Unlicensed criticism should be silenced!

[lefthandblack]

Several years ago, I had a ritual that I went through before game shopping.
I would make a list of all the games that I was interested in, then read the reviews for them from sites like gamespot, etc. After crossing those games that got bad reviews off the list, I would go buy the ones that got good reviews. Every so often I would get burned, but for the most part, if you read the review you knew what to expect from the game. Fast forward to now:

Now, I read the reviews, and then go to the developers forums and forums like this one to read comments from people who have already bought the games. I then compare the glowing review with the number of
"It ate my hard drive!"
"I finished it in ten hours!"
"It's the same game as the last one with better graphics!"
"It won't run on my hardware!"
type comments and make my purchase decision based on comparing the two.

So, if this guy is right, then why is it that if you only read the reviews before you buy, more often than not you will end up feeling like you were mugged for that fifty bucks?

Anyone who thinks that the ability to comment on Amazon about products is a bad thing is a fucking idiot. Had I gone there first, I would have known that this fucking keyboard I just bought is a piece of shit.

P.S. Don't buy a MERC "gaming Keyboard", it's a piece of shit.

 

[Shannow]

A little video review of Bioshock by the Escapist:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/user ... 03130.html

 

[Texas Red]

A little video review of Bioshock by the Escapist:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/user ... 03130.html

I refuse to watch this. Give a reason why you posted it or dont link to reviews at all.

 

[SimpleComplexity]

@lefthandblack

Nah, you can`t get mugged, by choosing GTA IV.

ehem.. jeah, the only reliable source for good RPG´s is the codex, i stopped buying game magazines after i had my enlightenment, sometimes i buy them for the full games, which come on the DVD, i don`t even know if one can trust tests from Hardware magazines, i haven`t find a reliable source yet.

 

[Zomg]

A little video review of Bioshock by the Escapist:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/user ... 03130.html

I refuse to watch this. Give a reason why you posted it or dont link to reviews at all.

It's Yahtzee from fullyramblomatic.com shitting on it with comedies. Astromarine linked to him the other day. He is apparently an internet sensation what is sweeping the (inter)nation.

 

[Shannow]

A little video review of Bioshock by the Escapist:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/user ... 03130.html

I refuse to watch this. Give a reason why you posted it or dont link to reviews at all.

K, dumbfuck, the review is funny and might be accurate. Since I haven't played Bioshock and don't plan to in the next few weeks I don't really care and it only has entertainment value for me.
I never read the Escapist and I don't plan to, but a few months ago several Codex members seemed to like it. Recently the Codex focussed on bashing the Escapist and rightly so from the snippets I picked up. If this review is any indication the Escapist is as homogeneous as the Codex has a hive mind.
Before you all start hating a site for some of its writers I thought I might post this video and broaden your horizon.
Since I didn't expect a dumbfuck like you to need a reason to click a fucking link to a fucking 5 minute video that you could stop any fucking time if you felt like is was fucking wasting your time I didn't give any "reason".
And now go and play in fucking traffic, dumbfuck.

A post directed at TWD with only eight "fucks" in it. Anger management is paying off.

 

[Kraszu]

A little video review of Bioshock by the Escapist:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/user ... 03130.html

It is valid to expect that you will give reason to watch it. You could as well show it to bash Escapist, one sentence is enough but write it just for others to know what they can expect. It is also good to say how long it is (4 minutes) as it could be as well 5x longer.

It was good, and whit some informations, to bad it is not longer and not cover more.

 

[Surgey]

Ben Croshaw is goddamn hilarious. He's even made a couple games (look up FullyRamblomatic). He's Yahtzee on Something Awful, as well. He's pretty much the only cool thing about Escapist Magazine.

edit: If it wasn't mentioned already, he has an accurate review of Fable on Youtube. Look it up.

 

[xedoc gpr]

I refuse to watch this.

Ben Croshaw is goddamn hilarious. He's even made a couple games

His games are very fun, and he draws all the visuals himself so that's a plus for the "I H8 Graphics" crowd. The video reviews are hilarious, the guy himself is a jerk, but you can't have everything.

