Any good game/general geek sites that dont moan about sexism/racism/homophobia?

[IceForce]

Well, this thread backfired, badly.

Often I can't just 'read around it', because the perceived sexism or whatever has an impact on the final score.

So, if a game gets 0.5 (or even less) points taken off at the end for something you "don't care" about and view to be "unimportant", you require another reviewer or review site altogether?

How petty are you?

That would be like me saying I don't care about graphics and believe them to be "unimportant", so I refuse to consume any reviews where points are docked because the reviewer didn't like the graphics.
Oh, and I also demand a site/reviewer cater to my specific tastes on graphics.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I think we all should go back to political correctness. As least I never saw any neo-nazis flagrantly using that phrase.

You never saw "it's PC gone mad!"?

 

[Skatologist]

snip

3.46% referenced every variation of realism and immersion

Oh God, I'm much angrier finding those words being used in a review or editorial than any mention of an -ism or a -phobia. It usually just seems so...utterly boring and useless to say and has absolutely no reason to be brought up for any sort of discussion

 

[the December King]

This is a general rule I try to follow when considering games:

Don't listen to reviews, plain and simple. Look at trailers, demos, let's plays and alpha/betas, but don't for a second rely on the perceptions of others for your entertainment. Make up your own mind.

I don't tend to follow this guide when considering movies or books, but the medium change merits other considerations most of the time.

 

[mecegirl]

In your defense that was the first time I've ever seen someone use "check your privilege" non-ironically before. I assumed it was a straw-argument thrown around by those who go in terror of the wicked SJW hordes I am to understand are lurking behind every URL.

That's the only reason I responded to her post.

Considering the OP's stance is anyone surprised? I think it's fair to assume that most people play games to have fun. I think we can also agree that (insert ist, ism, or phobia here) are not fun. So for those of us who have to deal with such things in our day to day lives having them pop up in media that we are trying to enjoy puts a dampener on the fun. He may be tired of hearing people's complaints about it, some of us are tired of dealing with it. And he can be tired of hearing it all he wants, but to dismiss others concerns as "pointless bullshit" is pretty self absorbed. The phrase "check your privilege" may be used to death but why avoid using it if the shoe fits? And I don't see how using it is any less dismissive than telling the OP that the world doesn't revolve around him (like a lot of posters are doing in this thread). All in all the meaning of both phrases are the same, one just has the specter of "SJW's" behind it.

 

[BytByte]

ITT: Person asks for recommendations for sites that don't talk about sexism/racism/homophobia because he personally doesn't care for it and you get two pages worth of people telling him he's selfish and should check his privilege.

You forgot to mention that he called the stuff he personally doesn't care for "shit" and how he won't give "ad revenue to any company that thinks these things are relevant". People like Guppy pointed out that he is perfectly reasonable in not wanting to read those things in his reviews. That's cool. But what's not cool is him saying that the stuff he doesn't like is, again, "shit". It's not his opinion people are criticizing him for, it's how he voiced it.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

ITT: Person asks for recommendations for sites that don't talk about sexism/racism/homophobia because he personally doesn't care for it and you get two pages worth of people telling him he's selfish and should check his privilege.

I want news about games/movies/comics, I don't give a shit about whether or not something is 'problematic'.

Are there any major sites that keep this shit out of their reviews, previews and basic discussions? I don't want to give ad revenue to any company that thinks these things are relevant in the discussion of video games, tv shows or comics or whatever.

I imagine if he would have worded it as perhaps "Are there any sites out there that tend to stay largely apolitical? I'm not worried about any of these topics and would like to avoid them." he wouldn't have gotten such responses.

The issue is not his question, but his tone.

 

[Michael Dunkerton]

Gameplay is one part of a game experience. There are others--graphics, story, characters, themes, music, etc. To insist that the only part of a game that matters is gameplay because that's the one that has the word game in it seems extremely limiting. Games are a lot more than that and *most* people care about more than the raw gameplay. That's why all that stuff is included in the reviews. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a review that only mentions one or two.

Perhaps sites should program in checkboxes so that it would only display the elements you care about: one person can look at gameplay and story while another looks at music and themes, etc. Then it would calculate a new score based only on those elements.

Or, you know, people could just read the reviews and choose to dismiss complaints that address elements they don't care about, and realize that the final score is not of any use one way or the other, so you should probably just read the review, determine if the complaints are going to make or break the game for you, then decide whether you want the game or not.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

I obviously want people's opinions on games. I just don't want the opinions of people who discuss things that are changing in the gaming industry, where some things are actually good points if we actually would get our heads out of our asses and listen, instead of being completely ignorant and just wanting to ignore it

I also fixed that for you too. You can thank me later~

I'm about as tired of it as you are. But let's face it, a lot of this recent stuff kicking up the ground beneath us is some actual legitimate criticism on gaming itself. There's a LOT of crap tied to it, I hear ya there. But let's not forget that some good changes are gonna be made in light of it (But god damn, if there wasn't a huge shit storm involved to get the points across). That's just how its been going down recently.

