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[Curufinwe]

Eew. The PlacentaStation.

I must admit that I was disappointed in R4 after getting it as a PS1 classic on the PS3. Everyone seems to rave about it, but compared to Ridge Racer 2 on the PSP it seemed more than a decade out of date. The only other PS1 classics I've bought are RE 2 and RE 3, and they were still fun, although I played on Easy and just romped thru them.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Yeah, seriously, this is perfectly valid. Video game design is an additive process (and get the fuck out of here with your "COD PLAYS GAME FOR YOU" nonsense) and if you start tracing the years you're bound to run into games that are frankly just too primitive and/or repetitive to be fun anymore. There are tons of examples of that.

Once....once it was.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

I mean Half Life 2 isn't modern enough for Jeff what the hell is that.

Ryan once said that people playing HL2 during that HL2 day thing would all see that "it's held up badly" or something.

I just hate the idea that 1994-2000 is some kind of gaming black hole that's past its sell-by date, and that the hole is constantly expanding forward. There were tons of cool ideas appearing because of the birth of 3D.

GoldenEye and Perfect Dark, for example, are criticized today for having confusing, sprawling levels, and PD for having weird, unbalanced guns. But GE's coolest idea of the time, which sadly hasn't survived today, was the multiple objectives scattered around a map based on difficulty, because today it's considered the "proper" design to guidepost (or railroad) the player forward. And Perfect Dark's alt-fire modes were a pinnacle of creativity in an era where it was common and assumed that guns did cool shit beyond throwing bullets across a map; now that spot on the controller or mouse is given to the "turn any gun into sniper rifle with soft lock-on" function. Neither of those modern ideas are bad, they work great in their given games, but they're assumed to be the "right way" to do things, to the detriment of older games where they're not necessary.

 

[See You Next Wednesday]

After Jeff's rant about Sega fans this post is hilarious.

The guys hates Resident Evil 4, Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life 2, Motorstorm etc...
Never played Ninja Gaiden, couldn't even stand the thought of playing Demon Souls/Dark Souls. He admitted he has no clue on anything even remotely related to sim racing games.
His gaming opinion only extends to casual fighting games & a few action/adventure games.

Ryan is no better. Brad, I'm not even go into that.

These guys aren't exactly the definite 'word' on games.
They practically stopped doing any video reviews because they seem so uninterested in playing any videogame throughout.

 

[Antiwhippy]

So who's this mystical "word" on games?

I'd like to know him so I can finally make sure all of my opinions are good.

 

[doublefrost]

Increasingly, Giantbomb's output seems to be really disconnected from gaming as an enjoyable activity. There has been way to much focus on the only positive content on the site isn't even about gaming, and comes across as banal and trivial and boils down to: 'Isn't living in California whacky?'

Maybe it's just because this console generation is running long - but their overwhelming attitude seems to be that they're bored and cynical about everything and everyone in gaming.

Cheer up?

 

[Typographenia]

They practically stopped doing any video reviews because they seem so uninterested in playing any videogame throughout.

Hahahahahaha
Yeah, sure, okay.

edit: lol doublefrost

 

[mujun]

The guys hates Resident Evil 4, Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life 2, Motorstorm etc...
Never played Ninja Gaiden, couldn't even stand the thought of playing Demon Souls/Dark Souls. He admitted he has no clue on anything even remotely related to sim racing games.
His gaming opinion only extends to casual fighting games & a few action/adventure games.

Ryan is no better. Brad, I'm not even go into that.

These guys aren't exactly the definite 'word' on games.
They practically stopped doing any video reviews because they seem so uninterested in playing any videogame throughout.

And yet they are awesome!

How do they do it?

 

[EmCeeGramr]

The guys hates Resident Evil 4, Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life 2, Motorstorm etc...
Never played Ninja Gaiden, couldn't even stand the thought of playing Demon Souls/Dark Souls. He admitted he has no clue on anything even remotely related to sim racing games.
His gaming opinion only extends to casual fighting games & a few action/adventure games.

Ryan is no better. Brad, I'm not even go into that.

These guys aren't exactly the definite 'word' on games.
They practically stopped doing any video reviews because they seem so uninterested in playing any videogame throughout.

This is a bad post.

Increasingly, Giantbomb's output seems to be really disconnected from gaming as an enjoyable activity. There has been way to much focus on the only positive content on the site isn't even about gaming, and comes across as banal and trivial and boils down to: 'Isn't living in California whacky?'

