Zero Punctuation: Peggle
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
- Start date
Article, sure.Nordstrom said:
Review, no.
And I hope to god you're not trying to get me to believe that Peggle is in any way a good game along the lines of Freecell.
If you didn't notice, Yathzee spent maybe 1/6 of his review actually reviewing his game, I'm not gonna call that an exact measurement, but it does show that, well, you don't really have much to talk about with Peggle.
Hell, there are free flash based porn games out there with more gameplay value than Peggle!
I'd be happy to spend the rest of this post bashing Peggle, but it really isn't all that bad, just really a lot more shallow than most other decent games, so I'll get on with what I'm actually mad about: Why, why, WHY is Yathzee made to review a damn casual game?!!?!
The whole point to his videos is that he talks about games, and though it's mildly interesting to see what he does when given a game in which there really isn't much to talk about (and he does a decent job of it, too), I still would greatly prefer seeing his talents put to better use, reveiwing actual games that have things you can actually talk about!
Editors of the Escapist, I beseech thee: WHY?
The Peggle review is a disaster. Peggle is Ben's Ishtar ... or Gigli if you are too young for that. In the future, when Ben's wildly funny and insightful reviews become famous, we will look back on the Peggle review as the episode that never should have been.
Has Ben sold out? My instinct is to say that Ben has jumped the shark and is speeding down the road to "shittytown" as the man himself would put it. Yet it's clear that it was Escapist's idea to waste Ben's considerable talent on a highly simplistic no-depth game.
You can tell dear 'ol Yahtzee is not into it. He talks slower than his previous reviews. He drifts across different topics. He tells us there's not all that much to say. At least Ben's honest, and that's good for all of us.
Here's what happened. Some muckety-muck at Escapist played Peggle. The muck liked Peggle. Yay! Peggle is fun. Peggle is popluar. So Ben should review Peggle.
The road to shittytown is paved with good intentions and faulty logic. Listen up Escapist. Know your brand. Know your audience. Cater to your audience and you will succeed. Here's a lesson:
Yahtzee fans - sophisticated gamers looking for a sophisticated reviewer
Yahtzee - a sophisticated reviewer who can write sophisticated reviews
Peggle - simplistic game for simplistic gamers that does not benefit from a sophisticated review
Don't ask Ben to write weak reviews about simple games. That's a waste. It insults Ben's talents. It tells us that you folks at Escapist, or at least one of you anyway, does not know your market.
Using Yahtzee to write a review about Peggle is like telling Picasso to use an Etch-a-Sketch.
Ben's probably going to keep his mouth shut because he's swallowing a load of cash to do this. Listen to us, Escapist. Don't waste Ben on peon games. Keep this up and folks won't read the reviews. That means no website visits, no clickthroughs, no traffic.
Use Ben wisely. You'll be richer for it in the end.
The Peggle review is like a fart at the dinner table. It comes. It goes. Let us forget that it ever happened.
Vitalix
Has Ben sold out? My instinct is to say that Ben has jumped the shark and is speeding down the road to "shittytown" as the man himself would put it. Yet it's clear that it was Escapist's idea to waste Ben's considerable talent on a highly simplistic no-depth game.
You can tell dear 'ol Yahtzee is not into it. He talks slower than his previous reviews. He drifts across different topics. He tells us there's not all that much to say. At least Ben's honest, and that's good for all of us.
Here's what happened. Some muckety-muck at Escapist played Peggle. The muck liked Peggle. Yay! Peggle is fun. Peggle is popluar. So Ben should review Peggle.
The road to shittytown is paved with good intentions and faulty logic. Listen up Escapist. Know your brand. Know your audience. Cater to your audience and you will succeed. Here's a lesson:
Yahtzee fans - sophisticated gamers looking for a sophisticated reviewer
Yahtzee - a sophisticated reviewer who can write sophisticated reviews
Peggle - simplistic game for simplistic gamers that does not benefit from a sophisticated review
Don't ask Ben to write weak reviews about simple games. That's a waste. It insults Ben's talents. It tells us that you folks at Escapist, or at least one of you anyway, does not know your market.