It might be hard to find a review without politics in it, that's for sure. Some people have helped you out there. But, others have ripped you a new one for the way you went about asking. Wording is the most important way to ask a thing or get something out there. Otherwise, like others have said, all it does it show us just how you view things, and your level of tolerance for all of it.

Because if the writing in a game effects someone so much they can no longer play it properly then I'd wager they're a candidate for psychiatric help.

Case in point. Post smart, Escapist users. It might just save you your reputation!

Side note: You could, you know... Just read a review and take everything except the political stuff out of it and make your own opinion. Maybe watch some spoiler free gameplay and think "Oh, I think this reviewer is wrong in this sense, but I agree with the rest!" and decide for yourself if the game is worth your time. Reviews aren't there to tell you if a game is worth your time. It's to help you understand the game itself a bit better, and what that reviewer liked and disliked about it. They aren't making the decision for you. If you need a review to tell you that much, and need a politics free one on top of that, maybe go back and see if some reviewers dislike a game you love.

Interesting what changes, huh? That's cause you formed your own opinion, instead of following everyone elses. Reviews are a guideline, not the bottom line.

 

[Teoes]

I think it would be helpful to all involved if OP could provide some specific examples of the sort of reviews he finds problematic or objectionable. We can then take the discussion from there.

Granted, this will possibly cause OP to be giving ad revenue to the sort of sites he doesn't want to support, but hey - we all have our crosses to bear.

 

[Methodia Chicken]

I can legitimately see an argument for calling it shit. Personally, I can see some arguments for sexism/racism/homophobia in games but like 95% of it is complete an utter garbage that's so out of tune with the actual game it makes me wonder if the person saying it actually played the same game as I did.

They didn't. Everyone's experience of a game is different and effected by their unique viewpoint, they come from a background where such issues will be more important to them and that will effect the way they experience the game.
You are just lucky enough not to be effected or concerned by such things. apathy wins again.
they aren't fabricating anything it's not "shit" or "garbage" they are just looking at it from a different angle.

As for the OP I don't know if you really deserve all this, if you don't want to read this content don't.
a few people have recommended destructoid where there is plenty of pure gameplay discussion and most articles of the type you want to avoid are pretty clearly marked and you can just pass them by if you want.

 

[Abomination]

I too have the OP's opinion when it comes to video game reviews. I understand some people like to read into the underlying "themes" present in games and jump to all sorts of conclusions as to the developers motives - but I certain as fuck don't.

I like me some racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, pro-republican, or what have you content in my video games. And just because a game contains that type of content doesn't mean the game is pro/anti anything.

Killing dudes ain't pro-murder so therefore a woman getting smacked around isn't pro violence against women. A gay getting insulted for their homosexuality isn't an anti-homosexual game.

I enjoy reviews that review the game for what it is, not for some click-bait hyper-sensitive over-reactionary bullshit. GTA5 isn't sexist, it isn't racist, it's SATIRE. Hitman isn't a sexist game and neither is The Witcher (yes, even one, with the sex cards - guess what, Geralt is a womanizer, that's his CHARACTER).

 

[Thaluikhain]

isn't sexist, it isn't racist, it's SATIRE.

Bit off-topic, but they aren't mutually exclusive. A satire of something has to be fairly close to what it is satirising, and it's easy to blur from one to the other, or to be misunderstood by the audience. Dave Chappelle comes to mind.

 

[Abomination]

isn't sexist, it isn't racist, it's SATIRE.

Bit off-topic, but they aren't mutually exclusive. A satire of something has to be fairly close to what it is satirising, and it's easy to blur from one to the other, or to be misunderstood by the audience. Dave Chappelle comes to mind.

The funny thing is that perception, despite many a philosopher's claims, doesn't actually define reality.

GTA since San Andres has held that "Satire" torch up high for all to see. Those in the know, those with experience with the series, understand that what is portrayed in GTA is NOT the opinions of the developers. It's hyperbole at times and damn near indistinguishable at others save for the fake names of the locations. Such is the nature of satire.

It seems that only video games today are viewed as though the setting = the developer's dream utopia. Rather than just being the setting of a particular story.

It's the whole rock & roll causes violence, pregnancy and drug abuse argument all over again, just with a hyper-liberal paint job.