Poll: Zero Punctuation: Do his words matter?

[LisaB1138]

No.

First, Yahtzee reviews too many games that I would never play anyway. I don't like FPSs or RPGs, and that's half the reviews right out of the box.

Second, while I can never disagree with him, he does sometimes dislike things that are part of the attraction to the game for players. So what's a negative to him is actually a major draw to the franchise or style of game.

However, he's usually spot on when pointing out the er. . . .pointless nature of much of a game, and his stand against the saturation of QTEs makes him my personal hero. His independent nature also adds to the weight of his opinion. Often when I read a glowing review in a publication, I wonder how much advertising the publisher bought.

He is also brilliantly funny. Could be just as funny with less profanity, IMO, but it's his shtick so I don't expect that to change.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

sometimes. I liked psychonauts so much after i watched his reviews. But most of the time not really. I plan to buy Uncharted, DMC4, Crysis, resident evil UC (despite shitty story), and the silent hill games for ps1 and ps2. He's a reviewer after all. And he is a great one too, even if he shits in the face of Xbox owners!

 

[Sniper_Zegai]

Its clear he bad mouths games for comic effect although Ive never heard him say a good game is bad, even if he does rant on about the bad for 4 minutes out of a 5 minute review (I'm looking at you BioShock) but I wouldn't go as far as to buy a game or avoid a game on something Yahtzee says, this isn't unique to him by the way. I don't pay attention to reviewers much unless they are funny.

Ive only ever bought one game on what a reviewer thought and that was Breakdown for the Xbox which was very cheap anyway, its a good game but I always have a terrible thirst for cola when I play it, all you Breakdown veterans will know what I mean.

 

[ingsoc]

For the most part, Zero Punctuation's game reviews have been pretty close to what I would write (although they would not be funny). I pretty much have liked the games he has liked and disliked the games he has dislikes which minor differences. Crysis is far better than he gave it credit for, although, after my first time through the game, I came away with the same impression, it was only with subsequent plays that it really became fun. Perhaps he should replay it. Had I not played COD 4 before he reviewed it and purchased it because of the review, I would be really disappointed as it joins Halo 3 as the most over-rated game, well ever. Still good, but not even close to being in the same class as Crysis much less being put in the same sentence as Portal. His review left me wanting more out of Bioshock but am still pleased with the game now that I have finished it with a marathon session.

 

[agerdemon]

I wouldn't really use Yahtzee to inform my buying choice because when all is said and done he's trying to entertain first, and inform second with his videos. Let's face it, ZP is hardly a bastion for well-balanced reviews.

I completely disagree, everything yahtzee says is reflected in the game he is reviewing. He was right about Halo 3 (people just like it for the name), he was right about Bioshock (the small things like the overeating and the ridiculous respawning ruin the atmosphere) and he was right about Portal and COD 4 (they're amazing!). To persuade someone that a game is rubbish or good you have to entertain them, thats why politicians don't get anywhere with the youth (they're boring).

 

[Yan-Yan]

I would have to say that Yes, Yahtzee has swayed my opinion about games he has reviewed. That's not to say I've purchased games based solely on his encouragement, or avoided games purely on his amusing jabs, because that has nothing to do with the question. He gives relatively unbiased opinions about games (unless you happen to be a JRPG), and like all reviews, it will influence how I spend my hard earned money. Why? Because regardless of if you think he makes fun of games first and reviews them second or reviews them while making fun of them, the end result is that he is still reviewing the game, and reviews come from people who've been there. Usually before you.

He's changed my mind about Bioshock (I originally thought it would be an ignorable pile of hype, though I haven't bought it, and probably never will. I just think nice things about it occasionally), he's validated my thoughts on Portal and enlightened my mind to games I would normally gloss over. All while entertaining me like an Organ Grinder's Monkey.

So yeah, I take his reviews with a grain of salt and consider them when I decide to make a purchase or not.

...

Plus he's hot. And that always gets an extra rainbow sticker in my book.

 

[Spinwhiz]

I have to agree with most of you. It is almost as if you are expecting him to trash the game, but if he likes it, it must be amazing because he's not a push over. Not to mention the fact that he does not give a rats ass about the publishers and who they are. He'll stomp all over Nintendo the same way he'll bury a break-in AAA title. I have to give credit to a guy like that.

So, in short: If he hates it, I may still rent it if I find it interesting. If he likes it, I'm buying it the day it comes out.

 

[lightbulbthief]

everything you hear about a game influences you, even if it is to your sub conscience, but at the end of the day if you want to buy a game you will

 

[MrCrun]

No, mostly 'cause other review come out first and I've already made my mind up. That said I almost consistently agree with him.

