Goth Mercenaries

[SatansBestBuddy]

Wow.

Reading a Yahtzee piece after listening to a MovieBob piece meant I had the latter's voice reading out the former's words in my head.

It was oddly surreal.

Now I'm interested in what would happen if they switched spots and did each others video's for a week.

PS: Typo's are pretty noticable when you bold them; how that kind of thing slips by both the writer and the editor is beyond me.

 

[Kilgorn]

"I was medic before it was cool"
oh my god thats hilarious XD. As for the update dislike, people who liked TF2 before all the extraneous weapons should try it on console or play on a vanilla server, I do this every once in a while to remind me of how good i was with scout, I was literally untouchable.

 

[-BloodRush-]

So Borderlands is mediocre because it doesn't give you the opportunity to show off what a non-conformist loner you are? Sounding more like a precious brat than a game reviewer here, regardless of how many people agree with you.

well if you put it that way. lol

OT: when i used to play wow i was the same way. i gave my rogue a backround as a brooding loner who sometimes has to partner up with others to take down a tyrant. it was a fun time because i only had two consistent friends and me and them worked together real well. once i got to level 70 (this was before wrath of the lich king) there was nothing else i felt i needed to do, and thus i beat the game in my head.

 

[RottingAwesome]

Hehe, thanks for responding to my question, Yahtzee. Shame to hear that you've given up playing TF2 (understandable given your busy schedule) but I'm glad to hear that you at least read the blog and actually follow every thing that's going on very closely. Honestly, the balance has been a little upset with all these items and there are many people who long for the old days before all this craziness was released, I believe there are even a few servers where you can only use the stock weapons (though all the tweaks to them still apply). It's funny though, the Medic weapons pack was arguably the best and most balanced (since the tweaks to it anyways), especially in the case of the medigun unlock: the kritzkrieg.

Also, in my question I accidentally spelled "fair" as "far", so I'm just gonna say that our typos balance each other out

 

[Xersues]

I played TF classic for years and I definitely salivated at TF2 when it came out. It was my beloved game, redone, a bit silly, but it had style.

...Then the bullshit came in. And I went back to TF Classic.

I want my option to take out all the stupid retarded bullshit and let the level up kiddies have their fun. I just want my TF back... Sigh.

 

[mawk]

I guess that's what makes a good game different from a great game. Namely the ability to make a long-lasting impression. I guess one such example of a great game by this token is Final Fantasy VII.

I think FFVII lasts not by any particular qualities of its own (because let's face it, it does turn-based RPG combat well, but it's nothing we hadn't seen before -- in fact, the major points are aping its immediate predecessor), but by the circumstances. it popularized the angsty loser hero type which has become so dreaded over the last decade, and manages to keep itself in the public eye by continuous and alternating attacks between those who love to buy into hype and those who hate anything to do with it.

I know challenging FFVII's superiority is a good way to get eyebrows singed basically anywhere on the internet, but I'm not; I'm just saying that its quality isn't what's kept it alive this long. it's more a combination of hype, counterhype, and memetics.

as for the actual review, I gotta agree with the "alone, but not by myself" bit, or whatever the exact quote was. I don't really play MMOs, but with all the ones I've tried and later ditched, the baseline chatter and random appearances of other players lent something to the experience, even if they're all morons. kept me interested longer that I would have been otherwise, at least, and I guess it's nice to have a knowledge base to tap into when you're wondering how to find X or which is the best method for getting past Y.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

heh you really have a love-hate relationship w/ valve, on one hand they create excellent games; on the other they keep tinkering with an old one and keep holding off the conclusion to a series to infinity and beyond

Here's to Gordon Freeman being Buzz Lightyear in disguise!

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Personally I loved playing Borderlands solo. I used the hunter and spec'd him out for using the Bloodwing and huge pistol damage with an awesome revolver I found :-D

I tried it MP with a friend and it just didn't feel the same, I was about 2 zones ahead of him with my character so I'd seen everything I was helping him achieve... Got really old really fast as there was no challenge for me and everything that was dropped as loot was no good to me. I pretty much just ended up as a packhorse and route guide for him.

