Random Gaming Thoughts (Read OP Before Posting)

[Thief]

Um... taking things personal much?
Not sure if that's your video or just someone else's that you're posting, but there's a lot of conflicting stuff in there.

"I'm not saying it's a bad game, I enjoyed it really, but fuck you shitty game for being a bad game that I hate because it called me an asshole and has shitty gameplay and fuck everyone for liking it, but honestly, I enjoyed it and it's not a bad game, but fuck it because it's terrible and requires that I follow its narrative and Call of Duty is better, but it's not that bad. Also fuck it. Because shitty. And it's not bad. Shitty."

...what?

He's saying the story is entertaining, but Spec Ops: The Line has horribly generic shooter gameplay that is borderline torture levels of boring -- one that is only tolerable enough because of its short run time (around six hours) and decently entertaining story.

He's also criticizing how the game developers attempt to make the player feel bad for their actions, but the game doesn't give the player a reasonable choice to make any other action. "There's a secret fifth good ending: Turn off the game". He says that is bullshit, and I agree.

I don't in the slightest understand how your "quote" up there reflects the video in the slightest. All of his points are well articulated and fair. He's not taking things personally, it's just a critique of the game's message and the content of the game's gameplay. He can say "fuck you game" in response to some bullshit things associated with it, and still say the game is moderately enjoyable or that he even "liked" it. You are horribly misrepresenting the video OL and he doesn't contradict himself -- at least not in the way you seem to be suggesting.

[MiTT3NZ]

So every story that has a moral should be a "choose your own adventure" book...?

[OL]

Um... taking things personal much?
Not sure if that's your video or just someone else's that you're posting, but there's a lot of conflicting stuff in there.

"I'm not saying it's a bad game, I enjoyed it really, but fuck you shitty game for being a bad game that I hate because it called me an asshole and has shitty gameplay and fuck everyone for liking it, but honestly, I enjoyed it and it's not a bad game, but fuck it because it's terrible and requires that I follow its narrative and Call of Duty is better, but it's not that bad. Also fuck it. Because shitty. And it's not bad. Shitty."

...what?

He's saying the story is entertaining, but Spec Ops: The Line has horribly generic shooter gameplay that is borderline torture levels of boring -- one that is only tolerable enough because of its short run time (around six hours) and decently entertaining story.

He's also criticizing how the game developers attempt to make the player feel bad for their actions, but the game doesn't give the player a reasonable choice to make any other action. "There's a secret fifth good ending: Turn off the game". He says that is bullshit, and I agree.

I don't in the slightest understand how your "quote" up there reflects the video in the slightest. All of his points are well articulated and fair. He's not taking things personally, it's just a critique of the game's message and the content of the game's gameplay. He can say "fuck you game" in response to some bullshit things associated with it, and still say the game is moderately enjoyable or that he even "liked" it. You are horribly misrepresenting the video OL and he doesn't contradict himself -- at least not in the way you seem to be suggesting.

If you say so.
Might just be me, but I think insisting that "I enjoyed Spec Ops: The Line," then going on to call the story "bullshit," call the game "full of shit" overall, to literally say "fuck you, Spec Ops: The Line," to call it a "snarky pile of badly-made, hard-to-control crap," and then immediately saying that it's "still a cool game that I like" is... pretty conflicting altogether. I think my paraphrased quote is pretty accurate.
He's clearly taking the game very personally. His tone for the entire video is one of anger. In a particularly narrow-minded point, he insists that videogames can not do certain types of storytelling, because, according to him, if he has no other choice in a matter, then "don't you dare criticize me for it." He calls the game "stupid" for not giving him unlimited choice in the storyline, even though, y'know... it's a videogame. Limited options are part of the unspoken agreement when you start playing. That's the whole point of Bioshock, actually. You do what the devs allow you to. Getting huffy because you weren't given more options in the progression of the story is just silly. But he still complains of the game calling him an asshole, even though the game never actually does that; that's just his own interpretation of its story, when in reality the game is calling the character of Walker an asshole. As the player, you're just along for the ride. I don't think I've ever once taken a game to be a statement against me, the player, because I understand that ultimately all videogames are a trolley ride; stuck to the tracks with limited places to go.
The game made this guy feel bad, so he took it personally. That's exactly how it sounds to me, and nothing in his tone betrays that notion. He sounds like a vein is about to pop in his forehead for the entire thing.
Of course, this is an apparently avid gamer we're talking about here. I'm convinced the majority of them/us/whatever don't know how to express anything without being huffy and angry about it. Hence the AVGN's, Angry Joe's, and Yahtzee's of the world.

