If we listened to him like his opinion is God, even game distributor would go bankrupt because he, much like a Pitchfork reviewer on PMS listening to The Mars Volta, hates everything.DragonChi said:
Taking Yahtzee's opinions to heart.
- Thread starter DragonChi
- Start date
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I watch for the entertainment, and I admit I enjoy it when he bashes a game that everyone loves but I find overrated, but I don't recall ever actually refraining from checking out a game because he didn't like it. For the record, I love a lot of games that he's bashed, but I don't get mad at his reviews... I just get mad when people bash the game by quoting his reviews verbatim.
While he claims as a hardcore game critic, he does it for comedic purposes.. In a lot of his earlier reviews he points out specifically "Well no one likes it when I LIKE a game so here comes the shit!"
What annoys me though, is the countless times I look at the thread connected to video to read atleast 2-3 people saying "It's a good thing I didn't waste my money on THAT game!" I mean really... He says something bad about EVERY game...
If you're going to put your money where his mouth is.. You won't be buying ANY game! He's said something bad to just about every game I enjoyed. While he does point out some very valid flaws, it doesn't mean that those games were any less enjoyable.. For he's just pointing out mistakes that developers have made in hopes that one day they will stop making mistakes and start making extremely high quality games.
Take Aliens vs Predator for example... I remember reading a couple of posts by viewers saying that they were glad they didn't spend money on that game after his review... I fear they failed to realize that he didn't really say anything all that bad about AvP... He pointed out the oopsies, but he does that all the time.. Infact he was pretty merciful towards the game than he was with previous reviews...
My theory is.. The people that place their money accordingly after his reviews, are new to ZP.. They don't see the hidden messages within his reviews, they are used to the typical reviews that point out the good and the bad.. So when they see ZP focusing mostly on the bad, they go "Oh maybe I shouldn't buy it then."
No.. Just no... Yahtzee points out valid flaws in games... He does it not only because he wants games to reach the maximum in quality entertainment, but because he himself is an entertainer...
You can certainly tell when he feels a game is avoidable. It's very obvious, but I don't think most people read that far into his videos to understand that...
((take note I said Most people in the majority of this post.. If you feel that you don't fit this demographic, then you should obviously not be offended by any of this... Infact I'm not saying it to be offensive in the first place. Just trying to prove a valid point.))
Edit:
I do agree with the majority of the other comments though... These threads pop up way too much. This is in fact the third time I've had to give this speech.. So.. either I'm going to just put this comment on copy and paste, or people are going to have to learn to use the search engine... It's getting a bit out of hand I'm sorry to say.
What annoys me though, is the countless times I look at the thread connected to video to read atleast 2-3 people saying "It's a good thing I didn't waste my money on THAT game!" I mean really... He says something bad about EVERY game...
If you're going to put your money where his mouth is.. You won't be buying ANY game! He's said something bad to just about every game I enjoyed. While he does point out some very valid flaws, it doesn't mean that those games were any less enjoyable.. For he's just pointing out mistakes that developers have made in hopes that one day they will stop making mistakes and start making extremely high quality games.
Take Aliens vs Predator for example... I remember reading a couple of posts by viewers saying that they were glad they didn't spend money on that game after his review... I fear they failed to realize that he didn't really say anything all that bad about AvP... He pointed out the oopsies, but he does that all the time.. Infact he was pretty merciful towards the game than he was with previous reviews...
My theory is.. The people that place their money accordingly after his reviews, are new to ZP.. They don't see the hidden messages within his reviews, they are used to the typical reviews that point out the good and the bad.. So when they see ZP focusing mostly on the bad, they go "Oh maybe I shouldn't buy it then."
No.. Just no... Yahtzee points out valid flaws in games... He does it not only because he wants games to reach the maximum in quality entertainment, but because he himself is an entertainer...
You can certainly tell when he feels a game is avoidable. It's very obvious, but I don't think most people read that far into his videos to understand that...
((take note I said Most people in the majority of this post.. If you feel that you don't fit this demographic, then you should obviously not be offended by any of this... Infact I'm not saying it to be offensive in the first place. Just trying to prove a valid point.))
Edit:
I do agree with the majority of the other comments though... These threads pop up way too much. This is in fact the third time I've had to give this speech.. So.. either I'm going to just put this comment on copy and paste, or people are going to have to learn to use the search engine... It's getting a bit out of hand I'm sorry to say.
