely has any source to support.

Reception

 * It should have its own section
 * I am under the impression that the section is a bit too simple. For instance, how critics liked the storyline and atmosphere of the game. Why they liked them, or why critics thought point-and-click interface was cumbersome or awkward
 * The legacy section is again unsourced

Overall
GA review – see WP:WIAGA for criteria


 * 1) Is it reasonably well written?
 * A. Prose is "clear and concise", without copyvios, or spelling and grammar errors:
 * B. MoS compliance for lead, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list corporation:
 * 1) Is it factually accurate and verifiable?
 * A. Has an appropriate reference section:
 * B. Citation to reliable sources where necessary:
 * C. No original research:
 * 1) Is it broad in its coverage?
 * A. Major aspects:
 * B. Focused:
 * 1) Is it neutral?
 * Fair representation without bias:
 * 1) Is it stable?
 * No edit wars, etc:
 * 1) Does it contain images to illustrate the topic?
 * A. Images are tagged with their copyright status, and valid fair use rationales are provided for non-free content:
 * B. Images are provided if possible and are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions:
 * 1) Overall:
 * Pass or Fail:
 * 1) Is it stable?
 * No edit wars, etc:
 * 1) Does it contain images to illustrate the topic?
 * A. Images are tagged with their copyright status, and valid fair use rationales are provided for non-free content:
 * B. Images are provided if possible and are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions:
 * 1) Overall:
 * Pass or Fail:
 * B. Images are provided if possible and are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions:
 * 1) Overall:
 * Pass or Fail:
 * Pass or Fail:

This is a very interesting article, and it is always good to see someone putting efforts translating and working on an old game. This is a massive improvement for the article, but there is currently a lot of issues holding it back from being a GA, especially problems with the lead, sources and the reception section. It is getting there, but it still needs a lot of work. AdrianGamer (talk) 15:11, 4 November 2015 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the feedback! I'll take care of the issues you brought up, time permitting. I noticed that you flagged several statements as unsourced. The reasoning behind my editing was that whenever a paragraph used at most one reference ("Planete Aventure" gets cited a lot in this article), I figured it would be pointless giving every single sentence a footnote. I can see now that this is bad practice.
 * I share your opinion of the Setting section. I was trying to follow the structure of the French article, which unfortunately includes a lot of waffling despite its FA status (dig the illustrated chapter-by-chapter plot summary).
 * I would advocate keeping the Valembois Expedition plot section, since that's a big chunk of the narrative and the one most closely related to the comic. Without that section, I would constantly have to interrupt the 1998 section with explanations of offscreen events (the sperm whale incident, Yekoumani, Alvarez's coup, etc.).
 * "Character list does not really seem to add any significant plot point and can be merged to the character section." You mean the plot section, right?
 * I shouldn't have too much of a problem filling out the citations—the French article seems fine in that regard. I will also try to find English sources. --Serpinium (talk) 17:11, 4 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Yeah, the plot section. Sorry for my mistake. And for the plot section, I suggest trimming some information, as it stands it is a bit too long for a video game article. AdrianGamer (talk) 09:42, 5 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Can I get a progress update? AdrianGamer (talk) 14:09, 9 November 2015 (UTC)
 * I got held up finding sources for the publishing and distribution. Turns out the Frenchman used Amazon as a source for release information, which I believe is not allowed, and there's very little info available on the Web. I still don't know how Ubisoft/DreamCatcher/The Adventure Company split up distribution, or whether Microids co-published with Casterman.
 * Unfortunately, higher education is currently distracting me from important things, so I only get to edit on weekends. I will do my best to finish up though. --Serpinium (talk) 15:54, 9 November 2015 (UTC)
 * No worries. You can take your time. AdrianGamer (talk) 12:12, 10 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Will it better if I close the review instead? It seems you really don't have much time to work on the article. AdrianGamer (talk) 06:48, 29 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Yes, that would be for the best. I'll finish it someday. --Serpinium (talk) 08:21, 29 November 2015 (UTC)