Poll: Totalbiscuit

[[Kira Must Die]]

I don't follow him, but I'm aware as to who he is, and I've seen some of his videos. He seems alright, but from reading these posts he seems like a PC guy, which isn't my thing. Also, I'm not into the whole "cynical" thing that people think is so cool.

 

[Sunrider]

I love his stuff. While I can understand how and why people can find him obnoxious, I love his style, and it fits me perfectly.

 

[Rockbottom87]

I think he is an honest and respectable source of information about games, one which you know has not been bought by a developer.

When I read many of the criticisms leveled here in this thread I feel many people misunderstand many of his statements.
For example:
FOV issues. If it is a relatively simple thing to make, and it can help a small but significant group of people with their gaming related issues, why do so many developers refuse to implement it?

FPS dips to 60 or lower. This is not as much a problem he has with the fps, I'm sure he can still enjoy a game at 40 fps or something. It is just indicative of a very badly optimized game. If he gets 40 fps with a dual TITAN setup, what kind of performance will you get on your run of the mill laptop?

The 'not cynical' thing. That is a name that stuck from back in his WoW radio days. And why shoot yourself in the foot in terms of branding by removing that name?

 

[Matthew Ryan]

He's just an arrogant, bigoted, Yahtzee wannabee.
He's not funny or witty at all, And equally annoying as Tobuscus

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

I like watching some of his videos and news reels from time to time but I don't like his "PCs are the end all to be all master race" talk since its blatant fanboyism anyway you look at it with our without facts you don't need to keep spouting the same shit over and over in order to gain that stroking ego dominance.

 

[Alfador_VII]

I like watching some of his videos and news reels from time to time but I don't like his "PCs are the end all to be all master race" talk since its blatant fanboyism anyway you look at it with our without facts you don't need to keep spouting the same shit over and over in order to gain that stroking ego dominance.

He always backs up his arguments on the superiority (or otherwise) of the PC with facts, or at least reasoned opinions. And yeah he does have all of the consoles as well as a PC, and speaks favourably about some console games where it's relevant.

Yes, his Youtube channel is mainly PC focussed, and long may it remain so. There's more than enough console-based Youtubers.

 

[endtherapture]

A while ago, after someone criticized his video and most people defended him, he was just commenting on twitter how nice escapist users are are then Susan called him a whiney git or something lol.

I like most of his stuff but his over the top criticism of Bioshock Infinite was wrong. He was being an FPS snob and complaining about recoil and stuff.

Also I sometimes want to shout "NO! FOV gives YOU motion sickness. Its a very rare condition that just you have and no one else cares about!"
But apparently there are quite a few people that have it.

Yep, low FoV gives me motion sickness too, so I like having control over it.

 

[Something Amyss]

Wait, so something like:

Them: DRM is crap.

Me: You are so stupid, dude. DRM is like the asshole of the industry! I can't believe you're such a fanboy!

Exactly.

You'd just need to carry on that conversation/argument for ten to fifteen minutes; so as to not bore the ADD-ridden audience. Then, finish it off by saying, "Oh yeah *****? I'll show you just how stupid and wrong you are! 1 v 1 me in LoL, bro. Then we'll see who's right!"

I can see it now. Ten million hits in a week.

You had me at "1v1 me, bro." Those are the most powerful words in a gamer's vocabulary.

>.>

 

[Monsterfurby]

I enjoy his videos, but having seen him getting mad over his teammates just trying to have fun instead of winning at any cost in Guns of Icarus pretty much sealed my dislike for him as a person. Then again, I am still able to enjoy the entertainment he provides while also admitting that I'd probably never want to meet the guy in real life.

Pretty much like Tom Cruise.

 

[Quiotu]

Personally, I like TotalBiscuit. I think he's very well-spoken, intelligent, hard working, and genuinely wants to do right by his audience.

That said, he IS rather arrogant, particularly during the TGS Podcast. He frequently interrupts the other panelists, makes their points for them, and usually tries to get the last word in.

Personally I think it's just his way of directing the Podcast. If you've watched the Podcast when he's not there and Jesse's in charge, you see the antithesis of that. If you've ever led a group, or GM'd a game, or started a debate, then you have to be a little bit of a dick to maintain control. He's the guy that has to steer the conversations in a vague direction and not have the podcast get derailed. I've had plenty of GMs that didn't know how to handle someone who constantly tangents away from the game, and having someone who's take-charge enough to just flat out say 'you need to be quiet so we can move on' can be a godsend.

As for my opinion of him... TB and Jesse both play their role on Youtube well, but it's not really them. TB is much nicer than his YouTube persona, and Jesse is much smarter than his YouTube persona. Both have simply realized that you need to be a little obnoxious in order to get real attention on YouTube and make that ad money, so they dial their quirks up to 11 in order to get attention and reaction... and that's the currency of YouTube. TB already had the name CynicalBrit so just ran with it, top hat and all. Jesse loves his LPs, but he's not quite good enough at them to do ChuggaaConroy style walkthroughs. So he dumbs himself down and plays badly for the camera, pandering partially to the other half of LP moneyville where being stupid nets you attention. Jesse was a teacher, and not PE, so he's much smarter than he plays it... his phonetics on some words are the best kind of trolling (I know how to say 'arrhythmia' but not 'pugilist').

 

[Vigormortis]

You had me at "1v1 me, bro." Those are the most powerful words in a gamer's vocabulary.

>.>

Second only to terms or phrases such as:

"True gamer"
"Hardcore gamer"
"Dirty Casual"
"Fanboy"
"Consoletard"
"PC Elitist"
and a host of other, far more derogatory terms that I dare not type as doing so would lead to immediate moderator wrath.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

I like watching some of his videos and news reels from time to time but I don't like his "PCs are the end all to be all master race" talk since its blatant fanboyism anyway you look at it with our without facts you don't need to keep spouting the same shit over and over in order to gain that stroking ego dominance.

