Review The Escapist bitch-slaps The Witcher

[Nael]

Coming from an ESF moderator, this is just laughable.(At least you share the same name)

We share the same body as well.

You are so full of shit it's not even funny.

 

[Attrebus]

What's your name over there. I'll send you a PM.

 

[OccupatedVoid]

My name is Summer and I have an alt named Talaran. Ban me please.

 

[Lingwe]

This thread was really funny.

Firstly Attrebus, this thread is about bashing games journalism not about bashing Oblivion. Now kindly either post quotes from the review with comments that show how stupid they are after them or blindly defend the review and bash codexers for bashing the review.

Corvus (if that is your real name, which I doubt) don't take this personally, I just hate all gaming journalists because of how sucky the gaming journalism industry is. Infact overall your review isn't that bad (except for the fact that you gave a good game a bad review), check out the review of mass effect from the porn site to see what a bad review looks like (ps that was actually a serious post about news and I am angry about it being retardoed). Oh and don't worry Brother None I wouldn't label you a gaming journalist either.

As a storyteller with nearly 20 years of tabletop roleplaying experience

Corvus Elrod is a storyteller and game designer who is working on bringing his 16 years experience into the digital realm

It wouldn't be the first time that the escapist has decided that four years is a short enough time to round up to the nearest 10.

While I don't object to sexual content in games, I don't enjoy the objectification of women. The Witcher sends a pretty clear and unflattering message about the role of women in the world and in the hero's life. Even certain inventory items bear the description "Can be sold or given as a present to a woman." Hmm. I guess men don't get presents in The Witcher. They must have to earn their way, something women clearly can't do on their own.

Your crusade to defend the poor offended women who cannot do anything themselves has been duly noted.

This article is my opinion. I clearly expressed that my opinion was formed without completing the game. I provided some context as to my background so people could make up their own minds.

Blowhard.

To Escapist: Lol at banning waterchip and BrotherNone.

There's a growing trend in games to hold the word "journalism" up to some unrealistic standard like "Jedi Knight" or "Moderate Republican," which I find utterly ridiculous. At a time when practically anyone can create a blog and share their opinions and experiences, it's incomprehensible to me why some people find it necessary to engage in debate over what's journalism and who qualifies for that title.

Either it's all journalism or it isn't. A journalist is nothing more or less than someone who opens oneself to an experience and then shares it. We'd be doing ourselves a grave disservice to ascribe any more meaning to the word than that, and disqualifying many of the world's greatest writers in the process.

That's not to say one shouldn't have standards about what content one chooses to digest, but attempting to invalidate the opinion of others by questioning their "lack of journalism" is disingenuous, pointless and lame. It's akin to employing the phrase "uh-uh" in a debate, and I tend not to listen to such attacks when they are levied against me.

I wanted to write something really cool here but I got distracted and now can't focus. It would have been something about how Russ Pitts embodies the mediocrity and stupidity of the gaming jounalism industry.

Hm, perhaps you're right. Sorry for the personal slight against those in the codex thread who were simply bashing me and cutting and pasting comments of mine out of context.

Cutting and pasting quotes out of context is an internet tradition.

Perhaps.

Or perhaps I ignore questions of my journalistic integrity because I'm confident enough in my qualifications and abilities to not need reassurance from the peanut gallery that I'm doing the right thing.

Perhaps. Or perhaps you are a dickhead.

 

[Xi]

I don't think Oblivion is quite as bad as everyone here makes it out to be.

The general consensus of the Codex is that Oblivion fails as an RPG. Most reviewers review it as a game and not in a way that's specific to a genre. Hell, most reviews don't even focus on it's ability to be an action game. They merely praise it nonsensically for random, subjective, rationales for moments they liked.(Almost like they were reviewing its ability as an immersion simulator instead!) They aren't trying to be objective by weighing pros and cons. I think you could put 90% of those reviews in this category even(roughly). The RPG Codex is first, and foremost, grading games like Oblivion and The Witcher on the basis of their ability to satisfy the genre they fall into.(RPG) These are an indicator of what the games are attempting to do, after all. So, you cannot be objective, or even reasonable, by reviewing a game you didn't play entirely. Especially when the basis of your review on The Witcher isn't based on the games' merits as an RPG. People buy this game, for this type of game-play! I think reviewing it in this way, is far more objective, not to mention superior, than just touting off issues about technicalities and theme.

Oblivion may have been a decent game, but how was it as an RPG? It was terrible.(And this website offers numerous, rational and irrational, reasons for this.) So some people purchased it, to be let down by this fact. Reviewers dropped the ball by not covering these type of details at all, or very little.

And he's not slandering an entire genre, he's bagging out a game he didn't like.