Maybe it's just because this console generation is running long - but their overwhelming attitude seems to be that they're bored and cynical about everything and everyone in gaming.

Cheer up?

This is reading too much into things.

 

[See You Next Wednesday]

So who's this mystical "word" on games?

I'd like to know him so I can finally make sure all of my opinions are good.

It's just they are completely unqualified for some videos & they even flat out say this.
I remember Ryan playing, I think it was NFS Shift, & he turned off the easy options in the menu like auto steer & auto brake.
He was just literally flying off every corner & crashing into every wall. The thing there is that he admitted his ignorance in the genre & made no opinion final about the game.

Other times they clearly do state their opinion & you can tell they aren't really fans of the genre or even know how to properly play the game, in this case, Nights.

 

[Riposte]

Whenever I notice someone has the tendency to fail to elaborate on their own frustration (and by this I don't just mean expressing it externally, but internally reflecting on their failure), words like "dated" and "unfair" become very suspicious. If we are throwing members under the bus, then I'll point out Ryan as probably being the most careless in this regard.

Does anyone recall if his Dishonored criticisms from e3 were based around stealth not serving him well (being too difficult)?

 

[Hot Coldman]

I don't know how anyone could say they're uninterested in gaming as a fun past-time when Ryan Davis has done 2-hour-plus streams of games like Pokemon Snap and SimGolf in the last month, Brad waged a war on DOOM II for god knows how many hours, Jeff is trying to put together a god damn TG-16 marathon and Patrick is currently hooked on a game about animals surviving in Tokyo, in between streaming horror games from his apartment late at night.

It's one thing to play Borderlands 2 on a stream for your audience, but all that other shit only comes about when you love playing some fucking games like a maniac.

 

[Risette]

It's not a trope. A lot of genres have seen such massive advancements that going back to play old games is heartbreaking.

That's because those games were never good in the first place. The concept of games "aging" is mostly but not completely nonsense used by people who mostly fall into these three slots: too lazy to actually criticize a game and just strike at the year it came out, too lacking in knowledge to critically examine a game, or the most tragic and common of all, people too accustomed to and constantly surrounded by the abuse of language in the gaming world to realize what they're saying is bad.

Not to say time has been kind to all games, but I think it's worth examining why instead of just dropping the "game [x] aged poorly lol nostalgia" line. Advancements make new games better, not old ones worse. Can games seem worse and get hard to go back to as time goes on? Absolutely, but that's because advancements and iterations of a formula can reveal the flaws or limitations in the execution of the older games that was always present but not quite apparent, similar to how a more well-executed older game can be used to reveal the flaws of a newer game as well -- meaning, it's easier to tell when things are done wrong when you have examples of things done right. Of course, as game design advances (well that's arguable these days, lol) the former is much more common.

 

[Riposte]

It's one thing to play Borderlands 2 on a stream for your audience, but all that other shit only comes about when you love playing some fucking games like a maniac.

Or in desperate need of content for your subscription site

/cynical

 

[SapientWolf]

this is true to an extent, but it doesnt make it not a lazy criticism

It's more of a rationalization for some feelings towards a game than a criticism in and of itself. It's a premise to be expanded on. Same goes for a lot of game review descriptions.

"Dated" doesn't even have to describe an old game. It really only implies that the game has graphics or mechanics characteristic of a certain time period that have been superseded by similar, higher quality efforts. Like tank controls in a survival horror game.

 

[Chris Murphy]

Distinct lack of Vinny in recent quick looks.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Or in desperate need of content for your subscription site

/cynical

I don't think desperation for subscribers could force Brad to do the shit he does.

 

[AcceptableGhost]

It's more of a rationalization for some feelings towards a game than a criticism in and of itself. It's a premise to be expanded on. Same goes for a lot of game review descriptions.

"Dated" doesn't even have to describe an old game. It really only implies that the game has graphics or mechanics characteristic of a certain time period that have been superseded by similar, higher quality efforts. Like tank controls in a survival horror game.

Do you think Bionic Commando not having a jump button is "dated"?

 

[funkystudent]

Distinct lack of Vinny in recent quick looks.

He is taking some time off this week I guess.


Judging from the podcast I guess he is moving?

