People freak out over Gamespot GTA V review
- Thread starter Erttheking
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I've said it before and I'll say it again. Reviews are, by default, subjective. Being objective when reviewing video games is impossible. That is unless you want reviews to look like this.shootthebandit said:
http://www.destructoid.com/100-objective-review-final-fantasy-xiii-179178.phtml
of course the review should be partially subjective but the review should remain centered on the game itself and explain the features of the game (objectivity) and not your personal opinions on things like sexism. She made a point about women only serving as prostitutes or pole dancers (which for any other game may be a valid point) but this is GTA she shouldnt have expected it to be a triumph for woman's rights in the same vane that harold and kumar should be expected to be the voice of the anti-weed campaignerttheking said:
ive just read the review on here and the reviewer complains about them being really bad characters.... A crime game where you play as a bad guy, thats a new one on me.
anyone who complains about such things should watch the following instructional video
The fact that a character is a horrible person doesnt mean that it cant be a good character, the Joker certainly isnt a good person.shootthebandit said:
And yeah, I really think that the freak out isnt about the score but mostly because of the political/personal stuff, the same stuff that gave Gone Home a 9.5 since it had a lesbian character (the game can still be good but you really see that the presence of a lesbian character and exploration of such themes really mattered for the end result).
Its like every game needs to be politically correct and have a progressive thinking attitude, even if its a satire like GTA. I mean, GTA politically correct? How can reviewers expect that from GTA? This goes out to the Escapist review too.
I honestly dont mind the 9.0, I even think that people are being too generous with the 10/10 (there are some flaws therefore its not a 10/10) but the moment I saw "Politically muddled and profoundly misogynistic" it just showed that the reviewer was expecting something that would cater her political/personal views.
the point i was trying to make was that she was utterly disgusted with trevor and she was somehow surprised that he was a horrible personjosemlopes said:
the escapist review was in a similar light, as i said in my latest comment (and obviously youve said too) GTA should not be seen as a pioneer for political correctnessjosemlopes said:
Apparently people aren't allowed to take issue with the way the game portrays women. This is all the evidence that's neeed to show that the gaing community has problems when it comes to gender issues. Basically you're not even allowed to suggest that a popular game may have a problem with the way it portrays women without getting a metric fuckton of bile hurled at you, even if your final score for the game is a 9/10.
How about we quote that review verbatim:
But I guess it is much easier to feel personally attacked as a gamer everytime the words sexism and mysogony get applied to a game because they come to take away your fun!
It should be quite obvious that the point being made is not "GTA V is bad because it features prostitutes and hookers". The point is: The line between a satirical critique and a hommage is thin, and GTA V doesn't make clear which side of the line it is on.
But I guess it is much easier to feel personally attacked as a gamer everytime the words sexism and mysogony get applied to a game because they come to take away your fun!
It wasn't PS3 gamers who were complaining. it was a pack of Xbox morons attacking Sessler for daring to give a shooter on a different console the same score as Gears of War 2.Pink Gregory said:
Still remains my go to video for hilarious rage over review scores.
The fact that reviews are subjective has been covered, so I'll point out why the rest of your argument is crap.quickmelt said:
I'll start obvious.
-If a book advocates racism does that detract from what might be a sublime, nuanced and sensitive novel?
-If a film condemns homosexuality does that detract from blah blah
Being racist, or homophobic isn't acceptable. Calling people out on it is, I would say, a moral duty. It's not a political agenda, it's being a decent human being and allowing people to live their lives free from groundless stigma.
If someone makes a misogynistic, racist or otherwise morally reprehensible form of media they deserve to be called out on it, including by critics, whose job - you know - is to critically assess said media. When I say racist, I don't mean set in 1912 and displaying racism that existed (hello bioshock infinite). Racism, as is misogyny, is insidious when it isn't realised by the creators; when all the black characters are evil. When all the brown people in a film are terrorists. Misogyny is when all the women are shallow 2D characters, with about as much relevance as a massive pile of marshmallows. That's got nothing to do with satire and, as far as I can tell, is what is being criticised by various reviewers (not just Gamespot's).