He is slandering the RPG genre because he's giving a bad review to The Witcher!(which is exemplary as a Role-playing game) Not because it's a bad RPG but instead for it's technicalities and theme. This in no way, tells us what to expect from the game as an RPG. It's just a random game to this guy because he didn't play it long enough to know what he was describing.(In fact, I wonder if he browsed other reviews to get a rough basis for what the game was about?) It's just laughable and raises some ethical questions in my mind.

 

[Section8]

My favourite bit from this whole thread has to be:

Either it's all journalism or it isn't. A journalist is nothing more or less than someone who opens oneself to an experience and then shares it. We'd be doing ourselves a grave disservice to ascribe any more meaning to the word than that, and disqualifying many of the world's greatest writers in the process.

Kinda flies in the face of his "nobody should listen to an opinion unless it's from a verified, card-carrying game journalist" turd.

 

[Amasius]

Nice how somebody only has to mention Oblivion and thread derailment is guaranteed. Anyway - I think Attrebus deserves the shiny new custom tag a kind fellow made specifically for people like him:

:D

 

[RK47]

I vote the new supermutant as default avatar to go along with the tag then.

 

[Koby]

There's a growing trend in games to hold the word "journalism" up to some unrealistic standard like "Jedi Knight" or "Moderate Republican," which I find utterly ridiculous. At a time when practically anyone can create a blog and share their opinions and experiences, it's incomprehensible to me why some people find it necessary to engage in debate over what's journalism and who qualifies for that title.

Either it's all journalism or it isn't. A journalist is nothing more or less than someone who opens oneself to an experience and then shares it. We'd be doing ourselves a grave disservice to ascribe any more meaning to the word than that, and disqualifying many of the world's greatest writers in the process.

That's not to say one shouldn't have standards about what content one chooses to digest, but attempting to invalidate the opinion of others by questioning their "lack of journalism" is disingenuous, pointless and lame. It's akin to employing the phrase "uh-uh" in a debate, and I tend not to listen to such attacks when they are levied against me.

Just spread this one around, the rest will take care of itself. :wink:

 

[RK47]

...how hard is it to be a game journalist? do you need to go to college for this?

 

[Koby]

We are all journalists, we are sharing our experience with each other, love and peace on earth brother.

 

[RK47]

yep that's exactly wtf he is saying..it's sounds like 'everyone plays a role. even in doom, halo 3..you are the marine / master chief. hence every game is RPG. '

And when I told my friend..uh that's wrong <this> based on RPG Codex consensus etc...then he just point out 'who the fuck is the Codex to set definition of RPG for me?'

 

[Koby]

Yeah, like, it's just fucking games dude, you know.

 

[Paranoid Jack]

What blows my mind are the people who think his review was good in some way. It's not a review period. It's an opinion piece. Even he claims that now. He gives little to no info about the game in that piece beside the fact that he refuses to play a game without leaving the real-world and his high moral standings behind so that he can be subjective in his review of said game. Everything else is as he read it from a press release or somebody else's preview/review.

A true review would present both sides and give objective views or even opinions to support the authors views. If you don't like the game that is fine but at least try to be open minded about it's features. Maybe even give the reader some insight into those features.

At the heart of The Witcher's design lies a rich and compelling roleplaying experience.

It does? Why doesn't your review reflect that? You only give three positive statements all followed up by more negative bullshit... which reads more like some angry politically correct cunt whining about her period.

Seriously if you're miserable why bother playing a game. Go work on your game. I can't wait to see the master piece of story-telling and game design you've come up with since you can't seem to focus on much while actually reviewing a good game.

Another thing half of your opinions are utter bullshit. But that is the great thing about opinions they don't have to be educated... unless you're writing a professional review that is.

Well, here's more fuel for the fire. After considerable run-around in getting a copy of the game to run successfully on my machine (auth code mixups on the promotion company's end), my preview code expired. Atari graciously forwarded me a full copy to review. I wanted to get something to the Escapist in a timely fashion and completed the article within a week.

This was back when the game was just released. If I'd known it wasn't going to press right away, I would have taken more time with the game.

Anyway, the patch wasn't out then. So no, I didn't run it with the patch.

Wrong, I have to assume you never bothered even looking for any patch since it was out before the NA release and the UK release was just seven or eight days prior to the NA release. Damn good thing they didn't send you the UK version you most likely would have screamed when the bare breasted playing cards appeared.

But then you and your wife could have burned the DVD and it's case while quoting scripture.

Sad that so many narrow minded unprofessional reviews are being written. The game-world feels truly alive and the environments are believable but I guess you were too offended by Geralt womanizing to see any of that?

