Shaky Cam Games

[Caradinist]

Yahtzee, to help explain why it was on Lords of Shadow...Zobek was holding the camera. It explains everything.

 

[romxxii]

Yeah, it's a bit obnoxious when he treats something good that you like as though it was a pile of crap. CV is a really good game, and he's gone easier on some legitimately awful games. Oh well. If you read Yahtzee without first eating your spoonful of salt, you're likely to run into this from time to time.

You must have missed the memo. It's Yahtzee's schtick to rag on games. It's not just games you hate, it's all games he can be bothered to review. He's reviewed a couple of games that I really liked, and he hated them. I don't care, I don't consider these game reviews in the usual sense, but more like vitriol-fueled comedy pieces.

While it's true he's heaped praises upon certain games that might not be so deserving, those were really just the kind of games he enjoys. And you don't expect to share the same tastes with a late twenties-early thirties something, bitter British male whose only joy in life is playing games, trolling fanboys and getting paid to do so because he feels so clever, do you?

Just to quote Yahtzee:

It's worth remembering that all reviews are subjective personal opinions, and if you personally enjoy the game then they shouldn't really get to you. Unless of course there's a despicable little niggling doubt in the back of your mind, that maybe you're not having as much fun as you've convinced yourself you're having...

 

[Labcoat Samurai]

You must have missed the memo. It's Yahtzee's schtick to rag on games. It's not just games you hate, it's all games he can be bothered to review. He's reviewed a couple of games that I really liked, and he hated them. I don't care, I don't consider these game reviews in the usual sense, but more like vitriol-fueled comedy pieces.

Well, a couple things. First, if you're paying attention, you can tell the difference between the usual ragging that's just part of his shtick and the mountain of bile he heaps on games he truly despises. I do account for that. Second, Yahtzee himself considers them more than that, having protested early on that he may exaggerate, but never says something he doesn't believe.

But generally, sure, I'm with you. Not sure how you didn't take that away from my post. Especially the part where I said you're likely to run into the problem of getting fed up with his reviews if you forget to take them with the prerequisite spoonful of salt... you even quoted it...

While it's true he's heaped praises upon certain games that might not be so deserving, those were really just the kind of games he enjoys. And you don't expect to share the same tastes with a late twenties-early thirties something,

Actually, I've got a few years on Yahtzee.

bitter British male whose only joy in life is playing games, trolling fanboys and getting paid to do so because he feels so clever, do you?

Aww that's not very nice. You must have missed all the shameless plugging for his budding careers as novelist and bar owner.

Just to quote Yahtzee:

It's worth remembering that all reviews are subjective personal opinions, and if you personally enjoy the game then they shouldn't really get to you. Unless of course there's a despicable little niggling doubt in the back of your mind, that maybe you're not having as much fun as you've convinced yourself you're having...

This is good advice. I think you've misjudged me if you think it's something I need to hear, though.

 

[ohgodalex]

Your mom likes it too. I've just come from her house, which is why I'm wearing it

Seriously, though.... yeah, I like the game. I guess that makes me a fan of it. What's your point?

I'm only sad that I will never be juvenile enough to find joy in mental retardation. You're so lucky.

My point is that your point is invalidated by bias. You're so evidently blinded by your love for the main character's tortured soul and inner nuances that you feel the need to deny the undeniable.

 

[DragonWright]

Of course we shouldn't be calling them GoW Clones.

...we should be calling them DMC Clones, since Devil May Cry came first.

Anyway, I thought you wanted to call them Spectacle Fighters.

 

[romxxii]

Well, a couple things. First, if you're paying attention, you can tell the difference between the usual ragging that's just part of his shtick and the mountain of bile he heaps on games he truly despises. I do account for that. Second, Yahtzee himself considers them more than that, having protested early on that he may exaggerate, but never says something he doesn't believe.

Yeah, I can tell when the reviews are nerd-rage induced. And you know what? They're funnier that way. His best videos are the ones filled with either blinding hate or sickening fanboyism. Creativity's powered by strong emotions, what can I say?

