crispy4000

It's not a non-issue, but it's becoming less of a critical one. I'm still keeping tabs on Rainway and Moonlight as well.

Philip's Op-ed, July 17 http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/07...-out-about-what-makes-their-game-so-appealing

This could get even more hilarious is if parts of the apology video were plagiarized.

I look forward to the end of year awards category Giant Bomb creates for him.

1. I agree with most of that to a degree, but would still stop short of saying critics have a significant impact in the acceptance of a medium as 'serious' art. The public has the big say. Not only in determining what is profitable, but in keeping an art form active and culturally significant. 2. None of that discounts their influence on mainstream culture. Traditional reviewers don't have the same reach as they do. There's downsides, but I think the net is positive. A lot more people are staying engaged with games today because of them. 3. A breakout box like that is still badly compartmentalizing a review. Maybe as a snapshot, okay, that's fine. But game mechanics are generally too much of what makes a game good or bad to be segmented out like that. Same with technical issues, if they're egregious.

Thought I've already been cut and dry in this thread. I'll summarize my thoughts with a few more words to go by: 1. The quality of writing in video game reviews has little to do with people taking gaming seriously as an art form. Reviews aren't holding the medium back from gaining legitimacy. The industry is already finding it itself as a growing mainstream form of entertainment. 2. The culture of Youtube/Twitch streamers have subverted the influence of traditional media outlets like IGN. Gamers generally aren't as interested in "editorial" reviews as much as they used to be. More of us want opinions and gameplay presented by personalities. Good writing is optional. Or even a script to begin with. 3. Clinical language is to be expected from video game reviews. Typically, game mechanics & technical issues are where the greatest mistakes are made, and will often be "the most substantive critique." This is more a reflection on what the games medium is, not a sign of immature criticism.

If games aren't regarded up to the same snuff as other mediums, it's not because of the reviews that dedicated console/PC gamers consume.

No, but the idea that games are stuck in some battle for legitimacy contingent on criticism is false.

What if I find those parts the most substantive? That's often the case in reviews today. Not that I blame them, when most of the bigger pain points in games tend to be mechanical. Also, I don't care if video games get taken seriously as legitimate art. Just like I don't care if eSports gets taken seriously as legitimate sport. Enough people are into them that those attempting to deny them a space are blowing farts in the wind. That's all the legitimacy they need. I have a PhD in classical piano. I've learned enough about highbrow criticism to know it's a bubble. No artistic medium needs that to thrive or be recognized. In some cases, it's actually a preservation reflex when the culture stops paying attention.

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https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1029345817713369088

I'd have a hard time caring. It's VR.

Technically, the inexperienced 25 year olds are the ones masking the money with reviews on YouTube. Maybe they're the smart ones. Easy Allies Reviews are good about avoiding this mostly.

While there's an art to criticism, I'd hardly care to see the language for game reviews 'mature.' There's a lot more that can be stated objectively compared to other mediums (ie: how is the framerate, how glitchy, etc). I expect there to be some clinical sounding stuff in there. It's not a bad thing, IMO. More direct can be good. Some outlets, like Edge, have turned me off completely because they write reviews with so much fluff. I find myself trusting the reviewer much less if that's part of my takeaway.

Jason Schreier is going in. Half of that guy's apology was trying to throw him under the bus. The Samus Returns review is the most blatant yet.

If Microsoft's especially good at something, it's changing the narrative around what is success. They did it first with XBLA, they're doing it again with Gamespass. It's about dollars to them, not unit sales, and that shows in these subscription models. They're one of the first to the party, and that could pay off dividends in the years to follow as more publishers launch their own (competing?) subscription services. I don't necessarily like that future, or how much more it would encourage GAAS-microtransaction models, but we're headed there and Microsoft is right to get a jump on it now.

Most of my library is on Steam, the offsite deals are stellar (Humble, Fanatical, etc), and I spend a good $40 of fake money on there a year because of card sales. Competition is good, but it'd take a lot for Valve to lose me. ... I'm almost more of leech. Of the roughly $500 I've spent on games in their storefront, $200 came from marketplace profits.

Apparently, the game would have been much worse if they didn't.

So many subscription services. So many launchers. Blegh. I just want more good bundles with steam keys.

Sadly, there's no way that would work without rebalancing the entire cast and adding in old mechanics. It'd feel so off just to adjust the physics alone.

Honestly, the movement doesn't look fun yet. It seems a little undercooked.

Overall, good direct. It's nice to see some of the things PM introduced finally making it into the main series, like Squad Strike. (ie: All Star Versus) I also like the addition of the FS meter. Sounds a whole lot better than the Smash Ball, especially considering that Final Smashes are weakened in that mode. But 2 of them can't be out at the same time? Seems a little whack. They probably didn't want to nerf them enough to make multiple at once not seem to busy.

By the time Ryzen comes to consoles, we'll have a new generation, and games that demand much more of the GPU and CPU. I don't know if you realize it @TomCat, but you're actually looking at this in terms of a future console's backwards compatibility. Not what we'll actually see out of new big budget games next-gen. No one should be surprised if sub 4k resolutions and sub 60 framerates are still a thing in the next cycle.

They could do a whole direct on how they've made the online experience better. Dramatically improved netcode, ranked modes, doubles team matchmaking, 'for glory' not being limited to omega stages, mmr stats, options for 1vs1s in 'for fun,' an items-light mode that takes away the most cheap/lag inducing ones... Nah, I'd be surprised if they do any of that.

lol, what a shit show