 

[Balor]

Corvus Elrod is a storyteller and game designer who is working on bringing his 16 years experience into the digital realm. He has a habit of taking serious things lightly and frivolous things seriously, a personal quirk which can be witnessed on his blog,

Ha-ha-ha! Talking about 'objectification of women', huh?
So, a review of an AAA class-game was given to a completely green would-be reviewer, who takes serious things lightly (like, say, work standards) but is pissed about how women are portrayed in an imaginary world based on Middle Ages, he's given very little time and an unpatched game, and then his review is released when it's completely belated and some parts of it irrelevant (due to patch)?

I can but congratulate Russ Pitts for being a fine example for all gaming press editors.
Corvus guy might be a bit pompous and snobbish, given the situation in hand, he looks like an innocent victim.

 

[Elwro]

You mean the issue of the portrayal of women in an imaginary world based on the Middle Ages in a game designed for adults only is not serious? Oh, wait.

 

[Herbert West]

I like this thread, it's all sticky with drama and hate

Alas, there are serious posts here also, and those posts concern important things, like journo ethics, that lies flat on its face in the gaming journalism world and is raped daily.

Can you imagine, say, a respected motorization magazine writing review of some new car that consists of: "I've seen the trunk, and its way to small, badly shaped and the inlay has ugly colour. I didn't bother to see the rest, since this trunk is so horrible that it put me off for good. You would be wise dear reader, not to spend your money on this car"
That would be an obvious fuckup, and yet in the gaming journalism universe it's perfectly fine and justified.

Also, Volourn's post was actually pretty insightful and I liked it

 

[One-guy]

"Volourn's post was actually pretty insightful "

Despite the fact this guy is bitching about "women pride offenced by this game", wich really piced me of, this review is not such a crapy like those of the GayDaily. Author do not like it and he said why (we can agree or not if his reasons are correct, also we can also argue if TW has good or shity wrighting- personaly i think that story is exelent). Attacking him really looks like fanboism, even with all arguments you gave. In that case V might have right [no matter that beloved NWN main story (without modes) is just weak, and those of NWN 2 is good, but nothing special ]. Sometimes its really sorry to read some of venomous posts here.

 

[Herbert West]

I didn't want to point out that flaming that review and the Escapist policy is all fanboism, because it isn't. Big mistakes deserve harsh critique.
I just wanted to point out that flaming the guy because "if you don't agree with me then you're stupid" [sorry Volourn] is stupid. Flaming him because that wasn't a job done right is however ok

 

[Kingston]

I just love how Russ thinks he knows what journalism is all about. He is an editor of an internet site and good for him, but has he actually worked in newspapers or television, has he ever been exposed or been a part of the system? Does he have a background in journalism before he started editing his site? It seems to me like he is forming his opinion on journalism solely from his work on the site. And its a pretty silly opinion.

 

[Gosling]

"Volourn's post was actually pretty insightful "

Despite the fact this guy is bitching about "women pride offenced by this game", wich really piced me of, this review is not such a crapy like those of the GayDaily. Author do not like it and he said why (we can agree or not if his reasons are correct, also we can also argue if TW has good or shity wrighting- personaly i think that story is exelent). Attacking him really looks like fanboism, even with all arguments you gave. In that case V might have right [no matter that beloved NWN main story (without modes) is just weak, and those of NWN 2 is good, but nothing special ]. Sometimes its really sorry to read some of venomous posts here.

Once again: nobody attacked him because he didn't like the game. Are you really that thick?

 

[One-guy]

Once again: nobody attacked him because he didn't like the game. Are you really that thick?

For your infotrmation I read all coments in that thread. Most of you attacked him, cuz he reviewed it after 10 h of gameplay. Thats ok, also that he played unpatched version, thats also ok. And i didnt said that you attack him by his disaprobate for the game, but that some of you did it too violent (or i seemed it was imo too violent).

 

[Crolug]

I haven't noticed fanboism in the thread, at least not of the amount that matters. Of course there might be some voices saying just 'you don't like TW? Fuck off', but the main discussion plot is concentrated around game journalism nowadays and how some fine titles could or do suffer from it and crappy ones with over-hype sell well although they're just plain bullshit.

Corvus himself already explained the way the whole 'review' was produced and I am quite sure when he will sit back to the game next year and actually WILL patch it, which by than it should already be version 1.2 (if not 1.3), he possible will change his mind about it. Especially that toolset should be available as well, which should allow the community repair some things Atari fucked up. If he won't like it - that's fine. But in this discussion Corvus is just a pawn imo.

Edit: It's too violent? It's The Codex mate, you want a nice chit-chat, go to Bethesda forums...

 

[One-guy]

Sorry, i forgot where i am

Bethesda? Are you provoking me?

 

[Gosling]

And i didnt said that you attack him by his disaprobate for the game, but that some of you did it too violent (or i seemed it was imo too violent).

...Author do not like it and he said why... Attacking him really looks like fanboism, even with all arguments you gave.

Huh?