Poll: Totalbiscuit

[jollybarracuda]

The way I see it, I don't watch his videos to be his friend, or to form some sort of attachment to him. What i do watch his videos for, however, are for some of the most high-quality, well-spoken, thoughtfully analyzed, and very in-depth first-looks and general information on the internet. Do I think he can be a bit too hostile to some of his critical viewers? Sure. To be fair, I've seen some of the completely moronic comments he has to put up with on his comments section, of which he has said many times that he reads thoroughly to see what the general opinion is on a piece of content. But in the end, I watch his videos because they are simply excellent quality in almost every way that matters, not because I want to be his buddy and care about his personality.

 

[Denamic]

He's okay. He's definitely good for the gaming and e-sports communities as a whole. He does have a lot of insight into a lot of things, but he keeps doing things that annoys me. Most notably stating opinions and unsubstantiated assumptions as obvious facts with a tone that implies you're stupid if you disagree. But maybe that's just be getting the wrong vibes or something, I dunno. Point is, I don't always agree with him, nor do I really follow his videos, but he's okay. Definitely better than a lot of personalities out there.

But he's no Plott.

 

[omega 616]

Despite saying "pc and consoles have there advantages and disadvantages" etc there will always be a very strong under current of "pc is bar far the best", it's almost palpable. The amount of times I've heard him ***** about consoles is amazing for a supposed "equality" gamer (by which I mean supports both console and PC). It's not the consoles fault, it's the team that ported it being lazy or having a bad deadline to port it by.

He reiterates and bangs on the same fucking point for 20 minutes at a time, watch his content patch or old mail box videos and you soon realize a 2 minute point takes him 20 minutes. He will state his point, explain it, state it again, explain it again while using mostly the same explanations and arguments as the first time. He LOVES the sound of his own voice.

I think his ego is fucking huge, like he is the only true games journalist ... all the others are bought sell outs. His voice is the one brilliant bright light in a sea of dark alleys where publishers trade money for good reviews. His opinion is the only opinion and those that disagree are just wrong. (I know this site loves to be literal but there is a healthy dose of hyperbole in this paragraph).

On the upside, he does bring games to my attention ... which is why I am "subbed" to him. I would never have known about SPAZ without TB and I did enjoy that game for a good number of hours ... till I found the hardcore grind I had to endure.

EDIT: He created a starcraft channel 'cos he started this series "I suck at starcraft" then realized it was over powering his channel. He now posts "I am commentating on this series" videos on his main channel ... WHY? If I wanted starcraft stuff I would firstly sub to day[9] (which I have) and I would be subbed to your other channel! If I wanted your starcraft content I know where to go but since I don't go there don't bother me!

I guess it's 'cos he wants more people to watch the stream but I doubt many people link to the stream from that video.

He is also REALLY bad at games, I give him an allowance 'cos talking on camera and gaming is hard. Even given that allowance if you watch him play ANY puzzle game you will rage ... he couldn't even do the first chamber in "the ball"!

The only game he is good at is starcraft but that is only 'cos of his series "I suck at starcraft", which is just him practicing ... if he has practiced for that many hours, you have to be good.

 

[MetalMagpie]

This might sound sill or petty, but I don't like the way he talks. I'm sure his videos are very informative and well made and might even contain things I would be interested in hearing, but I just can't get past that. That's also the main reason I never got into Dexter so it's not exclusive to Totalbiscuit, but it's not common.

I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem. TotalBiscuit I'm fairly alright with (although the voice he's putting on does make him sound like the guy in the Cillit Bang adverts). But there are a lot of video reviewers and LPs that I just can't watch for more than a couple of minutes because the cheesy American accent grates too much. Written reviews are sometimes a godsend!

To be clear, I don't find all or even most American accents annoying (otherwise I'd miss out on a lot of great films). It's just particular people.

 

[Festus Moonbear]

I like watching his videos from time to time, as he is honest and knows how to articulate his impressions. But he is also quite unprofessional, getting into dumb arguments with youtube commenters (like, "I don't care if you unsubscribe", "I don't do requests" and so on) when he should have realised a while ago that people who get 100k+ views per video don't actually have to engage in all that bullshit and should just keep out of it. This makes him harder to respect because it makes him look childish and less smart than he probably is.