 

[Typographenia]

Or in desperate need of content for your subscription site

/cynical

Jeff needs to quit posting all those videos of him playing stuff like SmashTV on the weekend on GB.

 

[Uncle Rupee]

If I was a premium member I'd be pretty disappointed with their output. They do one video review every six months.
What happened to features like Ryan's video game movie reviews? There's a ton of them they never got around to doing.
Instead of recording 3 hour long marathon podcasts every Tuesday, maybe they should each spend an extra half hour recording more quick looks.
Because the site has really gone down hill in terms of content. And if you enjoy Nintendo consoles, well, screw you!

 

[SapientWolf]

Do you think Bionic Commando not having a jump button is "dated"?

There's no time period associated with not having a jump button. There's no trend of jumpless games we can point to. The closest example I can think of would be having a life system in a modern FPS. Like, you die and a little life counter ticks down by one until you get a game over screen. Then you get kicked back to the menu until you reload a level save.

 

[Typographenia]

If I was a premium member I'd be pretty disappointed with their output.

8 Quick Looks
1 I Love Mondays
1 Three hour podcast
1 Jar Time Video
1 Thursday Night Throwdown
1 Spookin' with Patrick
1 Friday Premium SimGolf
2 Text reviews


That's the content they produced this last week alone, and Vinny is out of the office.
It's certainly not all premium, but I don't think the amount of content they produce currently is at an all time low or something.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Not to mention it sounds like Breaking Brad will be back next Friday, a fortnight after the last one, which is fantastic.

 

[Antiwhippy]

I think it's a bit unfair to put spooking with sccops on there, but I agree with your general sentiment.

 

[MrDaravon]

8 Quick Looks
1 I Love Mondays
1 Three hour podcast
1 Jar Time Video
1 Thursday Night Throwdown
1 Spookin' with Patrick
1 Friday Premium SimGolf
2 Text reviews


That's the content they produced this last week alone, and Vinny is out of the office.
It's certainly not all premium, but I don't think the amount of content they produce currently is at an all time low or something.

Two out of those fifteen things are premium (unless Spookin' was premium and I missed it?). That's pretty bad, and this isn't a new thing; as it's been pointed out for a good while now their premium content has been very lacking for the most part since the move. I continue to be bitter that they never responded to any of my billing emails -_-. Now that the BLLSL is past, and supposedly/apparently they've gotten the ball rolling or completed on obstacles at the new office in terms of getting video and other content out of the way, the next few months should hopefully be more productive.

 

[Uncle Rupee]

8 Quick Looks
1 I Love Mondays
1 Three hour podcast
1 Jar Time Video
1 Thursday Night Throwdown
1 Spookin' with Patrick
1 Friday Premium SimGolf
2 Text reviews


That's the content they produced this last week alone, and Vinny is out of the office.
It's certainly not all premium, but I don't think the amount of content they produce currently is at an all time low or something.

It's not like I am interested in every game they decide to do a Quick Look for.
So the fact there's eight of them this week doesn't mean it does much for me if I'm only mildly interested in one or two of the games they did. I won't even go into stuff like the Spookin' with Patrick (doesn't sound like fun to me based on what I saw from the Live Show) or the Premium SimGolf (which I assume is them playing a golf game).

 

[Haunted]

I just realised that I'm more looking forward to Giantbomb's sure-to-happen multi-hour Wii U launch coverage show than the actual Wii U launch itself.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

I just realised that I'm more looking forward to Giantbomb's sure-to-happen multi-hour Wii U launch coverage show than the actual Wii U launch itself.

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS U QUICK LOOK

And it's 5 player, so they can include Patrick as the block boy.

 

[Curufinwe]

If I was a premium member I'd be pretty disappointed with their output. They do one video review every six months.

I am one and I'm not disappointed. Video reviews are a waste of time, and I've been too busy watching all the Quick Looks to even get to the latest Jar Time yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Felix Lighter]

It's not like I am interested in every game they decide to do a Quick Look for.
So the fact there's eight of them this week doesn't mean it does much for me if I'm only mildly interested in one or two of the games they did. I won't even go into stuff like the Spookin' with Patrick (doesn't sound like fun to me based on what I saw from the Live Show) or the Premium SimGolf (which I assume is them playing a golf game).

What QLs didn't they do this week that you were hoping for?

 

[Hot Coldman]

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS U QUICK LOOK

And it's 5 player, so they can include Patrick as the block boy.

