Dragon Age 2may very well be the worst PR nightmare Electronic Arts has had in years. The latest in the game’s sad tale is the fact that a BioWare employee was caught giving the game a 10/10 user review on Metacritic.
The developer, calling himselfAvanost, posed as a consumer and gave the game glowing praise while claiming that “Anything negative you’ll see about this game is an overreaction of personal preference.” Unfortunately, Avanost’sownpersonal preferences were uncovered witha little Internet sleuthing, as his user name was eventually tracked back to his real identity, Chris Hoban.
Electronic Arts has not denied the chicanery, with a rep tellingKotaku: “Of course the people who make the game vote for their own game. That’s how it works in the Oscars, that’s how it works in the Grammy’s and why I’m betting that Barack Obama voted for himself in the last election.”
Dragon Age 2currently has a 4.2 User score on Metacritic, due to the backlash of the fans, so I can’t say Hoban is doing much to sway many opinions. What thisdoesdo, however, is add to a snowball of bad publicity that will ensureDragon Age 2gets remembered not for its merit as a game, but for its controversy.