 

[Alfador_VII]

I really like his videos and other content on his channels, but he is infamously abrasive in comments or on Twitter. You can ignoe that though it's something hilarious to read.

I always try to watch his WTFs before I get a game, its better than a review in many ways, he's good at presenting a game, and fairly objectively saying what's good and bad.

He's also a fairly decent Starcraft 2 caster if you like that sort of thing.

 

[GAunderrated]

So I've wanted to write this thread for a few days now but haven't had the time, and now most likely it will be buried under the mountain of Xbone threads.
So anyway, lets talk about a certain personality that has gained alot of fame on youtube over the past couple of years, and is a rather divisive figure in gaming. John Bain, or as he is better known; Totalbiscuit, the Cynical Brit.

So nearly every time he gets mentioned in some regard I notice someone always responds with complete venom, and normally there will be someone to respond in his defence.
Here's an article Eurogamer did last year which offers more in-depth details on him http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-11-14-the-cult-of-totalbiscuit

So how I'd like you to answer this poll. First option is if he is your go-to place for video game information, and you watch pretty much all his content as a result. Second option you would watch his "WFT is..." series for information on a game you are thinking about getting, but not much else besides. Third option you neither know nor care that much about him or his videos. Forth, you don't like the style, length, content or whatever of his videos and thus don't watch them. Fifth option you actively despise his personality.

Go!

I watch his videos because I find them informative and entertaining. The rest about his personality, opinion, and whatever other gossip column crap I don't personally care about. Life is too short and too sweet to waste time caring about other people's opinions.

 

[tangoprime]

Watch him occasionally. Eh. Sometimes better than others, but he's pretty much always got that air of PC Master Race shit and inflated self importance. Fairly whiny at times too, but he can be enjoyable enough.

EDIT: Also, the whole "CynicalBrit" thing. For one, ugh using nationality as an advertising point, fuck that.
And for being so "cynical" he's really not. Not in most of the videos I watch. ComplainingBrit maybe. OccasionallySomewhatAggrevatedBrit would work too.

Yeah, I'd say the thing that kind of puts me off to him is his sense of self-importance. Jim Sterling does it as part of a character. As far as I can tell Biscuit's not acting in his videos.

Yeah, I can't stand his videos, as he's basically Jim Sterling's character, but it's actually how he is for reals. I've watched maybe one and a half of his videos, and the one whole one I watched was before I realized how much of a self-important asshole he is, as it must've been a fluke where he wasn't acting himself.

 

[Substitute Troll]

I don't get how people can complain about "the PC master race" thing. The PC is objectively better, that doesn't make a console player less of a gamer though. TB knows this. The people who complain about TB are the ones who haven't watched enough of him, if they'd paid attention they'd know his stance on subject, and when he's joking.

 

[Yopaz]

This might sound sill or petty, but I don't like the way he talks. I'm sure his videos are very informative and well made and might even contain things I would be interested in hearing, but I just can't get past that. That's also the main reason I never got into Dexter so it's not exclusive to Totalbiscuit, but it's not common.

I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem. TotalBiscuit I'm fairly alright with (although the voice he's putting on does make him sound like the guy in the Cillit Bang adverts). But there are a lot of video reviewers and LPs that I just can't watch for more than a couple of minutes because the cheesy American accent grates too much. Written reviews are sometimes a godsend!

To be clear, I don't find all or even most American accents annoying (otherwise I'd miss out on a lot of great films). It's just particular people.

Right back at you. It's the internet so you're usually never alone, but getting a confirmation is nice. I agree completely about how I would prefer a written review or a transcript at times rather than hearing someone's voice.

 

[Lunar Templar]

I like him, generally I just stick to 'WTF is...', and while his constant goings on about FOV sliders can get annoying, I find him fairly informative when if comes the his 'reviews'. Ended up getting a few games I likely wouldn't have due to his reviews.

He's also funny as hell to just watch, the commentary for Dungeon Land for example was funny as hell, and I love the 'Seal rant' in Orion: Dino Hoard was one of those you just HAVE to hear far as I'm concerned.

no, not linking it for you, you have the net to, go find it

 

[Saviordd1]

I love his videos but I try to ignore his twitter half the time, him and Jesse seem to tag-team on the "fuck consoles" train a bit to much.

