Worst review I have seen in a long time (borderlands 2)

chadachada123

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I'm actually happy to see the results on this forum mirroring the rest of the internet: This guy is fucking retarded, with absolutely no journalistic integrity.

I had seen and posted about this on several other sites, and I'm glad to see that it isn't just some overreaction to a scathing review, but that this was objectively a terrible (and incredibly dishonest) review.
 

afroebob

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Guy's entitled to his opinion but it is clear he has absolutely no fucking clue what he is talking about. I'm sure that the Wall Street Journal wanted to put in some video game reviews to try to draw attention to its dying industry but I'm also sure that they just went into the office one day, announced they where making a new 'video game critic' job and asked if anyone was a gamer, in which this father who has obviously only played Call of Duty and Halo (which there is nothing wrong with that, really) decides that he has the know how to be a real critic (but there is something wrong with that). No offence to the reviewer but he needs to stick to what he knows. I don't read poetry so if I tried to review a book of it I wouldn't know if its good or bad, but if I review something I do know like a book, movie or video game I can tell you if its good, how its good and why its good.
 

yunabomb

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This is how I feel as a gymnastics fan during an Olympic year. Now you all know my pain.

There's not much else to say. Reading that review was entertaining.
 

jamesbrown

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Apr 18, 2011
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This is what I got from the article,
"GARME JURALIZM, AME I DOEN IT RIGHT?"

seriously, it sounded like someone who is unqualified to write about games; writing about games. The lexicon would have one postilate that he is someone who is trying to look like someone who writes about games; but has only heard about games and never activly tried to be involved in games. So he follows the typical human trait of compairing it to something familiar: COD, WOW, MOH, etc; which everyone has heard of. The unfortuante part is that these games should not be compaired, and instead of compairing products; compare emotions, if you were bored; can you accuratly state why and what caused you to be in that state and stating "single-player campain was bad" isn't enough; just like you can't review a book by saying "Chapters 3-20 were terrible." and end it at that. or similiarly saying "Chapters 3-20 of this science fiction novel was terrible because it wasn't like War of the Worlds enough" If you enjoyed it, can you accuratly say why as well and what in the game was enjoyable. This was not a Game Article; it was an Article disguised as what the author thought was what an typical Game Article looked like, without reading any real game articles.

P.S Don't have those who are not intrepid Gamers creating professional opinons about Games, just like you don't want people who are not greatly familiar with New Wave Science Fiction Literture writing profession opinons on the subject.
 

jamesbrown

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Gunner 51 said:
Draech said:
I am sorry but the game is mechnically different, aesthetically different and thematically different.

To compare it on bases it is not trying to cover while glossing over the bases it is covering is like going Appollo 13 was a crap movie because there was no aliens in it and the plot had a hollywood ending.
sunsetspawn said:
Well, if this guy were a fifteen year old telling his friends at school about Borderlands 2 then that would be fine. However, this man is actually getting paid to write "professional" reviews such as this and it offends anyone that understands the entertain medium in question.

Would it be okay the compare Killer Elite to Pulp Fiction? They're both movies about professional hitmen that shoot people, so they must be the same genre, right? To a twelve year old that just likes violence I could see how these movies might be similar, but to anyone with any familiarity with the art form, to compare these two is absurd.

Could we compare Opeth to Green Day? They both make with the distorted guitars, singing, bass, and drums, so they must be similar, right?

People ARE ALLOWED to be ignorant of things, but when they are they should NOT be getting paid to write about them.
@Draech: While I will agree with you that thematically and aesthetically BL2 may be slightly different to most other FPSes out there, mechanically it is quite similar. If a game is mostly a protagonist's eye view and he's using a gun to mow down a whole slew of enemies - it's an FPS. Just like Call of Duty, mechanically - they're similar.

I know you take exception to my way of classifying games, but we really should drop the matter at hand lest we get into a flame war.

@Sunsetspawn: Well, I wouldn't attribute the Wall Street Journal as professional games reviewers, that falls within the remit of games journalists at this website for example. (Although I had to giggle when this website gave Dragon Age 2 a 5/5 rating.)