Nintendo came up with the GamePad specifically to make sure Vinny was still in the NSMBU quick look

 

[Uncle Rupee]

What QLs didn't they do this week that you were hoping for?

Denpa Men

 

[RiccochetJ]

If I was a premium member I'd be pretty disappointed with their output. They do one video review every six months.
What happened to features like Ryan's video game movie reviews? There's a ton of them they never got around to doing.
Instead of recording 3 hour long marathon podcasts every Tuesday, maybe they should each spend an extra half hour recording more quick looks.
Because the site has really gone down hill in terms of content. And if you enjoy Nintendo consoles, well, screw you!

I'm a premium member for the third straight year and I love their content. I don't care about video reviews because those 3 hour podcasts and quicklooks let me know a ton more about how they feel about a game over any video review.

And which quicklooks do you want them to do? Actually I know what they are. The games that they don't really care about but you do. The fact that they don't cover all the games out there should come as no surprise to you. They've always been pretty up front about it. Yea, get them to do quicklooks for games that none of them care about from the get go. Great idea. You'd be livid at the coverage.

 

[Haunted]

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS U QUICK LOOK

And it's 5 player, so they can include Patrick as the block boy.

Tough choice on who's going to be the bucket bitch. Maybe they'll fly Navarro over for the launch.

 

[vitaminwateryum]

8 Quick Looks
1 I Love Mondays
1 Three hour podcast
1 Jar Time Video
1 Thursday Night Throwdown
1 Spookin' with Patrick
1 Friday Premium SimGolf
2 Text reviews


That's the content they produced this last week alone, and Vinny is out of the office.
It's certainly not all premium, but I don't think the amount of content they produce currently is at an all time low or something.

That's approximately 13 hours and 30 minutes worth of video content. Sounds good to me.

 

[darkressurection]

I just realised that I'm more looking forward to Giantbomb's sure-to-happen multi-hour Wii U launch coverage show than the actual Wii U launch itself.

Actually I asked Jeff on his Formspring a bit back whether they would do one or not and he said it basically comes down to what they get and when they get it. I will still bet they will do one though, the Wii U was basically built for those guys to be assholes to each other on video.

 

[Haunted]

Actually I asked Jeff on his Formspring a bit back whether they would do one or not and he said it basically comes down to what they get and when they get it. I will still bet they will do one though, the Wii U was basically built for those guys to be assholes to each other on video.

Very disappointing if they wouldn't. Missed opportunity and it'll surely have tons of interest. It's a new fucking console launch ffs.

I hate Gamespot video content but even I watched the Wii launch marathon.

That's approximately 13 hours and 30 minutes worth of video content. Sounds good to me.

Pfft, Kasavin beats that in a day... as long as a new Bethesda RPG is coming out.

edit: actually, now that I think about it, most dedicated streamers on Twitch produce that much content in a day or two, and many of them have a show every day.

Well, quality over quantity I suppose.

 

[SmithnCo]

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS U QUICK LOOK

And it's 5 player, so they can include Patrick as the block boy.

Oh god... the fucking blocks. Potential to be better than the NSMBW QL.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

Tough choice on who's going to be the bucket bitch. Maybe they'll fly Navarro over for the launch.

Patrick. He can "troll" with blocks, and it's easier to tap a screen while talking than run and jump while talking (about the role of past and present platformer design in current pricing paradigms in the age of smartphones and Kickstarters and Nintendo's current corporate philosophy regarding the DLC zeitgeist)

 

[FStop7]

Very disappointing if they wouldn't. Missed opportunity and it'll surely have tons of interest. It's a new fucking console launch ffs.

I hate Gamespot video content but even I watched the Wii launch marathon.


Pfft, Kasavin beats that in a day... when a new Bethesda RPG is out.

Actually now that I think about it, most dedicated streamers on Twitch produce that much content in a day or two, and many of them have a show every day.

Well, quality over quantity I suppose.

If these guys aren't up for a new console launch, even if they're not big Nintendo fans, then something is wrong.

 

[Haunted]

Patrick. He can "troll" with blocks, and it's easier to tap a screen while talking than run and jump while talking (about the role of past and present platformer design in current pricing paradigms in the age of smartphones and Kickstarters and Nintendo's current corporate philosophy regarding the DLC zeitgeist)

The queen doesn't take kindly to your mocking tone.