 

[Inziladun]

The video reviews are hilarious, the guy himself is a jerk, but you can't have everything.

What else would you expect from a Brit?

 

[Rei]

That article is attacking the internet for the thing that makes it special: communication. Every thing else is one way forms of information. TV, magazines, Radio, movies, even video games are not communication.

The thing that makes gaming magazines good (by his standards) is they can strait up lie and the reader cant formulate a proper retort. Not so on the internets.

By the way, the internet is what has stumped corporations. Every other medium has become a tool by corporations. Corporations identify a trend and capitalize on it, until "generation X" gets bored and moves on. This is movies and music. Then there's TV. Fucking TV... If Hitler had TV as an option for brainwashing we would all be eating sour kraut right now.

Basically, the internet is a problem for corporations.
I'm sure you all understand why.

 

[Claw]

Writing professionally endows authority, even when undeserved.

That seems to work much better than what Sean said. Or maybe that's just what he's hoping for: That people trust him because he's a "professional" rather than requiring objective information, reasoned arguments and evidence.

There is one point in this otherwise rather elitist piece of crap. It becomes harder and harder to filter out relevant information from the many sources provided. But that's digitalisation for you.

That's what experience is for. I know I can trust the Codex, assuming I can see through the parody.

 

[Mech]

The problem is a lot of complaints you see on the internet for an item or service is due to the users stupidity or plain ignorance in the first place.

"Waaaah, my SLI EVGA Geforce 8800's keep crashing my computer! Nvidia and EVGA suck ass, DON'T BUY THESE CARDS!!!!"

All the while he is trying to run it on a 200W power supply.

GG internet, GG.

 

[Chefe]

Greg K. doesn't work at Gamespot anymore.

 

[Cassidy]

Where's the big mama?

 

[undead dolphin hacker]

The unwashed masses ruin everything. That's the principle this site is fucking built on. I find it droolingly idiotic and jibberingly cannibalistic that you wouldn't agree in full with an article that says the exact same thing.

The average person is not worth reading, listening to, or even sharing oxygen with. Let qualified people do the talking and kick Joe Average off the public stage.

 

[Shoelip]

The unwashed masses ruin everything. That's the principle this site is fucking built on. I find it droolingly idiotic and jibberingly cannibalistic that you wouldn't agree in full with an article that says the exact same thing.

The average person is not worth reading, listening to, or even sharing oxygen with. Let qualified people do the talking and kick Joe Average off the public stage.

I think the issue here is that the professional gaming media is no more qualified than a joe average.

 

[kingcomrade]

I find it droolingly idiotic and jibberingly cannibalistic that you wouldn't agree in full with an article that says the exact same thing.

I don't see the phrase chillingly chilling anywhere in there.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

Yeah, the last three paragraphs are what you should pay attention to.

As a boy, when I wanted to know whether a given videogame was worth the money I scraped together from three weeks of woefully inadequate allowances, I could either ask friends who had the game or turn to the latest issue of Compute! Magazine.

Should I have the fortitude to wait a full day, reviews from countless so-called reviewers in marginal outlets of little renown will espouse certain judgments in the guise of objective professionalism

Specifically, even without the benefit of the internet, they realized that while no opinion can truly be wrong, they can be ill-informed.

I'm not saying Greg Kasavin at Gamespot should have the last and only word on the quality of a game just because he's a "paid professional" and has "editorial standards." What I am saying is maybe we should all give him and his kin a little more attention than we give Quak3D00d when weighing criticism.

The emphasis pushes heavily on the "professionals are informed" angle. If you read a review in an outlet that has a lot of renown (GameSpy, IGN), then that review is more informed than one from say, StarTrekGamersOnline.com The problem that runs into is when articles like The Escapists own recent Fallout 3 preview have so little correct information in them that they make Quak3D00d look like an information supercomputer by comparison. Case in point, I think we got more information about Fallout 3 from NMA's "unprofessional" review than we did from all of the professional reviews combined.

