Yes and know. Its almost like you need (i)"here is a review for someone who knows nothing about the genre" and (ii) here is a review for folks who really understand the genre.
Destiny is unique in that its an MMO-lite that brought MMO(ish) type game design to the (dare I say) casual audience of your average FPS player and or Single Player RPG guy.
First thing I thought of. Not quite.Is this the video game equivalent of Pitchfork's notorious Kid A review?
Warframe predates Destiny, and belongs on your list of potential comparisons.
Is this the video game equivalent of Pitchfork's notorious Kid A review?
Reminds me more of Ebert's E.T. review.Is this the video game equivalent of Pitchfork's notorious Kid A review?
Is this the video game equivalent of Pitchfork's notorious Kid A review?
This is where I lost interest, an explanation of how playing with people is fun that is too romanticized, too close to 'destiny restores faith in people' for my taste.the most human interaction Ive had in weeks, he was saying. Ever since the stuff with my ex, I havent actually talked to many people? Just my sister, mostly. I didnt think I liked playing games with other people. I liked those guys we were with, though, and Alex seems cool.
Yeah, shes great, said Sean. Alex smiled. She wondered if he knew she was listening in. Im glad she talked me into this. The games driven me nuts for the past week, but I cant say it hasnt been fun.
Reading this reminds me of exactly why I don't think Destiny is a good game, or more importantly, a game worth people's time. I'm all for changing up the way reviews are done, but this doesn't seem to serve anyone other than the hardcore that don't need to see reviews before they buy it.
what is with people's need to reference AJ's review in here
Kotaku's mandate is that reviews should inform, entertain, and help improve our understanding of how video games make us feel. If you just want to know whether the graphics are good, there are plenty of other websites out there.
Kotaku's mandate is that reviews should inform, entertain, and help improve our understanding of how video games make us feel. If you just want to know whether the graphics are good, there are plenty of other websites out there.
very goodI opened the thread... intrigued by the title. My first feeling was that the OP was being negative about this Kotaku review, and was putting it up for all to point and laugh.
I quickly opened the review link in a separate tab and moved the tab to its own screen. With three monitors it's a move I find myself often pulling. One might ask why not open it to its own new window? But the answer there is that said functionality is in a right-click context menu. Meanwhile I can simply press MOUSE3 to get my new tab. Dragging it over to the other screen is incredibly easier in any case. So that is the way of my doing.
I quickly paged up and down... Getting a feel for the review. Its length. Its shape. Maybe even its soul. Feeling daunted I didn't expect to be able to read the whole thing. But I tried...
After blasting through the brief intro, I began reading the "Alex & Shawn" section. Ahh, one of them is a "he", and the other a "she". At first I thought surely the Alex would be the she... but I was wrong. It was Sean! I guess that's my own bias at play. I've always liked Alex as a girl's name... and Sean as a boy's. Despite the initial gender intrigue, reading quickly turned to skimming as Alex gave the full-Slayven of lore to Sean. This put me in a strange place. I've played plenty of Destiny, but mostly ignored the lore. The lore was totally lame.
Finding myself no longer caring about these two I scrolled farther... The anecdote of Javi's sound echo rang very true to me. Some people just put no effort into setting up their party chat, and excess sound bleeds into decent people's lives as a result. Some people complain about racism and toxicity in these games... but personally I would endure every insult known to man before playing with people who refuse to get their mics sorted...
With interest in the Kotaku review starting to fade I changed screens back to the GAF thread on the subject. I got instantly confused as apparently there was some shit-posting regarding Angry Joe's review. But after the thread clean-up it just kind of looked like people were getting mad again at Angry Joe for no apparent reason. I had rather enjoyed Angry Joe's review for what it's worth... but decided it wasn't worth engaging in Jihad. Or perhaps in GAF-speak, it wouldn't be my hill to die on. For so many die on hills. And for what? Ultimately nothing. War is as pointless as it is pervasive.