Also, you won't be able to hear anyone talking over Brad and Ryan's screaming, anyway.

 

[Felix Lighter]

Denpa Men

I don't know much about it but based on the weird ass commercial, it seems to have some QL potential. I hope you get one at some point, but you really can't just dismiss the other content because it wasn't catered specifically for you.

Also, Sim Golf isn't just a golf game, it's a Golf strategy game, like Sim City or Theme Park. You should check it out if your a premium member. It's more interesting than just a typical golf sports game.

 

[megalowho]

I liked the direction that Nights QL took, always nice to reminisce about Sega for a while. I was one of those kids with a big Genesis collection and a wary eye towards Sony's clinical arrival to the console market. Even so, Nights was always just a game to oogle at in magazines or at Toys R Us - unique and colorful, but I could never justify spending my savings on a Saturn to play it.

To me it's one of those historically important games that I'm good with never getting up close and personal with, it almost doesn't matter how great or terrible it is or was. The diverse, almost desperate boom in creativity that came out of Sega's downward spiral in the late 90's has always been interesting to me, and Nights remains a key early part of that story.

 

[Uncle Rupee]

That's approximately 13 hours and 30 minutes worth of video content. Sounds good to me.

Sure, if you want to digest all of it. But when there's around eight staffers working 40 hour weeks, 14 hours of content (most of which is just sitting down and shooting the shit while recording a play session) doesn't seem like much work.

I like the team and what they do. I just think they could put out more and appeal to a wider audience by covering more diverse content.

 

[Beast Legacy]

I'm a premium member for the third straight year and I love their content. I don't care about video reviews because those 3 hour podcasts and quicklooks let me know a ton more about how they feel about a game over any video review.

And which quicklooks do you want them to do? Actually I know what they are. The games that they don't really care about but you do. The fact that they don't cover all the games out there should come as no surprise to you. They've always been pretty up front about it. Yea, get them to do quicklooks for games that none of them care about from the get go. Great idea. You'd be livid at the coverage.

Pretty much this (though a few hate-filled QLs here and there like the Nights one could be entertaining on occasion).

And I think a lot of people's concerns would work themselves out if they could somehow hire more people both on and off camera. I know that they like to keep the team small but more video/production people would mean someone getting sick/being out for vacation or assignment isn't such a huge blow to content that week, and more editors and on-camera guys could shoulder the load of creating more original paid and free content and broaden the appeal to more people (and thus more potential premium subs). I like that the site is more about the crew's taste and all but it just seems that they can't even give enough coverage to the games they DO like.

 

[vitaminwateryum]

Sure, if you want to digest all of it. But when there's around eight staffers working 40 hour weeks, 14 hours of content (most of which is just sitting down and shooting the shit while recording a play session) doesn't seem like much work.

I'm not really concerned with how "hard" their job is.What I care about is how funny the content they produce is. Coincidentally, just about everything they put out is hilarious. Obviously I don't know what their schedules consist of, but I can almost guarantee you that their entire schedule for the week doesn't consist of "Okay, we need to play these 8 games, do these two live things, and then we're done."

I like the team and what they do. I just think they could put out more and appeal to a wider audience by covering more diverse content.

Except they don't seem to want to appeal to a wider audience. They want to appeal to the people who like what they produce, and because of the way they've gone about it, they have a ridiculously dedicated fan base.

 

[SteveWinwood]

8 Quick Looks
1 I Love Mondays
1 Three hour podcast
1 Jar Time Video
1 Thursday Night Throwdown
1 Spookin' with Patrick
1 Friday Premium SimGolf
2 Text reviews


That's the content they produced this last week alone, and Vinny is out of the office.
It's certainly not all premium, but I don't think the amount of content they produce currently is at an all time low or something.

Obviously Vinny is the one who holds them back.

 

[~Kinggi~]

Sure, if you want to digest all of it. But when there's around eight staffers working 40 hour weeks, 14 hours of content (most of which is just sitting down and shooting the shit while recording a play session) doesn't seem like much work.

I like the team and what they do. I just think they could put out more and appeal to a wider audience by covering more diverse content.

I do find it suspect that on a Friday when Brad was beating Doom 2 everyone was wandering around getting drunk drinking. I know on my Fridays im working like a bitch for the MAN

 

[Data West]

When's the QL for the new Art Academy? The last one was great