Unpopular Opinions about Video Games

[MembersSchoolPizza]

If you want to trawl the Wayback Machine for the many, many articles praising MGS2 in 2002 for its "revolutionary" mechanics, be my guest. I'm not a '00x game journo, so I don't know why you're trying to "debunk" me.

Yes, but particularly at the time, a lot of "Games Journos" were huge faggots.

... Much like today, I suppose, but worse because the lack of the internet didn't allow their bullshit to get called out as easily.

 

[MembersSchoolPizza]

Didn't bodies despawn in MGS1 after choking them out?

... I think you're right, in retrospect. I'm not sure why I remember that being a feature. I suppose I'm guilty of buying into the Metal Gear hype too.

 

[The Tall Man]

Ok, but let me point out:

If you want to trawl the Wayback Machine for the many, many articles praising MGS2 in 2002 for its "revolutionary" mechanics, be my guest. I'm not a '00x game journo, so I don't know why you're trying to "debunk" me.

Game journalists were ecstatic about the "cinematic experience".

Prior to 2000, game journalists would enthusiastically endorse games they either personally liked or were compensated to review; however, post-2000, they only did so when compensated.

Their overall value has been questionable throughout their existence, prompting the rise of YouTube reviewers. This shift occurred as YouTube provided genuine game reviews for the first time, contrasting with the prevalent trend of paid promotions.

I think you're right, in retrospect. I'm not sure why I remember that being a feature. I suppose I'm guilty of buying into the Metal Gear hype too.

Series tend to bleed together in memory, I had to check if you could move bodies Tenchu1 but that started in 2.
I guess that makes Thief the dark project the first game that allowed you to move bodies.

 

[MembersSchoolPizza]

Prior to 2000, game journalists would enthusiastically endorse games they either personally liked or were compensated to review; however, post-2000, they only did so when compensated.

I remember being an avid PC Gamer reader... Hell, I had a subscription!

And I remember, even back then, realizing the reviews were kind of bullshit. Whenever you read a review, the first thing you checked was who was writing the review. Some reviewers would always fawn over certain games, and always hate other games. And sometimes it seemed like the magazine chose who got to review games specifically to curate a desired score. Like when an anticipated game would be assigned to, like... the guy who usually reviews sports games, or an MMO would be assigned to the guy who was a vocal critic of MMOs in general.

 

[Biggie Smalls' Taint]

Deep Rock Galactic is boring.

Chore simulator and some bugs come out every now and then. Vermintide, Left4Dead, Killing Floor and Payday are better multiplayer horde games. In Vermintide you're constantly pressing through the horde with your team with the odds against you. Same with L4D.

In Deep Rock you yuk it up on a discord call while wandering around a cave doing chores until a few bugs show up. You shoot them and keep doing chores.

No amount of rock and stone or "haha funny xd" youtube videos is going to convince me that looking for eggs for 20 minutes is fun.

"Bro you just need a full party of friends and have a good time" I can have a good time with 3 of my friends watching paint dry. That doesn't mean I want to watch paint dry.

 

[MembersSchoolPizza]

In Deep Rock you yuk it up on a discord call while wandering around a cave doing chores until a few bugs show up. You shoot them and keep doing chores.

If you haven't noticed, "chore simulator" games is basically a genre of it's own. DRG just combines that with a bit of Aliens and Starship Troopers.

 

[Friendly Primarina]

There's nothing wrong with Pokédex entries mentioning real world animals/places. Not every animal needs a Pokémon analog.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Take Kojima's penis out of your mouth

Once PC gamers do the same with Looking Glass.

Game journalists were ecstatic about the "cinematic experience".

Prior to 2000, game journalists would enthusiastically endorse games they either personally liked or were compensated to review; however, post-2000, they only did so when compensated.

This must have been an American thing, because outside of rare examples like Rise of the Robots or Driv3r, I found most gaming mags back in the day to be informative and entertaining. It wasn't until GameSpots and IGN that reviews were little more than corporate shilling.

 

[The Tall Man]

Once PC gamers do the same with Looking Glass.

I believe you're highlighting a crucial point here.

