Zero Punctuation: Left 4 Dead 2 & New Super Mario Bros Wii

[ziggy161]

Great surprise, Yahtzee hates Nintendo XD
NSMBW's still gonna make more money than God!

 

[Alpha-9]

His voice is back to normal?

 

[sramota]

First of all, Bowser,
that bugger just won't die.
Second - stick to one game, now you're just messing things up in a way that'll make Namco vs Capcom games seem like a logical step.

 

[WraithGadra]

Once again, Yahtzee has bestowed some poignant wisdom regarding the worst gaming company in recent history. Never in my life have I heard of a more absolutely retarded concept than 'New Super Mario Bros DS on the Wii', because that's all it is really; repackage a previously released title (which has been released prior New Super Mario Bros Wii about a billion times) and sell it again. How the hell could anybody have bought this? If Darwin's theory of evolution could be applied to Video Games then Nintendo should technically not exist. They become more powerful the more repetitive and unoriginal they are. I heartily look forward to 'New New Super Mario Bros DS' and 'New New Super Mario Bros DS on the Wii'.

Oh, and L4D2 does fall into this hole as well, but I'm willing to forgive Valve because they've actually released something original in the past decade.

Really? So the DS, Nintendogs, Brain Age, the Wii, Wii Sports and Wii Fit don't qualify as 'original'? What does under your definition, because it's different than the one I'm familiar with.

As for the video, some complaints about the two games are valid, but I strongly disagree with the closing rant about how NSMBWii "has no right to exist". What are you trying to say with that statement, Yahtzee? That Mario games shouldn't exist, or that 2d platformers shouldn't exist, or something else entirely? Also, you seem to have taken a 180 from your position that Nintendo "couldn't be bothered" to make Mario and Zelda games anymore, what happened to facilitate that?

I see. So, flailing your arms around, shouting and doing maths is original. What I mean is Portal, Half Life 2, Psychonauts, Earthbound, all games that tried something unique, stylish and 'original' and a majority of the time have gotten their heads kicked in for it. The reason the Wii is still doing so well is idiots fail to recognise that Nintendo are selling the same products consecutively in different colours. I didn't even mention the concept of a Nintendo game apart from NSMBW being unoriginal, but now that you've mentioned it...

What I'm getting at is it's the same damn game that us kiddies played on the NES, except with some different features. Of course I think the DS is original. Why do you think I still play it? Among all of the utter tripe Nintendo has bestowed the DS is still to this day 'redeemable'. Of course, Yahtzee didn't say all Mario games/2D platformers are unoriginal, how the hell did you garner that assumption? He was attacking NSMBW and it got what it deserved. My point is the word 'New' used in the title is ironic to say the least. The game is just a joke. If it has nothing new to offer then why purchase it at all? Dust off that old Mario Bros 3 cartridge and get the same experience.

So some games that add a few new concepts to an established genre are considered original, but other games that do so aren't? I also never said anything about originality in my address toward Yahtzee, you're arguing against a position I don't hold. Of course, you can't get the experience of NSMBWii in SMB 3 because the latter game doesn't allow replaying stages or for multiple players simultaneously running around in non-battle stages, so it is 'New' even if you prefer the older game.

 

[Belbe]

Look forward to playing it...some day D: I'm so poor QQ

 

[MadGodXero]

Never commented here before so I have to say great video. Oh, and Bowser would dominate.

 

[rddj623]

I laughed harder than I have in a while at the Left 4 Dead 2 Rocky V line, don't know why but it just hit me at the right moment and I nearly choked on my Green Tea. Thanks Yahtzee! And as usual a review that makes sense, the games fun but nothing to write home about as they say.

 

[Sheogoroth]

Yahtzee's back! thats more like it!

 

[reiem531]

I have a question. You mentioned in one earlier review that you played Twilight Princess and Mario Sunshine before Ocarina of Time and Mario 64 and you thought (rightfully so) that TP and Sunshine were far better in every way. But in this review you said that Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island were better than New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Were you saying this out of nostalgia or something or was Super Mario World literally a better game? I played both and although they didn't change enough in the new game I still enjoyed it.

 

[ward0630]

ugh if ur really just going to argue on the comments then y watch this video? Its just for entertainment and yahtzee doesn't mean one third of what he says in these things. I personally think L4D2 was good enough to stand alone as a sequel and the other one sucks but come on. you can at least try to give valve credit. I could say we could give nintendo credit, but then I would have to stop watching all this in favor in nintendo tv.

 

[huckleberryhound]

Nice stuff mate.

 

[Mr.Baginki]

Great review as always
But honestly he is right, Nintendo is lazy as hell!!!! I wonder if the next Zelda game will have us saving the princess?

 

[DBlack]

What the Hell is it with The Escapist and Valve? Out of no where you have an ad for half life 2 episode 3. Im starting to think that Valve has paid alot of money to be hyped in every fucking video/comic/magazine on The Escapist.

I understand that Escapist needs to make money somehow but do you really need to through ads into videos like that?

 

[Halfang]

I loved the elite beat reference

But, I don't agree with the l4d2 being an expansion pack.