Note to reader: If you think racism or homophobia are okay (or misogyny) then you are a massive wanker and need to re-evaluate your world view. I have no interest in conversing with you, please do not reply.
its not a case of what you said above, its a case of her not understanding the tone of the game. Sure id be really pissed of in a game like "the last of us" if it portrayed women in a bad light but this is grand theft auto. A series which is famed for being a hive of scum and villainy. Its something that should be expected, you are not supposed to play as three "would be heroes" but instead you play as 3 thieves who will do anything to get the score (including killing people)Stephen Sossna said:
I think we can all accept that GTA wasnt going to be the pioneer of strong female roles in gaming. I dont have a problem with strong women roles in fact i think it will add some variety although GTA is not the place for it. The fact that the reviewer even mentioned this topic made her seem very naive and a little bit preachy
Wait, people on the internet overreacted to a game review because of a topic that has been hugely controversial for some time now? Color me shocked.
But really, did anyone expect anything else? Extreme negative (over)reactions to game reviews for basically any reason probably exist since game reviews existed on the internet. And that anything remotely connected to feminism/gender and games really get some peoples blood boiling equally shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.
And to put stuff into perspective: there are hundreds of millions of english speaking internet users and probably millions of english speaking internet users who care about video games, so that a few (thousand? tenthousand?) of them overreact isn't really news if you think about it.
But really, did anyone expect anything else? Extreme negative (over)reactions to game reviews for basically any reason probably exist since game reviews existed on the internet. And that anything remotely connected to feminism/gender and games really get some peoples blood boiling equally shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.
And to put stuff into perspective: there are hundreds of millions of english speaking internet users and probably millions of english speaking internet users who care about video games, so that a few (thousand? tenthousand?) of them overreact isn't really news if you think about it.
Whats sad about this crap is that it made me stop caring about game reviews in general. I honestly don't understand why the reviewers bother anymore, there is nothing they can do that won't call down a shit storm from somewhere.
This isn't a matter worth getting upset over, but I see what they think is wrong with that kind of a review. If someone thinks less of a game like this because of it being offensive, that someone is missing the point of this kind of game, because it's like this by design.
It's not as bad as Postal 2's case, which got 4/10s at the time because of it being offensive towards Christianity, environmental activists, and many other things that I can't recall at the moment. Don't get me wrong, it's not a 10/10 game for sure, but it wasn't a below average game either.
It's not as bad as Postal 2's case, which got 4/10s at the time because of it being offensive towards Christianity, environmental activists, and many other things that I can't recall at the moment. Don't get me wrong, it's not a 10/10 game for sure, but it wasn't a below average game either.
I don't think the problem is the score but the reviewers comments. There are many categories that a game should be judged on, fitting the reviewers narrow, progressive, political viewpoint is not one of them. This is a reviewer that has been known to set scores based on how games comply or disagree with here own narrow political views.
There was a time when people considered "Birth of a Nation" one of the greatest accomplishments in film making despite its horrible message. It's about being able to objectively view a piece of media without bringing your own personal beliefs into it. I am frightened by people who cant check their baggage at the door, they have no place in a non-political or bi-partisan field.
There was a time when people considered "Birth of a Nation" one of the greatest accomplishments in film making despite its horrible message. It's about being able to objectively view a piece of media without bringing your own personal beliefs into it. I am frightened by people who cant check their baggage at the door, they have no place in a non-political or bi-partisan field.
I find it kind of odd that people are conflating the review saying "this game is misogynistic" with wishing it was some uber-feminist's wet dream. You can wish to see a female character that exists beyond being "eye candy" without wanting a game to turn into "Man-Hater: The Grrl Power Feminist Game". It's not an either/or premise.
Hell, it wouldn't have even been the first time a GTA game had a female character that wasn't a hooker or a stripper. Almost EVERY GTA game in the past had at least one female character (Catalina, Elizabeta, Asuka, and Ma Cipriani come to mind) who actually had characterization beyond "piece of ass in the background".
Hell, it wouldn't have even been the first time a GTA game had a female character that wasn't a hooker or a stripper. Almost EVERY GTA game in the past had at least one female character (Catalina, Elizabeta, Asuka, and Ma Cipriani come to mind) who actually had characterization beyond "piece of ass in the background".