 

[Dectilon]

While I find we agree on some basic issues like (I think) that if your game pretends to have a story it should be a well-done story, but where he hates turn-based rpgs I like them, and where he finds cutscenes annoying I like to get them as sort of a reward for beating a boss or what have you.

So no, since we have different tastes they don't influence me. Many of the games brought up I can't (don't have a next-gen console) buy, or wasn't going to buy in the first place. And the few games he liked I already have : P

Sometimes he gets his facts wrong, and sometimes he bends the "truth" to make a funny point. I don't mind that, because I prefer a good laugh over simply a review I don't agree with ^^

 

[_Janny_]

I agree with most of the stuff Yahtzee says and I respect him because he's picky. The good kind of picky, by the way.
He loves Portal, Silent Hill 2, Psychonauts, and says that BioShock looks good but isn't perfect, which I totally agree with. He pretty much knows what makes a game and what brakes it.
At first I thought he was writing reviews just for the funny, but then I realized that the stuff he's saying is both funny and damn true.
So, yeah, I try to listen to what he thinks about certain games, because I know he's bound to be right.

 

[Chilango2]

His reviews, for a perspective of someone actually looking to buy a thing, have to be skimmed with a certain amount of subtly. You can tell he likes a game to a certain extent if he says anything remotely positive, and one way or another the review is informative on what the game is good at and what its faults are. I have yet to consider buying a game he reviews, but that's more because of my taste of games than his reviews, but if I did ever come to it, I'd certainly take his review into account.

 

[Terramax]

100%.

I was going to buy Drake's Treasure until I found out by Yahtzee it's a load of pro-American, racism in a box.

I HATE games that are blatantly pro-American! That country can stick it. I play games for enjoyment, not for propaganda on white supremacy.

Yahtzee, along with Gamecentral on Channel4 teletext, are the only reviewers that let me know when games are rascist, sexist, promote violence to beyond an acceptable level, etc.

Yahtzee, like me, appreciates originality and dislikes gimmicks too. Something which all those idiots who gave Mario Galaxy 8/10 or above obviously don't.

And, like me, he?s an appreciator of games with great storytelling. He?s like the bro I never had

 

[tiredinnuendo]

100%.

I was going to buy Drake's Treasure until I found out by Yahtzee it's a load of pro-American, racism in a box.

I HATE games that are blatantly pro-American! That country can stick it. I play games for enjoyment, not for propaganda on white supremacy.

Yahtzee, along with Gamecentral on Channel4 teletext, are the only reviewers that let me know when games are rascist, sexist, promote violence to beyond an acceptable level, etc.

Yahtzee, like me, appreciates originality and dislikes gimmicks too. Something which all those idiots who gave Mario Galaxy 8/10 or above obviously don't.

And, like me, he?s an appreciator of games with great storytelling. He?s like the bro I never had

That's hilarious. It's even better that you never said you were kidding.

- J

 

[Xaositect]

I mainly just watch to either laugh my ass off at games I have never played, and take a few pointers, or laugh my ass off at games I own, and enjoy any valid pointers. I liked his Mass Effect review for the funnies, but didnt entirely agree with the criticism about dialogue. I loved the rich dialogue in Mass Effect, and instead would have expected a scathing attack on the sheer laziness that went into area design outside of plot central worlds *yawn*.

Mostly Ill either just laugh at his points - laugh and agree and take them to heart - or laugh and disagree and leave it at. The point is, its funny for me.

 

[braincore02]

i always see his reviews after i've already decided whether or not to buy a game. but the amusement value keeps me comin back!

 

[Mr. Bubbles]

I listen to him, as I do with other reviewers, but in the end I don't really care what anyone says if I want a game enough. I take what they say into account, but I don't blindly take their advise. Take BioShock, for example. Yahtzee said it wasn't very good; it was my favorite game of 2007.

 

[Spinwhiz]

no he just tears every game down i judge a game on what real revewers say hes just a bit of entertainment

And what per-se makes someone a real reviewer and Yahtzee a fake?

A respectable website, well he has that.
Payment for his work? I believe he gets compensation for his reviews.
Or is he not a real reviewer for he will rip on a game's bad points because he's not a corporate sellout being paid to push inadequate crap?

Anyone that has 85 google pages must be doing something very wrong. Awful really. I just don't see how I can agree with you on this topic. *snicker*

 

[Chilango2]

Yeah, "he tears everything down" is not a good reason to say he's not a real reviewer, his gripes, whether you particularly agree with them or not, are *real*, and he tends to land hard on some of the current worst group think of game developers that's in evidence.

Furthermore, with some games he points out what *works* in it, while going onward to criticize what doesn't work in a humerious manner, so its incorrect to say that he doesn't say anything positive, even if it's usually praising with faint dammns, if you will.