So every story that has a moral should be a "choose your own adventure" book...?

And should be free, apparently. As if charging for a game that has a moral is some sort of major strike against the devs.

[Thief]

He's not getting huffy just because he talks strongly or uses swears. Maybe I can tell this because I've seen a few other of his videos, but christ he's not getting angry or taking it personally. His tone is not out of anger. Some people just don't talk flowers all the time like 90% of game reviewers who want to be positive about everything.

He's criticizing how he doesn't think the message of "you should feel bad" is that great when he literally had no other choice in the matter. He's saying "Fuck you game, I don't feel bad for doing what you made me do". No not every game should be a "choose your own adventure book", but the statement the developers are trying to make -- that the player should feel bad for the actions the player was forced to take (in specific response to the developers quip that "you had another option: don't play the game" -- is a particularly weak one. It is a fair criticism, even if you don't agree with it.

He is not saying the game should be free at all. Spec Ops: The Line has shitty gameplay. Many people comment about how Spec Ops: The Line's shitty gameplay is "part of the point" the game is trying to make. But he's saying that he isn't paying for a $60 point, but instead, a game. Making deliberately bad gameplay (which some people like to suggest Spec Ops did -- I just think they're bad a making games personally) is seriously worth criticizing.

Might just be me, but I think insisting that "I enjoyed Spec Ops: The Line," then going on to call the story "bullshit," call the game "full of shit" overall, to literally say "fuck you, Spec Ops: The Line," to call it a "snarky pile of badly-made, hard-to-control crap," and then immediately saying that it's "still a cool game that I like" is... pretty conflicting altogether.

When you quote something like that, you are just picking the lines in direct reference to the game in terms of "fuck yous" and whatever. Everything there is completely out of context to what he's saying at the moment and completely misrepresentative. Enjoying something, and something being good, are completely different things. Spec Ops is a snarky pile of badly-made, hard-to-control crap. People like it almost exclusively for its story. The story has bull-shit moments and aspects to it, but is enjoyable overall. So he enjoyed the game, but has criticisms towards it -- this doesn't make him a foaming-at-the-mouth rage induced idiot.

God damn, I don't want to keep defending this guy but this is annoying me. I just wanted to post a 6-minute video because finally someone agrees with me that Spec Ops: The Line's pretentious (and already done before) story is not worth the mediocre as fuck and borderline-torture gameplay that's associated with it. I didn't want to argue the tone of someone's voice.

[OL]

Borderline torture?
See, that might be probably part of the problem. Most people can't seem to express their opinions on videogames anymore without speaking in extremes like that, using language that doesn't actually describe their experience with it. I don't honestly see how The Line's gameplay is torturous in the least. Certainly wouldn't compare it to getting waterboarded or having my fingernails ripped out with pliars. I'll agree the gameplay is uncomplicated and unambitious, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing painful about that.
Just the same as I can reasonably see a serious discord between this guy saying he liked the game, but constantly using language that compares it to feces.

Just before you jump on it, yes, me pointing out the "borderline torture" thing is nitpicking. I have no problem with people using whatever language they want in a casual setting like a forum. We're just typing up two or three minute responses to things, no biggie.
I only point it out as a parallel to the guy's language in the video. If he's going to go to the effort of making a video like that, as a first time viewer I can only assume the things he says in it are going to encapsulate what he thinks of the game. And if he's going to so obsessively compare it to human waste, there's nothing unreasonable about me thinking his claims of also liking it make no sense. Human beings, with a few exceptions, tend not to like dookie. We use words for it as an analog for things we don't like.
So if you understand him to be something other than I do, based on having seen other videos of his, that's fine. But as someone who hasn't seen his other videos, I really can't agree that I'm misrepresenting anything he says. Perhaps he just needs to learn a few new words.

