Unpopular Opinions about Video Games

[Pissmaster]

there is NOTHING wrong with the source engine. people out here saying surfing is a bug and ruins the engine when you can go out of bounds in every UE based shooter by taking cover wrong and Unity is, well, Unity. What people make fun of is the physics too, which aren't even unique, it's barely modified Havok ffs

I agree, though I’ve heard the biggest problem with Source is that it can’t do big open worlds where the map loads in chunks for whatever reason.

 

[The Last Stand]

I like battle chatter and announcers when I play multiplayer shooters.

Halo's multiplayer announcer from 2 - Reach was top notch. Why did they change the voice for Halo 4?

 

[RA-5C Vigilante]

Thoroughly impressed with your ability to steal a joke from fuckin' Razorfist and somehow make it less funny. Wait a minute, the rest of that paragraph is
cribbed from his New Vegas review, too. Wild.

The fun part about this is that for the last 10 years we're still talking about who among those is who (I mean, except "independent" obviously, but you get my point). The faction or lack thereof you think should control New Vegas is entirely dependent on your own personal belief system, which is fuckin' rad. Go to literally any forum on the planet and start a New Vegas ending discussion and you'll get a hundred different voices giving you a hundred different arguments in favour or against each.

Which is interesting because it lets you see most events from multiple angles over the course of different playthroughs, which is one of the main draws of vidya game RPGs.

I wouldn't say the plot specifically is all that spectacular. The real draws of the writing are the characters, the setting, and the factions. They all bounce off each other and react in authentic ways if you take the time to look.

I'd be interested to hear what your definition of "role playing game" is, because I can't think of a single one that doesn't include Fallout: New Vegas.

Gonna stop you right there. You literally don't have to want to take revenge on Benny. You can forgive him (or, for the adventurous, bang him) and he high-tails it outta there.

Not... really. At absolute level cap or through careful exploration and stat allocation you can eventually max out every skill to 100, but at that point not only does it kinda make sense since you're straight-up Mr. Worldwide by that point, you've also made a lot of choices about your character that will guarantee a difference even among level cap builds. With SPECIAL, perks, and traits your character will end up wildly different than most other players', especially so considering so many of those perks have SPECIAL prerequisites. In my current playthrough, for example, I have power armour training for both the Brotherhood and the Enclave armour, but I don't use either because my build works way better with light armour.

I do. I don't use any anti-crash mods, any content mods, any graphical mods, anything. I play the game straight vanilla (with the DLCs, of course) and it's fuckin' GREAT. I actually don't like the idea of altering the developers' original vision so getting to play the game in its intended state is something I value.

Lemme tell you about a company called Bethesda...

I'll be honest I'm also not much of a fan of the DLCs either. Love me some Chris Avellone but the gameplay of all of 'em just kinda suck and Dead Money is nearly fucking unplayable on Hardcore Mode. Haven't gone through 'em in years though so I'm going to play them all again in order and see how it goes.

I tried typing out a response to every one of your points, but I'm a terrible writer, so I'll just say you have plenty of good arguments. I'm probably not a good judge of RPG's, but I honestly think New Vegas and Fallout as a whole aren't RPG's anyway, so I'll give you that one.

However, I disagree with you on the Benny thing. You have to go after him to make the plot move at all, and it's very obvious that the dev's didn't think most people wouldn't want to chase the guy who shot them in the head. I get hating Bethesda for bugs, but every game from Obsidian I've played has been rife with problems. KOTOR II, ALPHA PROTOCOL, so forgive me for thinking that a game by Obsidian would have bugs, and plenty of them, even without basing it on Bethesda tech.

I'll be honest, I think it's more of the rabid defense people come to Obsidian and New Vegas's defense when flaws are talked about, not your comment I mean, just in general, and from watching Outer Worlds, a boring, ugly, mess that was only hailed to stick to it Bethesda when it wasn't all that good, is when I really noticed it.

Also you're right on Dead Money, what a terrible start way to start your DLC content releases. If they released Honest Hearts or OWB first, and made Dead Money a later, more forgettable release it wouldn't be so bad.

 

[Scanline]

I'll just say you have plenty of good arguments.... so I'll give you that one.

Thanks, chief.

You have to go after him to make the plot move at all

I mean that's the limitation of it being a game, right. The designers and writers can't write an entirely separate story where actually you decide to go to Chicago for no reason. If you don't want to interact with the main plot, the consequence is that you don't get to interact with the main plot. Sure, it would be nice if a game could just be a hyperbolically infinite sandbox where you can go anywhere and do anything and the game simply generates more content for you constantly, but that's just not gonna happen; and pinning that as a flaw of New Vegas specifically is... kind of fucking stupid.

Even beyond that, you can RP it in a way where you don't actually want to go get Benny. When you get to New Vegas (as you'd probably want to do anyway considering the game is called Fallout: New Vegas), Victor will come up to you and ask you to see Mr. House, who will also direct you to Benny, which you could follow roleplaying as an employee of House (which you are). What's really cool is that if you're playing NCR and have a high enough science skill, you literally don't even need to encounter Benny to finish the game, since you don't need the Platinum Chip.