 

[RobCoxxy]

As I have unlocked pretty much everything for all classes except Demo and soldier - I use what's best. And that's usually the base weapons. Apart from sniper - I love the huntsman, much harder, much more satisfying. Yahtzee needs to get back into tf2, have himself some fun.

 

[Mezzo.]

Very interesting thought about how MMOGs work. Now that you mention it, those kind of places do seem bland and uninteresting without actual people running around and making it what it is.

Although my interest in those kind of games died with a particular one that will go unmentioned because quite frankly, I was one of those idiot kids that decided to spend money on a game that wasn't worth playing in the long run.

Perhaps this idea could be taken into even more of an effect sometime in the near future? It'd be interesting to see what could be accomplished with it in terms of gameplay, other than what you just described.

As for TF2, the weapons probably tore the community a new one, because now all I hear from the people who play this game are the usual "ZOMG CUNTSMAN CHARGIN TARD LOLOLOL YOU HAVE NO SKILL" that plagues the coming of new weapons. If there were more weapons like the Medic's Blutsauger and Ubersaw in that they despite their advantages, they took no more time to master than did their predecessors. It would be neat to see how that would have turned out for the other weapons.

Hopefully though, the Engineer update will be the last thing they'll do with the game balance-wise and just leave it as is.

 

[Mezzo.]

Also, the final boss had a cheap one hit kill? I couldn't tell because of how easy the damn thing was. I was sorely disappointed by it.

 

[300lb. Samoan]

So Borderlands is mediocre because it doesn't give you the opportunity to show off what a non-conformist loner you are? Sounding more like a precious brat than a game reviewer here, regardless of how many people agree with you.

well if you put it that way. lol

OT: when i used to play wow i was the same way. i gave my rogue a backround as a brooding loner who sometimes has to partner up with others to take down a tyrant. it was a fun time because i only had two consistent friends and me and them worked together real well. once i got to level 70 (this was before wrath of the lich king) there was nothing else i felt i needed to do, and thus i beat the game in my head.

I'm sure that role playing in the presence of others is what part of what makes WoW so satisfying for people, but the way he describes it he only wants those people around so he can use them for his own ends and then ignore them. I doubt they see him as a 'mercenary', more likely as the hundred-millionth anonymous douche they've had tag along for a random quest. If he's going to evaluate the game he should base his opinion on the game's merits and content, not on the affectations he brings to the experience. I mean, is it annoying that New Haven is populated with wax sculptures rather than reactive characters? Yes, for sure. But if you plan on disregarding those people and being completely apathetic to them, then what's the loss? A social game should be so for the sake of social players, IE you and your two friends, not for the sake of anti-social behavior.

 

[SideScroller99]

this was a nice post, but I want to know what Yahtzee thinks about the new prince of persia game you know the "forgotten sands"

 

[Theo Samaritan]

I agree with you on MMOGs. I'm one of these solo players - in EVE Online, specifically - and while I play mainly on my own, seeing everyone around me doing their various errands definately supplies a much needed boost of atmosphere. EVE's population count heightens this.

Still, I do socialise in chat a bit. Got myself a bit of e-reputation, but that was a side effect of being on a server with 50k others. Kind of impossible to not speak to anyone in that environment.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

So to summarize briefly, people who play MMOGs without socializing are a lot like goths in real life; angry loners who want to be angry loners where everyone can see.

True. That's why I'm still a goth.

 

[timax]

I couldn't agree more with Yahtzee more on TF2, I loved the game for what it was, but now I am scared to try it again, they have changed it so much...

 

[ItsAPaul]

I play WoW, but I definitely wouldn't play any other mmo. The only thing that keeps me going is the fact that I happen to have max level achieved already, and am poised to be at it again very quickly after a new expansion is released. Plus no other mmo is as good, real talk.

PS - It also helps when literally everyone in your social circle plays on your server.

 

[A1]

I guess that's what makes a good game different from a great game. Namely the ability to make a long-lasting impression. I guess one such example of a great game by this token is Final Fantasy VII.