During the ascent of PC gaming, it outpaced consoles significantly.
It boasted superior graphics and offered better controls through the use of mouse and keyboard, enabling a diverse range of games.
It's only logical that with the substantial versatility and power of PC systems, most innovations would originate from PC games as they gained momentum.

So, why do I consistently encounter assertions that a particular console game revolutionized gaming, only to discover upon investigation that PC games had accomplished that revolutionary feat several years earlier?

The reason lies in Microsoft's lack of interest in PC gaming; they had already secured their monopoly, making it unnecessary to allocate marketing funds to PC gaming. In contrast, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft with Xbox invested colossal amounts in marketing. This explains the abundance of promotional pieces and overt sales pitches disguised as reviews.
Even today, console manufacturers spend money promoting their legacy.

By the way, unlike Kojima, Looking Glass Studios genuinely introduced innovative and groundbreaking gameplay mechanics to video gaming.

 

[Judge Dredd]

So, why do I consistently encounter assertions that a particular console game revolutionized gaming, only to discover upon investigation that PC games had accomplished that revolutionary feat several years earlier?

The reason lies in Microsoft's lack of interest in PC gaming

I think the reason is simpler than that. It comes down to what made the impact.

I could list a bunch of examples. From Razorfist claiming every cyberpunk thing after Blade Runner is a rip off, and every cyberpunk thing before is irrelevant. To people who think Battle Royale was something invented by PUBG and Fortnite, and not the film the genre is named after. I like Resident Evil, and there's lots of arguments about what the first "survival horror" was, but it wasn't Project Firestart or Alone in the Dark that spawned a bunch of copy cats.

By the way, unlike Kojima, Looking Glass Studios genuinely introduced innovative and groundbreaking gameplay mechanics to video gaming

I agree, Looking Glass invented the stealth genre with Thief. Metal Gear never existed.

 

[MembersSchoolPizza]

I like Resident Evil, and there's lots of arguments about what the first "survival horror" was, but it wasn't Project Firestart or Alone in the Dark that spawned a bunch of copy cats.

I mean, as a specific example this is a very poor one - Shinji Mikami himself admits that Alone in the Dark was a major influence on the design of Resident Evil. So... Yeah, it kind of did.

I agree, Looking Glass invented the stealth genre with Thief. Metal Gear never existed.

Setting aside that there was more about thief than "Stealth", you know Looking Glass made... other games, right?

 

[The Tall Man]

Metal Gear never existed.

If you are going to call Metal Gear a proper stealth game than you have to call Wolfenstein and even Packman stealth.

A novel concept actually introduced by Kojima was being able to make enemies surrender.

I think the reason is simpler than that. It comes down to what made the impact.

Certainly, the impact on gamers differs from the impact on game developers.

A similar scenario exists in the realm of movies; many people appreciate the works of Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay. Raimi's movies, on the other hand, cater to a more niche audience. Despite this, for a filmmaker, Raimi's movies are more interesting, ultimately making them more influential.

When labeling something as revolutionary, the focus should be on the trailblazer rather than those who followed in the 3rd or 5th position. This principle applies to various fields, including gaming.
Numerous game developers explicitly acknowledge LGS games as the originators from whom they borrowed their systems.

However, the persistence of statements misattributing the origin of certain gaming systems to console games instead of PCs can be attributed to the absence of a dedicated professional team fostering a fandom around PC gaming.

PC gaming lacks a unified identity. In contrast, console enthusiasts proudly identify as fans of their respective gaming platforms.
The PC master race meme might indicate otherwise but that is basically just talking about the economic and performance advantage of it.

Just look at YouTube there are so many more channels that talk about console games than PC games, especially retro.

 

[Biggie Smalls' Taint]

If you haven't noticed, "chore simulator" games is basically a genre of it's own. DRG just combines that with a bit of Aliens and Starship Troopers.

I know it's a genre. It would be fine if DRG advertised itself as a chore game, but it wears its "LIKE LEFT 4 DEAD WITH DWARVES" description like a badge of honor.

If it had been sold as "Kinda like minecraft but without the fun creative parts and every now and then some bugs show up." then it would make sense. When I hear "4 player horde shooter with dwarves" I don't think of spending 15 minutes connecting pipes in a dark cave.

