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[Jonnyboy117]

But really, I'm looking for something more literary and I've yet to find a decent source of critical reviews. Game reviewers don't mention things like how Deus Ex: Invisible War's unification of ammunition into a single resource was done to encourage player expression in the game space. And that's just interpretation of mechanics, nevermind thematic content or interesting readings. Fable's morality system sucked, but because it was a system based on absolutes it may well have been itself a commentary on moral codes that are too stringent, or even a statement in favor of moral relativity, but you'll never see something like that brought up in a buying guide that gave it a 7.3 and told you that the water was pretty.

In nearly all of my reviews, I spend a good bit of time discussing the game's design and what is or isn't great about it. That's the most important thing about any game: whether the game is designed well enough to be fun and lasting. But you won't see me look for moral statements or philosophical revelations where there are none. Literal criticism has just as many problems as gaming criticism, just different ones. Applying one's faults to the other will improve nothing.

 

[Attack You]

n/m, misinterpreted what was being said.

 

[Campster]

What you're actually looking for, is someone who agrees with your opinion and shares your exact taste, in telegraphed sentences that seldom make concise or objective points. There are several places for this. GAF is plainly not one of them.

No, it isn't. I encourage disagreement and discourse. It's the lack of the type of discourse I want to have that dismays me. What I'm finding is that I want literary discourse and everyone else wants me to shut up and just enjoy games "because they're fun."

This is like trying to discuss film theory with people that think xXx is high cinema.

 

[OpinionatedCyborg]

This is like trying to discuss film theory with people that think xXx is high cinema.

To quote you, "No, it isn't."

 

[SuperPac]

What I'm finding is that I want literary discourse and everyone else wants me to shut up and just enjoy games "because they're fun."

How utterly unfair of them.

 

[WindyMan]

Critical caveat: Critic != Journalist

Therefore: Game Critic != Game Journalist

That's really the problem with the videogame media industry; we critique the content we are supposed to subjectively report on.

 

[jooey]

so what campster's really trying to say is:

college

college college college

i go to college

college college

i'm finding myself

college

forums, blogs

but really college

 

[SuperPac]

 

[Vashu]

What I'm finding is that I want literary discourse and everyone else wants me to shut up and just enjoy games "because they're fun."

Wait, aren't games a part of the entertainment industry, so aren't they just supposed to be fun? I find this elitist tone quite unsettling, I think you're reaching a little too far right now, especially on GAF. Game journalists are, luckily, not the same as moviecritics, who I tend to find obnoxiously stuck up and way too critical at times. Especially for something which is supposed to be nothing more than entertainment. Stuff for you to enjoy, how can you have a literary discourse about something so very very simple?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying 'xXx' is a great movie or something (I didn't like it at all), but most of the times you just have to switch off your brain and enjoy the ride. Either you like it afterwards, or not.

Of course, with gaming you can't really 'switch it off' since you have to act, but most stories told in games are nothing more than a filler. On the other hand, we have the excellent storytelling of Metal Gear Solid, which features a very deep story with stuff you can think about, but even that one is filled with cliché's and lighthearted jokes.

You want literary discourse, go to your local book club or something this obviously isn't the place for it. Unless someone starts a site called Game Elitist.com or something, I don't think you can find this anywhere. So lighten up, and just enjoy your games.

 

[Keio]

Game reviewers don't mention things like how Deus Ex: Invisible War's unification of ammunition into a single resource was done to encourage player expression in the game space.

The intention of the author does not count when doing a review. If the reviewer does not experience encouragement of expression, then it isn't there.

Although I despise the tendency of game reviewers to reduce games to their components (graphics, sound, "playability" etc.), I also realize that games are very different from movies and literature in the sense that games can be broken/unexperiencable due to technical faults.

Of course, in the best of possible worlds, reviews give unique points of view to the game, educate the gamer to realize game design/mechanics that are exceptionally brilliant, advance the whole art, and also manage to give people a clear view of what kind of an experience the game is.

 

[djtiesto]

If a game review gives a decent overview of the concept and explains clearly what the game 'systems' are like, the flaws inherent in the gameplay (ex: loose controls, overpowered special moves, steep learning curve), the review has done its job... no need to look at scores, with that info I listed above I can decide for myself whether or not the game is suited to my taste. David Smith's Tales of Symphonia review for 1up was one I remember being pretty good. Even though he scored it a point lower than I personally would have (7.0), he was clear to state the battle system being fun, though part of the reason for his 7.0 was he thought the characters were super cliche... in my personal opinion, having a really fun battle system far outweighs running around with a bunch of cliches on your team, so I knew ToS would have been worth purchasing.

I like 1up and Gamespots reviews best I think, though there are times when I don't think 1up's reviews have covered enough of the game's mechanics.

Don't need the review to wax pretentiously about the range of emotions the reviewer was feeling when he found the Master Sword in LttP (for instance), while namedropping Kierkegaard and Kant and Baudrillard... sorry NGJ fans.

 

[Atari2600]

Videogame journalism is broken, plain and simple. Every single game critic I've read has shown signs one time or another of complete idiocy and illogical thinking (and no, I'm not talking about rating a game too high/low), and it's pretty damn pathetic that there is not a single videogame journalist working today that I would say is on the same level as even the 50th best film critic.

Accept this fact, enjoy any content you read for the occasionally informative quip, and move on. You'll be much happier with your life.

Until all gaming sites abolish their laughably broken out-of-10 rating scales and quit loving all over every preview/first impression/eyes-on of games like PR clockwork, I suggest you heed the above advice.

This just in... you're a horse's ass.

 

[Stinkles]

=CampsterThis is like trying to discuss film theory with people that think xXx is high cinema

Yes, thanks for bringing the level of discourse to a new high. "Everyone at GAF is a moron because they don't all agree with me."

 

[AdmiralViscen]

Maths failure. :lol

I kid.

Never been to England?

 

[SiegfriedFM]

"I think everyone understands what a "C+" game means"

Not if they don't live in the US...