Zero Punctuation: Knack

[blackrave]

So Knack was kinda shit?
And nobody was surprised that day
Unless...
Please raise hands all who were surprised
That would make forced sterilization much more simpler
Because if someone was surprised by Knack being a bad game, in the name of humanity we simply must remove your genetic material from genepool.
Nothing personal, just trying to make humanity better.

On a sidenote- it is funny that the most thought provoking discussion here is about sugar filled brown margarine with smell of chocolate.

 

[Second World]

Since Mark Cerny was revealed to be the lead architect for the PS4 and also involved with Knack to some degree, I had high hopes that the game would display a few glaring examples of the types of environments or gameplay that the hardware was capable of that the previous generation simply wasn't (not a shining example, but at least try to show off.) This was a wild assumption I suppose, and I'm rather disappointed that Knack is your standard PS2 mascot game with decent-looking trailer cutscenes.

Mascot games, mind you, certainly need a comeback since the newest characters I recall that have spawned a franchise were the PS2 exclusive Sly, Ratchet & Clank, and Jak & Daxter. Recently there has just been the collect-a-thon one that is Skylanders (and maybe the iOS Angry Birds..) Hell, they're trying damned hard to market Minecraft as a "mascot game" and it doesn't work very well when the only consistently recognizable character looks like a poorly made dog toy..

At least it's not like the PS3's horrid launch line-up. Where soon afterward every game released had to showcase some amount of six-axis support (which had consistently bad results.) From what others have been saying about Xbox 1, anything that isn't cross-platform has been a showcase for how abysmal Kinect 2 is. Since that extra amount you're spending is for that awful Kinect 2 to be sharing box space with the console, I'm quite glad that the PS4 wasn't released with the new eye toy.

Remember when the launch title that was hyped for the 3DS release was Pilot Wings Resort? Suffice to say, most consoles have had poor launches..

 

[Aardvaarkman]

I like how you're supposedly speaking on behalf of the business ethics of the industry...

Uh, when did I mention "business ethics" at all? I'm of the opinion that business is mostly unethical.

... when every word you've said only continues to show how you know absolutely nothing about any facet of how the industry works, from development, to publishing, to even basic marketing on down.

In what way? If I know nothing about the industry, then maybe you can explain why nobody in the industry follows your "develop games for unreleased platforms" and "delay release of new platforms" business models?

"Intelligent business decisions" -_- fucking please, if short term financial endevers the likes of which even EA would accuse of not even attempting to pay attention to the big picture qualify as "intelligent" to you, it's not wonder I feel like an idiot by association for even bothering to respond to this inanity.

Uh, you were the one who mentioned "intelligent business decisions," not me.

And of course, because you don't admit to the accusations, suppositions arrived at based on the evidence of what you've said can be safely brushed aside as merely attacking "straw men."

This sentence doesn't make any sense. What accusations am I supposed to admit to? And you do know what a "straw man" is, right? It's what you were doing in your previous posts, where you fabricated arguments I never made, in order to knock them down.

Any attempt at debate or discussion with you would be pointless it seems, since you'd merely dismiss valid points as irrelevant by erroneously changing the context of the conversations, and crushing all other points under the ohsoallknowing and clearly well educated standpoint of the businessmen. Not that I'm saying the businessmen aren't educated, just you.

You ever considered a position in politics? You'd probably do really well.

I never changed the context of the discussion. If anything, you did, by making up imaginary arguments that I never made. And, as usual, it seems are quick to dish out personal insults rather than discuss any of these topics reasonably.

 

[NSGrendel]

Just to clarify, Yahtzee is paid for his animation work, not his bad puns and bitter tone, in case his claim to the contrary was confusing anyone.

 

[LetalisK]

I know I'm late to the party, but the "Bored now!" bit made me laugh harder than I have in a long time. Thank you!

 

[gutterball17]

I've gotta say I actually really enjoyed this game. I don't understand why he was so negative about it. It did play a lot like crash bandicoot, and just like crash one or two hits would kill you. It's not unbalanced just difficult. I think Ben Yahtzee needs to start being more consistent in his reviews. Back in the Bowser's Inside Story review he complains that just because it's a kids game doesn't mean it has to be easy. Well, this is a game geared towards children and is just as unforgiving as the old games from our childhood. It's not unbalanced. It pretty much teaches you from the very first that enemies are going to hit hard so you better not get hit, just the same as a game like Crash Bandicoot, where you could only get hit once unless you had the mask guy. However, I do agree that the graphics and setting could have used some work and it would have been interesting to see some character development from Knack rather than just having him as the blank face "I'm gonna punch you" guy.

 

[gamegod25]

Gotta feel bad for any kiddies who probably begged and pleaded to get get this game because despite its child friendly appearance I can't imagine they would have the skill or patience to deal with the constant cheap deaths.