Let's Plays: Your Opinion

[GwydeanRunix]

Dear Escapists, I want to know all of your opinions on Let's Plays. As in, do you think they're a cool idea, or do you think they shouldn't exist? For those of you who don't know, a Let's Play is basically where you record yourself playing a video game, and do commentary over it. Pretty much what Unskippable does, except for the whole game.

Personally, I think LPs are great. When I didn't have a current gen console, LPs were the only way I could see what happened in the games I really wanted to play, but couldn't.

So, just tell me what you think about Let's Plays.

 

[Pielikey]

They're great when they're funny or interesting. Otherwise they're a waste of precious youtube space.

 

[Vhite]

I like to watch them sometimes, I watched whole God of War series like this.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

There's nothing wrong with them and there are quite a few good ones out there.

One of my friends has said I should do a Let's Play when he was watching me play Dead Space...

I would try it out myself if I had a working capture card.

 

[rokkolpo]

i love'em i used to watch the re4 let's play or walkthrough by Boffyrox.
i watchedit like 5 times, i like watching that game more than playing it myself.

and i love playing it, so that's something.

 

[Serenegoose]

I like them - I watch them a lot when I'm away visiting people and I don't have my desktop to game on; normally I watch games I've already played though, just to see someone elses take on it. I'd like to do some of my own, and I plan to, once I get over myself and stop being so shy.

Some of the best let's plays I've ever experienced have been text/screenshot based, so it's not really accurate to say they're videos with commentary. Some are, some aren't.

 

[Mechsoap]

okay i guess, makes you kinda feel its a personal walkthrough...

 

[sms_117b]

Sounds like it could be good, some games would just be sooo long, Dragon Age: Origins + DLC for example, imagine doing that, it's like 30 hours of gameplay!

 

[ALuckyChance]

Most of the Something Awful let's plays are good. I don't think I've ever seen one on YouTube that wasn't absolutely godawful, however. (Well, except for the Freelance Astronauts. Those guys are comedic gold.)

 

[Shepard's Shadow]

I like them when they are funny. Otherwise I don't watch them.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

I like them if the voice recording is happening live as the person plays the game. If it is played and then the voice is recorded, they are not nearly as good. My best example of good live commentary is Darksydephil on youtube. Not always the best quality, but it's genuine, which is far better than being recorded afterward.

 

[jowo96]

they can be good but it depends how they are done, I don't know if they are technically Let's Play because it is edited but Kilplixism's L4D videos are pretty good.

If they aren't funny I don't really see the point though, if you're stuck on a game it can help but there are often better, more efficient ways of finding out how to get past a game.
As reviews it kind of sucks because they can spoil everything

 

[AndyFromMonday]

I hate let's play's. Every time I want to see some walkthrough or gameplay there's always some whiny little shit there to annoy me. "BLAH BLAH BLAH, *insert life problem here*, BLAH BLAH BLAH *insert attempt at humor*. Then again, if the commentary is done right it will be a blast listening to the person and watching the video but unfortunately that happens extremely rarely.

 

[Chancie]

I like them when the player is funny. Like, actually funny. Which isn't very many of them. That makes them a little more tolerable.

Otherwise, I don't bother, unless it's a game I'm just dying to play but don't have the system for. And even then, they bore me. They're great to see the story of a game (if the player doesn't talk through the whole cutscene) but when it comes to the cutscene, I get bored. I want to fight the bosses, not watch someone else do it! So, yeah.

I like them every now and then, but most of the time, they bore me. I can't say I dislike them, but they're just not my thing.

 

[AnAngryMoose]

I like them.

(I know it's not a 'lets play' by definition, but it's basically the same thing.)

That was brilliant. "Holy shit it's a fucking wizard!"

IWBTG Let's Plays are pretty damn funny to watch.

 

[LightspeedJack]

I like some if the commentator has some charisma and isn't boring to listen to, a good mix of humor and informative information is good to keep a commentary interesting. I especially like the playthroughs done by Hellfire Commentaries.

 

[Flamezdudes]

They can be great depending on the person. I quite like a Youtuber named Toegoff, his LP's are great.