That's the principle this site is fucking built on.

No, it's not. This site was built on the principle that the professional gaming media is nothing more than a bunch of overpaid windbags who have been bribed to kingdom come in order to give their highly inflated and unrealistic review scores. Every new game that came out with "RPG" slapped on the side was judged by how pretty the graphics were and how much bloom there was. Jarringly obvious problems were ignored and marginalised as "exciting, innovative features" like being able to play around with your characters fugly, featureless face and AI which had NPCs stare at walls for hours on end were hyped beyond recognition. "Exciting questlines" which were nothing short of illconceived dribble spilled from the mouth of a child were bandied about as "the next revolution in gaming" while in reality, RPGs continually slumped backwards in the areas that mattered.

No, this site was built on the principle that "Greg Kasavin at Gamespot and his ilk" have completely lost the plot. Hence our disagreement with the article. That the unwashed masses buy into the hype and the pretty colours is mostly irrelevant, as this site was built to cater for the niche that actually want RPGs to have actual "RP" in them beyond "lulz I am teh Space Marines". In fact too often, it's the reviews by those countless so-called reviewers in marginal outlets of little renown that have got it right while GameSpot and their ilk continue to get it so horribly wrong.

I never read the Escapist and I don't plan to, but a few months ago several Codex members seemed to like it. Recently the Codex focussed on bashing the Escapist and rightly so from the snippets I picked up. If this review is any indication the Escapist is as homogeneous as the Codex has a hive mind.

A while ago, back when the Escapist was shiny and new, they did a few good things which made us like them. More recently though, their quality has dropped significantly. While there are still a few good gems hanging around and the odd good article crops up, their more recent batch of articles has left a lot to be desired. It's mostly their articles about the industry that made us like them. Their reviews however, seem to be following the industry standard of Hype + Unjustified 90% Score + Ignore All The Game's Faults because it comes from a Big Publisher™.

 

[muds_animal_friend]

I think the issue here is that the professional gaming media is no more qualified than a joe average.

Exactly. The sole qualifying attribute for a career in games journalism appears to be an infinite capacity for self-indulgence. Back in the ‘80s I used to purchase games based on magazine review scores alone, today they play no factor in my choice. This is not merely because professional reviewers are increasing incompetent and ill informed; but also due to the fact I have access to a vastly wider pool of information courtesy of the Internet.

After all, statements like “oblivion is Teh best game EvaR!!!!!” by l33tgamr are no less informative than the shite professional reviewers trotted out. If the media cannot provide a more trustworthy and enlightening source of information than joe blogger they're redundant.

 

[Lumpy]

What I understood from the article:
"Why am I FORCED to take unprof. reviews into account as much as I take professional ones?"
I don't get this. He doesn't have to. He could base his decision only on COMPUTE! and Gamespy if he wants. He could even refrain from reading forums and blogs altogether, or at least disbelieve everything he reads in them.
So what's his problem, after all?

 

[inwoker]

What I understood from the article:
"Why am I FORCED to take unprof. reviews into account as much as I take professional ones?"
I don't get this. He doesn't have to. He could base his decision only on COMPUTE! and Gamespy if he wants. He could even refrain from reading forums and blogs altogether, or at least disbelieve everything he reads in them.
So what's his problem, after all?

That he is professional?

 

[dnf]

I do think that gaming journalists should not be bribed by developers through all expense paid trips to their offices and that kind of thing, though.

Sorry to pick on a very minor point, but it's the journalists' employers (i.e. Gamespot, PC Gamer, etc) that pay for those trips, not the developers. There are very few developers in the world that have enough wriggle room in their budget to fly random yahoos around the world just for a press event, complete with hookers and blow and dancing neon midgets. Except for Popcap Games. Popcap is all about the hookers and blow.

By the way, has anyone ever seen 4too and Blargh in the same room at the same time?

Lauren Waiwright and pope Doritos disagrees. Also:
I miss the rage in Codex.