But generally, sure, I'm with you. Not sure how you didn't take that away from my post. Especially the part where I said you're likely to run into the problem of getting fed up with his reviews if you forget to take them with the prerequisite spoonful of salt... you even quoted it...

You want me to quote you again? "Yeah, it's a bit obnoxious when he treats something good that you like as though it was a pile of crap. CV is a really good game, and he's gone easier on some legitimately awful games. Oh well. If you read Yahtzee without first eating your spoonful of salt, you're likely to run into this from time to time."

That's two full sentences complaining about how you don't like it when he complains about games you think are good, and doesn't do the same for games that you think aren't.

Sure, you had the parting shot about taking it with a grain of salt, but by that time you've made your point clear, am I right? It's like telling someone "no offense" just before you launch into a 10-minute diatribe of why they're such a horrible person.

Aww that's not very nice. You must have missed all the shameless plugging for his budding careers as novelist and bar owner.

Touche, I'll give you that.

This is good advice. I think you've misjudged me if you think it's something I need to hear, though.

Based on your posts so far, I think I've at least judged your love for this game, and your failure to understand Yahtzee's hate for it. That's a subjective issue, I have no problems with that. Now, complaining about how much he hates your game starts to smack of the defensive fanboyism the SSBB crowd was so infamous for.

Pardon me if I'm making another misinterpretation of your character here.

 

[Tempest13]

1. Fuck the shaky cam
2. Chain weapons are cool...too bad they're overused in one genre.

 

[Zyphonee]

The shaky cam was properly used in Saving Private Ryan as a way to portrait how adrenaline pumping and impotent the whole situation is. It really gives the signal to your mind of "Oh crap, shit's going on, fight or flee", which is great for effect. In videogaming, this effect should be kept subtle, if used at all. In your Shadow of the Colossus, you mentioned that the fights really felt colossal. That is a good example of shaky cam, Painkiller's bosses, for example, didn't feel as big, even though they were much larger in size. In games like K&L2, it seems they are trying to use this technique in order to emulate the game being cinematic, although it doesn't replace proper pacing and just ends up making you dizzy.

 

[Kenji_03]

"So, if God of War is popular, it's because lots of people today are emo, selfish, self-hating, physically weak, sexist, responsibility-avoiding whiners who sympathize with Republican economic policies. You might say I'm reading too much into these things, but you have to admit it's definitely true that liking Resident Evil 5 makes you a racist."

Yep, totally hit the nail on the head. Even those of us who view ourselves as "better than the rest" in a George Carlin like manner have to admit that is (at the very least) who we were if not are today.

Insightful for me and I appreciate the thoughtful analysis instead of random ranting.

 

[Gyrefalcon]

i did not enjoy cloverfield.

I wanted to but it made me yak and I was just getting over a flu bug. I'd love a good monster movie or game that doesn't feel it needs to apologize for being what it is.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

Other than the shaky cam being used is stupid in Castlevania: LoS, I also think there was another part of the camera I thought was silly. Like when you are in a snowy area or a rainy area, the camera gets little specks of snow or rain drops on it. That is just stupid and breaks the feel of being in the game. Why would you see these specks and drops? Is the game showing us that we are actually playing in a movie and we are watching it from the prospective of the cameraman, because they obviously didn't have cameras back then.

Moving on, I of course don't like shaky cam in anything, but I will also talk about something I would like to call swoosh cam. This is where you have two or more people talking and then when each one starts to say something, the camera quickly pans to the person starting to speak. I first started to notice this stupid form of camera work when I watched a random Battlestar Galactica episode that was on, because I was waiting for something else I wanted to see come on.

What depresses me is that one of my favorite television series, Stargate, with its new series, Universe, has adopted this way of filming from Battlestar, as well as the stupid soap opera like stories and relationships between crew members.

 

[ecoho]

"So, if God of War is popular, it's because lots of people today are emo, selfish, self-hating, physically weak, sexist, responsibility-avoiding whiners who sympathize with Republican economic policies." -Crosshaw

I very much like this theory, might explain why everyone also like zombie games, you picture yourself as the only person with a brain left to be eaten by the monstrous hordes of mall going consumers.

Also not strictly speaking a Republican policy, just popularized by them.

for the love of god can we all agree not to talk about politics because what ever you say there will be at least one person offened......