Outer Worlds, a boring, ugly, mess that was only hailed to stick to it Bethesda when it wasn't all that good, is when I really noticed it.

Yeah Outer Worlds fucking blows. Avellone not being involved really hurt that game.

 

[Vault Boy]

It was Bethesda who did the QA for New Vegas, so it was literally Bethesda's responsibility, not Obsidian's.

QA's main goal is to locate bugs, while it's up to the developers to fix those bugs.

Outside of Dungeon Siege 3, South Park, and The Outer Worlds, each Obsidian game has been infested with bugs.

Unless there's some conspiracy from the publishers to make sure Obsidian can't polish their games (highly doubtful due to how asinine that idea is, and how stupidly ambitious they are with their deadlines), it's their fault they became known as Bugsidian (fair's fair when people hold Bethesda accountable for their bugs instead of blaming Zenimax).

 

[Scanline]

QA's main goal is to locate bugs, while it's up to the developers to fix those bugs.

Outside of Dungeon Siege 3, South Park, and The Outer Worlds, each Obsidian game has been infested with bugs.

Unless there's some conspiracy from the publishers to make sure Obsidian can't polish their games (highly doubtful due to how asinine that idea is, and how stupidly ambitious they are with their deadlines), it's their fault they became known as Bugsidian (fair's fair when people hold Bethesda accountable for their bugs instead of blaming Zenimax).

Nah it's pretty well-known at this point that Obsidian's management (at least before Avellone's departure, dunno about now) was always a total mess and that the main reason their games have come out unfinished and buggy is because of massive ambition combined with a lack of time, made worse by said management issues.

Honestly don't care, though. I'm with garak here in that I'd rather see a game straining to do something great than be a really safe and polished product.

 

[byuu]

QA's main goal is to locate bugs, while it's up to the developers to fix those bugs.

How does that disagree with anything?
Obsidian gets blamed for releasing the game in a buggy state, even though it was Bethesda's responsibility to know how buggy it is and to decide the release date.
And they have no problem releasing games in such a buggy state as evidenced by FO3.

Now you can blame Obsidian for not cutting more things or sooner, etc. But being passionate for your ideas and fighting to keep them in the game is also a blessing.
The games that get the most shit for its bugs are also the most beloved: NV, KOTOR2, and Alpha Protocol.

Pillars of Eternity, DS3, Outer Worlds, etc weren't very buggy but also not very loved.

Unless there's some conspiracy from the publishers to make sure Obsidian can't polish their games (highly doubtful due to how asinine that idea is, and how stupidly ambitious they are with their deadlines

There were actual instances of publisher fuckery. Both KOTOR2 and Alpha Protocol were released sooner than originally planned.

fair's fair when people hold Bethesda accountable for their bugs instead of blaming Zenimax.

Zenimax was founded by Bethesda. I treat them as more or less the same entity.
It's very different from the relationship Obsidian and Bethesda/SEGA/LucasArts/etc. had.

 

[Scanline]

Both KOTOR2 and Alpha Protocol were released sooner than originally planned.

That doesn't sound right.

The way I heard it was that Obsidian asked LucasArts for an extension on KotOR II, assumed they got it, planned the rest of their development around it, then shat their pants after they were told they weren't getting it.

 

[Vault Boy]

That doesn't sound right.

The way I heard it was that Obsidian asked LucasArts for an extension on KotOR II, assumed they got it, planned the rest of their development around it, then shat their pants after they were told they weren't getting it.

Exactly, they didn't even get that part written into the contract, it was just some sort of verbal "agreement". When new management came into Lucasarts, they enforced the contract as it was originally written. While it would seem that Lucasarts was being dicks from a glance, it was on Obsidian to get the contract properly amended.

 

[byuu]

That doesn't sound right.

The way I heard it was that Obsidian asked LucasArts for an extension on KotOR II, assumed they got it, planned the rest of their development around it, then shat their pants after they were told they weren't getting it.

No. LucasArts decided to rush it to a release before Christmas after the E3 announcement. It was originally planned to be released in the next year.
Obsidian had to cut a lot of stuff late in development because of it which they put unused on the disc - that's why you got that restoration mod.

 

[Pissmaster]

PS2 had games at exactly the right price point; expensive enough for producers to profit from it, but cheap enough for experimentation with enough quality control. Today, it's a case of going SUPER cheap indie or SUPER expensive AAA.

Prices aside, when I go game shopping, I'll see AAA games and expect them to be centered around online multiplayer with microtransactions and DLC and all sorts of other bullshit for an otherwise ultra-safe soulless boring experience. And then I'll see indies and I'll expect them to be clones of older, better games, but now either full of vapid arthouse bullshit, or asset flips. It's the games between those that are the ones I wanna browse, but it's kind of hard to actually find those within the enormous messes every single download store is.

At least high-quality indies and mid-tier games finally returned to discs during the 8th gen, for the most part.