Using Yahtzee to write a review about Peggle is like telling Picasso to use an Etch-a-Sketch.
Ben's probably going to keep his mouth shut because he's swallowing a load of cash to do this. Listen to us, Escapist. Don't waste Ben on peon games. Keep this up and folks won't read the reviews. That means no website visits, no clickthroughs, no traffic.
Use Ben wisely. You'll be richer for it in the end.
The Peggle review is like a fart at the dinner table. It comes. It goes. Let us forget that it ever happened.
Vitalix
I tried playing Peggle once a while back. Fortunately I was smart enough to simply download the trial version. I must admit, I like games like this for the trial version. They let you play for an hour, but in reality as long as you don't quit the game you can play indefinitely.
Peggle is one of those games that somewhat irritated the hell out of me cause there seemed to be absolutlely no skill involved. I read reviews of people who managed to finish all the levels and clear the board of ALL the pegs, and I thought, "Why would you even attempt to do that?"
I also noticed that they used the music from "Joyful, Joyful" probably because it's in public domain, and they didn't want to pay someone to create something original.
Cutting corners, and bringing the addicted users back for another hit, that's how PopCap makes millions.
Peggle is one of those games that somewhat irritated the hell out of me cause there seemed to be absolutlely no skill involved. I read reviews of people who managed to finish all the levels and clear the board of ALL the pegs, and I thought, "Why would you even attempt to do that?"
I also noticed that they used the music from "Joyful, Joyful" probably because it's in public domain, and they didn't want to pay someone to create something original.
Cutting corners, and bringing the addicted users back for another hit, that's how PopCap makes millions.
But do you have any idea how much an Etch-a-Sketch by Picasso would be worth?Vitalix said:
Trillions. Well, maybe billions. At the very least, it'd prove time travel is possible.
And it would have to be transported ever so carefully so as not to dislodge a single metal file.
I've noticed a lot of people posting here seem to thing his Review is some sort of harbinger of the Yahtzee apocalypse or something. I dunno, it wasn't my favorite or anything, but I enjoyed the exposition of the casual gaming industry, and I haven't detected the severe drop in quality that everyone seems to be talking about.
Oh well, maybe I'm just not critical enough. Next week I want Yahtzee to review Way of the Samurai so I'll feel a little bit less like I wasted days of my life maxing out every single type of sword.
Oh well, maybe I'm just not critical enough. Next week I want Yahtzee to review Way of the Samurai so I'll feel a little bit less like I wasted days of my life maxing out every single type of sword.
Hmm, yeah I don't, and am pretty glad about that. I have a strong allergy to DRM. The only game I have which is connected to one of those detestable services is Halflife 2. Anyway, I didn't know you can play casual games for free initially. Nintendo better send me my money back for those casual games they developed and sold to me thenJ.theYellow said:
.Anyway, the viewers shouting "one trick poney" and calling this a sell-out or lesser work should consider that the general framework of any animation series are always the same and thus are subject to the viewers becoming used to this framework. Only the content changes, and I do believe Yahtzee has been pretty varied in that area so far. Some might interpret this as boring, others might like it as the animation stays true to itself - cfr. the debate about whether or not the upcoming Fallout 3 is a real sequel to Fallout 1 and 2. It's all good for debate but, in no way can this be seen as one trick ponyism. Because if that were the case, then The Simpsons, South Park, Fairly Odd Parents, Happy Tree Friends, ... are all one trick ponies as well. Didn't stop them from being pretty successful.
Truth be told, I only needed to watch the animation once to get the message rather than twice previously. So either Yahtzee is slowing down or I'm getting used to the tempo and rhythm
.Talk more quickly, Yahtzee! You're a lot funnier when you're going ninety miles an hour. Still a good review...just needed more speed.
The google search has left my soul desolate. I can now only pine to whatever gods may be that my eyes may be plucked from their sockets and my memories of that hideous moment erased.
