Interesting Epic Mickey review

[Azrael the cat]

Just posting this because it's quite an intelligent review by someone who makes a lot more sense than most reviewers I've seen in 'computergame journalism':
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/arts/video-games/14mickey.html

NY Times game reviews are just about the only 'professional' reviews that seem genuinely interested in giving a critical review, rather than plugging the game - which you really notice in the shorter pieces where they contain as much critical contribution in a 3 paragraph review as you'd find in a 3-4 page major review in a specialist professional game review site. Of course, they're coming from a mainstream-beyond-gaming perspective, so you've got to balance that with the expectation that they won't have info on gaming styles that are now marginalised (such as the 'traditional' western crpg).

 

[Forest Dweller]

Bumping this thread because it needs more attention. I agree with the review.

 

[Infinitron]

Necro's gonna necro.

 

[Ulminati]

Let's not get distracted from Dicksmokers admission that he plays console games. On the Wii, no less.

 

[Forest Dweller]

This was no secret.

Enjoy your smug pc superiority. You'll need it to make that tunnel vision of yours bearable.

 

[Gragt]

I wish Azrael the cat was still alive. It's a shame he had to die so young.

 

[Forest Dweller]

lolwut

 

[Quetzacoatl]

I wish Azrael the cat was still alive. It's a shame he had to die so young.

Where is he buried? I need a place to relieve myself afterall.

 

[toro]

Where is he buried? I need a place to relieve myself afterall.

Disneyland?

 

[DwarvenFood]

Azrael is still around.

 

[Quetzacoatl]

Azrael the cat I summon you!

 

[commie]

He's representing Breivik. That's why he hasn't been around for a while with his clear concise posts.

 

[Dim]

NYT has its own dictionary and its the best on the internet. imho Summary; Camera and controls suck because seo didn't play the game and the main design studio made only great fps stealth till dying.

 

[Excommunicator]

Is that the full review? It ends very abruptly. Reads more like a short commentary than a review.

 

[Azrael the cat]

Azrael the cat I summon you!

I'm still around. Just keeping a lower profile now I'm down to only 4 lives left. That's the thing about living in the same nation as Cleve. You just never know when he might appear on the horizon.

One of the things I liked about this review - along with the fact that they actually fucking critically reviewed the game and analysed why parts failed and why some parts worked - is that the reviewer nails a large part of the failings of game publishers. Yes, Disney fails spectacularly as a publisher because the suits have no inkling of gaming compared to their core business, but it's hard to blame them - who the hell were they going to copy when it comes to setting up a good, knowledgeable publishing studio? In film, tv and books, the suits - the guys whose job it is to not give a shit about anything other than making money, STILL make sure that they know their industry inside out, that they know every little niche, which fans like that niche and why, and where the unserviced market portions are.

I kind of float between genuine lefty and progressive capitalist, but one thing I really do think that competitive free markets have handled pretty darn well over the years is entertainment products. Because once you really ramp the competition up, they realise that it's not about trading off the high art against the low art - it's about getting the high art to the folks who want it AND the low art to the folks who want that (anything else puts you at a disadvantage, because you've got one less income stream than your competitors). I can't blame capitalism for gaming's woes because it does just fine in every other medium - one can get on the high horse and bitch about people liking Titanic and never seeing Das Boot, but fuck it, that's just being a wanker. I don't begrudge the Michael Bay fans their idiocy, because even if I decided to put aside all the popcorn comic book films and David Fincher big-budget-with-themes entertainment, there'd STILL be more art films made every year than I could be bothered watching. Same for literature. All run on a profit motive. Because THEIR suits know their fucking business and are under genuine competitive pressure. Activision, EA and Sony just look around and laugh at the fact that there's so few of them that they can all produce the same shooter in the same year, sell them to the same market, and make them all hits.