 

[ZipDisk]

The Wii game is good. I've been trying to find it for a decent price. One of the things the Wii did well was lightgun shooters.

Umbrella chronicles is a fantastic game that shits all over the "resident evil" mechanics, and I love it deeply. I want darkside chronicles, but the only local retro shop wants $80. I'm wary of online shops because you can't turn the disc over and check condition, and chinks will flat out sand discs down.

 

[I am Jack's dead arm]

Maybe it's me with the times, but I prefer the Activision "reimagining" of Goldeneye 007 over the original.

I recently replayed the Wii version and then the N64 one and the Wii version has held up a lot better. The N64 one has a couple of levels like Statue where you're doing aimless wandering trying to find the specific point to complete an objective. The multiplayer is also a lot more robust on Wii, though I wish you could still get online with it, it was very fun when the game originally came out. I think I still have the gold classic controller pro around somewhere.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Setting aside that there was more about thief than "Stealth", you know Looking Glass made... other games, right?

I know. I'm mostly winding up 90s PC game fanboys.

Looking Glass are to 90s PC game nerds what The Beetles are to boomer music fans. People talk about how amazing The Beetles were, how every song is a classic, but outside a few big hits, they can't name or hum anything else. Looking Glass are kind of the same. It's Thief and System Shock, no word on the many flight sims they put out.

As a general rule, I consider someone a fanboy when either

1. Their love of a thing ignores reality.
2. Their love of a thing is expressed more as a hatred for a perceived rival.

90s PC game fanboys, especially Looking Glass fans, do both. They ignore reality when their rose tinted nostalgia goggles have them overlooking or handwaving massive design flaws. I mentioned guards killing themselves in Thief, but things like guns being made of cardboard in System Shock 2 spring to mind as obvious flaws I'm supposed to ignore.

They are also guilty of point 2 by shitting on Dishonoured (and a lesser extent MGS) whenever they get brought up. I have no real love for Kojima, but seeing him credited with anything sends his haters into a rage.

I mean, as a specific example this is a very poor one - Shinji Mikami himself admits that Alone in the Dark was a major influence on the design of Resident Evil. So... Yeah, it kind of did.

You're missing the point.

A while ago I was going through the works of Shirow (the guy that made Ghost in the Shell) and I came across an OVA called Black Magic M-66. It was a blatant rip off of The Terminator, so imagine my surprise when I learned it pre-dated The Terminator by a year. Does that completely invalidate The Terminator? Not really. Would there have been a bunch of straight to video movies about killer robots if The Terminator never existed? I doubt it.

Shogo did the whole "immersive story based FPS" thing before Half-Life, but Shogo didn't change FPS games forever in part because Shogo is not very good.

There are lots of times we can point to the "first" to do something, but the fact is that some did it better, or were more popular. Some people seem to get fixated on whichever one they decided was "first", ignore examples before, and dismiss examples after.

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

Manhunt 2 attempted to one up the first Manhunt by making a cohesive story with psychological suspense mixed with some horror elements. If anything, it made the first one look like child’s play, even when one thinks that the first one was pretty a much of Max Payne and State of Emergency mixed together with gameplay elements that would later be used for GTA: San Andreas during that timeline.

Point I’m trying to make is that Manhunt 2 is fun, but I don’t think a lot of people would give it a chance because of it trying to not make the first Manhunt so repetitive.

 

[ToroidalBoat]

Ultimately a game's graphics don't matter anywhere near as much as its art direction.

Unpopular opinion maybe, but 8-bit games often if not usually have sucky graphics and sound when any "nostalgia goggles" are removed. Bad enough to maybe be distracting.

 

[The Last Stand]

I don't see how DOOM became THE defining FPS on the market. I don't find it fun to navigate through maze levels trying to find key cards, secret rooms or awkward first person platforming.

 

[The Tall Man]

I don't see how DOOM became THE defining FPS on the market. I don't find it fun to navigate through maze levels trying to find key cards, secret rooms or awkward first person platforming.

It's the defining FPS because people are retarded, and 'Doom' is a name easy to remember.
That phenomenon is the reason Google became so big.
Never underestimate the laziness of people's minds."

Nobody remembers that "The Terminator: Future Shock" by Bethesda Studios for example.