I caught another glimpse of the opening paragraphs of the review as I went back to the other window. It talked about hearing his fireteam rather than Cayde et al. I started wondering though... in the game... I have a ghost. My ghost talks to all those motherfuckers along with me. Those motherfuckers are all Guardians as well. Presumably they have ghosts. Why don't I talk to their ghosts? Why don't I see them talking to their ghosts? Was that just too many personalities for Bungie to write? Are all ghosts kind of like my ghost? Do they all have the same voice? Am I stumbling into a pit of lore as I ponder these questions? I hope not. All I want is for what they put on my screen to have some logical consistency.
During this time, my white cheddar popcorn, which I had reflexively been chowing down on since loading up GAF this afternoon had run out. But my hunger wasn't satisfied. A snack is not a meal, and on this day I had yet to feast. So I had to make the call. Would I read more of the thread? Would I read more of the Kotaku review? Or would I get some real food?
I knew if I left... I probably would never circle back to the review. It didn't really hold my attention. And do I really need to read reviews of games that I've double dipped on? Not really... Angry Joe's reviews are more entertaining than whatever this was. I get stupid simple laughs from that enthusiastically simple man dressing up as a guardian and feeding me Cobra Commander 'member berries. The perfect sort of thing to throw up on a single monitor while browsing GAF or doing work on another. Kirk Hamilton's Tales from Destiny 2 just wasn't the same.
And with that thought I threw on my sandals and steeled myself for the one block walk to the local taco shop. I still don't know what I'm going to order from their extensive menu. But that mystery fills me with wonder. When the cashier asks for my order, as I stare at the menu trying to home in on what I want to eat... I will either in a moment of perfect clarity find an amazing meal I didn't realize I was craving, or fumble and order something I really didn't want. Isn't that what life's all about? Putting yourself out there despite the risk of failure? With that final thought I hit "Submit Reply" and took the first step of the rest of my day.
I loved the review. It captured what makes Destiny 2 so great. We have lots of "graphics are good, story is alright and multiplayer wasnt laggy so 9/10" reviews. He summarizes the pros and cons near the end but the narrative really shows how special a game like Destiny 2 really is.
let's be real here, any review that's positive of destiny is going to take heat on neogaf if it gets it's own thread
new games journalism coming back in a big way, baby!
New New Games Journalism.
I opened the thread... intrigued by the title. My first feeling was that the OP was being negative about this Kotaku review, and was putting it up for all to point and laugh.
I quickly opened the review link in a separate tab and moved the tab to its own screen. With three monitors it's a move I find myself often pulling. One might ask why not open it to its own new window? But the answer there is that said functionality is in a right-click context menu. Meanwhile I can simply press MOUSE3 to get my new tab. Dragging it over to the other screen is incredibly easier in any case. So that is the way of my doing.
I quickly paged up and down... Getting a feel for the review. Its length. Its shape. Maybe even its soul. Feeling daunted I didn't expect to be able to read the whole thing. But I tried...
After blasting through the brief intro, I began reading the "Alex & Shawn" section. Ahh, one of them is a "he", and the other a "she". At first I thought surely the Alex would be the she... but I was wrong. It was Sean! I guess that's my own bias at play. I've always liked Alex as a girl's name... and Sean as a boy's. Despite the initial gender intrigue, reading quickly turned to skimming as Alex gave the full-Slayven of lore to Sean. This put me in a strange place. I've played plenty of Destiny, but mostly ignored the lore. The lore was totally lame.
Finding myself no longer caring about these two I scrolled farther... The anecdote of Javi's sound echo rang very true to me. Some people just put no effort into setting up their party chat, and excess sound bleeds into decent people's lives as a result. Some people complain about racism and toxicity in these games... but personally I would endure every insult known to man before playing with people who refuse to get their mics sorted...
With interest in the Kotaku review starting to fade I changed screens back to the GAF thread on the subject. I got instantly confused as apparently there was some shit-posting regarding Angry Joe's review. But after the thread clean-up it just kind of looked like people were getting mad again at Angry Joe for no apparent reason. I had rather enjoyed Angry Joe's review for what it's worth... but decided it wasn't worth engaging in Jihad. Or perhaps in GAF-speak, it wouldn't be my hill to die on. For so many die on hills. And for what? Ultimately nothing. War is as pointless as it is pervasive.