The writer for the WSJ was asked for his opinion of the game and he gave an honest opinion. Just because he disliked a game and knew little about gaming doesn't mean to say he cannot be allowed to publish his opinion on it - especially when his employers had asked him to do it. You can compare Borderlands to games like Call of Duty - they're both FPSes. At the crux of both games - they feature a protagonist's eye view as they kill numerous enemies by shooting them.

If the Wall Street Journal wanted to fill some space with a games review, they are perfectly entitled to do so. There's no law saying that financial publications can only print financial articles - if this website were to start writing music reviews or even film - it would still be very much within it's rights to do so.
That may be the case; but he shouldn't, or at least he could have tried to make an effort to become familiar with an medium he was critquing. He is putting his name on it, thus by extension his reputation and WSJ was too by publishing it. When you make an piece of work (especially in the WSJ) it should reflect the best you can give, which means; do research, not glazing wikipedia articles, become familiar with what it is; Borderlands is more along the vien of Fallout and (even) Mass Effect; and most importantly, be familiar with your audience; if I write an article on music; music-buff's will find it, no matter where it is; if you write something about games, realize it will be Gamer's who will be more interested in your article than your regular audience. This is more about being professional for an Journal; not some small gaming website by a few high school students where this "pure" opinion would be more suited.
 

jamesbrown

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yunabomb said:
This is how I feel as a gymnastics fan during an Olympic year. Now you all know my pain.

There's not much else to say. Reading that review was entertaining.
Where would one go to become more learned in gymnastics as a whole; because if the announcers for the Olympics are doing it wrong, its good to be informed about these things.
 

yunabomb

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jamesbrown said:
Where would one go to become more learned in gymnastics as a whole; because if the announcers for the Olympics are doing it wrong, its good to be informed about these things.
Gymnastics forums are usually good. The good ones are The All Around Forum (pretty serious, there are judges who post there which is pretty informative) and WWGym (there's more gossip here). There are also gym blogs, but I haven't really read any recently.
 

jamesbrown

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yunabomb said:
jamesbrown said:
Where would one go to become more learned in gymnastics as a whole; because if the announcers for the Olympics are doing it wrong, its good to be informed about these things.
Gymnastics forums are usually good. The good ones are The All Around Forum (pretty serious, there are judges who post there which is pretty informative) and WWGym (there's more gossip here). There are also gym blogs, but I haven't really read any recently.
Thank you, I will try my best to stop the promblem of people being uninformed about what thier talking about; no matter what it is wheather it be games or gymnastics.
 

Rooster Cogburn

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It's not that you cannot compare Borderlands II to CoD. You can compare Borderlands II to a strawberry daiquiri. And Borderlands II does belong to the same broad genre as CoD. Or maybe it doesn't. I dunno.

Point is, the specific comparisons he did make were fucking ridiculous.
 

Comocat

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Sober Thal said:
I have played Black Ops, Halo, and I have played Borderlands, and I think the review is spot on. The only thing I can see people being upset about is a line in the begging:

-'it's missing several key elements you need to have in a 2012 first-person shooter game - most notably, a rich multiplayer online mode.'-

*cough

Fuck Multiplayer

Seriously tho, the guy is telling you flat out what he enjoys in an FPS, and how this compares to it. What does he say that is incorrect? The amount of anger and childishness here is deplorable. Does he say anything wrong about the game? No. Do you not agree with what he thinks? Yes.

I don't understand why this is a big deal, unless this thread is just full of people who hate CoD and Halo... that would explain everything.
I think people are mirthful because this is the Wall Street Journal, not some bloggers livejournal. The critic makes no attempt at analysis, he is just apparently disappointed this isnt Call of Duty. I would expect an amateur to say "I don't like cartoons" and professional to give some justification for why they don't like cell-shading. Borderlands is kind of a big deal, and to be a game reviewer who has clearly never played the original, is hilarious. Really checking wikipedia for non-existant plot twists in the original? Come on. Personally I think he would have gotten away with being a hack if he decided not to compare one of the most anticipated games of 2012 with a game that has almost 0 production value.
 

GoaThief

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Feb 2, 2012
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Christ, is this still going? It's reaching near Anita Sarkeesian status.

Comocat said:
Borderlands is kind of a big deal
Hmmm, not really. On this site it seems to be the case but elsewhere there's not much fuss being made. Certainly nowhere near the likes of ME3, Skyrim, COD, etc.

and to be a game reviewer who has clearly never played the original, is hilarious.
Why? Do you think game reviewers have time to play every single game? The original wasn't exactly well-received in the press.