 

[Robert0288]

Anyone else think the boomer bile at the end had eyes?

 

[Basslover]

You know, I completely forgot about the Extra Punctuation on Generic games [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/6516-Extra-Punctuation-On-Generic-Games] when I posted before. Given that NSMBWii is a high profile standard-bearer for this kind of design philosophy, why does it receive the vitriol that it does?

I think he makes a distinction between a generic game that is not already a franchise and a game that is one of a long line of games within a franchise that REFUSES to try anything new.

Anything new?, who about being able to play the whole "campaign" in coop/competive local multiplayer, with the same precision of solo playing for 1-4 players without spilt screen.

being the first 2d mario console game in like 18 years?

A badly-functioning multi-player option is innovation?

Being just like games released 20 years ago is innovation?

could you explain just how are they badly implemeted? i can't see how
look at most of the reviews of the game, they usualy praise the miltiplayer
as fun mixing coop and competitive at the same time (kinda innovative huh)

 

[Basslover]

Mazty:

same here with mario, some people just like arcades like, pin point precision control and rewarding feeling of skill of an gud ol' plataformer, after all these are GAMES things made to be fun is the game is not fun i don't care how inmersive it is.

Awesome, totally agree with the Mario comment. Worst is...why are people buying it?? Really? Last time I checked, nostalgia is best left as a memory. I loved driver, went back to it, and christ, what a mess of a game. I should have just left is as a pleasant memory...

Probably for the same reason that people buy games off the Virtual Console.

I.e. that plenty of people actually do like to go back to the old games.

On the other hand, Super Mario World IS on the Virtual Console...

THough that's not answering the question...
Why do people like playing old games? The graphics and gameplay are inherently worse, there is literally nothing good about them other than being able to recall fond memories. And as I've said, that usually is a giant-ass let down as you are left wondering how you have fond memories of something that looks like cat barf and handles like bricks in a balloon...

Really? if that's the case then shouldn't Little big Planet play better than SMB3 or SMB!, new doesn't mean better, graphics yeah, but gameplay?, nope, if not WHY people play those games, if not of a definition of queality but because the gamplay is fun, and again the almost 20 million copies of nsmb ds tell the story, if you don't like them, fine, but don't put them down when there is a HUGE population that likes them. Heck i don't like FPS but im not whinning about why 13 millions of people played COD MW1, is their genre not mine.

same here with mario, some people just like arcades like, pin point precision control and rewarding feeling of skill of an gud ol' plataformer, after all these are GAMES things made to be fun is the game is not fun i don't care how inmersive it is.

Good should evolve. Simple. If you pay money just for something that has had a graphical improvement and co-op (Holy sh*t, co-op?! Mind blast! Not like its years old or anything...) then you are not a gamer, just a corporate tool. If people actually said "Hey I loved SMB on the SNES, but come on guys, you could have mixed it up a little", then maybe, just maybe, Nintendo would be releasing games which won't be seen by the future gamer as the apex of the gaming Dark Ages. Seriously. This is where this sh*t is taking us - the gaming Dark Ages. If Halo 3, SMB Wii and MW2 have shown us anything, it's the majority of gamers are easily influenced by adverts and nostalgia. They aren't asking for improvements, which is absurd.
Imagine if Hollywood was releasing the same tripe from the 60's for "nostalgia". Or the car industy. 0-60mph would still take 3 weeks.
The gaming industry is the only one which literally buys it. Why? Because with gaming, a lot of gamers have no idea what the hell quality is. If games were as wide spread as films or cars, then Nintendo would have "wanked itself away" by now. But no, people just buy the same sh*t because it's safe. When gaming collapses in on itself, only the customers can be blamed for not encouraging evolution and development.

Coorporate tool........ last time i checked to be a gamer was to have fun with a GAME, so if the game is fun, even if doesn't fit your definition of innovation as something radically new then is not a "game" and the ones who play it are not "gamers"....such arrogance,

dude a game is a game, and the content is not overused it was missed, and again im not complaining on the invasion of PC dev. on the console market doing LOTS of fps on crappy dual analog sticks, is the game was done was because nintendo discovered a market for 2d plataformers in nsmb ds which sold millions and is still selling today, they didn't a 2d mario because they tought (like you now) that 2d is not a valid form of gaming anymore and that people should be happy with 3d mario, but after seeing that success on ds what they did was did a 2d game with NEW worlds, NEW powers, NEW multiplayer mode and make sure it played as good as the old ones, that's is, and like someone said, it wll be selling in 2012, i ll like to see how much of these "innovative" games sell that much (without beign wiifit or wiisports)

 

[Basslover]

Hey Yahtzee, if you managed to read this far cheack this out:

http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/

is an opinion onthe video of this week (not hotheaded or anything), is actually a interesting opinion on the definition of innovation (like sustaining innovation vs disruptive innovation), things on the evolution of mario games and differences of perspectives, no hate just points of view, is really good.

Sorry for the bad english.

(btw loved the video, hated your nsmbw arguments, looking foward the next one)