I'd rather you only contribute if you have something constructive to say. Nobody made me read the article like you say, rather I chose to read it as I enjoy a lot of Shamus' work. The only reason I made this thread is because it seems really odd for him to write something, that in my opinion, was a very poor article. I'd happily accept his dislike of certain aspects of Mass Effect 2 if he managed to justify them well but he doesn't.MinionStarwind said:
I don't think my definition of a plot-hole, and the definition you share with Shamus are the same. For me, a character falling into a black hole and appearing fine in the next mission is a plot hole i.e something that does not make sense at all. The fact that Cerberus went from a pretty obscure and apparently incompetent organisation in Mass Effect to a universally-feared seemingly omniscient organisation in Mass Effect 2 is just a little retcon. Sure it stretches the boundaries on what is acceptable to do when writing a plot, but it isn't a plothole.BGH122 said:
This pretty much sums it up there, lurky. If there's one thing a lot of the Escapist writers love more than games, it's being 'edgy'. Or at least trying to be edgy, as Shamus does (way too hard in my opinion).sravankb said:
I would like to second this point. This second sentence is totally not here because I'm afraid of what will happen if I make a one-sentence post. That would be abhorrent and I am ashamed anyone would think that.Agayek said:-Drifter- said:"Oh no, someone on the internet disagrees with my opinion!"
Edit: For you mods out there. This picture explains that many people feel the obsessive need to correct everyone, regardless of whether they are actually wrong or not. It's highly relevant to this thread, as that is what the OP is doing. Now, can we please dispense with the ridiculous "you must have a paragraph to explain an image" rule when the image alone perfectly expresses the concept or idea?
I agree. Obviously, he shouldn't have to re-write the Mass Effect 2 plot and send it to Bioware with a bucketload of suggestions on how to improve it, but I would have appreciated it if he had offered engaging alternatives in terms of plot to the parts of the plot he is criticising.CleverNickname said:
Well, the issue I think Shamus is talking about here is not that Shepherd just ran in and kicked the collectors ass, it's that doing so was inconsistent with the way the Collectors were presented. In the beginning of the game they unerringly tracked down the Normandy and blew it out of the sky in two shots. By the end of the game not only does the collector ship not stand a chance (provided you upgraded the Normandy) but shepherd manages to board the collectors home base and practically stroll through it.Dr Red said:
I like that he considers Batman less believable than a guy who can shoot boxing gloves from a bow [http://www.superherostuff.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/green-arrow-trick-arrow.jpg]. =Plemiel14n3 said:
That may all be true (although I would argue that "constant moping and whining" is at least a bit of an overstatement), but considering that the Escapist's alternate viewpoint from mainstream gaming journalism is one of it's largest appeals, isn't that kind of a moot point? It's like criticizing Monet because the edges in his paintings aren't clearly defined enough. That impressionist style is specifically what makes his work interesting. Likewise, it's the alternate viewpoint that one gets at the Escapist which makes it an interesting place to be. If you don't like impressionism you don't say that Monet should change, you go check out one of the countless other artists who paint realistically. I don't mean to phrase that as a "love it or leave it" kind of thing, I really don't, I'm just saying that it doesn't make sense to me why you would visit the Escapist when you seem to be unhappy with one of the biggest things that makes the Escapist what it is.sravankb said:
It is when no-one bothers to explain how this preposterous change occurred. If they'd said that The Illusive Man was a new addition to Cerberus who was really shaking things up then this'd have been fine. Sure, we'd still have to question why he'd want to throw his might behind Cerberus, but he is illusive. To just have Cerberus drastically change their identity as if by magic isn't good enough.Dr Red said:
I think you are blowing my reaction out of proportion, which I find irritating. If I was personally insulting him then I could understand why you think I am over-reacting, but I am just addressing the poor content of this article when compared to the great stuff he usually writes. Like I said in a previous post, he can think what he likes as long as he is able to justify that opinion, which I feel he didn't do in that article.Frozengale said:
Oh dear... my first thread has been posted on by a Senior Editor!Susan Arendt said:
