Is Yahtzee a noob?

[Aprilgold]

He seems to prefer the oldschool games. He said Bioshock was tripe because it wasn't as cool as System Shock -___- lolwut. Systemshock set it up, but its story and gameplay was horrible in comparison. And he brings up Theif every third review. The only thing he's good for is a good laugh, and pointing out mistakes that game companies make. I don't take his word that seriously.

You want a funny brit who is also GOOD at games and reviews and covers everything from the big name to the indie? Just watch Totalbiscuit, that man is miles ahead of Yatzhee when it comes to presentation.

True true, but thats only because he was alive when games were interesting and innovative, not the same one over and over. Thief is a GREAT stealth game, and brings it up every time there is a stealth segment in a game.

Heres my answer in a handbasket.

First off before people make a fuss let me explain my definition of noob. It doesn't mean a casual player, it just anyone that either is new to a game or isn't very good at it. Personally I'm a complete RTS noob, I've played it, I suck at it, oh whew is me, let's move on.

Anyways, after wondering about what game he should be reviewing come this Wednesday, I thought of Dark Souls which honestly I think is one of the best games I've played in a lonnnnggg time. I haven't been this enthralled and yet horrified (by how sheer difficult and nerve wrecking the game is) by a video games since I was 14 played Ghouls and Ghosts. But remembering how Yahtzee reacted towards Demon's Souls, it got me thinking. Right now I'm at Nito which is pretty far in Dark Souls, I ain't a gaming God, but I'm pretty sure Yahtzee couldn't even get that far (Capra Demon is far as he'd get I bet).

So after thinking about a lot of his reviews, how he can't stand MP, and how gameplay just doesn't seem to matter to him. Yahtzee from what I've understood is more into narrative and doing different things in games. Doesn't seem to have much interest in the competitive side. For instance the other example I brought up, he doesn't like MP. Now I know not everyone likes MP, and just because you don't doesn't make you a noob, but sucking at it is one reason a lot of people don't like MP.

So what's the point of asking what if Yahzee's a noob? Well the reviews he does for the games he has difficulty with matter. He trashed Demon's Souls for being hard, he never even attempts to objectively look into MP heavy games. In the end it really doesn't matter if he is a noob or not since he still makes really good observation into games now and then, but still. Is he?

=P

I think you need to look at his reviews again because he doesn't really have a problem with multiplayer itself, he just doesn't like it when games put all the focus on multiplayer because he feels a good single player usually has more lasting appeal (TF2 being the exception) and he talks about gameplay quite a bit (Bionic Commando, Deus Ex, Call of Jaurez (Don't know if I spelt that right), Splatterhouse and many, many more) and he's stated in the past that if he doesn't mention something in his review you should probably take that as something he didn't have a problem with it (plus, he's part critic, part comedian so being positive about something isn't that funny ). Also you have to keep in mind that Yahtzee is more of a critic than a reviewer and so his reviews are more subjective than objective and unless the game is really, REALLY bad he usually keeps the matter of whether the viewers should buy it up to them.

 

[brightclaw22]

Yahtzee is funny and all but i do find him Bias towars RTS games, and yes he does rant on them for stupid things but the appeal to him is that he doesn't care what everyone else thinks even if we all disagree with him

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Ha haaaaa

Oh wait, seriousness.

Yahtzee plays a game a week, During that week he has to play enough of a game (if not the entire thing) in order to get a good sense of it to make a review. he then has to write that review, record it and make the little animations for it.

I tried my hand at making similar video reviews once, and these were of games that I had played dozens of times, and it took me nearly four hours to make one very crappy knock off review. For Yahtzee to be funny and actually pretty reasonably animated week after week, I reckon he must spend at least a day, maybe two, actually making the review.

So how far could you get in Demon's Souls if you were only allowed to play it for five days? And there's also no way you could play it constantly either. Yes some people can play games for a whole day, but then they go and spend the rest of the week at work, or at school. I tried playing videogames continuously every day over the summer, and I managed about three days before I had to go and do something else to prevent myself going mad or getting a serious headache.

Personally, I'm amazed at how far Yahtzee does manage to get into games. I consider myself pretty damn good, but I don't think I could get as far as he does into the games he plays in the time he does it.

 

[Michael Hirst]

Yahtzee isn't into gameplay?

I don't suppose you noticed his favourite games for the past few years have been Just Cause 2, Dead Rising 2, Saints Row 2, Painkiller etc. He loves his gameplay but it just an expert at bitching about videogames.

 

[TheAmokz]

He hated Demons Souls because it was "hard". So yes, he is a noob.

 

[Dark Prophet]

For some reason people take his reviews all so seriously. First of all he is a critic as he is so fond of reminding us and he is giving us hes subjective not objective opinions and views on a game. So he can like or dislike any game or any aspect of any game. Like I don't like MW or any CoD for that matter you could even say I hate those games and I will tell you they are shit, although from purely technical point of view I know they are good games. So it is pointless to argue wether someones opinions on a game are correct or nooby or whatever. Whats more he does tohes yellow cartoons to make money, and he gets money for a lot of views, you are not going to get a lot of views for an objective and well balanced review. So stop complainig enjoy the entertainement and if you want "a good honest review" go read some wall of text, there is bound to be one for every game out thre.

 

[superdelux]

The man plays around 50 games a year, I'm pretty sure hes picked up some skills. So if he says a game is hard its probably hard.