It actually kind of reminds me of this:

 

[ron1n]

I think he's a very misunderstood person for the most part.

A lot of it has to do with the fact that he comes from an old school competitive PC background.

Anyone that's ever been a part of that kind of community grows pretty used to receiving and giving out shit to others. The whole 'banter' aspect isn't something a lot of normal gamers tend to grasp. If anything, I'd actually say he's pretty damn tame compared to the majority of the old school PC community, which is far more critical and cynical.

He's also very opinionated which will always polarize people. I'm opinionated too, so I can appreciate his stance. But others just can't handle that, and tend to take things he says far too personally.

As for the focus on menus, fov, frame rates etc. Yeah he can labor the point, but at least someone is mentioning it. PC games have truly sacrificed so much in terms of optimization, options and performance that it does get really maddening sometimes. Especially the FPS genre.

I'd say the only two things he does that annoy me, is his tendency to repeat himself in videos a bit too much (a lot of his WTF IS? stuff could easily be cut back by 10-15 minutes) and how self-critical he is all the time.

Otherwise, enjoy his content and the professional standard he maintains.

 

[Zukabazuka]

I'm not even really a PC gamer and I like him. I like his WTF is when he does multiplatform games, because my laptop can barely handle Civ 5. I like his Content Patches and for some reason, his StarCraft videos. I'll never play the damn thing, but its fun to watch when he casts them.

I hate when he bitches about FOV and options menus. Us console gamers play with the hands we're dealt. I'm sorry he gets a headache, but I don't need to hear it every other review he does. And poor him, sometimes getting less than 60 frames the poor soul. He just sounds so petty about stuff like that.

He bought 2 high grade graphic cards, forgot the name but they cost a lot and had very high scores, if those can not achieve 60fps in the game then there is a problem with the game.

Yes you console player accept anything because you can't really change the game you get, reason why can't fight back or ask for anything really. Its not that easy to ignore on PC when we can figure out how to fix the problem ourself. Like Dark Soul. Community fixed all the problem console had.

btw FOV is a big issue since I don't feel like having such short field view.

 

[Zhukov]

Can't stand the guy.

You ever take one look at a person and instantly think, "Yeah, fuck that guy and all he stands for!" Well, it's like that.

Even when I agree with what he's saying he still rubs me up the wrong way something fierce.

 

[blackrave]

While sometimes he can get a bit annoying by complaining about miniscule things (not every game needs in-depth "Options" menu), for a most part I find his videos interesting and honest.
I would even go and say that I like them

 

[mike1921]

I'm not even really a PC gamer and I like him. I like his WTF is when he does multiplatform games, because my laptop can barely handle Civ 5. I like his Content Patches and for some reason, his StarCraft videos. I'll never play the damn thing, but its fun to watch when he casts them.

I hate when he bitches about FOV and options menus. Us console gamers play with the hands we're dealt. I'm sorry he gets a headache, but I don't need to hear it every other review he does. And poor him, sometimes getting less than 60 frames the poor soul. He just sounds so petty about stuff like that.

Are you telling me he shouldn't make a big deal out of it if a game causes him physical illness, and he's not the only one? Like to my knowledge it's not like he has a physical diagnosis illness that causes this so it's not like the problem is on his end. Are you serious? If a game causes physical illness to a reasonable number of people who don't have any notable illness it should legally have to have a fucking disclaimer.

I don't get how people can complain about "the PC master race" thing. The PC is objectively better, that doesn't make a console player less of a gamer though. TB knows this. The people who complain about TB are the ones who haven't watched enough of him, if they'd paid attention they'd know his stance on subject, and when he's joking.

Because people are averse to the idea of "objectively better". They're fucking wrong but they're averse to it.

 

[Vale]

He sure as shit does not act or voice opinions as an actual cynic would, so the name is a bit of a misnomer.
Regardless, I find his stuff to be okay generally. Some of his whining can get aggravating though.

 

[Atmos Duality]

He's a tad arrogant, but at least his videos are largely honest and involve the actual game.
And that's what counts most for any informative video.

 

[Tyelcapilu]

More critical than cynical and actually identifies features most reviewers neglect to mention.
I haven't really seen him be arrogant either, I think its just the "im a brit" shit that throws people off.