Also, just a side thing, I can't really agree that 90% of reviewers are all flowers and sunshine. It's half the reason I barely bother visiting sites on videogaming anymore actually, the fact that most people are so mean-spirited and sarcastic in their opinions nowadays. Aside from sounding a little more pretentious than many of them, I wouldn't say this guy is much different from the rest.

[Thief]

People often talk in extremes, but it's just a style of talking. I said border-line torture, but obviously it's not comparable to actual torture, it's just to emphasize that the gameplay is really not that stellar. The language isn't supposed to be taken literally. I'm sure he has a decent enough vocabulary. And we can't really judge a person based on the style in which he makes his videos, but if you dislike his style, that's totally fine by me. If I were to make videos they likely wouldn't be anything like his, but even my style of talking here on this forum is largely misrepresentative of how I talk in real life -- which makes the internet so frustrating to me at times.

Anyway, I'm sure you've liked a game that you've found flaws with -- which is why it's so curious to me how you can't relate or understand this feeling. This guy finds flaws in the gameplay but enjoys it for its story (but also finds flaws in the story). So he likes the game (as a whole) but thinks it's shit in some regards. But I guess that relates back to his style of speaking. He speaks in extremes, but the extremes aren't literal. We can agree to disagree I suppose, as people will interpret things differently. But I felt it necessary to respond to your post merely because I felt you had greatly misunderstood the points he was trying to make (points that I personally thought were very clear).

I really don't want to discuss this anymore to be honest though, not because I dislike speaking with you (I do enjoy speaking with you), but rather just because I'm especially tired lately and just am not in the mood for this type of discussion. If you think he's being any of the things you suggest, then I have to respectively disagree (based on the points I've already mentioned) and urge anyone else who hasn't seen the video to make up their own mind after viewing (if they even care).

Lately I've just tried to take things a lot less seriously, and my tastes in games have changed dramatically. I recently played through Spec Ops: The Line and hated it, and I guess in some sort of sense of validation, I looked for things that would coincide with my thoughts towards the game. But I need to stop doing that, I don't like Spec Ops, others might, who cares? Right?

Sorry for bowing out, but I'm just so tired... I don't know... I just don't like arguing as much as I used to. Love ya OL

[OL]

Anyway, I'm sure you've liked a game that you've found flaws with -- which is why it's so curious to me how you can't relate or understand this feeling.

Oh, absolutely, I understand it. But I think it just comes down to the fact that if I like something, I'll never actually call it shit. I acknowledge flaws all the time. But I think if something has a saving grace I usually tend to focus on that, and mention the flaws more as footnotes, since that fact that I ultimately liked it has more value than whatever flaws I found. Certain language is reserved for things I flat-out don't like.
But yeah, love ya too.

[Raithos]

Get a room you two!

[OL]

Only if you join us.

[Raithos]

Only if we can take turns playing Spec Ops: The Line!

[OL]

[Raithos]

[Thief]

Is it bad that I want Resident Evil Zero HD almost exclusively because some of Rebecca's costumes are hot as hell?

[south carmain]

Is it bad that I want Resident Evil Zero HD almost exclusively because some of Rebecca's costumes are hot as hell?

No you're bad for giving in to consumerism you filthy capitalist.

[OL]

Is it bad that I want Resident Evil Zero HD almost exclusively because some of Rebecca's costumes are hot as hell?

Not in the least. Boners are important to society.
Have to say though, some of the costumes are actually pretty cool. One of them being her outfit from the original N64 prototype for Zero, for example (not sexy or anything, just a cool little obscurity), and another being the basketball outfit from the silly secret photo from RE2.
Not to mention that Rebecca is probably my favorite Resident Evil girl anyway. Really underutilized.