Personally I think he would have gotten away with being a hack if he decided not to compare one of the most anticipated games of 2012 with a game that has almost 0 production value.
I think you must be living in la la land when you say COD has 0 production value, honestly. I expect Gearbox would love to have their own engine instead of Unreal 3, IW 5.0 is pretty impressive - did you think it cost Infinity Ward absolutely nothing to produce? That's without getting into anything else. You may not like COD, which is perfectly fine but you're being no better than the WSJ reviewer with the bullshittery and hyperbole.
 

Comocat

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GoaThief said:
Christ, is this still going? It's reaching near Anita Sarkeesian status.

Comocat said:
Borderlands is kind of a big deal
Hmmm, not really. On this site it seems to be the case but elsewhere there's not much fuss being made. Certainly nowhere near the likes of ME3, Skyrim, COD, etc.

and to be a game reviewer who has clearly never played the original, is hilarious.
Why? Do you think game reviewers have time to play every single game? The original wasn't exactly well-received in the press.

Personally I think he would have gotten away with being a hack if he decided not to compare one of the most anticipated games of 2012 with a game that has almost 0 production value.
I think you must be living in la la land when you say COD has 0 production value, honestly. I expect Gearbox would love to have their own engine instead of Unreal 3, IW 5.0 is pretty impressive - did you think it cost Infinity Ward absolutely nothing to produce? That's without getting into anything else. You may not like COD, which is perfectly fine but you're being no better than the WSJ reviewer with the bullshittery and hyperbole.
From the review: "As a $30 impulse buy, priced about the same as games like "NASCAR Unleashed," I wouldn't have a problem recommending Borderlands 2 as a fun diversion." Obviously COD has a budget of tens of millions of dollars, but sorry for being unclear.

I still stand by my statements any game that sells millions of copies probably deserves to be reviewed by professionals.
 

XSin

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I can't believe he shoots down Borderlands 2 for "Gratuitous Cussing" then praises CoD's online multiplayer xD
 

FeralDynasty

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Given the nature of the source even the WRITING is terrible, let alone the content, anything I say at this point would just be a repeat of what someone else has said. He had no coherent stand on the topic barring his unsubstantiated statements at the start and end; everything in between those seemed to paint the game as fairly good. I also loved the part where he sites a chart for reasons why people liked Borderlands 1, that just made me giggle. For the love of shit find someone who played the first one! (Oh dear, I've gone and ripped on the content, whoops!)
 

Stabby Joe

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Oh dear...

...this review is actually one of the very very few where "fanboy rage" isn't the case. I haven't played BL2 nor intend to for the time being but this review is just poor.

I recently read an article from a third party trying to justify this review as being one for "non-hardcore gamers" but of course the wave of comment that followed pointed out you review for everyone. People interested in this game are going to want the full scoop, including new players, beyond simply "not Call of Duty, lame", more so since BL and COD are completely different entities. By this logic I can call the best car in the world objectively terrible because I'm reviewing for motorbikes.

XSin said:
I can't believe he shoots down Borderlands 2 for "Gratuitous Cussing" then praises CoD's online multiplayer xD
SNAP!
 

Mortamus

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May 18, 2012
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GAunderrated said:
Borderlands 2 falls short because it?s missing several key elements you need to have in a 2012 first-person shooter game ? most notably, a rich multiplayer online mode.
This was all I needed to read to know that this is a dumb market monkey with no understanding of what video games are supposed to be. I'm so sorry that this isn't a sight-seeing tour in which you actually have to play the game and everything isn't just handed to you in a linear format.

My money is on this being another case in which the writer is being paid by a competing publisher to discredit it and sell their bloated, over-marketed garbage.

Oh, and the comment on this being geared towards macho, testosterone fueled gamers? What is this guy smoking to think that CoD and Halo are "MATURE" games?
 

theultimateend

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GAunderrated said:
I realized just how neurotic I am when the only reason for checking this thread was to make sure you weren't talking about my review.

Once I saw it was WSJ I yao ming'd and went back to eating my sandwich :p.

(I can't imagine hating B2, I could imagine being underwhelmed but it is pretty objectively good I'd think. How good is subjective but objectively I'd say its good.)