 

[Mozza444]

I'm sure he doesn't have the time to play that far into games... he reviews something ONCE A WEEK.

*Snip

Well i must thank you sir for expanding on my comment as i totally agree.
And yet again well said.
However i still do think again it is shown more with Yahtzee because many games have a first impression, some game reviewers are able to see past that as they want a serious review.
Yahtzee however isn't serious, so a thought like "Oh this is hard" turns into the basis of a joke.
Don't some people just need to brighten up!

 

[valleyshrew]

He probably is, if you define noob widely enough. So what? Some people like gaming experiences to be varied and engaging rather than merely repetitive and extremely difficult. Multiplayer is where I go for difficulty as it's much more satisfying and fair to beat a human opponent. In singleplayer I want to go on an epic adventure, not spend hours dieing in the same dungeon simply because the enemy AI cheats.

 

[SilverUchiha]

he never even attempts to objectively look into MP heavy games

He did review both Left 4 Dead games (and liked them mostly) and he has stated he liked Team Fortress 2 at one point. The former having both Co-op and competitive options while TF2 is all competitive. So saying he is 100% biased against multiplayer doesn't hold much weight. If the game is supposed to be straight multiplayer without any story then it makes sense. But if there is a story or a atmosphere needed that other people would ruin (like F3AR or Brink seemed to do) then it's going to get a little more hate. Not to mention he makes a good case for games needing to be judged on single player alone. I don't play many multiplayer games and when I do it is with friends of mine who I enjoy playing with, but there is a select handful of titles I do that with. Otherwise, it's mostly single player games and that's what I care more about anyway, as quite a few others do as well, I'd imagine.

As to your not liking hard games bit, I haven't played Demon's Souls (but want to) however I've tried my hand at Silent Hill 2 and the controls are really bad for moving around, which makes gameplay a little hard (if you ask me anyway) yet it is one of Yahtzee's favs. But if some of what Yahtzee said about Demon's Souls is true (i.e. it won't let you pause) then I would probably find it frustrating too. (note, I said if it is true as I know he'll exaggerate details of games).

Noob, I don't think so. He's just picky, and that's probably a good trait for a critic to have.

 

[pwnatornr1]

first: no, i think he is not.
second: a game that markets itself by saying "we are really fucking hard" should be given a lethal injection. i have played demon'ssssssssssouls (to quote) myself, and it feels enourmously clunky and shitty in my hands, and being hard can be okay i guess, BUT ONLY IF IT IS FUN, ENJOYABLE, MEMORABLE AND MOST IMPORTANT: NOT FRUSTRATING. i have shelves full of games where you die once and want to rip your own face off, but demons'sssssouls takes the prize on this one, really. just the whole dying thing is lidicrousengble-retarded IHMO.

 

[go-10]

I gotta ask: MP?

could be anything from:
multiple playthroughs
mysterious passenger
multi player
Michael Phelps
magic points
mechanical penis

I think other escapist could add on to this list

 

[Badassassin]

Maybe... Maybe he just doesn't like the whole ultra-difficulty thing that dark souls has going. I know I don't.

And I have noticed that lately he doesn't talk much about gameplay. Maybe it's just because of Generic Shooter 2011, but I don't know. I do hope that when he actually reviews something I care about (IE Arkham City, AC Revelations, Skyrim) he actually talks about gameplay, but you know, I don't make my decisions based on his opinion, so if he doesn't he's still good for a laugh

 

[FaceFaceFace]

Come on, Demon's/Dark Souls fans, you know, and have always known, that the games are niche. Most human beings don't have the time or patience to play such a demanding game. It is complex, and, while fair, absolutely requires that you absolutely master it, and most people want video games to be less of a job. Yahtzee's not a noob for thinking Demon's Souls was too hard, he's an ordinary gamer.

 

[Trikeen]

Yahtzee isn't a noob, he's a critic. It is quite literally his job to pick apart games and be extremely negative.

 

[ajemas]

It's important to remember that he's gaming on a schedule. He has about a week to completely play through and write a review of a game, in addition to his other various duties and jobs. If he has a review to write and after a couple of days of playing he is running into serious problems continuing, then I think that it is reasonable to drop the game then because otherwise he simply wouldn't be able to write the review.
And as for his gaming skills, or "newbness", which is totally a real word now, it's safe to say that he plays a lot of videogames and knows his way around them. He might just have difficulty with that style of play, but I don't think that he's that much of a newb, but just knows when to quit.

 

[crimson sickle2]

I don't think anyone can play video games as much as he has and still be a noob, maybe a noob of a neglected genre or game, but not an overall noob.

 

[zuro64]

I don't think you're in a position to be judging anyone's gaming ability if you've never seen them play.

Newb = new player

Noob = ignorant player, somebody who blames others/the game for their lack of skill and/or uses game tactics that others frown upon, i.e., noobtubing.

+1

 

[Pirakahunter788]

Yahtzee isn't a noob, he's a critic. It is quite literally his job to pick apart games and be extremely negative.

Exactly. He's also stated several times people don't like it when he's being too nice.
Also, kudos on the Commander Keen avatar.

 

[Pirakahunter788]

I don't think you're in a position to be judging anyone's gaming ability if you've never seen them play.

Newb = new player

Noob = ignorant player, somebody who blames others/the game for their lack of skill and/or uses game tactics that others frown upon, i.e., noobtubing.

I was wondering if someone was going to bring this point up.
I can't blame anyone for ignoring the differences between the two words, but the differences are still there.