Yahtzee's ZP reviews were the ONLY reviews I end up listening to, and even then I'm easygoing about them.
I see his reviews, I play the games, and I either praise him when I get games he sees as good, or collapse in self-embaressment when I play games he sees as bad and find out he was totally, totally, right, Iat those times I imagine Yahtzee standing behind me saying: "Haha!" Nelson style.
there were only 2 exceptions to this: Fable 2, I enjoyed for it's large amount of interesting quests, nice voice acting, fluad combat, and a real-estate system where you get paid every few minutles just by spending time playing the game.
and Soul Calibur 4, it's got great voice acting, fun gameplay, and a create-a-fighter feature. though I thought the Star Wars characters and bonus characters were lame additions.
I see his reviews, I play the games, and I either praise him when I get games he sees as good, or collapse in self-embaressment when I play games he sees as bad and find out he was totally, totally, right, Iat those times I imagine Yahtzee standing behind me saying: "Haha!" Nelson style.
there were only 2 exceptions to this: Fable 2, I enjoyed for it's large amount of interesting quests, nice voice acting, fluad combat, and a real-estate system where you get paid every few minutles just by spending time playing the game.
and Soul Calibur 4, it's got great voice acting, fun gameplay, and a create-a-fighter feature. though I thought the Star Wars characters and bonus characters were lame additions.
I stopped watching his reviews a while ago. I don't find him as funny as I used to. Also, if I chose to not buy every game he didn't like, I would be one very bored person with a wasted 360. He can have his points about some games, but a lot of the negativity is played up insanely and a lot of the strengths are ignored. I don't actually consider him to be much of a reviewer.
Yahtzee is funny and I believe that he does know what he is talking about, but I rarely base any purchases off of his reviews. Mostly because his reviews are 2-3 weeks after I see the game on shelves in the U.S. and by that time I've already made up my mind. Although, his reviews are accurate they should not be taken 100% to heart unless you're also a very, very cynical gamer. But because I am cynical in everyday life, I try to be as chipper as possible with games.
I don't really take his opinions to heart because I never thought of Zero Punctuation as a review series. It's more of a comedy thing to me. Like the Angry Video Game Nerd, really; some of his talking points might be based on truth, but most of it's exaggeration for the sake of the funny.
I really think he mostly does his reviews for the humour factor. But, if I'm on the edge of buying a game or not, his review might tip me in the direction of not buying it once I realize how flawed it is.
I used to believe more about what he says, but the fact that he likes god of war which is heavily baked with quick times and any other game with them he punches quick time in the balls seems a bit hypocritical. Also, he raged on demon's souls because he only had a few days to play it while the game itself needs time, usually a week or two before you become truly proficient at it.
The thing about his reviews is that everything he says is true of the game in question, but not always as important as he makes out. If he has a problem with a game, it generally IS a problem, but its just the sort of thing most people would ignore, focusing on the good aspects.
That being said, if he LIKES a game, thats definately a good sign.
I went out and bought Saints Row 2 after his review of it, and I loved it.
That being said, if he LIKES a game, thats definately a good sign.
I went out and bought Saints Row 2 after his review of it, and I loved it.
I find it sad that so many people dismiss Yahtzee as doing what he does soley for comedic effect. Yes, it is clear that he will hit almost any cheap laugh he can get, but reading between the lines he is generally giving a fair review of most of the games he does. Arkham Asylum, The Orange Box, Bioshock and Heavy Rain have all gotten favourable reviews (between the lines) while other games that have suffered his scorn have often deserved it. He's as good a reviewer as any and better than some since he's not just kissing the arse of the mainstream gaming crowd.
I don't really take his reviews to heart. I buy a game based on my own judgment and whether or not it appeals to me. I played a demo of Psychonauts on Steam a while back and found that Yahtzee was actually right.
While ZP may say everything bad about a game he also says if the game is fun. I usually take his reviews to heart since the few times i purchased a game he said was horrible i regreted my decision after playing it for myself.
I suspect you don't know what a critic means. All reviewers are critics.USSR said:
Yahtzee's problem is that he's a prejudgemental cynic. That said, I actually do appreciate his opinion most of the time. He makes a lot of good points, and all he's really pushing for is some intelligent, creativity and coherency in video games. I buy games so rarely, because so few of them are spectacular.