I think FFVII lasts not by any particular qualities of its own (because let's face it, it does turn-based RPG combat well, but it's nothing we hadn't seen before -- in fact, the major points are aping its immediate predecessor), but by the circumstances. it popularized the angsty loser hero type which has become so dreaded over the last decade, and manages to keep itself in the public eye by continuous and alternating attacks between those who love to buy into hype and those who hate anything to do with it.

I know challenging FFVII's superiority is a good way to get eyebrows singed basically anywhere on the internet, but I'm not; I'm just saying that its quality isn't what's kept it alive this long. it's more a combination of hype, counterhype, and memetics.

as for the actual review, I gotta agree with the "alone, but not by myself" bit, or whatever the exact quote was. I don't really play MMOs, but with all the ones I've tried and later ditched, the baseline chatter and random appearances of other players lent something to the experience, even if they're all morons. kept me interested longer that I would have been otherwise, at least, and I guess it's nice to have a knowledge base to tap into when you're wondering how to find X or which is the best method for getting past Y.

Okay. I'm sensing some hate and bias here.

But in response to this it just so happens that I still have a copy of official US Playstation Magazine Issue 47. It's from all the way back in August 2001 and talks about the Final Fantasy Games. Here's what it says about Final Fantasy VII word for word:

"So much can be said about FFVII. A truly revolutionary game, FFVII boasted a remarkable budget (some $30 million), an enormous team and a whole new approach to RPGs. Taking advantage of the new freedom afforded by the PS one's CD format, Square packed the game full of cinematic CG sequences that were simply breathtaking. The look and setting of FFVII also took an abrupt turn, with a new realism and technologically suffused world, due largely to the choice of Tetsuya Nomura as character designer (all the previous games had Amano in that position). The music finally realized it's potential, thanks to the PS one's sound capabilities. The Materia system was a new approach to customizing and developing your party. And the characters-who can forget the moody Cloud, the perky Tifa and, most of all, Aeris? We still get e-mails to this day asking if there's any way to revive Aeris. Her death midway through FFVII remains one of the most moving moments ever in a video game."

So popular and loved was the game that it ultimately gave rise to it's own franchise. The most notable result of which is probably FFVII: Advent Children.

Hype, counterhype, and memetics?

I think not. I think it has more to do with the fact that the game remains very memorable and widely loved to this very day.

No matter how much the haters would like to believe otherwise the game is and will always be one of the most influential games in Video Game history. And whether or not one considers this to be a good thing is totally beside the point.

 

[Metcarfre]

I guess I'll have to apologize for not previously arguing with Yahtzee regarding Borderlands. Frankly, however, I didn't care enough to do so. I had a lot of fun in the game - primarily single player - and considered it well worth the price (especially considering I got it for but $40 CAD as a release-day special).

Yahtzee didn't find it fun, and that's his prerogative. As I've learned with my Twilight-loving fiance, convincing another person of something's benefits or faults is nigh-impossible if they already feel strongly about the subject.

Besides, no one expects a positive treatment from him regarding any game.

 

[achilleas.k]

So I gave it time, waiting for things to level out again. But then came the Pyro update, and all the other updates, each one dishing out more and more funny weapons and maps I'd need time to familiarize myself with, and now there's so much extra shit going on since the last time I played that, frankly, I'm afraid to venture back in lest I be immediately flattened by twenty guys who've all spent the last two years mastering the double-piped bong rifle or whatever.

Please don't waste the internet's precious pixels by trying to convince me to get back into it.

I find statements like this one strange. I play TF2 rarely and have no idea what changes are made during updates (I rarely read the patch notes). I simply log on every couple of months and spend a whole afternoon (or two) playing and I just notice some new things here and there, maybe a new map. Perhaps I always happen to play after the update hype dies down and everything returns to normal.

As for weapons, I just try a new weapon for a round or two whenever I happen to find one and usually return to the default for the long run.

Not trying to convince anyone to get back into the game here, it's just that my contact with the game is so sparse that you would think I'd feel the same way, or at least know what Yahtzee's talking about.
Maybe I just play too casually.