He always backs up his arguments on the superiority (or otherwise) of the PC with facts, or at least reasoned opinions. And yeah he does have all of the consoles as well as a PC, and speaks favourably about some console games where it's relevant.

Yes, his Youtube channel is mainly PC focussed, and long may it remain so. There's more than enough console-based Youtubers.

So basically he's the best week spoken guy on the planet and can do no wrong amarite?.

What I said above was my view of him and what I liked and didn't like which didn't mean I suddenly have on all PCs, I just happen to dislike the PC snobbery that comes with it.

 

[cerebreturns]

His "WTF is..." stuff is good, and some of his guides for LoL are as well. His actual reviews I find kinda meh. he doesn't have a strong enough opinion on things and I really feel like Cynical is misadvertising. Then again maybe I'm simply used to AngryJoe & Jimquisition.

 

[Eddie the head]

He has grate taste in music. I was listening to him talk on the TGS podcast and he said he was going to see Iron Maiden that weekend or something. Form that point on I liked him.

 

[FalloutJack]

You're probably getting this comment alot already, but "What? Another one?". With respect, we have two such perssonalities here on the Escapist and they also read cynical poetry now!

 

[Ramare]

A while ago, after someone criticized his video and most people defended him, he was just commenting on twitter how nice escapist users are are then Susan called him a whiney git or something lol.

I like most of his stuff but his over the top criticism of Bioshock Infinite was wrong. He was being an FPS snob and complaining about recoil and stuff.

Also I sometimes want to shout "NO! FOV gives YOU motion sickness. Its a very rare condition that just you have and no one else cares about!"
But apparently there are quite a few people that have it.

Yep, low FoV gives me motion sickness too, so I like having control over it.

Personally, I get annoyed by the "fisheye" effect that I notice when the FoV is too high. For me and my plain ol' 4:3 monitor, 68 FoV is the sweet spot. Too bad most games will slap you on the hand for even thinking of going that low, though; if they let you control the FoV at all.

As for on-topic content: I haven't watched literally any of his videos, yet. I have, however, enjoyed him every time that he's appeared in videos from other YouTubers that I do actually watch[footnote]like when he was included in a Chivalry: Medieval Warfare tournament that Criken was in[/footnote], and do plan on watching some of his videos in the near future now.

 

[Slaydoom]

TL;DR: He's an arrogant, glorified Let's Player who complains about irrelevant issues and denounces his fanbase at every turn then complains about their lack of viewer-ship later on.

I personally suffer from the least motion sickness out of anyone I know. Boats don't get to me, reading in cars is fine for me, and I can stand all forms of 3D and FoV. However, just because I can stand them, doesn't mean others can. The FoV 'war' is something that has needed to be said for a while, and it is great that it finally has a big voice behind it. It is insulting to people to tell them to just get over their sickness. It's like telling people to get over depression or being color blind.

Or maybe they should just not play games, this just isn't their area. Sure, that's completely reasonable. You lost a leg? Oh well, guess I'm not playing baseball with you. You just want to pitch? But bringing a chair to the pitcher's mound ruins the game. It just isn't for you.

It's not that I'm telling him to not complain about his disease, it's that I'm sick of him giving a game a bad rep BECAUSE of his disease. He did this with The Darkness 2. He essentially said the game was unplayabled because of the FoV, but that was because of his disease, to someone without it the game was fine. I guess in general my issue is less with his disease/complaining and more with his lack of objectivity, which he claims to have. (Also, I'm 100% aware all reviews are subjective, but he claims to be somewhat objective, which is just untrue.)

we must have seen two different Darkness two videos because he said it was alright.....

 

[Starik20X6]

I've never really sat down to watch any of his stuff... In fact, the only contact I've had with the guy is when he guest voices those Lore [http://www.youtube.com/user/lore] videos.

That said, I do get reflexively annoyed at the whole 'Cynical Brit' thing, because it screams of stealing Yahtzee's schtick.

 

[Substitute Troll]

I think you're wrong. He's said on numerous occasions that consoles are good for when you want to relax in your couch etc. But like I said before, no shit he prefers PC. Anyone who can afford a gaming PC agrees that they're objectively better. Consoles right now are only holding the gaming scene back, they need to evolve.

I'm out of this thread, there's no point in me defending TB, he can do that himself.

Bullshit. I can afford a gaming PC and I can tell you they are not 'objectively better'. I have had far more frustration in the 6 months that I have had my gaming PC then in the years I have have been a console gamer. BSoD's, just sudden crashes, and freezes are a common occurrence for me in the world of PC gaming. So yeah, Console gaming has actually been superior in terms of stability.

And I call bullshit on you. If you're getting BSoD's, either you're doing something wrong, or the computer is broken. I've been PC gaming all my life and I've NEVER had a BSoD. Not even on my 7 year old single core PC that has been collecting dust for long periods of time.

 

[Pessimismus]

I watch just about every video he puts out and sure, he is most definitely arrogant at times and I don't always agree with him but as far as I can tell, he puts in a lot of effort and really cares about the stuff he puts out. I respect him for not being afraid to defend his opinions and views, even if this will cost him viewers, because he stands behind his work and he knows what he is doing and for who. His research tends to be pretty in-depth and when he is wrong, he (generally) does apologize and makes at least some effort to correct the mistakes.

He also earned a lot of respect from me with his video about real-life violence and video game violence and a ton of other content not directly related to one game or another. I can totally understand how you might not enjoy his personality, there are times where he does annoy me, but in general I respect him far too much to let those incidents lower my opinion of him.