 

[eels05]

Your pop psychology sound pretty much spot on.
Haha thats pretty perceptive actually.

 

[zelyis]

I still don't see how Resident Evil 5 is racist. Most native Africans are black, people have known this for a long time.

 

[Atmos Duality]

You gather souls from enemies and use them to upgrade your combos and magic spells you learn along the way, and collect things that eventually make your health and magic bars bigger. Then at the end of it you kill whoever the local equivalent of Satan is.

You forgot Devil May Cry in that list. God of War is literally identical to it, minus the QTEs (so it's automatically better by default in my book.)
Replace "Magic Spells" with "Guns" or "Techniques", change the Gothic/Tower setting to a Greek setting and you really do have nearly the same game...

Now I'm wondering which game came first...

 

[Direwolf750]

it wasn't good in the Blaire Witch project, it isn't good now. dunno why it's getting popular

Because in an age of extreme indulgence, we frequently conflate 'crap' with authenticity and 'low budget' with 'artistic.'

I think Yahtzee may have summed up why I've never been enthralled by the GoW series. I just don't hate women enough.


>.>

You can be low budget and still be good, and you can TRY to be artistic and still be bad. If something is crap, an all too common excuse is that "it's artistic." no it isn't, it's still crap. And it was crap at the time too. The movie was shot in an age where engineers had FINALLY worked out how to make smooth motion cameras for filming, and they shot a bad movie using a hand-cam. Woo...

 

[ecoho]

Other than the shaky cam being used is stupid in Castlevania: LoS, I also think there was another part of the camera I thought was silly. Like when you are in a snowy area or a rainy area, the camera gets little specks of snow or rain drops on it. That is just stupid and breaks the feel of being in the game. Why would you see these specks and drops? Is the game showing us that we are actually playing in a movie and we are watching it from the prospective of the cameraman, because they obviously didn't have cameras back then.

Moving on, I of course don't like shaky cam in anything, but I will also talk about something I would like to call swoosh cam. This is where you have two or more people talking and then when each one starts to say something, the camera quickly pans to the person starting to speak. I first started to notice this stupid form of camera work when I watched a random Battlestar Galactica episode that was on, because I was waiting for something else I wanted to see come on.

What depresses me is that one of my favorite television series, Stargate, with its new series, Universe, has adopted this way of filming from Battlestar, as well as the stupid soap opera like stories and relationships between crew members.

lol yes so true but whats realy sad is they had a great following and great promise when it first started then SPLAT its battlestar Galatica with stargates....... what the hell?! i mean it would be one thing if they had this and atlantis airing but NO they have just this shit and reruns(which are soooo much better)."huff" ok rant over.

OT: shakey cammeras in games wouldnt be so bad if there was a reason for them to be shaky. For instance say your bleeding and your wobbly untill you get patched up or someone drugs your character but outside that kind of thing its just stupid.

BTW you have a realy funny avatar

 

[Sonic Doctor]

lol yes so true but whats realy sad is they had a great following and great promise when it first started then SPLAT its battlestar Galatica with stargates....... what the hell?! i mean it would be one thing if they had this and atlantis airing but NO they have just this shit and reruns(which are soooo much better)."huff" ok rant over.

OT: shakey cammeras in games wouldnt be so bad if there was a reason for them to be shaky. For instance say your bleeding and your wobbly untill you get patched up or someone drugs your character but outside that kind of thing its just stupid.

BTW you have a realy funny avatar

Thanks for the avatar compliment. Yes, Universe has become all relationships, all the time, the main plot and the aliens have be downgraded to side plots.

 

[lifestorm2]

But Kratos killed everyone in GoW3.

 

[MR.Spartacus]

i did not enjoy cloverfield.

Yeah. Too much time on unlikeable dip-shits that were obviously going to get killed off. I wonder why this is catching on. Didn't manhunt have it a bit. It was was just during the executions so I don't think it counts. Also Kane and Lynch two did it to cover the sub-par graphics. That plus they were completely out of ideas. I just hope this doesn't catch on. I'm not all that sure it will though, was K&L2 a "success"?