I caught another glimpse of the opening paragraphs of the review as I went back to the other window. It talked about hearing his fireteam rather than Cayde et al. I started wondering though... in the game... I have a ghost. My ghost talks to all those motherfuckers along with me. Those motherfuckers are all Guardians as well. Presumably they have ghosts. Why don't I talk to their ghosts? Why don't I see them talking to their ghosts? Was that just too many personalities for Bungie to write? Are all ghosts kind of like my ghost? Do they all have the same voice? Am I stumbling into a pit of lore as I ponder these questions? I hope not. All I want is for what they put on my screen to have some logical consistency.
During this time, my white cheddar popcorn, which I had reflexively been chowing down on since loading up GAF this afternoon had run out. But my hunger wasn't satisfied. A snack is not a meal, and on this day I had yet to feast. So I had to make the call. Would I read more of the thread? Would I read more of the Kotaku review? Or would I get some real food?
I knew if I left... I probably would never circle back to the review. It didn't really hold my attention. And do I really need to read reviews of games that I've double dipped on? Not really... Angry Joe's reviews are more entertaining than whatever this was. I get stupid simple laughs from that enthusiastically simple man dressing up as a guardian and feeding me Cobra Commander 'member berries. The perfect sort of thing to throw up on a single monitor while browsing GAF or doing work on another. Kirk Hamilton's Tales from Destiny 2 just wasn't the same.
And with that thought I threw on my sandals and steeled myself for the one block walk to the local taco shop. I still don't know what I'm going to order from their extensive menu. But that mystery fills me with wonder. When the cashier asks for my order, as I stare at the menu trying to home in on what I want to eat... I will either in a moment of perfect clarity find an amazing meal I didn't realize I was craving, or fumble and order something I really didn't want. Isn't that what life's all about? Putting yourself out there despite the risk of failure? With that final thought I hit "Submit Reply" and took the first step of the rest of my day.
since when did nintendo get into games journalism?
I opened the thread... intrigued by the title. My first feeling was that the OP was being negative about this Kotaku review, and was putting it up for all to point and laugh.
I quickly opened the review link in a separate tab and moved the tab to its own screen. With three monitors it's a move I find myself often pulling. One might ask why not open it to its own new window? But the answer there is that said functionality is in a right-click context menu. Meanwhile I can simply press MOUSE3 to get my new tab. Dragging it over to the other screen is incredibly easier in any case. So that is the way of my doing.
I quickly paged up and down... Getting a feel for the review. Its length. Its shape. Maybe even its soul. Feeling daunted I didn't expect to be able to read the whole thing. But I tried...
After blasting through the brief intro, I began reading the "Alex & Shawn" section. Ahh, one of them is a "he", and the other a "she". At first I thought surely the Alex would be the she... but I was wrong. It was Sean! I guess that's my own bias at play. I've always liked Alex as a girl's name... and Sean as a boy's. Despite the initial gender intrigue, reading quickly turned to skimming as Alex gave the full-Slayven of lore to Sean. This put me in a strange place. I've played plenty of Destiny, but mostly ignored the lore. The lore was totally lame.
Finding myself no longer caring about these two I scrolled farther... The anecdote of Javi's sound echo rang very true to me. Some people just put no effort into setting up their party chat, and excess sound bleeds into decent people's lives as a result. Some people complain about racism and toxicity in these games... but personally I would endure every insult known to man before playing with people who refuse to get their mics sorted...
With interest in the Kotaku review starting to fade I changed screens back to the GAF thread on the subject. I got instantly confused as apparently there was some shit-posting regarding Angry Joe's review. But after the thread clean-up it just kind of looked like people were getting mad again at Angry Joe for no apparent reason. I had rather enjoyed Angry Joe's review for what it's worth... but decided it wasn't worth engaging in Jihad. Or perhaps in GAF-speak, it wouldn't be my hill to die on. For so many die on hills. And for what? Ultimately nothing. War is as pointless as it is pervasive.
I caught another glimpse of the opening paragraphs of the review as I went back to the other window. It talked about hearing his fireteam rather than Cayde et al. I started wondering though... in the game... I have a ghost. My ghost talks to all those motherfuckers along with me. Those motherfuckers are all Guardians as well. Presumably they have ghosts. Why don't I talk to their ghosts? Why don't I see them talking to their ghosts? Was that just too many personalities for Bungie to write? Are all ghosts kind of like my ghost? Do they all have the same voice? Am I stumbling into a pit of lore as I ponder these questions? I hope not. All I want is for what they put on my screen to have some logical consistency.