Btw, nice review, though I would advise The Escapist against having Yahtzee do any more casual games. We already know the formula, almost fun, very addictive, doesn't cost a fortune. The review is summed up in the genre, we really don't need to hear exactly what we already knew even if it is funnier this way.
Btw, nice review, though I would advise The Escapist against having Yahtzee do any more casual games. We already know the formula, almost fun, very addictive, doesn't cost a fortune. The review is summed up in the genre, we really don't need to hear exactly what we already knew even if it is funnier this way.
I did a double take while watching this week's review. The image used for the "University of Smartarse" is my fucking office. For serious. I work on the second floor way on the right hand side of that building. It's the University Center (aka Doak Campbell Stadium) at Florida State University. Hurray for accidental shout-outs.
This was a fantastic review, and you make a very good point about companies getting huge and dwarfing the smaller teams trying to break into the industry.
Great job.
Oh and I know you hate getting readers telling you what to review next, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on one of my favorite games of all time: Skies of Arcadia.
Great job.
Oh and I know you hate getting readers telling you what to review next, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on one of my favorite games of all time: Skies of Arcadia.
I agree with most of the sentiment that is floating about. The Escapist did a bad thing by commissioning Yahtzee to err... "Review" Peggle. He himself said he was "thrown when [The Escapist Magazine] asked me to review Peggle."
His heart and soul were not in this one. Kudos Yahtzee, for still making me laugh.
No Kudos to The Escapist Magazine however. Ask HIM what he wants to review... He'll be much funnier that way.
Just my $0.02
His heart and soul were not in this one. Kudos Yahtzee, for still making me laugh.
No Kudos to The Escapist Magazine however. Ask HIM what he wants to review... He'll be much funnier that way.
Just my $0.02
Huh. A curious thing I've noted: all of Yahtzee's recent reviews have ended with a note about or a reference to human reproduction in some way. That includes Console Rundown, BioShock, Tomb Raider, Manhunt, and now Peggle. I wonder if it's intentional.
Regardless, I look forward to this Wednesday.
Regardless, I look forward to this Wednesday.
Seriously, that review was bad.
I don't want to flame Yahtzee, cause I can tell he is doing his best, but when he says after a minute that thats about it, he really isnt kidding. Seriously, Peggle? This is not the kind of review I like to see. BioShock's review was great because he found so many different things to say about the game, from is graphical effects to gameplay elements to System Shock 2. Peggle has .. almost nothing.
Please, please, please, pick something else next time thats more complex, like World of WarCrack or Supreme Commander, any of the Orange Box games.
I don't want to flame Yahtzee, cause I can tell he is doing his best, but when he says after a minute that thats about it, he really isnt kidding. Seriously, Peggle? This is not the kind of review I like to see. BioShock's review was great because he found so many different things to say about the game, from is graphical effects to gameplay elements to System Shock 2. Peggle has .. almost nothing.
Please, please, please, pick something else next time thats more complex, like World of WarCrack or Supreme Commander, any of the Orange Box games.
I hope the editor learned something from this: Don't make your journalists (aka narcissistic pricks) review things against their will because it shows in the quality (or lack of quality, rather).
Also, the Popcap plugging could've been a little more subtle. I know their PR machine works around the clock, but enough already!
Also, the Popcap plugging could've been a little more subtle. I know their PR machine works around the clock, but enough already!
For the record though, I liked this review. Why? Because it's different. It's kinda funny to see Yahtzee work when he doesn't want to, which makes this video unique, and his comments about casual gaming are pretty thoughtful and worth remembering. I think he did very good with what he had.
That's not to say every video should be like this though, cause then it would no longer be unique.
That's not to say every video should be like this though, cause then it would no longer be unique.
Quite funny. The housewife comment was particularly insightful.
Much to my dismay, I step into our office to find not one, but both of my parents playing Peggle and taking it very, very seriously.
Much to my dismay, I step into our office to find not one, but both of my parents playing Peggle and taking it very, very seriously.
I've played Peggle, and quite frankly, it got me pretty addicted. But then I got bored and found out about Zero Punctuation.