Final Fantasy 16 is apparently going to be focusing on minimal story and it looks like everything is going to be about freedom of movement with the gameplay systems, so basically Dragon's Dogma or Monster Hunter. The Fans are going to fucking hate it because you're going to have to dig deep into the gameplay systems to get overpowered, vagrant story did the same shit with how their weapon systems worked.

But you know what? I'm fine looking up spreadsheets for optimal builds. Having to learn how a system works and doing research on it is good.

So I'm gonna love it. Awesome.

 

[Massively Strong Greed]

I like battle chatter and announcers when I play multiplayer shooters.

Halo's multiplayer announcer from 2 - Reach was top notch. Why did they change the voice for Halo 4?

343 hates creativity, quality, and fun.

 

[Scanline]

Prices aside, when I go game shopping, I'll see AAA games and expect them to be centered around online multiplayer with microtransactions and DLC and all sorts of other bullshit for an otherwise ultra-safe soulless boring experience. And then I'll see indies and I'll expect them to be clones of older, better games, but now either full of vapid arthouse bullshit, or asset flips. It's the games between those that are the ones I wanna browse, but it's kind of hard to actually find those within the enormous messes every single download store is.

At least high-quality indies and mid-tier games finally returned to discs during the 8th gen, for the most part.

It's for this reason I've really been appreciating my foray into the retro sphere. So much good shit that just isn't replicated in modern games and never will be.

 

[Overcast]

It's for this reason I've really been appreciating my foray into the retro sphere. So much good shit that just isn't replicated in modern games and never will be.

AND it’s cheap and more accessible than before.

So many people an discover old gems if they just took a couple seconds to look up places like GOG or how to set up an emulator. People can save so much cash AND get quality experiences.

 

[Scanline]

AND it’s cheap and more accessible than before.

So many people an discover old gems if they just took a couple seconds to look up places like GOG or how to set up an emulator. People can save so much cash AND get quality experiences.

I mean GoG and emulators are great and all but uh... if it wasn't obvious, I'll take original hardware any day. Pic related.

 

[Pissmaster]

I mean GoG and emulators are great and all but uh... if it wasn't obvious, I'll take original hardware any day. Pic related.

God bless multicarts and Everdrives

 

[Dom Cruise]

Games are way too bloated in busywork and filler that drag out the length of a game way too long these days

Too many checklist tasks to complete, too many skinner box type mechanics and even though that stuff is usually optional they're overall just too long.

Almost every game I play these days goes through the same cycle where at first I may be loving it, but by the time I actually see the credits roll I'm sick to death of it and basically had to force myself to finish.

I miss the days when game lengths were a lot more reasonable, sure I get they want to give you enough bang for your buck, but when it makes the overall experience less fun, I think it's a waste.

People gave The Order 1886 so much shit but that's exactly what I wish more games were like, something that gives you a fun experience that doesn't waste your time, something that is shorter but fun enough that you'd want to play it multiple times is better than something that's so bloated you'll probably only play it once.

 

[ShortBusDriver]

People gave The Order 1886 so much shit but that's exactly what I wish more games were like, something that gives you a fun experience that doesn't waste your time, something that is shorter but fun enough that you'd want to play it multiple times is better than something that's so bloated you'll probably only play it once.

To be fair The Order 1886 was sort of marketed as a steam punk / Victorian Gears Of War and that's not what was delivered.

 

[A Grey Cat]

i bought nickelodeon kart racers dirt cheap a few weeks ago (and while drunk off my ass) and i don't think its as bad as people say it is. now granted the sequel is much MUCH better and i do wish i had bought that one instead and even so. despite the games being made in 2018 and 2020 they have no voice acting? Even Nicktoons racing made for the ps1 20 FUCKING years ago technically had voice acting. (by that i mean some new voice acting for the opening fmv and the rest was recycled audio from old shows)

i guess aside the BFBB remake we're just never gonna get a good nickelodeon/nicktoons crossover game again, the days of toybots and unite are long behind us

 

[Calandrino]

Anybody who complains about "male gaze" is a fucking dumbass. Both men and women sexualize each other. They have sex and pop out kids, because that's how the humans work. No sexualization means no kids, which means the human species dies out.

Not gonna have too many kids procuring roided-up tranny hookers from wet t-shirt contests:

Spoiler: IT'S MA'AM

AND it’s cheap and more accessible than before.

So many people an discover old gems if they just took a couple seconds to look up places like GOG or how to set up an emulator. People can save so much cash AND get quality experiences.

I mean GoG and emulators are great and all but uh... if it wasn't obvious, I'll take original hardware any day. Pic related.

I bought a Switch and have spent a financially irresponsible amount of money buying games that, in many cases, I already have access to in some other format, so many that I have yet to play them all yet. I don't feel that I stupidly wasted my money (this is the unpopular opinion). I tried to save video games by buying up the Sega Ages series, which took classic games and added welcome improvements. However, Sega Ages has been cancelled, and video games are (still) doomed.