During this time, my white cheddar popcorn, which I had reflexively been chowing down on since loading up GAF this afternoon had run out. But my hunger wasn't satisfied. A snack is not a meal, and on this day I had yet to feast. So I had to make the call. Would I read more of the thread? Would I read more of the Kotaku review? Or would I get some real food?
I knew if I left... I probably would never circle back to the review. It didn't really hold my attention. And do I really need to read reviews of games that I've double dipped on? Not really... Angry Joe's reviews are more entertaining than whatever this was. I get stupid simple laughs from that enthusiastically simple man dressing up as a guardian and feeding me Cobra Commander 'member berries. The perfect sort of thing to throw up on a single monitor while browsing GAF or doing work on another. Kirk Hamilton's Tales from Destiny 2 just wasn't the same.
And with that thought I threw on my sandals and steeled myself for the one block walk to the local taco shop. I still don't know what I'm going to order from their extensive menu. But that mystery fills me with wonder. When the cashier asks for my order, as I stare at the menu trying to home in on what I want to eat... I will either in a moment of perfect clarity find an amazing meal I didn't realize I was craving, or fumble and order something I really didn't want. Isn't that what life's all about? Putting yourself out there despite the risk of failure? With that final thought I hit "Submit Reply" and took the first step of the rest of my day.
The tank exploded, and Will got some loot for his trouble. Blue gun, blue helmet . garbage. It didnt matter; on to the next mission.
^Expected this to be a Tim Rogers piece!
This may come off as pretty abstract, but a major question game reviews serve for me is the question "is this experience worth my time?"
A review like this purports to answer that by demanding a sizable amount of my time for a creative exercise which doesn't quite answer the question. This review doesn't seem written for me.
Then the reviews are not for you if you already have the game and just want to get back to playing it. If you can't tell if someone liked a game or not just from reading a review and maybe need some simple thumbs up or down sign, there are plenty of other reviews catered to your needs.FWIW, Angry Joe's review has the same problem as this one from Kotaku:
I want to get back to playing Destiny 2, I don't have time for all this long format reveiw bullshit, just tell me if you liked the game or not already!
Time is Glimmer, friend.
I don't need a Game of Thrones style narrative to tell me if you liked a game or not.
In a roundabout way I think this touches on something important: fixed, scored (or even thumbs up/thumbs down) reviews of some games are useless. There are some games that defy talking about in singular terms. Go back and read some reviews of League of Legends or World of Warcraft, or hell, for a more flash-in-the-pan example, Flappy Bird. Sometimes games become cultural touchstones and the conversation moves away from "is X good?" to "how does X make me feel right now?" and any attempt to categorize them in terms of the former is futile.
Destiny, like any MMO (or pseudo-Guild Wars type thing, in Destiny's case) aims to become a part of a player's life and routine, and if you let a game like Destiny or WoW or Dota or whatever into your life it's a lot harder to hold it at arm's length and say "this was an 8/10." Is it still an 8 when your clan triumphs over a raid? Is it still an 8 when a patch renders your favorite gun useless, and you're forced to change your style? Is it still an 8 when you get that rare drop you've been hoping for for weeks? Is it still an 8 after you've decided to put the game down for a few weeks to play something else? Is it still an 8 when you come back for the DLC, and there are some parts you love and some parts you think aren't so good? Is it still an 8 when you get in a shouting match with friends over something silly like losing a game? Is it still an 8 when cooler heads prevail, and your friends all bond over the game again 20 minutes later?
To put more than a campaign length's worth of hours into a game like Destiny, or more than a dozen matches into a MOBA or something - that renders aerial views like a concise review impossible, because there's an inherent amount of love (or addiction, if you're feeling cynical) involved once a game becomes part of your life. If you don't like a game, you can just not play it; if you like a game like this, it becomes almost symbiotic. There's a reason there are so many posts in that "explain Vanilla WoW to me" thread right now that amount to "It was the most beautiful experience I've had in my life. I made friends and will never forget some of the things I did. The game sort of sucked and was broken."